A vibrant showcase of international literature, The Brussels Review – Summer 2025 presents a sweeping collection of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that challenges, surprises, and endures. With contributors from five continents, this issue offers a panoramic view of contemporary literary voices, each distinct in style yet unified by a commitment to form, depth, and resonance. Highlights include: Beatriz Seelaender 's Motion Picture Sickness — A metafictional novella set in a world where actors vanish from film when they die, confronting fame, identity, and the ethics of representation. - Gaye Brown 's Some Gifts — A powerful personal essay on altruism, sacrifice, and the shifting meaning of generosity, grounded in memory and moral ambiguity. - Patrick ten Brink 's The Word Thief — A haunting tale of obsession, grief, and language, where a creature discovers that the right words can heal—or destroy. - Poetry by Sonnet Mondal , including Fragments of Life and The Biscuit Factory — meditative, atmospheric poems on memory, tradition, and decay. - Yelena Moskovich , Christina Brannon , and Paul O’Brien contribute poetic sequences that range from lyrical minimalism to textured introspection. Fiction in this issue: Hayden in March by Charles Wilkinson - Like Freedom or Fear by Danila Botha - Violent Design by Molly Collins - Please Help Yourself by Jonathan D. Scott - The Begotten One by Crystal McQueen - We’ll Ride Them Someday by Joshua Carlucci - His Last Picture in the Ashes of the Fire by Wilson Neate - I Get the Lies by Stacey Megally - The Farthest Sea by Gabrielle Glaslyn - Mrs. Purefoy by Yannick Marien - A Founding Father’s Guide to Contingency Planning by Louis Kummerer Poetry also by: Sonnet Mondal (4 poems) - Yelena Moskovich (7 poems) - Christina Brannon (3 poems) - Paul O’Brien (7 poems) Curated by Publishing Editor Dritan Kiçi and the international TBR editorial team, this issue continues The Brussels Review ’s mission to bring fearless, cross-cultural literature to the forefront. Printed in rich design and published both as eBook and in print, Summer 2025 captures a moment where boundaries dissolve and language becomes the last homeland.