Bold, Boundary-blurring Fiction

THE DOPAMINE HIT | 2026

A special poetry issue about craving, compulsion, pleasure, release, and the things we keep reaching for even when we know better.

Dopamine

HIT

Explore the issue

Read Editor's Light

Enter the Smoke

________________________________________________________

Current Issue

Dopamine Hits is here.

A dopamine hit is that quick burst in the brain that calls you back. The scroll. The swipe. The binge. The craving. The loop you know you should leave, right before you ask for just one more.

This special poetry issue of Neon & Smoke lives inside that tension.

Inside, you’ll find people escaping desire and running toward it. Some are breathing heavily in parked cars. Some are at the disco. Some are trying, beautifully and painfully, to let go.

This issue is about craving, compulsion, pleasure, habit, hunger, release, and all the strange little things that keep us coming back.

We also have the pleasure of introducing two emerging poets: Dira Ya Wiranti with “The Cursor is a Hungry Heart” and Hannah Dilday with “Little Death.”

If you haven’t yet, check out our latest Editor’s Light, “I Read Your Guidelines. I Still Don’t Know What You Want.” It’s dedicated to the confusing business of trying to decide where to send your work. No, we don’t have all the answers. But we do have thoughts.

We’re also continuing to open new calls for visual art and fiction, including Soulful Things and This Time Make it Smoky. We can’t wait to see what you send us.

As always, thank you for connecting with us, reading us, and sharing your work.

Half genre / Always lit 🔥

T & J

Hannah Dilday

New Authors Spotlight

Neon & Smoke is excited to welcome two emerging poets to Dopamine Hits: Hannah Dilday with “Little Death” and Dira Ya Wiranti with “The Cursor is a Hungry Heart.”

Their poems explore desire, release, hunger, and the restless pull of wanting one more hit. We’re thrilled to introduce their work to our readers.

Dira Ya Wiranti

Where the Glow Meets the Haze

What
We
Want

Flash Fiction

Voice-driven stories with narrative stakes, emotional pressure, and language that leaves a mark.

Poetry

Poems with heat, texture, and aftertaste. Formal or experimental, but never inert.

Digital Art

Curated visual work that deepens the issue theme and adds another pulse to the publication.

Editor's Light

I Read Your Guidelines. I Still Don't Know What You Want.

Literary magazines often describe the work they want in beautiful, ambitious language—but writers can still finish reading the guidelines with no clear idea whether their story belongs. This post examines the gap between mission statements and useful submission guidance, why greater editorial transparency benefits both writers and magazines, and why sometimes the confusion is not the writer’s fault.

Aug 4

Because We All Have A Story

June holds both Pride Month and Juneteenth—vibrant celebrations of identity, community, and history. While unique, both share the vital journey of reclaiming marginalized stories. At Editor's Light, we are here for all the colors of this amazing tapestry, and we're excited to read your tales from every corner of the galaxy. Plus, we tackle the ultimate writer's question: How do I get published?

Jun 2

On First Lines (What I’ve Been Learning About Them Lately)

First lines won’t tell you everything, but they reveal more than you think. Voice, tension, intent, energy. The best stories arrive already alive, carrying a quiet charge from the start. At Neon & Smoke, we’re drawn to that pulse, that hint of promise in the opening line that says something real is about to unfold.

Apr 22

Our Story Unfolded

Neon & Smoke is a home for bold, voice-driven fiction with emotional weight and narrative fire. We publish stories that don’t sit quietly—tales where the plot might thrill, chill, or make you laugh, but always reveals something deeper. We crave characters who leap off the page, language that crackles, and stories that blur the line between genre and literary not for the sake of novelty, but it’s the most honest way to tell the truth.

Learn More