Looking for love in underwater places

August is here. In our area of the world, it’s a hot, humid, slow time of year, perfect for contemplating big questions. In this issue our biggest area of reflection is romantic love. Mermaid stories often deal with that, and we wanted to look at many of the different ways that can manifest. From Carrie Sessarego’s essay about Hans Christian Andersen’s influence on mer love stories to Mami Wata and La Sirena, we travel many oceans and see different ways for mermaids of all kinds to flirt, date, marry, and more.

We know not everyone is interested in romance. Ace and Aro friends, we see you! This chonky issue has other good stuff in it, too! We’ve also got a reflection on family (bio and found) and acceptance (self and societal) in a beautiful story by Ann LeBlanc, a journey into the underworld by the queen of the Deadlands herself: E. Catherine Tobler, a dip into dreams with a colorful comic by Mila Nowak, an Each to Each that explores disability and empowerment in one way, and a reprinted essay by Elsa Sjunneson that looks at those ideas in a different way–and yes, that last one ties it back to romantic love. All this and MORE! Lots of wonders to discover in our August seas. We hope you will follow Mariana Palova’s stunning mer on our cover into the depths to discover their mysteries.

Below you’ll find 20 pieces of mermaid magic that will help you navigate the end of the summer, and perhaps some of your feelings.