TDDR
Webby Award honoree for Best Cultural Website
& OTHER ATTABOYS
hell0
So, who is this Keith Hoerner anyway? Well, I'm a micromaniac Midwesterner who happens to be one of 11 kids, so I 'know how to share, you could say.' LOL. I have a fraternal twin brother: he, 'left-brained,' a judge—and me, 'right-brained,' an advertising-industry creative. Also, a lifelong learner. Which explains why after earning my BS and MFA degrees, I decided at the age of 61 to earn a PhD Degree with my dissertation focusing on literary minimalism, of course! At 64, I recently made the jump from PhD Student to PhD Candidate with just my dissertation to complete. So, don't be surprised if you're asked to complete a survey in the future. :) My wife and I, and our Chiweenie Ruby, reside in Southern Illinois, USA, under the shade of the Shawnee National Forest.
A Letter from the Editor
s we celebrate six years of biannual publication and the curating of nearly 600 stunning stories to tickle the fancies and wrench the hearts of readers far and wide, we invite you to check out the Readership/ Authors Tab for a list of all dribblers/drabblers featured within these pages since our founding in 2020 (not yet incl. those featured in our current issue, but I'll get to it between schoolwork)! We are honored to have showcased your work. True little-ature. Tales with BIG arms. Appendages that picked us up and carried us away on journeys so unexpected, so deftly imagined, to speak of their slightness is akin to appraising a diamond's size with no thought of value for its multifaceted cut and color. Without a doubt, the less-is-more maxim stands true.
With approximately 5,000 like-kinded lit mags in existence per Duotrope, we are proud to be ranked recently among the Top 10% of the finest indie story houses according to Fiction on the Web's rigorous vetting system. :) And in other award circles, we still bring home the bacon as well for the visual sizzle and quality of writing our TDDR
design team and authors consistently serve up. But where would authors be without their readers? Thank you,
readers, for your unwavering support. You have been the impetus behind our increasing circulation (TDDR has
seen an exponentially robust following now spanning nearly 80% of the global community, year over year 12/24-12/25).
There's a lot to enjoy in this Summer Scroll Issue XII. Dig into new fare (sure to join other TDDR authors featured in award-season anthologies). And mark your calendars; Issue XIII of TDDR will release in Winter '27.
As usual, for now, that's the long—and short—of it.
A
"Study literature," they said,
"it'll transform you"
