In the summer of 2025, novelist and librarian Jesi Bender released her fourth book, Child of Light. Set in 1896 upstate New York, the novel follows Ambrétte Memenon as she reunites with her family amid a world transformed by both spiritualism and the rise of electrification. Blending mysticism and science, Bender captures the way history has often entwined belief and fact. In this interview, she speaks with managing editor Wesley R. Bishop about her background, her craft, and the inspirations behind her latest work. The following has been edited for clarity and length.

Rekha Nath recently published a book, Why It’s OK to Be Fat (Routledge, 2024). The book critically engages with dominant narratives concerning how our society approaches being fat. After raising problems for popular anti-fat narratives, Nath offers an account of how we should instead approach fatness. The piece below is a talk that she gave at Jacksonville State University’s Spring 2025 Kaleidoscope public humanities lecture series. It draws significantly from the book.

On June 14, 2025, millions gathered across the United States and around the world for the largest single-day political protest in American history. The No Kings in America demonstrations, captured in this striking photo essay, responded to President Donald Trump's perceived authoritarianism and the display of military power during the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary parade—held pointedly on Trump’s 79th birthday. From small towns to major cities, and from D.C. to around the world, demonstrators marched under the banner of “No Kings,” rejecting billionaire-first politics, militarized democracy, and executive overreach. Organized in part by the grassroots 50501 Movement, the protests united a diverse coalition around a shared demand: no return to monarchy in spirit or practice. Though most events remained peaceful, clashes—including a deadly shooting in Salt Lake City—underscored the tension of the moment. These photographs document the courage, grief, creativity, and clarity of a public unwilling to be ruled.

North Meridian Press will continue to publish submissions for this series on a rolling basis.