Kevin Sampsell

Kevin Sampsell lives in Portland, OR and runs the small press, Future Tense Books. These stories are from his new zine, The 24 Days of Xmas. His next novel, Baby in the Night, is coming out in Spring 2026 from Impeller Press.

XMAS STORIES FOR X-R-A-Y by Kevin Sampsell

December 8, 2025 · Fiction

These stories are from Kevin Sampsell’s new zine, The 24 Days of Xmas. New Smooth Santa Christmas was approaching, but Santa had no beard. He’d shaved it off that summer after his dog, Carol, gave him fleas. He thought he would be able to grow it back by the holiday season, but his face was still smooth as a baby. He couldn’t understand it. Long white beards ran in the family, from his father, Nick Sr., to his uncle, Walt, and brother, Richard. Even his sister, Nicolette, had a glorious white beard, which she often braided with garlic to…

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THE RAZOR by Kevin Sampsell

June 8, 2018 · Fiction

This is the black shirt my ex-wife gave me before the divorce. The one her father used to wear. I have another one just like it, but it has long sleeves. These short sleeves fit me better. I imagine her dad wearing it. Standing outside, on the roof of his house, a cool breeze blowing through the looseness of the cloth, against his sloping shoulders. His arms, freckled and tired at the end. Patches of gray hair, waving. I wonder if he died in this shirt. Probably not. You don’t pick a black shirt to die in. I look in…

Kevin Sampsell