Coming from Livingston Press, Spring 2026

Myskania

               Lil Chronis, a 44-year-old history professor with a distinguished career, is facing dismissal from the university after a complaint from a student that Dr. Chronis, during a conference over a term paper, claimed to have been present — physically present — at the Trojan War. The job of supporting her in the complicated disciplinary procedure for removing a tenured faculty member falls to a colleague, Bailey, who barely knows her and accepts the role of union representative reluctantly. Lil’s bizarre account of having been a girl named Myskania, who was born in Troy and lived through the 10-year siege, at first leads Bailey to think she is crazy, but her otherwise rationality and intelligence, not to say friendliness and wit, induce him to listen to her story, which is interwoven with the main narrative. The more he hears, the more fascinated he becomes with her, even as he realizes that his own good judgment is being eroded.

Cover photos and design by Mary Trevor Thomas.