Debut Fiction: An Aster(ix) Anthology, April 2025

"There is no way I could have known that my own journey to debuting as a published author would take nearly two decades from those days in Paule Marshall's class," guest editor Cleyvis Natera reflects in her introduction letter. Aster(ix) published a sample of her novel in 2019, which helped Cleyvis find an agent. Her first book, Neruda on the Park, was published in 2022 by Ballatine Books.

We are thrilled to welcome Cleyvis on a full circle journey to edit this issue. She writes, "The most...