In this issue, a giant feline swats us into the void with Space Cat by Bronwyn Schuster. And feature author Kate Heartfield leads us on a daring escape through the universe in And in the Arcade, Ego. Hitch a ride into the heat - and heart - of the desert with Kevin Sandefur's Out in the Sticks. And it all goes up in flames in Paper, Candles, Hearts & Other Combustible Materials by Anne Baldo.

Natalie Harris-Spencer

, in The Art of Ironing, and Cara Waterfall, in Vessel, illustrate ways of navigating relationships and bodily autonomy. And friendship transcends time and place in Fate of Chickens by Krista Jane May. We delve into familial grief and sacrifice in Sap and Seed, by H Pueyo and Dante Luiz, and the opening chapters of Allaigna’s Song: Chorale by JM Landels, while Pale Pony Express by Lulu Keating and The Echo of Light Footsteps on Parchment by Kimberley Aslett explore memory and loss through storytelling. Strange science brings us The Magic Shuffling Machine by Derek Salinas Lazarski but can’t explain the tiny home intruder in The Switch Fairy by Monica Wang or the supernatural occurrences in Pretty Lies: Eyes Full of Moon by Mel Anastasiou.