ELEVENTH HOUR LITERARY ISSUE 2.1


Winter 2026


EDITOR’S NOTE: LOOKING BACK, LOOKING FORWARD



Winner of the Winter 2026 Prose Contest


Gemstones and Jewelries on a Wooden Tray
Credit: MART PRODUCTION

AFTER FACE
Brett Berk

Brown Human Eye staring through wall
Credit: Jonathan Borba

HOUSE OF MAGGIE
Matt Lindenburg

Anonymous woman chatting on smartphone in cafe
Credit: Mathias Reding

COOL BEANS
Heather Holland Wheaton

Light Rays behind Back Lit Profile of Woman
Credit: Анна-Христина

LONGING V. WORTH
Douglas W. Milliken

Person Holding Orange Puzzle Piece overlaid on top of a photo of John Travolta
Caption: Tara Winstead, Pexels; Wikipedia Commons

CHARMED
Beth Sherman

The Great Jaguar Tikal in Guatemala in Tikal, Petén Department, Guatemala
Credit: Matthias Stutzman

THE CURSE OF MANOA
Jess Simms

Person wearing brown jeans With a pair of black sneakers sitting on a rail over water
Credit: Victor Freitas

V-NECKS
Jake La Botz


Winner of the Winter 2026 Poetry Contest


Shadow of woman with crown on head
Credit: Kristal Tereziu

BETA
Marie Anne Arreola

Man in Green Blazer Sitting on Brown Wooden Chair while Smoking
Credit: Yaroslav Shuraev

THE SECRET
Bill Garvey

Black Hawk Soaring in Trinidad, Calif.
Credit: Tim Mossholder

THIRST
Jessie Raymundo

ATMs at Night in Rotterdam, ZH, Netherlands
Credit: Keller Chewning

RICHIE
N.T. Chambers

Assorted-color Masks
Credit: hitesh choudhary

A LITTLE CONFESSION
KG Newman


Issue Masthead

Editor-in-Chief

R. Renee Branca


Managing Editor

Ethan Knox


Fiction Co-Editors

Lauren Garnett

Amber Gates


Poetry Co-Editors

Hannah Nathanson

Arthur Turfa

Abigail Cornelia



Journal Board: Michelle L. Gardner, Sarah Ford, Sam Cota, Hannah Proaper, Kaitlyn Bellettini, Joshua Chimene, Ellie Noti, Taylor Veneto, Matthew Smearing, Douglas Russell

Cover Art: The Three Fearless, by Tetiana Yatsechko-Blazhenko


Submission Transparency

This issue received 657 submissions, for which we were honored to publish these 20, with a publication rate of 3.0%.