Fork Apple Press

A small press for big work.

Winner of the The Slice’s 2025 Short Story Collection Contest

We Are All Having Fun Here startles and soothes, inviting secrets and shadows out into the light and dazzling us with their complexity, humor, and tenderness. In beautifully crystallized prose, Meg Mullins dares her characters to the edges, asking us to stare right into the face of taboo. Without fear or judgement, each story unlocks a door to something hidden, toeing the line between discomfort and relatability. Explorations of kink, girlhood, grief, and intimacy find space on the page to push against assumptions and break boundaries. This collection brings clarity to what is so often obscured, inviting us to empathize with the unfathomable.

“Feral, transgressive, and heat-seeking, the girls and women in this dazzling collection seethe with life, wanting what they can’t have and getting what they never asked for.”

— Arlaina Tibensky, author of And Then Things Fall Apart

We Are All Having Fun Here by Meg Mullins We Are All Having Fun Here by Meg Mullins
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We Are All Having Fun Here by Meg Mullins
$20.00

Fork Apple Press is honored to publish Meg Mullins’ We Are All Having Fun Here as the winner of The Slice Short Story Collection Contest (2025).

We Are All Having Fun Here startles and soothes, inviting secrets and shadows out into the light and dazzling us with their complexity, humor, and tenderness. In beautifully crystallized prose, Meg Mullins dares her characters to the edges, asking us to stare right into the face of taboo. Without fear or judgement, each story unlocks a door to something hidden, toeing the line between discomfort and relatability. Explorations of kink, girlhood, grief, and intimacy find space on the page to push against assumptions and break boundaries. This collection brings clarity to what is so often obscured, inviting us to empathize with the unfathomable.

ISBN 979-8-9925064-4-0

We Are All Having Fun Here

by Meg Mullins

Who We Are

Fork Apple Press is a small, independent press dedicated to serving the literary community. Our literary journal, The Core Review, biannually publishes works of poetry, prose, and visual narrative. Our poetry chapbook and short story collection contest, The Slice Contest, annually selects one winning chapbook and collection for publication. For craft essays, book reviews, and further engagement with the literary world, check out our blog, The Juice Blog!

Purchase Copies of Our Titles on Our Bookstore

We Are All Having Fun Here by Meg Mullins We Are All Having Fun Here by Meg Mullins
Quick View
We Are All Having Fun Here by Meg Mullins
$20.00

Fork Apple Press is honored to publish Meg Mullins’ We Are All Having Fun Here as the winner of The Slice Short Story Collection Contest (2025).

We Are All Having Fun Here startles and soothes, inviting secrets and shadows out into the light and dazzling us with their complexity, humor, and tenderness. In beautifully crystallized prose, Meg Mullins dares her characters to the edges, asking us to stare right into the face of taboo. Without fear or judgement, each story unlocks a door to something hidden, toeing the line between discomfort and relatability. Explorations of kink, girlhood, grief, and intimacy find space on the page to push against assumptions and break boundaries. This collection brings clarity to what is so often obscured, inviting us to empathize with the unfathomable.

ISBN 979-8-9925064-4-0

The Core Review

The Core Review, Issue 3 (Fall 2025) The Core Review, Issue 3 (Fall 2025)
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The Core Review, Issue 3 (Fall 2025)
$15.00

The Core Review Issue 3 (Fall 2025) is the third issue of Fork Apple Press' biannual literary journal.

The Core Review, Issue 2 (Spring 2025) The Core Review, Issue 2 (Spring 2025)
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The Core Review, Issue 2 (Spring 2025)
$15.00

The Core Review Issue 2 (Spring 2025) is the second issue of Fork Apple Press' biannual literary journal.

The Core Review, Issue 1 (Fall 2024) The Core Review, Issue 1 (Fall 2024)
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The Core Review, Issue 1 (Fall 2024)
$15.00

The Core Review Issue 1 (Fall 2024) is the inaugural issue of Fork Apple Press' biannual literary journal.

Poetry and Prose

I wake up tangled in pillows and sheets by Alex Baskin I wake up tangled in pillows and sheets by Alex Baskin
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I wake up tangled in pillows and sheets by Alex Baskin
$12.99

Fork Apple Press is honored to publish Alex Baskin's I wake up tangled in pillows and sheets as the winner of The Slice Poetry Chapbook Contest (2025).

ISBN 979-8-9925064-0-2

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Biannual literary journal. Fall & Spring.

The Core Review

The Slice Contest

Poetry chapbook & short prose collection. Winter & Summer. 

Essays, book reviews, interviews & more. Online year-round. 

The Juice Blog

submission guidelines

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Only one day left to submit your prose, poetry, and visual narrative to be a part of Issue 4 of The Core Review! #submissionsopen #opensubmissions #poetrysubmissions #prosesubmissions #visualnarrativesubmissions #graphicnarrativesubmissions #comicsu
Only one day left to submit your prose, poetry, and visual narrative to be a part of Issue 4 of The Core Review! #submissionsopen #opensubmissions #poetrysubmissions #prosesubmissions #visualnarrativesubmissions #graphicnarrativesubmissions #comicsubmissions
This month on The Juice, we interviewed Meg Mullins, Slice Contest winner and author of the short story collection, We Are All Having Fun Here. Read online and join the comments at forkapplepress.org
This month on The Juice, we interviewed Meg Mullins, Slice Contest winner and author of the short story collection, We Are All Having Fun Here. Read online and join the comments at forkapplepress.org
Read Lela Tolajian’s poem, “Full Sturgeon Moon” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/lelatolajian-core Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #poetry #poem #thecorereview #forkapple
Read Lela Tolajian’s poem, “Full Sturgeon Moon” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/lelatolajian-core Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #poetry #poem #thecorereview #forkapplepress #litjournal literaryjournal literarymagazine
Check out the Fork Apple team’s AWP book haul from some of our favorite presses! 🤓 #awp26 #indiebookshop #litcommunity #booksbooksbooks
Check out the Fork Apple team’s AWP book haul from some of our favorite presses! 🤓 #awp26 #indiebookshop #litcommunity #booksbooksbooks
#AWP26 is a wrap! Thank you Baltimore for such an amazing time. We’re so grateful to have connected with so many amazing presses, writers, and readers. We’re so honored to be a part of this vibrant and thriving community, and so proud of
#AWP26 is a wrap! Thank you Baltimore for such an amazing time. We’re so grateful to have connected with so many amazing presses, writers, and readers. We’re so honored to be a part of this vibrant and thriving community, and so proud of how much we’ve accomplished. Thank you to our tablers! Here’s to the small press ecosystem, and another amazing conference. See you next year in Chicago!
All submission categories are OPEN for #AWP26 !! Submit to The Core Review, The Juice, The Slice Poetry Chapbook Contest, and The Slice Essay Collection Contest through the end of March. We can’t wait to read your work!
All submission categories are OPEN for #AWP26 !! Submit to The Core Review, The Juice, The Slice Poetry Chapbook Contest, and The Slice Essay Collection Contest through the end of March. We can’t wait to read your work!
Fork Apple Press is here at AWP! Come visit our table at the bookfair, T542. And please come grab some of our free swag! We have candy, apples, pins, buttons, stickers, mirrors, and menstrual products. We're also selling $2 keychains, or free with
Fork Apple Press is here at AWP! Come visit our table at the bookfair, T542. And please come grab some of our free swag! We have candy, apples, pins, buttons, stickers, mirrors, and menstrual products. We're also selling $2 keychains, or free with book purchase :) We can't wait to meet everyone! #awp #awp26
Praise for We Are All Having Fun Here, by Meg Mullins! Purchase your copy on The Fork Apple Press Bookstore at https://forkapplepress.com/books or wherever books are sold! “Feral, transgressive, and heat-seeking, the girls and women in this d
Praise for We Are All Having Fun Here, by Meg Mullins! Purchase your copy on The Fork Apple Press Bookstore at https://forkapplepress.com/books or wherever books are sold! “Feral, transgressive, and heat-seeking, the girls and women in this dazzling collection seethe with life, wanting what they can’t have and getting what they never asked for.” - Arlaina Tibensky, author of And Then Things Fall Apart #indiepress #shortstorycollection #contestwinner #shorfiction #fiction fictioncollection slicecontest forkapplepress
We Are All Having Fun Here by Meg Mullins, winner of the 2025 Slice Short Story Collection Contest, is officially launched! We Are All Having Fun Here is available wherever books are sold or at the Fork Apple Press bookstore at https://forkapplepres
We Are All Having Fun Here by Meg Mullins, winner of the 2025 Slice Short Story Collection Contest, is officially launched! We Are All Having Fun Here is available wherever books are sold or at the Fork Apple Press bookstore at https://forkapplepress.com/books. Join Meg on March 3 at 6 pm for a reading at Bookworks, a beloved local bookstore in Albuquerque, NM, to celebrate the launch of this short story collection! We Are All Having Fun Here startles and soothes, inviting secrets and shadows out into the light and dazzling us with their complexity, humor, and tenderness. In beautifully crystallized prose, Meg Mullins dares her characters to the edges, asking us to stare right into the face of taboo. Without fear or judgement, each story unlocks a door to something hidden, toeing the line between discomfort and relatability. Explorations of kink, girlhood, grief, and intimacy find space on the page to push against assumptions and break boundaries. This collection brings clarity to what is so often obscured, inviting us to empathize with the unfathomable. #indiepress #shortstorycollection #contestwinner #shorfiction #fiction fictioncollection slicecontest forkapplepress
This month on The Juice: Katarzyna Stępień's essay, "Delivering The Delivery (La Encomienda): Dislocation, Self-Erasure, and the Quiet Violence of Migration" Read the feature and join the discussion in the comments at www.forkapplepress.or
This month on The Juice: Katarzyna Stępień's essay, "Delivering The Delivery (La Encomienda): Dislocation, Self-Erasure, and the Quiet Violence of Migration" Read the feature and join the discussion in the comments at www.forkapplepress.org/thejuice #smallpress #indiepress #bookreview #blogpost #writersonwriting #thejuice #thejuiceblog
Read ethan s. evan’s poem, “the animals walked out of the burning meadow” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/ethansevans-core Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #poetry #poem
Read ethan s. evan’s poem, “the animals walked out of the burning meadow” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/ethansevans-core Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #poetry #poem #thecorereview #forkapplepress #litjournal
Join Slice Short Story Collection Contest Winner Meg Mullins at Bookworks in Albuquerque, NM on March 3rd, 6-7:30pm for a reading of her new book, author of We Are All Having Fun Here, in celebration of its launch! She’ll be reading excerpts fr
Join Slice Short Story Collection Contest Winner Meg Mullins at Bookworks in Albuquerque, NM on March 3rd, 6-7:30pm for a reading of her new book, author of We Are All Having Fun Here, in celebration of its launch! She’ll be reading excerpts from the collection and signing copies. You can also pre-order your copy of We Are All Having Fun Here on the Bookworks website: https://tinyurl.com/megmullinspo #reading #booklaunch #bookworks #MegMullins #WeAreAllHavingFunHere
Read Dariana Guerrero’s poem, “Palabras Peligrosas” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/darianaguerrero-core Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #poetry #poem #thecorereview #fo
Read Dariana Guerrero’s poem, “Palabras Peligrosas” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/darianaguerrero-core Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #poetry #poem #thecorereview #forkapplepress #litjournal literaryjournal literarymagazine
Read Alyx Chandler’s poem, “A Tornado Touches Down in My Hometown” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/alyxchandler-core Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #poetry #poem #theco
Read Alyx Chandler’s poem, “A Tornado Touches Down in My Hometown” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/alyxchandler-core Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #poetry #poem #thecorereview #forkapplepress #litjournal literaryjournal literarymagazine
The Core Review is now accepting submissions for our fourth issue! We’re looking for poetry, prose, and visual narrative. Submissions to The Core are always free. Send us your best! Link in bio to submit on Submittable. #opensubmissions #submi
The Core Review is now accepting submissions for our fourth issue! We’re looking for poetry, prose, and visual narrative. Submissions to The Core are always free. Send us your best! Link in bio to submit on Submittable. #opensubmissions #submissionsopen #litjournal #literarymagazine #literaryjournal litmag submissions freetosubmit freesubmissions poetrysubmissions prosesubmissions visualnarrativesubmissions
This month on The Juice, Rachael Peckham’s essay, “Time and Image in the Eyes of Joan Didion and E. B. White,” examines how the passage of time can be lengthened, or shortened, in the context of image and memory. Peckham offers an a
This month on The Juice, Rachael Peckham’s essay, “Time and Image in the Eyes of Joan Didion and E. B. White,” examines how the passage of time can be lengthened, or shortened, in the context of image and memory. Peckham offers an analysis of the image in prose that opens up new understandings what what time in literature can be. Read more of this feature and join the discussion in the comments at www.forkapplepress.org/thejuice #smallpress #indiepress #bookreview #blogpost #writersonwriting thejuice thejuiceblog
We're honored to announce that we've partnered with Bookworks @bookworksabq, a local bookshop in Albuquerque NM, for pre-orders of our 2026 winner of The Slice Short Story Collection Contest! We Are All Having Fun Here by Meg Mullins is available fo
We're honored to announce that we've partnered with Bookworks @bookworksabq, a local bookshop in Albuquerque NM, for pre-orders of our 2026 winner of The Slice Short Story Collection Contest! We Are All Having Fun Here by Meg Mullins is available for preorder at https://tinyurl.com/megmullinspo Support authors, support indie presses, and support local bookstores by pre-ordering your copy now! Link in bio to order. #preorders #preorder #shortstorycollection #bookworks #indiepress #localbookstore #contestwinner #fictioncontest
Read Shelly Rodrigue’s poem, “Crisis” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/shelly-rodrigue Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #poetry #poem #thecorereview #forkapplepress #litjo
Read Shelly Rodrigue’s poem, “Crisis” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/shelly-rodrigue Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #poetry #poem #thecorereview #forkapplepress #litjournal
Read Elena Negrón’s prose piece, “Teeth in Rows” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/elena-negron Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #prose #fiction #shortstory #thecore
Read Elena Negrón’s prose piece, “Teeth in Rows” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/elena-negron Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #prose #fiction #shortstory #thecorereview #forkapplepress #litjournal #literaryjournal #literarymagazine
There is ONE WEEK LEFT to submit to The Slice Poetry Chapbook Contest! Submissions should be up to 35 pages of poems, in a 12-point font. Link in bio to learn more and submit. Contest winner will receive an award of $500, 10 author copies, and 25%
There is ONE WEEK LEFT to submit to The Slice Poetry Chapbook Contest! Submissions should be up to 35 pages of poems, in a 12-point font. Link in bio to learn more and submit. Contest winner will receive an award of $500, 10 author copies, and 25% profits on book sales. Send us your work!
Only one day left to submit your prose, poetry, and visual narrative to be a part of Issue 4 of The Core Review! #submissionsopen #opensubmissions #poetrysubmissions #prosesubmissions #visualnarrativesubmissions #graphicnarrativesubmissions #comicsu This month on The Juice, we interviewed Meg Mullins, Slice Contest winner and author of the short story collection, We Are All Having Fun Here. Read online and join the comments at forkapplepress.org Read Lela Tolajian’s poem, “Full Sturgeon Moon” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/lelatolajian-core Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #poetry #poem #thecorereview #forkapple Check out the Fork Apple team’s AWP book haul from some of our favorite presses! 🤓 #awp26 #indiebookshop #litcommunity #booksbooksbooks #AWP26 is a wrap! Thank you Baltimore for such an amazing time. We’re so grateful to have connected with so many amazing presses, writers, and readers. We’re so honored to be a part of this vibrant and thriving community, and so proud of All submission categories are OPEN for #AWP26 !! Submit to The Core Review, The Juice, The Slice Poetry Chapbook Contest, and The Slice Essay Collection Contest through the end of March. We can’t wait to read your work! Fork Apple Press is here at AWP! Come visit our table at the bookfair, T542. And please come grab some of our free swag! We have candy, apples, pins, buttons, stickers, mirrors, and menstrual products. We're also selling $2 keychains, or free with Praise for We Are All Having Fun Here, by Meg Mullins! Purchase your copy on The Fork Apple Press Bookstore at https://forkapplepress.com/books or wherever books are sold! “Feral, transgressive, and heat-seeking, the girls and women in this d We Are All Having Fun Here by Meg Mullins, winner of the 2025 Slice Short Story Collection Contest, is officially launched! We Are All Having Fun Here is available wherever books are sold or at the Fork Apple Press bookstore at https://forkapplepres This month on The Juice: Katarzyna Stępień's essay, "Delivering The Delivery (La Encomienda): Dislocation, Self-Erasure, and the Quiet Violence of Migration" Read the feature and join the discussion in the comments at www.forkapplepress.or Read ethan s. evan’s poem, “the animals walked out of the burning meadow” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/ethansevans-core Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #poetry #poem Join Slice Short Story Collection Contest Winner Meg Mullins at Bookworks in Albuquerque, NM on March 3rd, 6-7:30pm for a reading of her new book, author of We Are All Having Fun Here, in celebration of its launch! She’ll be reading excerpts fr Read Dariana Guerrero’s poem, “Palabras Peligrosas” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/darianaguerrero-core Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #poetry #poem #thecorereview #fo Read Alyx Chandler’s poem, “A Tornado Touches Down in My Hometown” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/alyxchandler-core Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #poetry #poem #theco The Core Review is now accepting submissions for our fourth issue! We’re looking for poetry, prose, and visual narrative. Submissions to The Core are always free. Send us your best! Link in bio to submit on Submittable. #opensubmissions #submi This month on The Juice, Rachael Peckham’s essay, “Time and Image in the Eyes of Joan Didion and E. B. White,” examines how the passage of time can be lengthened, or shortened, in the context of image and memory. Peckham offers an a We're honored to announce that we've partnered with Bookworks @bookworksabq, a local bookshop in Albuquerque NM, for pre-orders of our 2026 winner of The Slice Short Story Collection Contest! We Are All Having Fun Here by Meg Mullins is available fo Read Shelly Rodrigue’s poem, “Crisis” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/shelly-rodrigue Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #poetry #poem #thecorereview #forkapplepress #litjo Read Elena Negrón’s prose piece, “Teeth in Rows” in The Core Review Issue 3! Read the piece online: https://tinyurl.com/elena-negron Buy the issue in print: https://tinyurl.com/thecore3 #prose #fiction #shortstory #thecore There is ONE WEEK LEFT to submit to The Slice Poetry Chapbook Contest! Submissions should be up to 35 pages of poems, in a 12-point font. Link in bio to learn more and submit. Contest winner will receive an award of $500, 10 author copies, and 25%