The ouroboros is a challenging paradox, a snake symbolizing the cycle of life, death, and rebirth; an infinite loop of self-destruction.

Invisible City’s editorial board invites readers, in the midst of recents events of genocide and ethnic cleansing, to reflect on the complex nature of existence, how our souls relate to one another, and how we can fight the most destructive aspects of humanity.

Invisible City contributors refuse to be boxed into conventional norms. Their stories push to overcome the complex forces that populate modern society. Their voices are triumphant, defiant, and destined to be heard.

So what happens next?

Invisible City Issue 6 contributors dive into the unknown abyss that we call living. They share stories of triumph, of fear, of humanity.

There is so much world to explore, yet such limited time to do it. Stories help fill in the void. They give life a backbone, a pulse. They help us find meaning. They allow us to thrive, familiarize and connect in our increasingly global society.

Invisible City's Issue 5 contributors delve into cataclysms great and small, and examine the apocalypse as a destructive force— a prelude to rebirth, a simple subsumption.

Do we embrace our nihilism, or do we seek out sources of hope? Has love saved or degraded us? Are we pursuing a greater sense of truth, or are we chasing our own tails? Have we lost, found, or commodified faith?

As we prepare to re-enter the world—cautiously, exuberantly—we find ourselves contending with dangerously full internal backlogs. What forms do all those things, culminating inside of us, take? There is no single answer; eruption is a transitional state... Are we brand new people? Have we calcified our bad habits, or buried ourselves more deeply in our toxic relationships? Have we been thrust into a new phase of existence that forces us to re-examine how we’ve chosen to live until now? Do we want to devour everything in our path, even those we love most?

We create the space to play in. When your art starts to create shape and you’re a witness to how it transforms, a catalyst for where it lives, how does it feel?... Give us your work that shouts.

The submissions we have the honor of featuring in this issue center on the ever-shifting idea of permanence. In a time that is many things—unprecedented, chaotic, exhausting—writers in this submission cycle leaned into this unknowingness, this uncertainty, with a striking urgency.

Invisible City makes the unseen seen through words and art. From unheard voices to imagined landscapes, what was once hidden is now visible.