The Little Matchgirl Makes Good

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new dark fantasy story, "The Little Matchgirl Makes Good." A reimagining of Hans Christian Andersen's classic fairy tale, this story follows a girl who dies selling matches in the cold but is resurrected by the Daughters of Ashes, a group that brings back forgotten girls to seek revenge on those who let them perish. Blending gothic atmosphere with social commentary and moral complexity, the story explores class warfare, justice versus vengeance, and what happens when the discarded rise up to burn down the world that discarded them. You can find the written version of "The Little Matchgirl Makes Good" right here. About the Author Jon Negroni is a Puerto Rican author based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His published books include The Pixar Theory (Slimbooks, 2015), a pop culture nonfiction, and his debut novel Killerjoy (5050 Press, 2017). His recent short fiction includes "Men Who Are Strong" (IHRAM Press) and "Upon a Dream," an original fable published in The Fairy Tale Magazine. His upcoming anthology appearances include a cryptid horror tale, a speculative fiction piece for Neon Hemlock, and a superhero story for Oddity Prodigies. He's also the co-founder of the entertainment website, InBetweenDrafts. Listen toward the end of the show for Jon’s full author’s notes on the making of this story. Read "The Little Matchgirl Makes Good" with original artwork. Explore our full archive of stories and poetry. Submit your own story to be featured on Cetera. About Cetera Cetera is a literary magazine publishing original short fiction every Thursday. Our stories span literary fiction, speculative tales, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and weird fiction. All written without AI assistance and curated by editor Natalia Emmons. Credits Host & Author: Jon Negroni Editor: Natalia Emmons Artwork: Jon Negroni Music: "Opportunity Walks" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Share This EpisodeIf you enjoyed this story, please share it with fellow story lovers. Your enthusiasm helps these stories reach new readers. Thank you!  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.