Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new magical realism story, "The Archivist." Set in Oakland, this story follows Isandro, a DJ who returns home from a late-night gig to find a mysterious woman in his apartment cataloguing all of his personal absences, which include missed calls, unsent birthday cards, and broken promises that have accumulated over the years. Blending fantastical elements with deeply grounded emotional realism and community healing, the story explores what we owe to the spaces where love should have been, as well as the weight of things left undone.
You can find the written version of "The Archivist" right here.
About the Author
Jon Negroni is a Puerto Rican author based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His published books include The Pixar Theory (Slimbooks, 2015), a pop culture nonfiction, and his debut novel Killerjoy (5050 Press, 2017). His recent short fiction includes "Men Who Are Strong" (IHRAM Press) and "Upon a Dream," an original fable published in The Fairy Tale Magazine. His upcoming anthology appearances include a cryptid horror tale, a speculative fiction piece for Neon Hemlock, and a superhero story for Oddity Prodigies. He's also the co-founder of the entertainment website, InBetweenDrafts.
Listen toward the end of the show for Jon’s full author’s notes on the making of this story.
- Read "The Archivist" with original artwork.
- Explore our full archive of stories and poetry.
- Submit your own story to be featured on Cetera.
About Cetera Magazine
We publish original short fiction every Thursday. Our stories span literary fiction, speculative tales, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and weird fiction. All written without AI assistance and curated by editor Natalia Emmons.
Credits
- Host & Author: Jon Negroni
- Editor: Natalia Emmons
- Artwork: Jon Negroni
- Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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