“Does such a thing as 'the fatal flaw,' that showy dark crack running down the middle of a life, exist outside literature? I used to think it didn’t. Now I think it does. And I think that mine is this: a morbid longing for the picturesque at all costs.”
- The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Fatal Flaw is a 501(c)3 nonprofit online literary magazine based in New York City. Twice a year, we publish unexpected, topical poetry, prose, photography, and visual art that considers the world through a cracked lens. We seek work that finds poignancy in unexpected places, confronts the status quo and, most importantly, prompts discussion about the human condition in these uncertain times. Give us fractured inner monologues, messy reckonings, imperfect catharses. Show us the fatal flaw and the beauty inherent within it.
We welcome submissions from writers of all backgrounds – from the emerging and unpublished to the established – and especially encourage submissions from those who identify as persons of color, multiracial, indigenous, LGBTQIA+, disabled, and anyone belonging to a community of underrepresented voices.
Fatal Flaw strongly believes in celebrating the work of our contributors. We enthusiastically promote on our website and social media, and nominate work for Best of the Net, the Pushcart Prize, and other honors.
Explore our issues! The work we publish speaks to what we're about much better than we can. You can also check out the "Six Questions For..." interview with our co-founders and editors-in-chief Brenna McPeek and Abigail Wessel.
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