Letter from the Editor

Maybe it’s much too early in the game
Ah, but I thought I’d ask you just the same
What are you doing New Year’s, New Year’s eve?
– “What are you doing New Year’s Eve” by Frank Henry Loesser, American Songwriter

For a number of years, on New Year’s Eve I found myself in a car at midnight, laughing with a friend that we were yet again late getting to whatever party  we had planned to go to. Then, there were years spent at a cabin over the holidays with a small group of family and friends. But in recent years, my favorite years, the evening has been about a good meal with loved ones, good music, and good things to read. 

What a year! In the fall of 2024, we celebrated our 15th anniversary with an anthology of some of our favorite publications since our last anthology, Citron 10: Celebrating 10 Years of the Short Form. We welcomed Carolyn Abram, Lisa Buchanan, and Gigi Guizado to our team, and said goodbye to Creative Nonfiction Editor Charlotte Hamrick, and former intern turned Poetry Editor, Levi Jessup. Lucky for us, Char still publishes book reviews and interviews on Zest. We hope to see Levi’s words on Zest someday, too. 

To our current readers and writers, thank you for spending 2024 with us. To our new readers, thank you for adding us to your Winter reading. The editors and readers have put together a wonderful winter issue with stories of reflection and healing. Also included in this issue, we are honored to share with you our nominations for Best of the Net, The Pushcart Prize, and Best Microfiction, and soon, Best Small Fictions. 

Angela M. Brommel
Editor-in-Chief
Poetry Editor
The Citron Review

INSET IMAGE ABOVE: The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Picture Collection, The New York Public Library. “With all kind wishes for the New Year.” The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1907.

Masthead

Table of Contents

Poetry

Notes on the selections by Angela M. Brommel

Creative Nonfiction

Notes on the selections by Ronit Plank

Flash Fiction

Notes on the selections by Guest Flash Fiction Editor Carolyn Abram

Micros

Notes on the selections by JR Walsh

Zest

Find our best interviews and reviews.

2024 Year End Nominations

Best of the Net Nominations 2025
Best Microfiction Nominations 2025
Pushcart Prize Nominations 2025
Best Small Fictions 2025