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from the desk of the GOOEY Overlord

You’re starved for fun. I can see it in your weary little eyes. You’re groveling in a poorly lit corner, mascara running down your cheeks, over someone’s latest sad attempt at pretending to be Edgar Allen Poe. Dark and ultra-meaningful art has you in an anaconda chokehold, and by gosh, it’s not going to let go until it crushes your ribs, gapes its jaw, and swallows you like a Costco hotdog.

You’ve had sad and pretentious stories rammed down your throat for years now and there’s no end in sight. You have no idea what any of it means. You’re left asking one question over and over again: was that really Casey Affleck under the bedsheet the whole time?

 

Dark stories, dark art, it’s all important, but seriously, maybe there’s room for something else? Being sad is cool. But this is GOOEY, and GOOEY has no time for that. GOOEY’s the strange, barbaric voice screaming through the night. It’s the calloused hand that slaps you across the mouth when you complain too much. It’s the cherry lips that kiss you passionately so that you’ll stop crying because you look kind of ugly when you cry. GOOEY’s made for eutherian mammals and by golly, that’s you.

 

So, it’s time to dry your bitch tears, pull up your jeggings, and read this issue of GOOEY. You’ll find stories to electrify your soul, interviews to break your heart, and art to melt your brain.

 

GOOEY is your mother, and you are its fetus. Sink into GOOEY’s placental love. Float in its amniotic fluids. Hook into its umbilical cord and let it pump self-absorbed and barbaric fun into your belly button. Come on. Don’t be a nerd. Just do it. You’ll finally be one of the cool kids.

 

With warm and rageful love,

GOOEY

The Lords of GOOEY

GOOEY is published annually by a growing body of authors, editors and visionaries. The editorial team for the autumn 2024 issue, fondly referred to as “The Overlords” are Jack Corfield, Whitley Dunn, Lee Groen, Henry Osborne, Francesca Pacchiano, Jenaya Shaw, and Sophia Wasylinko.

Jack Corfield

Jack is a non-binary meat tube from the Orion Arm. Their work in GOOEY will be lost to the heat death of the universe, whence it shall be reborn annew in the 9th dimension. Beware their contributions to Portal Magazine, the soundwaves they broadcast at The Navigator and CHLY 101.7 FM. and many future pockets of reality. Few shall survive their contributions as an editor of Honeycomb and Mastery which lie within these dripping, digital pages.

Whitley Dunn

Whitley Dunn is an official “adult” now that she officially graduated from university. Her framed BA in Creative Writing and Journalism can keep her Theatre Diploma company on the wall. She decided to take on the role of mom friend and put it into her role as Assistant Editor at GOOEY to ensure no one dies, nothing blows up, and things get posted on time.

 

Outside of GOOEY, Whit can be found filming audition tapes, acting on stage, finishing her horror movie script, and plotting her little heart out on her current novel.

 

If she’s not being productive, she’s probably playing The Sims 4 and crying over the newest update breaking all her mods. But no matter what task Whit does, an angry fur ball named Bumblebee will be seen demanding love and attention from her.

Lee Groen

Lee Groen is an author, poet, editor, and superorganism consisting of several various kinds of flora and fauna, including but not limited to: microscopic brain shrimp, a modest colony of Sitka trees, half-a-dozen domesticated foxes, an infestation of sewer rats, the eternal timeless serpent, two or three iced coffees, with a chest full of wildflowers, and arteries flowing with fresh wild salmon. In his free time, Lee enjoys reading and watching sports.

Sophia Wasylinko

Sophia Wasylinko has survived five years of university (including the Year Online) and is now roaming the Earth as a VIU Alumna. She’s returned to the chaos of family life in Kamloops and is feeding her appetite for literature (and her bank account) with a page position at the downtown library. As if that wasn’t enough, she’s juggling several writing projects, including freelance content writing for Ichigo, a fantasy novel, and her piece for this issue. Sophia has no idea where she’ll be in the next five years, but it will involve a perilous journey back to Vancouver Island (at some point). This is not her first rodeo with GOOEY and it hopefully won’t be her last.

Henry Osborne

Henry was once the Editorial Director of GOOEY, but is currently in exile in central Alberta. He hopes to one day return home and reclaim his mantle, probably by issue 3. If you listen carefully, you will hear his voice, carried across the Rockies and BC ferries like a howling wind; begging you, for the love of god, to read this issue.

Francesca Pacchiano

Fran Pacchiano took over the role of Managing Editor when it became apparent that someone needed to turn this group project into a real magazine. While the world of editorial and publishing is where she dreams of working, the reality is a lot of long, web design filled, nights and an unending amount of emails. When she's not working on GOOEY, Fran is a journalist for Take 5 Newsmagazine, a writer for The Nav, and still a student at VIU.

If she's not studying, working, or being active in the campus community; Fran can be found tending her garden. But most of all, she's looking forward to having a big, long nap.

Jenaya Shaw

Jenaya is a multi-genre writer and artist in her fourth year as a Creative Writing and Psychology major. She’s proud to represent The Nav for a third year in a row, this time as Managing Editor. She lead social media and was Art Director for Portal 2024, where her review of Burning Sage and photos such as “Match Made” and “Wall-Crawler” appear. Over the summer, she worked as an Editor for GOOEY Magazine. Now, having served as co-Program Coordinator for the Nanaimo Arts Council’s 2024 Islands Short Fiction Review, she is the leading Coordinator for Nanaimo Artwalk 2024. Jenaya spends her free time reading, drawing, playing survival horror games, and writing her novel. Her future dreams include catching rays and reporting in Australia or Taiwan.

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