The Editors on the new issue...

“Beauty, no doubt, does not make revolutions. But a day will come when revolutions will have need of beauty” – Albert Camus

This is ‘Revolution’. For us at Myths of the Near Future, it is pretty aptly named, as issue #3 saw huge changes in our approach. We will be publishing three themed editions a year as ebooks, giving them away for free for the first five days of publication and compiling them for a print compendium at the end of the year. We also had a successful launch event in association as part of the 2014 Student Writers’ Toolkit hosted by Writing West Midlands. 

One thing that hasn’t changed is the quality and diversity of literature you can read. We have super-charged free verse poetry from Richy Campbell; gothic-style flash fiction from Callum Heitler; a dystopian short story from Sam Roberts; a scathing article from Michael Hetherington; and, yes, thanks to Elliot Mason and an interview with one of Granta’s Best Novelists 2013 and John Llewellyn Rhys Prize winner, Evie Wyld. Our writers have gathered here from Manchester and Miami, from Greece, Fife and Stoke-on-Trent.

Some of the poetry here is more revolting than revolutionary, like Richy Campbell’s world where “Cleaners drag refuse trolleys,/brimmed by knotted bags that trail fetid snakes”, but we found these more subtle approaches to revolution to be the most rewarding. Read together, these pieces give a unique insight into the minds of young writers in 2014. Myths, and the NAWE Young Writers’ Hub to which we’re affiliated, is really proud to be backing upcoming talent; and it warms our hearts to think that, for some of the under 25s featured here, this is their first publication credit.

Editing a literary magazine was new to both of us – and we’re proud to say there were no tears or bloodshed – so we hope that you enjoy the final product as much as we’ve enjoyed making it.

To the future!

The Editors,
Jonny Aldridge and Jessica Bellman

Myths of the Near Future publishes young writers that deserve to be read and is currently free in the Kindle store.

We are currently looking for submissions for issue 4 on the theme of 'Money'.