Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new short story "Second Run," which was published on January 15, 2026. He also shares his author's notes on the story behind this story.

You can find the written version right here.

About the Author

Jon Negroni is a Puerto Rican author and illustrator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His published books include The Pixar Theory (Slimbooks, 2015) and his debut fantasy novel Killerjoy (5050 Press, 2017). He's published short fiction for IHRAM Press, The Fairy Tale Magazine, The Vanity Papers, Discretionary Love, and many more. He’s the chief editor of Cetera Magazine, and his work has appeared or is forthcoming in several anthologies, including Neon Hemlock, Oddity Prodigies, Sinister Smile Press, Inked in Gray, and Speculation Publications. He was a finalist for the 2025 BCLF Elizabeth Caribbean-American Writer’s Prize, received an honorable mention for the Rhonda Gail Williford Award for Poetry, and is a Best American Short Stories 2025–nominated writer.
Explore our full archive of stories and poetry.
Submit your own story to be featured on Cetera.

About Cetera Magazine

We publish 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: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Share This Episode
If you enjoyed this story, please share it with fellow story lovers. Your enthusiasm helps these stories reach new readers. Thank you!

Welcome back to Worlds Without Warning. This week, Jon Negroni reads aloud his new short story "Second Run," which was published on January 15, 2026. He also shares his author's notes on the story behind this story.
You can find the written version <a href="https://www.ceteramagazine.com/second-run/">right here.</a>
About the Author
Jon Negroni is a Puerto Rican author and illustrator based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His published books include The Pixar Theory (Slimbooks, 2015) and his debut fantasy novel Killerjoy (5050 Press, 2017). He's published short fiction for IHRAM Press, The Fairy Tale Magazine, The Vanity Papers, Discretionary Love, and many more. He&rsquo;s the chief editor of Cetera Magazine, and his work has appeared or is forthcoming in several anthologies, including Neon Hemlock, Oddity Prodigies, Sinister Smile Press, Inked in Gray, and Speculation Publications. He was a finalist for the 2025 BCLF Elizabeth Caribbean-American Writer&rsquo;s Prize, received an honorable mention for the Rhonda Gail Williford Award for Poetry, and is a Best American Short Stories 2025&ndash;nominated writer.
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.ceteramagazine.com">Explore our full archive</a> of stories and poetry.</li>
<li><a href="https://www.ceteramagazine.com/submit-to-cetera/">Submit your own story</a> to be featured on Cetera.</li>
</ul>
About Cetera Magazine
We publish 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
<ul>
<li>Host &amp; Author: Jon Negroni</li>
<li>Editor: Natalia Emmons</li>
<li>Artwork: Jon Negroni</li>
<li>Music: "Magic Escape Room" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0&nbsp;<a href="Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/</a></li>
</ul>
Share This Episode If you enjoyed this story, please share it with fellow story lovers. Your enthusiasm helps these stories reach new readers. Thank you!

In a world that's always on fire, Thank God For Movies. Formerly known as Cinemaholics, join film critics Jon Negroni and Will Ashton as they discuss the latest films coming to theaters or streaming online.

In a world that's always on fire, Thank God For Movies. Formerly known as Cinemaholics, join film critics Jon Negroni and Will Ashton as they discuss the latest films coming to theaters or streaming online.