Writer
When Moon City Review editor Michael Czyzniejewski asked me for flash fiction, I looked at what I had and realized everything was ghost themed. Super thankful he picked this one for the 2026 issue. And what a gorgeous issue it is! Picked up my contributor’s copy at the #AWP26 Conference book fair. 💜
My short story appears in the new issue of The Threepenny Review—turns out Martin Scorsese and I both have pieces in this one!
The piece, “Writeup for the Staffing Firm Newsletter,” started in a dream. I woke up in the middle of the night and recorded the opening lines into my phone, then wrote the entire first draft the next day, all into my Notes app. Each moment tumbled out on its own.
So grateful to Editor Wendy Lesser for her care. And delighted this piece found such a wonderful home. 
I’m delighted to share that my prose poem “The Council” appears in Bayou Magazine‘s inaugural online issue. This piece is a satirical, surreal take on institutional bureaucracy: coffins for chairs, snails as metaphors, and the strange rituals of committee life.
Huge thanks to Carolyn Hembree and the Bayou team for giving this piece a home, and for launching their first online issue with such care and vision.
I wrote a story about ghosts and mediums, and Midway Journal was kind enough to publish it. ❤️ The piece was inspired by the Blandwood Mansion, pictured. Read it in full on the Midway website. Grateful to fiction editor Ralph Pennel for all his care!
I’m delighted to share that my personal essay “Multitude of Hosts” appears in the new issue of Barnstorm Journal, from the University of New Hampshire. The piece begins as a meditation on the candle that sits by my side as I write and opens to a range of memories from my childhood across Bosnia and Spain. Huge thanks to the editors!
My new short story, “Birthday at the Hermitage,” is out now in The Los Angeles Review. It’s set at a hermitage on the outskirts of Ávila, Northern Spain, where I spent many summer afternoons as a child. Writing it gave me the chance to revisit those grounds. I even reached out to the hermitage to confirm some details about the preserved crocodile at the sanctuary entrance, and the keeper sent me a wonderfully thorough description and photos. 🙃
My new personal essay, “The Squirrel at the Monastery,” appears today in World Literature Today Weekly. Huge thanks, as always, to Editor Michelle Johnson for her attention, trust, and care! ❤️
My poem, “Through the Window,” appears in the new issue of South Carolina Review. I just received these beautiful contributor’s copies, which look jam-packed with great writing. Can’t wait to dive into the rest of the issue. Big, heartfelt thanks to Editor Elizabeth Stansell and her team! ❤️
Friends, my prose poem, “On the Lido Deck Before Sunrise,” appears in the new issue of Witness. I’m delighted the piece found such a wonderful home. Huge thanks to the editors!
I returned home from a conference to find my contributor’s copies of the 30th anniversary issue of Fourteen Hills. Just look at this cover! I’ve been writing prose poetry based on dreams these last couple of years, and I’m honored to have a recent piece in this volume. Thanks to the editors, who have been wonderfully attentive and thorough through the whole process. 
Can’t wait to explore the rest of the issue!
Lana Spendl 