May 17, 2024, 10:30am
According to the powers that be (er, apparently according to Dan Wickett of the Emerging Writers Network), May is Short Story Month. To celebrate, for the second year in a row, the Literary Hub staff will be recommending a single short story, free* to read online, every (work) day of the month. Why not read along with us? Today, we recommend:
“The Daily Commute” by Sarah Gailey
When The Sunday Morning Transport launched in 2022, I was both excited and exhausted. A new speculative lit mag is always welcome, but a Substack—meaning another email in my inbox? Turns out TSMT is one of the few regular emails I don’t mind receiving: their editorial curation delivers a fabulous mix of storytellers new and old, known and lesser-known. Turns out they’re perfect for reading over a slow morning’s cup of tea—give Sarah Gailey’s charming story about public transit delays a shot and you’ll see what I mean.
The story begins:
The bus is slowing down and the apiarist doesn’t seem to care at all.
This is a problem for us. We have to get to work and to school and to our appointments. But the apiarist doesn’t care about that. They don’t care about anything but the bees and the bus. It’s infuriating. We are infuriated.
*If you hit a paywall, we recommend trying with a different/private/incognito browser (but listen, you didn’t hear it from us).