Welcome to issue forty-nine of Fantasy Magazine! Here’s what we’ve got on tap this month:

April 4

Do you remember reading the Choose Your Own Adventure stories as a kid? Well, in Kat Howard’s “Choose Your Own Adventure,” you can’t cheat and peek at the endings before you make your choice—and the stakes are life and death.

In the related nonfiction, Molly Tanzer looks into the history of the Choose Your Own Adventure franchise in her article “Choosing Our Own Adventures,” where the series’ authors and readers weigh in with their experiences making their way through those childhood favorites.

April 11

Magic and myth collide in Peter S. Beagle’s “The Woman Who Married the Man in the Moon.” When two children bring home a wandering magician named Schmendrick, their mother and the stranger spin stories all night … stories that hide and reveal remarkable truths. (Reprint)

In our feature interview this month, reviewer Paul Goat Allen profiles N. K. Jemisin, whose first novel The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms is a finalist for this year’s Nebula Award.

April 18

Jonathan L. Howard has written several stories and novels featuring Johannes Cabal, necromancer extraordinaire. But in the tale “House of Gears,” Cabal’s expertise in the dark arts offers little help when he faces down a mad scientist with a thirst for immortality.

Music boxes and robotic dogs are the vestiges of a long tradition of mechanical wonders. Genevieve Valentine takes us on a journey through the centuries in “A Silver Swan,” exploring the fantastic history of the automaton.

April 25

Hunting unicorns is a lucrative business for the right team of hunter and bait. In Carrie Vaughn’s “The Hunter’s Ode to His Bait,” one hunter and his maiden assistant decide to wrap up their careers in a dangerous quest for the ultimate unicorn. (Reprint)

In “The Unicorn Tapestries and Other Depictions,” Helen Pilinovsky digs into the changing history of the meaning of unicorns. Who knew that one horn could be attached to so many different symbols?

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That about does it for our fiction and nonfiction selections for April, but be sure to also look for our author and artist spotlights, and keep an ear out for our podcasts. Thanks for reading!