e. m. kerkman

author, artist, adventurepreneur

publication announcement: lolo’s last run

Hi everyone! I’m back with more fun news! My 2024 Dell Award Winning short story, Lolo’s Last Run, is out in Asimov’s Magazine! Lolo’s Last Run appears in the Sept/Oct 2025 “Slightly Spooky” edition of Asimov’s, and in it, a spectral paramedic rescues a dog sled team and discovers the meaning of (after)life.

Me holding my copy of Asimov’s Sept/Oct 25 in front of my local Barnes & Noble

This story is near and dear to my heart—I wrote it a few weeks after my childhood dog Chloe passed away as a way to cope with grief, and I still think it’s one of my best works to date. I can’t wait for all of you to finally be able to read it (usually Dell Award winners are posted on the Asimov’s site, but mine wasn’t, to allow me to submit it to the magazine proper).

Asimov’s Magazine can either be purchased directly from their website in digital or print format, found in Barnes and Noble in the periodicals section, or sometimes through your local bookstore.

Thanks for following along with my writing journey—fingers crossed I’ll have more good news like this to share in the future.

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One response to “publication announcement: lolo’s last run”

  1. Allison S Miller Avatar
    Allison S Miller

    Lolo’s Last Run is such a beautiful story. I had to read parts a second time to understand what was happening, and I was so moved as it dawned on me. I have been sweetly haunted by this story since I read it a few days ago.

    I lost a much beloved cat a couple of years ago and did not replace her until over a year later, but I felt her presence with me often. My deceased cat, Noel, had a unique gesture of gently biting and then holding my chin in a love bite, whenever I would pick her up and hold her close to my left shoulder. When I got the second cat, a three month old kitten, I held him like that on the left several times, but he never responded like Noel. But then one day as I was sitting in my favorite spot on my couch and he was walking by, he stopped walking, looked as if some thought had occurred to him, looked at me and then jumped into my arms, settled into my left side and gently bit me on the chin and held it a second or two. He then gave me a cat lick kiss, and got down out of my arms. He has not done it since, He is almost two years old now. I can only believe that my Noel found a way to give me one last love bite.

    Thank you for your story,

    Allison

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