In this issue, I’m sharing an eclectic group of works that took my breath away when I read them. Brit Mandelo writes of anger, domestic abuse, and retribution in “Winter Scheming.” Ian Nichols’s “In the Dark,” is a frightening tale of all-consuming darkness from a Welsh mine.

In this issue, things fall apart: Relationships, societies, religious systems. Dreams and hopes, bodies and minds all pay the price for the choices we make to try to get ahead.

One of my goals for Apex Magazine is to showcase more SF/F/H from outside the United States. This special issue, focused on international or “World” SF, is another step in that direction.

This month’s fiction emphasizes the tensions inherent in contradiction: dark and light, speech and silence, good and evil, earth and sky. Richard Bowes sketches a wedding between contemporary minions of Heaven and Hell in order to save humanity in this timestream.

This issue will get under your skin. I didn’t set out to produce a themed issue, but with two stories featuring tattoos as a central motif, the urge to pair them together was overwhelming, and I succumbed.

Goodbye, 2011. You were full of adventures through mystical labyrinths, virtual worlds, asteroid belts, massive cities, and intimate gardens.

Winter is a challenging time. While I’m not a fan of being cold, I like the sense of renewal that comes with bracing winds and clean snow that covers up the yard work I neglected to complete from the fall. It feels like a clean slate.

It’s an honor to follow Catherynne M. Valente as the editor of Apex Magazine. She did a fantastic job. Under her editorial hand and Jason Sizemore’s publishing leadership, the magazine has grown and thrived, showcasing brilliant pieces from diverse authors, and garnering critical acclaim.