It begins with a walk in the bazaar, but soon grows into a tale unlike any other told in the caliph's empire. It's a story that includes not just buried treasure and a band of thieves, but also men haunted by their past and others trapped by their future; it includes not just a beloved wife and a veiled seductress, but also long journeys taken by caravan and even longer ones taken with a single step. Above all, it's a story about recognizing the will of Allah and accepting it, no matter what form it takes.

    In this brilliant translation by Matvei Yankelevich, English-language readers now have a comprehensive collection of the prose and poetry that secured Kharms s literary reputation a reputation that grew in Russia even as the Soviet establishment worked to suppress it.A master of formally inventive poetry and what today would be called micro-fiction, Kharms built off the legacy of Russian Futurist writers to create a uniquely deadpan style written out of and in spite of the absurdities of life in Stalinist Russia. Featuring the acclaimed novella The Old Woman and darkly humorous short prose sequence Events (Sluchai), Today I Wrote Nothing also includes dozens of short prose pieces, plays, and poems long admired in Russia, but never before available in English. A major contribution for American readers and students of Russian literature and an exciting discovery for fans of contemporary writers as eclectic as George Saunders, John Ashbery, and Martin McDonagh, Today I Wrote Nothing is an invaluable collection for readers of innovative writing everywhere.About the EditorMATVEI YANKELEVICH is also a co-translator of Oberiu: An Anthology of Russian Absurdism (2006). His translation of the Vladimir Mayakovsky's poem "Cloud in Pants" appears in Night Wraps the Sky: Writings by and About Mayakovsky. He is the author of a long poem, The Present Work, and his writing has appeared in Fence, Open City, and many other literary journals. He teaches Russian Literature at Hunter College in New York City and edits the Eastern European Poets Series at Ugly Duckling Press in Brooklyn.

    In these four stories, Stefan Zweig shows his gift for the acute analysis of emotional dilemmas. His four tragic and moving cameos of the human condition are played out against cosmopolitan and colonial backgrounds in the first half of the twentieth century.

    Klinger's brilliant new annotations of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's classic Holmes short stories in 2004 created a Holmes sensation. Available again in an attractively-priced edition identical to the first, except this edition has no outer slipcase (Volume One is available separately).Inside, readers will find all the short stories from The Return of Sherlock Holmes, His Last Bow and The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes, with a cornucopia of insights: beginners will benefit from Klinger's insightful biographies of Holmes, Watson, and Conan Doyle; history lovers will revel in the wealth of Victorian literary and cultural details; Sherlockian fanatics will puzzle over tantalizing new theories; art lovers will thrill to the 450-plus illustrations, which make this the most lavishly illustrated edition of the Holmes tales ever produced. The New Annotated Sherlock Holmes illuminates the timeless genius of Arthur Conan Doyle for an entirely new generation of readers.

    A man takes up scuba diving in the town reservoir to fight off a killing depression. A grieving mother leads a surveyor into the woods to name once and for all the county where her son was murdered by thieves.In the Appalachia of Ron Rash's stories, the collision of the old and new south, of antique and modern, resonate with the depth and power of ancient myths.

    Reflective and often humorous, these tales reveal an enormous amount about Japanese culture, while the inner struggles of the characters always strike the universal.

    Here are the best stories and every major writer who ever appeared in celebrated Pulps like Black Mask, Dime Detective, Detective Fiction Weekly, and more. These are the classic tales that created the genre and gave birth to hard-hitting detectives who smoke criminals like packs of cigarettes; sultry dames whose looks are as lethal as a dagger to the chest; and gin-soaked hideouts where conversations are just preludes to murder. This is crime fiction at its gritty best.Including:• Three stories by Raymond Chandler, Cornell Woolrich, Erle Stanley Gardner, and Dashiell Hammett.• Complete novels from Carroll John Daly, the man who invented the hard-boiled detective, and Fredrick Nebel, one of the masters of the form.• A never before published Dashiell Hammett story.• Every other major pulp writer of the time, including Paul Cain, Steve Fisher, James M. Cain, Horace McCoy, and many, many more of whom you’ve probably never heard.• Three deadly sections–The Crimefighters, The Villains, and Dames–with three unstoppable introductions by Harlan Coben, Harlan Ellison, and Laura LippmanFeaturing:• Plenty of reasons for murder, all of them good.• A kid so smart–he’ll die of it.• A soft-hearted loan shark’s legman learning–the hard way–never to buy a strange blonde a hamburger.• The uncanny “Moon Man” and his mad-money victims.

    She kisses like a movie star and knows everything about every film ever made. She's also dead and waiting in the Rosebud Theater for Alec Sheldon one afternoon in 1945. . . .Arthur Roth is a lonely kid with big ideas and a gift for attracting abuse. It isn't easy to make friends when you're the only inflatable boy in town. . . .Francis is unhappy. Francis was human once, but that was then. Now he's an eight-foot-tall locust and everyone in Calliphora will tremble when they hear him sing. . . .John Finney is locked in a basement that's stained with the blood of half a dozen other murdered children. In the cellar with him is an antique telephone, long since disconnected, but which rings at night with calls from the dead. . . .

    This book collects sixteen wondrous stories of fantasy, science fiction, horror and things in between from the imagination of award-winning fictionist Dean Francis Alfar.

    Ghosts, ghouls, incubi: all have one thing in common. They know Booth for one of their own . . .

    But as the stories unfold, a newer and more surprising narrative emerges, one that is perhaps the most frightening of all.

    Winner of the Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy and Edgar awards, his acclaimed first book The Dying Earth and its sequels helped shape the face of modern heroic fantasy for generations of readers—and writers! In more than sixty novels, he has done more than any other author to define science fantasy and its preeminent form: the planetary adventure.Born in San Francisco in 1916, Vance wrote much of what you'll find between these covers both abroad and at home in the hills above Oakland, either while serving in the merchant marine or traveling the world with his wife Norma, all the while pursuing his great love of fine cuisine and traditional jazz.Now, at last, the very best of Vance's mid-length and shorter work has been collected in a single landmark volume. With a Preface by Vance himself and a foreword by long-time Vance reader George R.R. Martin, it stands as the capstone to a splendid career and makes the perfect introduction to a very special writer.Table of ContentsPreface, Jack VanceJack Vance: An Appreciation, George R.R. MartinIntroduction: Fruit from the Tree of LifeThe Dragon MastersLiane the WayfarerSail 25The Gift of GabThe Miracle WorkersGuyal of SfereNoiseThe Kokod WarriorsThe OverworldThe Men ReturnThe Sorcerer PharesmThe New PrimeThe SecretThe Moon MothThe Bagful of DreamsThe MitrMorreionThe Last CastleBiographical Sketch & Other Facts, Jack Vance

    His collections are among the most admired, influential, and exciting of the last half century. The Collected Stories brings them back into print, from the astonishing debut Going Places (1969) to the uncollected last stories, unavailable since they appeared in The New Yorker, Threepenny Review, and Partisan Review.At every stage in his career, Michaels produced taut, spare tales of sex, love, and other adult intimacies: gossip, argument, friendship, guilt, rage. A fearless writer—"destructive, joyful, brilliant, purely creative," in the words of John Hawkes—Michaels probed his characters' motivations with brutal humor and startling frankness; his ear for the vernacular puts him in the company of Philip Roth, Grace Paley, and Bernard Malamud. Remarkable for its compression and cadences, his prose is nothing short of addictive.The Collected Stories is a landmark."Leonard Michaels's stories stand alongside those of his best Jewish contemporaries -- Grace Paley and Philip Roth." -- Mona Simpson, The New York Times Book Review

    This short story was originally published in Joe Hill's collection 20TH CENTURY GHOSTS.

    They stay with you like a significant memory.”—Roger Rosenblatt“Van Booy is a remarkable young writer. Taste, touch, smell, sight and sound, in spite of their evanescence, are frozen for a moment in these stories and celebrated, along with their subtle interconnection, in all the aspects of love.”—Fred VolkmerThe Secret Lives of People in Love is the first short story collection by award-winning writer Simon Van Booy. These stories, set in Kentucky, New York, Paris, Rome, and Greece, are a perfect synthesis of grace, intensity, atmosphere, and compassion. Love, loss, frailty, human contact, and isolation are Van Booy’s themes. In radiant prose he writes about the difficult choices we make in order to retain our humanity and about the redemptive power of love in a violent world.Born in London, Simon Van Booy grew up in Wales. A keen rugby player, he was recruited to play football for Campbellsville University in Kentucky. He eventually returned to England, where he graduated from Dartington College of Arts. Now a New Yorker, he teaches at the School of Visual Arts and in the Bard College Clemente Course. As a freelance journalist, he writes for several New York newspapers. He has won a first-place award for in-depth reporting from the New York Press Association.

    From the end of a relationship to the meaning behind its title, this anthology continually surprises and subverts, utilizing topics such as alien intelligence, reincarnation, imaginary children, and even conversations with Hitler’s childhood pet. Engaging and diverse, this compendium offers a fascinating perspective on mortality.

    The Stories Patricia (The Coast) The Math Building 1e4 (Eyeshot) This is Math Historians and Degenerates (Strange Horizons) The Machine (Strange Horizons) Red Delicious XXX (The Coast) One Foot Underwater The Birthday Girl The Underwear Model Giraffes and Everything Where are You Off to Now? (Terminus 1525) Cry Me a River

    P. Lovecraft's "Pickman's model" - was nominated for a World Fantasy Award, while "Proboscis" was nominated for an International Horror Guild award and reprinted in The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror 19. In addition to his previously published work, this collection contains an original story.

    His stories have since appeared in The New Yorker and in the Granta Book of the Irish Short Story. His debut novel, City Of Bohane, was published by Jonathan Cape in April 2011. Could easily have been titled These Are Little Masterpieces'. Barry gathers all the bewildered exasperation that Irish playwrights from Tom Murphy to Marina Carr and Enda Walsh have identified, and brings it, most brilliantly, to his dark, blackly hilarious and horrifically realistic narratives.'-Eileen Battersby, The Irish Times

    Manguso’s Hard to Admit and Harder to Escape is a series of crystalline recollections of her childhood misadventures; Eggers’ How the Water Feels to the Fishes brings a deadpan absurdism to the intimacy and vision of his earlier work; and Unferth’s rollicking Minor Robberies unleashes a horde of off-kilter characters and their indelible misadventures. Each author’s work comes in its own hardcover, foil-stamped volume, and the three volumes are housed in an elegant slipcase.

    For over two decades, the late Marion Zimmer Bradley, best-selling and beloved author, discovered and nurtured a new generation of authors. The roster of contributors over the years includes Mercedes Lackey, Laurell K. Hamilton, Charles de Lint, Diana L. Paxson, Emma Bull, Jennifer Roberson, and countless others. The original stories featured here include such stellar authors as Esther M. Friesner, Deborah J. Ross, Dave Smeds, and exciting newcomers whose voices are sure to be heard again. Enter a wondrous universe...Volume 22 includes stories by Esther M. Friesner, Patricia B. Cirone, Catherine Soto, Margaret L. Carter, Deborah J. Ross, Kimberly L. Maughan, Dave Smeds, Jonathan Moeller, Catherine Mintz, Alanna Morland, Marian Allen, Heather Rose Jones, Michael Spence, Elisabeth Waters, T. Borregaard, Robert E. Vardeman, and Sarah Dozier.

    Howard. From his fecund imagination sprang an army of larger-than-life heroes–including the iconic Conan the Cimmerian, King Kull of Atlantis, Solomon Kane, and Bran Mak Morn–as well as adventures that would define a genre for generations. Now comes the second volume of this author’s breathtaking short fiction, which runs the gamut from sword and sorcery, historical epic, and seafaring pirate adventure to two-fisted crime and intrigue, ghoulish horror, and rip-roaring western.Kull reigns supreme in “By This Axe I Rule!” and “The Mirrors of Tuzan Thune”; Conan conquers in one of his most popular exploits, “The Tower of the Elephant”; Solomon Kane battles demons deep in Africa in “Wings in the Night”; and itinerant boxer Steve Costigan puts up his dukes of steel inside and outside the ring in “The Bulldog Breed.” In between, warrior kings, daring knights, sinister masterminds, grizzled frontiersmen–even Howard’s stunning heroine, Red Sonya–tear up the pages in stories built to thrill by their masterly creator. And in such epic poems as “Echoes from an Anvil,” “Black Harps in the Hills,” and “The Grim Land,” the author blends his classic characters and visceral imagery with a lyricism as haunting as traditional folk balladry. Lavishly illustrated by Jim and Ruth Keegan, here is a Robert E. Howard collection as indispensable as it is unforgettable.“Howard had a gritty, vibrant style–broadsword writing that cut its way to the heart, with heroes who are truly larger than life.”–David Gemmell“For stark, living fear . . . What other writer is even in the running with Robert E. Howard?”–H. P. Lovecraft

    A charming and elegant tale of a young girl raised by feral librarians.

    

    Dorothy Whipple's key theme is ‘Live and Let Live’. And what she describes throughout her short stories are people, and particularly parents, who defy this maxim. For this reason her work is timeless, like all great writing. It is irrelevant that Dorothy Whipple’s novels were set in an era when middle-class women expected to have a maid; when fish knives were used for eating fish; when children did what they were told. The moral universe she creates has not changed: there are bullies in every part of society; people try their best but often fail; they would like to be unselfish but sometimes are greedy.

    Get me the money I had kept with you, will give it to him. At least we will live in peace.” Munni was sweeping the floor, she turned and replied, “We have just three rupees. JUST THREE RUPEES.” Her anger was evident in her tone, “We have kept it to buy a blanket for the upcoming winters. How will we survive these brutal wintry nights, if we give our savings to him? Tell him, we will pay him when we sell our crop. We don’t have anything for him right now!” Halku stood there not knowing what to do. He tried to put his thoughts in order, so as to take a decision. Winter season was at its peak and without a blanket there was no way he could sleep out in the open, guarding his fields all through the night. But he knew that refusing the money monger would be even worse. He thought, it was better to die in the open field under the dark sky than listening to the abuses being hurled at him. Clear in his mind now, he dragged his hefty self towards Munni and with a fake smile said, “Come on, Munni. Give it to me. At least it will take the moneylender off my neck. I will think of something and get the blanket.” But Munni was in no mood to listen to his fake promises. She moved away from him and said, “Am fed up of you and your assurances. Tell me, what you are going to do about the blanket. Who will give it to you for free? Who knows, how fierce it’s gonna be for us? We survived the last time, but this time it will kill us.” She paused for a second, and continued, “Why don’t you leave farming? Are we going to live like this forever? We work our asses out to grow these bloody crops but what happens when the time for harvest comes? These morons line up outside our house and take away all that we have. For God’s sake, do something else. Earn some money and do whatever you want to of it. I am not going to give even a damn penny to them.”

    American Supernatural Tales celebrates the richness of this tradition with chilling contributions from some of the nation’s brightest literary lights, including Poe himself, H. P. Lovecraft, Shirley Jackson, Ray Bradbury, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and—of course— Stephen King. By turns phantasmagoric, spectral, and demonic, this is a frighteningly good addition to Penguin Classics.

    Enjoy!

    When a handsome, longhaired hippie shows up outside Ernie's Poolroom, Annie is smitten by his exotic good looks and long black hair. The local boys just want to beat him up, but before they can, the stranger suggests an irresistible contest, which reveals that he may be even more mysterious than he appears.

    Ehrhardt’s stories, adultery and impropriety become disquietingly mundane. Mothers expect daughters to be complicit in their love affairs, children seek shelter in families that aren’t their own, fathers court their daughters, a couple enters into a marriage that lasts thirty days a year, and a young girl takes to the road with the simple guy who bags groceries at Piggly Wiggly while her mother imagines her safely at school. Beautifully restrained and shot through with tenderness, Famous Fathers and Other Stories establishes Ehrhardt as both a leading practitioner of the short story and an empathetic interpreter of the lives of wounded people who–instead of asking for what they want–take what is offered.

    M. Montgomery, (1874-1942) was a Canadian author, best known for a series of novels beginning with Anne of Green Gables (1908). In 1893, following the completion of her grade school education in Cavendish, she attended Prince of Wales College in Charlottetown. Completing a two year program in one year, she obtained her teaching certificate. In 1895 and 1896 she studied literature at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. After working as a teacher in various island schools, in 1898 Montgomery moved back to Cavendish. For a short time in 1901 and 1902 she worked in Halifax for the newspapers Chronicle and Echo. She returned to live with and care for her grandmother in 1902. Montgomery was inspired to write her first books during this time on Prince Edward Island. Her works include: The Story Girl (1911), Chronicles of Avonlea (1912), The Golden Road (1913), Anne of the Island (1915), Anne's House of Dreams (1917), Rainbow Valley (1919), Further Chronicles of Avonlea (1920) and Rilla of Ingleside (1921).

    A stunning collection of new and rare stories by Gary Lutz, the celebrated author of Stories in the Worst Way and I Looked Alive.

    Short and punchy, these stories show the cumulative effects of heartbreak and simple dreams while keeping a reserve of hope in even the darkest of circumstances.

    Operating somewhere between fiction and poetry, biography and theory, the stories in ATTEMPTS AT A LIFE do what lively stories do best, creating worlds of possibility, worlds filled with surprises. Like the "experiments in found movement" one character conducts (in "Everybody's Autobiography"), Dutton's stories find movement wherever they turn, each sentence a small explosion of images and anthems and odd juxtapositions. This is writing in which the imagination (both writer's and reader's) is capable of producing almost anything at any moment, from a shiny penny to an alien metropolis, a burning village to a bright green bird. "Danielle Dutton's stories remind me of those alluring puzzles where the pool is overflowing and emptying at the same time. Dutton's answer? That the self is a rush of the languages of storytelling and moments of helpless intimacy"--Robert Gluck.

    The eight stories, reprinted for the first time in this collection delve further into the history and exploits of the Company and its operatives, including Mendoza, Lewis, and Alec. The book opens with the novella, "To the Land Beyond the Sunset," starring Lewis and Mendoza, and involving a strange tribe in Bolivia whose members claim to be gods. Their ability to grow a small tropical paradise in the middle of the desert certainly seems godlike, and it's Mendoza's job to figure what their secret is."Standing in His Light" features Van Drouten, and her role in the career of the artist Jan Vermeer. The story illustrates how, with a little help from the Company, lost masterpieces can be found (or created) easily. Other stories include "Welcome to Olympus, Mr. Hearst," which opens up intriguing questions about The Company, and the original novelette, "Hellfire at Twilight," which concludes the volume and tells of Lewis infiltrating the famous Hellfire Club in the England of the 18th century. This book is a compelling read for every Baker fan, and essential for Company addicts

    Writing, Lamb discovered, was a way for these women to confront painful memories, face their fears and their failures, and begin to imagine better lives. The New York Times described the book as "Gut-tearing tales . . . the unvarnished truth." The Los Angeles Times said of it, "Lying next to and rising out of despair, hope permeates this book."Now Lamb returns with I'll Fly Away, a new volume of intimate, searching pieces from the York workshop. Here, twenty women—eighteen inmates and two of Lamb's cofacilitators—share the experiences that shaped them from childhood and that haunt and inspire them to this day. These portraits, vignettes, and stories depict with soul-baring honesty how and why women land in prison—and what happens once they get there. The stories are as varied as the individuals who wrote them, but each testifies to the same core truth: the universal value of knowing oneself and changing one's life through the power of the written word.

    The natural and the supernatural. Cal McDonald is a detective with one foot in the real world, and one in the world of magic. For Cal, the horrors we all dream about in the fevered darkness of the night are all too real, kept at bay through an almost constant influx of drugs to numb the pain, but never erase it.

    

    In this honest, emotionally captivating short story collection, renowned author and National Book Award finalist Julie Anne Peters offers a stunning portrayal of young women as they navigate the hurdles of relationships and sexual identity.From the young lesbian taking her first steps toward coming out to the two strangers who lock eyes across a crowded train, from the transgender teen longing for a sense of self to the girl whose abusive father has turned her to stone, Peters is the master of creating characters whose own vulnerability resonates with readers and stays with them long after the last page is turned.Grl2grl shows the rawness of teenage emotion as young girls become women and begin to discover the intricacies of love, dating and sexuality.

    Levine * Paul J. McAuley * Mary Rosenblum * Daryl Gregory * Jack Skillingstead * Paolo Bacigalupi * Greg Egan * Elizabeth Bear * Sarah Monette * Ken MacLeod * Stephen Baxter * Carolyn Ives Gilman * John Barnes * A.M. DellamonicaSupplementing the stories are the editor's insightful summation of the year's events and a list of honorable mentions, making this book a valuable resource in addition to serving as the single best place in the universe to find stories that stir the imagination and the heart. Contentsxiii • Summation: 2006 • (2007) • essay by Gardner Dozois1 • I, Row-Boat • (2006) • novelette by Cory Doctorow28 • Julian: A Christmas Story • (2006) • novella by Robert Charles Wilson66 • Tin Marsh • (2006) • novelette by Michael Swanwick81 • The Djinn's Wife • [India 2047] • (2006) • novelette by Ian McDonald112 • The House Beyond Your Sky • (2006) • shortstory by Benjamin Rosenbaum121 • Where the Golden Apples Grow • (2006) • novella by Kage Baker164 • Kin • (2006) • shortstory by Bruce McAllister172 • Signal to Noise • (2006) • novelette by Alastair Reynolds204 • The Big Ice • (2006) • shortstory by Jay Lake and Ruth Nestvold221 • Bow Shock • (2006) • novelette by Gregory Benford251 • In the River • (2006) • shortstory by Justin Stanchfield266 • Incarnation Day • (2006) • novella by Walter Jon Williams295 • Far As You Can Go • (2006) • shortstory by Greg van Eekhout305 • Good Mountain • (2005) • novella by Robert Reed350 • I Hold My Father's Paws • (2006) • shortstory by David D. Levine360 • Dead Men Walking • (2006) • novelette by Paul J. McAuley374 • Home Movies • (2006) • novelette by Mary Rosenblum395 • Damascus • (2006) • novelette by Daryl Gregory418 • Life on the Preservation • (2006) • shortstory by Jack Skillingstead431 • Yellow Card Man • [The Windup Universe] • (2006) • novelette by Paolo Bacigalupi457 • Riding the Crocodile • (2005) • novella by Greg Egan492 • The Ile of Dogges • (2006) • shortstory by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette499 • The Highway Men • (2006) • novelette by Ken MacLeod524 • The Pacific Mystery • (2006) • shortstory by Stephen Baxter540 • Okanoggan Falls • (2006) • novelette by Carolyn Ives Gilman566 • Every Hole Is Outlined • (2006) • novelette by John Barnes589 • The Town on Blighted Sea • (2006) • shortstory by A. M. Dellamonica606 • Nightingale • [Revelation Space] • (2006) • novella by Alastair Reynolds653 • Honorable Mentions: 2006 • (2007) • essay by Gardner Dozois

    These unflinching tales, including three original pieces, consider a woman born with her heart exposed and the heartless killer who protects her; a wolf who is willingly ensnared by a devious academic; a businessman resurrected to play at politics; and an ingenious mouse dreaming beyond the laboratory. With the perceptiveness of Joyce Carol Oates, the inventiveness of Ray Bradbury, and the emotional resonance of Alice Sebold, The Fate of Mice is a meditation on the very art of storytelling: mythic, beautiful, and often brutal, filled with authentic compassion.

    This story was originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction magazine in March 2007. It is available in The Best of Elizabeth Bear.

    Mysticism, heroism, cruelty, and compassion thread through these multifaceted tales — which range from the origins of the Manhattan Project to a culinary object-lesson, from 1950s corruption to a slight glitch in Creation. Collected here for the first time and including an excerpt from her breakout first novel The Green Glass Sea, and an introduction from Neil Gaiman, these stories are timeless and delightful, chilling and beautiful.

    Anansi. Brer Rabbit. Trickster characters have long been a staple of folk literature, and are a natural choice for the overarching subject of acclaimed editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling's third mythic anthology. The Coyote Road features a remarkable range of authors, each with his or her fictional look at a trickster character. These authors include Holly Black (The Spiderwick Chronicles), Charles de Lint (The Blue Girl), Ellen Klages (The Green Glass Sea), Kelly Link (Magic for Beginners), Patricia A. McKillip (Old Magic), and Jane Yolen. Terri Windling provides a comprehensive introduction to the trickster myths of the world, and the entire book is highlighted by the remarkable decorations of Charles Vess. The Coyote Road is essential reading for anyone interested in contemporary fantastic fiction.

    Covering an array of themes--horror, romance,humor,crime and mystery--these tales form an electric blend in this book..

    A short story that is exploring the consequences of Simulation Argument for a deterministic universe.

    " Macdonald (born Kenneth Millar) also wrote several novelettes and short-stories involving Southern California private-detective Lew Archer. "The Archer Files" for the first time collects all the brief Archer fiction: the stories from Macdonald s 1955 paperback-original "The Name Is Archer," the additional tales included in the Otto Penzler-edited 1977 volume "Lew Archer: Private Investigator," and the three then-unknown novellas presented in Crippen & Landru s 2001 book "Strangers in Town." Also included in "The Archer Files" are several lengthy, never-before-published fragments of unfinished Macdonald stories: case notes, as it were, from the files of Lew Archer. Edited by Macdonald biographer Tom Nolan, "The Archer Files" is prefaced with Nolan s biographical sketch of Lew Archer himself -- the character Eudora Welty described as "a champion" and "a distinguished creation ... As a detective and as a man he takes the human situation with full seriousness. " Jeff Wong s cover is adapted from the 1955 paperback original, but depicting Ross Macdonald rather than Lew Archer.

    Gerry Weiss & Helen S. Weiss; Tor Books, 2007.Set in Newford during 1967's Summer of Love, Beirut-born teen Dharma, runs away from his Muslim home and reinvents himself as a hippie poet-musician. Street-busking one day at an impromptu music jam, Dharma meets a lovely young hippie girl called Button. Love is in the air. Button and Dharma share a gorgeous, magical night at a huge music festival. But is this newfound love as perfect it seems?

    Since then her work has been translated throughout the world. Edna O'Brien has called Tolstaya "an enchantress." Anita Desai has spoken of her work's "richness and ardent life." Mixing heartbreak and humor, dizzying flights of fantasy and plunging descents to earth, Tolstaya is the natural successor in a great Russian literary lineage that includes Gogol, Yuri Olesha, Bulgakov, and Nabokov.White Walls is the most comprehensive collection of Tolstaya's short fiction to be published in English so far. It presents the contents of her two previous collections, On the Golden Porch and Sleepwalker in a Fog, along with several previously uncollected stories. Tolstaya writes of lonely children and lost love, of philosophers of the absurd and poets working as janitors, of angels and halfwits. She shows how the extraordinary will suddenly erupt in the midst of ordinary life, as she explores the human condition with a matchless combination of unbound imagination and unapologetic sympathy. A New York Review Books Original "Tolstaya carves indelible people who roam the imagination long after the book is put down." --Time

    Equally influenced by Brian De Palma and Kathy Acker, Tupitsyn revisits the ruins of a childhood and youth nurtured on the fringe of the glittering lower Manhattan art world and the Atlantic haven of Provincetown in the 1980s. Moving fluidly through space, time, and a range of cinematic frameworks, Tupitsyn cuts through the cynical glamour and illusion of Hollywood to a soft, secret heart.Her narrator, a female loner and traveler, is caught in the maelstrom of films and images, where life is experienced through the eye of a camera lens and seen through the light on the screen. In a precise and elegant style, Beauty Talk & Monsters embraces and confronts a lineage of familiar myths and on- and off-screen cinematic excess in order to challenge the silver screen's century of power over our dreams and ideals. Intimate and intellectual, Tupitsyn's stories play with the cinema's most popular icons and images.

    From marital betrayal to spousal abuse and unrelenting desire, Williams illuminates the lives of her characters in prose as sparse and stark as it is beautiful. These stories are as short as prose poems and as complex as novels. In them, meanings remain ambiguous and consequences seem uncertain. In the novella “On Sexual Strength” she describes the intense and sometimes strange relationship between two neighboring couples and the rage that comes with adultery, and a narrator whose social inadequacies and lack of inhibitions lead to destruction. The world Williams creates is a sensual place where quiet epiphanies—such as   the one that occurs after an extramarital affair— are also possible: “It was likeMy Trying to Have a Tender-Hearted nature. This is how love can be featured.” Such flashes of insight and emotion glue together the fragments of life Williams lays before the reader, and the reader rejoices at the revelations.

    Lansdale's largest, most varied collection to date. Weighing in at 488 pages and 150,000 words, these stories, poems, and novellas--supplemented by the author's introduction and by an invaluable set of story notes--move effortlessly from horror, adventure, and suspense to literary pastiche. It is, by any measure, a major addition to an already impressive body of work.The volume opens with 'Torn Away,' in which a small town sheriff encounters a man on the run from his own predatory shadow. The stories that follow come from all points of the narrative compass. In 'Morning, Noon, and Night,' a young boy stumbles across a monstrous, multi-faceted killer from which there is no escape. 'The Bleeding Shadow' is a tale of music, monsters, and deals-with-the devil set in post-WWII Texas. In 'Star Light, Eyes Bright,' an ordinary husband makes a startling discovery, one that leads to an unimaginable act of personal transformation. Elsewhere, the author offers us twisted Christmas stories ('Santa at the Cafe'), tales of a zombie apocalypse ('A Visit with Friends'), and one story--'Christmas with the Dead'--that encompasses both of these elements. Other highlights include a pair of informed, affectionate acts of literary homage. 'Metal Men of Mars' pays tribute to the Martian novels of Edgar Rice Burroughs, while in 'Dread Island,' the masterful novella that concludes this collection, the world of Huckleberry Finn merges seamlessly with the worlds of H. P. Lovecraft and Joel Chandler Harris.Sometimes funny, often horrifying, and always compulsively readable, this generous gathering of stories--few of which have previously appeared in book form--constitutes a significant publishing event. Bleeding Shadows is an indispensable, vastly entertaining volume, one that no admirer of Joe R. Lansdale's distinctive brand of fiction can afford to miss.

    A man discovers he has testicular cancer on the day that a Godzilla-like monster attacks the city he lives in; a kitchen-hand is put under terrible peer pressure in a restaurant for zombies; a husband and wife discover they are pregnant with 37 babies; and a man travels into the engine room of his own body to discover Busta Rhymes at the controls. The 14 stories are grotesque, hilarious, unnerving, and moving. No matter how outrageous the subject matter of the stories, they have at their heart genuine human experiences that are common to us all. Bonus BackLit materials will include two new stories and an interview with the author.

    GrantIntroduction by Dan Chaon

    Introductory'The Man in the Grey Bedroom''Grab a Granny Night''The Children of Monte Rosa''Mr Poo-Poo''The Silver Cord''The Road from Damascus''Mmm-Delicious''Puss-Cat''The Old Silence''Music by Moonlight''Blind Man's Box''Shades of the Prison House, a novella''The End of History'

    Other characters include a miner in search of something beyond the walls of his cave, a logger too gentle to chop trees, a team of kleptomaniacal dove nurses, a king with an appetite for turtles, and his queen, the swan’s first owner.Nothing Moments is a collaborative project in art, literature, and design organized by: Steven Hull and Tami Demaree with Annie Buckley and Jon Sueda.Story by Aimee Bender ; photographs by Marnie Weber ; design by Katie Hanburger.

    Edric is a musician whose out-of-town concerts happen to coincide with every full moon. Mary decides to secretly follow Edric to his next full moon gig, and makes an unexpected discovery. De Lint's love of combining real life with myth shines in this story.

    The opening story, "Strings," takes us to a world that tightly controls musical expression and values faithfulness to the canon above all else. By contrast, in the title novella, "Dangerous Space," we see the full power of music unleashed to sexually enthralling as well as risky effect; original to the volume, this tale features Mars, the intriguing narrator of "And Salome Danced" (short-listed for the Tiptree Award), on tour with an indie rock band on the verge of breaking out. Closing the volume, the moving, edgy "Alien Jane" (a finalist for the Nebula Award and adapted for the SciFi Channel's Welcome to Paradox series) delves into the importance of pain for the human organism and finds hope in the most unlikely of places.

    Intelligent and brutally direct talk to a reader about our times, Russia, the Russians, and much more.

    From tales of The Shaper/Mechanist to Leggy Starlitz to his Chattanooga Stories, this anthology spans the gamut of Sterlings works from 1976 to 2007.Swarm --Spider Rose --Cicada queen --Sunken gardens --Twenty evocations --Green days in Brunei --Dinner in Audoghast --The compassionate, the digital --Flowers of Edo --The little magic shop --Our neural Chernobyl --We see things differently --Dori Bangs --Hollywood Kremlin --Are you for 86? --The littlest jackal --Deep eddy --Bicycle repairman --Taklamakan --The sword of Damocles --Maneki Neko --In paradise --The blemmye's strategem --Kiosk

    . . With stories from Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken, Jordin Sparks, Ruben Studdard, Melinda Doolittle, Blake Lewis, Sanjaya Malakar, and many other top Idols from every season Do you love the thrill of seeing people's dreams come true? Do you enjoy the excitement of rooting for your favorite contestant ? Has your spirit ever soared from watching a performance on American Idol ? For anyone who has watched America 's best loved television show, here's a collection of captivating stories that take you into the hearts, minds and souls of the Idols, the fans, and the team that makes the show possible.These are the stories the television cameras don't see true, uplifting, and entertaining tales told with humor and candor that will leave you laughing, crying, and feeling inspired, whether you are a die-hard Idol watcher or an occasional fan . Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul is the perfect marriage of the #1 show in television history and the #1 non-fiction book series in publishing history both dedicated to celebrating the triumph of spirit over adversity, the fulfillment of dreams coming true, and the power of love. In Chicken Soup for the American Idol Soul, those closest to the heart of American Idol from the executive producers to the stylists, from the fans to the judges, from the top finalists to the behind-the-scenes crew share their moving stories of obstacles overcome, love and support shared, lessons learned and lives touched and changed forever. This is truly the stuff that dreams are made of and why almost 60 million people faithfully tune in week after week, year after year.

    This is a breathtaking debut collection of stories echoing Raymond Carver and Denis Johnson, that illuminates men searching for redemption and love.

    The backdrop of the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast is a versatile setting for Burke's stories, which cover the scope of the human experience -- from love and sex to domestic abuse to war, death, and friendship.

    So how does a daddy make do? In Alex McElroy’s collection Daddy Issues, daddies mourn their children; daddies absent themselves from their children; daddies take the shapes of celebrities to steal away the disguised wives of their children. Sometimes, daddies burn in a barn. Through an accumulation of gears, string, and brute pectoral muscle, McElroy brings these daddies back to life that we may see them as they are, in all their splendor and flop." - thecupboardpamphlet.org

    OMENS is a haunting collection of short stories for the discriminating horror fiction enthusiast. The tales are reminiscent of the work of Robert Aickman, relying moreso on atmosphere & imagery to convey the sense of the unknown and unexplained, and also of the works of Thomas Ligotti, conveying an unsettling sense of the unimagineable.

    Now she has delivered her next, much-anticipated book, Walk the Blue Fields, an unforgettable array of quietly wrenching stories about despair and desire in the timeless world of modern-day Ireland.  In the never-before-published story “The Long and Painful Death,” a writer awarded a stay to work in Heinrich Böll’s old cottage has her peace interrupted by an unwelcome intruder, whose ulterior motives only emerge as the night progresses. In the title story, a priest waits at the altar to perform a marriage and, during the ceremony and the festivities that follow, battles his memories of a love affair with the bride that led him to question all to which he has dedicated his life; later that night, he finds an unlikely answer in the magical healing powers of a seer.A masterful portrait of a country wrestling with its past and of individuals eking out their futures, Walk the Blue Fields is a breathtaking collection from one of Ireland’s greatest talents, and a resounding articulation of all the yearnings of the human heart.

    The title story, "Hart & Boot," was chosen by Michael Chabon for inclusion in The Best American Short Stories: 2005.Contents:Hart & Boot (2004)Life in Stone (2004)Cup and Table (2006)In a Glass Casket (2004)Terrible Ones (2004)Romanticore (2003)Living with the Harpy (2003)Komodo (2007)Bottom Feeding (2005)The Tyrant in Love (2007)Impossible Dreams (2006)Lachrymose and the Golden Egg (2005)Dream Engine (2006)

    Through this collection of delightful essays and beautiful illustrations, she shares with her readers the boundless joys of a country garden. Lovejoy has chosen to focus on animal life in the garden, including hummingbirds, caterpillars, and dragonflies, but her informative and witty prose also covers traditional plant care. The very titles of her sketches convey pleasure in the vibrant country landscape and the life that teems within it: “The Bumble Bee Rumba,” “Faeries in the Fuschias (sphinx moths),” “Holiday Feasts for the Birds and the Beasts,” and “Conversations with Sunflowers.” This compilation truly is—to borrow another of her titles—“Something to Crow About.”

    P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos by one of horror's biggest legends. This volume contains the very best of Brian Lumley's Mythos novellas.   Table of ContentsIntroductionThe Horror at OakdeeneBorn of the WindsThe Fairground HorrorThe TaintRising with SurtseyLord of the WormsThe House of the Temple

    A distinctive new voice, from a distinctive new press.”—Peter Ho Davies, author of The Welsh GirlIncludes “Wait,” a Best American Short Stories 2007 inclusion.

    San Souci obliges them with 13 more spine-tingling horror stories in "Triple-Dare to Be Scared." Each elegantly crafted vignette draws readers into the life of a young person like themselves just as a bad decision or an act of fate brings the characters face-to-face with the supernatural. Each story hurtles through twists and turns toward a surprise ending much more compelling than in a traditional spook story. " Second Childhood" wonders where to take shelter from a recently awakened child-ghost? (Answer: Not its former home!) " Plat-Eye" features twins who learn why they should be afraid of a big, bad shapechanger who' s paying a little too much attention to them. " Far Site" expands a video game into something much larger -- and more frightening! " Field of Nightmares" turns an innocent baseball game on old man Fletcher' s field into a fight for life. These exciting stories feature children of various ethnicities taking on all manner of threats from beyond the grave -- and beyond logic -- while David Ouimet' s creepy illustrations add that extra twinge of terror.

    Sure, sure, it's chock full of great stories by the best short fiction writer of his generation, modern classics like The Ugly Chickens and Flying Saucer Rock n Roll and Heart of Whitenesse and many more... but there are two or three times as many terrific Waldrop stories, equally good and sometimes even better, that have been left out for want of space. There's only one solution. Read this book... and then go out and track down all of Waldrop's other collections and read them too.

    The characters face the crises in their lives in ways that are easily identifiable and not uncommon to Native people. What is unique about this collection of stories is Dimaline's sometimes cryptic, sometimes comedic, always compassionate and visionary housekeeper who offers hindsight, insight and foresight to the reader in the representation of their lives. Haunting and complex Red Rooms is the Native Rosetta Stone. A lovely tour de force from an up-and-coming writer to watch. Eden Robinson

    The pressures to be beautiful, popular and successful are more prevalent than ever. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul: The Real Deal: Girl Stuff is filled with stories and tidbits about other teenagers and how they got through embarrassing moments, devastating break-ups and the fears of becoming overweight. Fun and easy quizzes help girls discover how they really feel about themselves and if they have issues with food, low self-esteem or depression. From body image and self-confidence to how to forgive oneself, this book will help young girls get past what may seem like the end the of the world to arrive at a healthy view of themselves.

    With brilliant prose, terrific imagination, and dazzling literary skill, Mason creates alternative episodes, fragments, and revisions of Homer’s original that taken together open up this classic Greek myth to endless reverberating interpretations. The Lost Books of the Odyssey is punctuated with great wit, beauty, and playfulness; it is a daring literary page-turner that marks the emergence of an extraordinary new talent.

    Collecting rare and unknown tales as well as notable early triumphs,A Pleasure to Burn offers an unparalleled window into Bradbury’s creative process, and a unique glimpse at the evolution of one of the greatest works of 20th century American literature. Absolutely essential for fans of Bradbury books like Dandelion Wine, Something Wicked This Way Comes,The Illustrated Man, and The Martian Chronicles—and for readers of William Golding, George Orwell, Aldous Huxley, and other titans of speculative fiction—A Pleasure to Burn illuminates the unusual hidden corners of Bradbury’s expansive imagination, revealing a creative force as vivid and powerful as the hottest burning flame.

    Or caught on one of the most terrifying roller coasters of all time, when suddenly the tracks ahead just disappear. Enter the world of Darkness Creeping, where hollow-eyed skulls arrive in the mail and nothing is as it seems. Boston Globe–Horn Book Award winner and beloved author Neal Shusterman walks on the dark side with this classic collection of masterfully creepy stories so horrifying, you may have to read them twice to remind yourself they’re not real.Contents:• Foreword (Darkness Creeping: Twenty Twisted Tales) (2007) - essay by Neal Shusterman• Catching Cold (2007)• Who Do We Appreciate? (2007)• Soul Survivor (1995)• Black Box (1993)• Resting Deep (1993)• Security Blanket (1995)• Same Time Next Year (1993)• The River Tour (2007)• Flushie (1993)• Monkeys Tonight (1993)• Screaming at the Wall (1993)• Growing Pains (1995)• Alexander's Skull (1993)• Connecting Flight (1995)• Ralphy Sherman's Root Canal (2007)• An Ear for Music (1995)• Riding the Raptor (1995)• Trash Day (1995)• Crystalloid (1995)• Shadows of Doubt (1993)

    Jerome Klapka Jerome (1859-1927) was an English author, best known for the humourous travelogue Three Men in a Boat (1889). In 1877, he decided to try his hand at acting, under the stage name Harold Crichton. He joined a repertory troupe who tried to produce plays on a shoestring budget, often drawing on the meager resources of the actors themselves to purchase costumes and props. He tried to become a journalist, writing essays, satires and short stories, but most of these were rejected. Over the next few years he was a school teacher, a packer, and a solicitor's clerk. Finally, in 1885, he had some success with On the Stage-and Off, a humourous book, the publication of which opened the door for more plays and essays.

    In 2005 the original Best of the Best collected the finest short stories from that series and became a benchmark in the SF field. Now, for the first time ever, Hugo Award-winning editor Gardner Dozios sifts through hundreds of stories and dozens of authors who have gone on to become some of the most esteemed practitioners of the form, to bring readers the ultimate anthology of short science fiction novels from his legendary series. Included are such notable short novels as: Sailing to Byzantium by Robert SilverbergIn the fiftieth century, people of Earth are able to create entire cities on a whim, including those of mythology and legend. When twentieth-century traveler Charles Philip accidentally lands in this aberrant time period, he is simultaneously obsessed with discovering more about this alluring world and getting back home. But in a world made entirely of man's creation, things are not always as they seem on the surface. Forgiveness Day by Ursula K. Le GuinLe Guin returns to her Hainish-settled interstellar community, the Edumen, to tell the tale of two star-crossed lovers who are literally worlds apart in this story of politics, violence, religion, and cultural disparity. Turquoise Days by Alastair ReynoldsOn a sea-wold planet covered with idyllic tropical oceans, peace seems pervasive. Beneath the placid water lurks an ominous force that has the potential to destroy all tranquility. Contributors include: Greg Egan; Joe Haldeman; James Patrick Kelly; Nancy Kress; Ursula K. Le Guin; Ian R. MacLeod; Ian McDonald; Maureen F. McHugh; Frederick Pohl; Alastair Reynolds; Robert Silverberg; Michael Swanwick; Walter Jon Williams With work spanning two decades, The Best of the Best, Volume 2 stands as the ultimate anthology of short science fiction novels ever published in the world.ContentsBeggars in Spain • [Sleepless] • (1991) • novella by Nancy KressForgiveness Day • [Yeowe and Werel • 2] • (1994) • novella by Ursula K. Le GuinGriffin's Egg • (1991) • novella by Michael SwanwickMr. Boy • (1990) • novella by James Patrick KellyNew Light on the Drake Equation • (2001) • novella by Ian R. MacLeodOceanic • (1998) • novella by Greg EganOutnumbering the Dead • (1990) • novella by Frederik PohlSailing to Byzantium • (1985) • novella by Robert SilverbergSurfacing • (1988) • novella by Walter Jon WilliamsTendeléo's Story • [Chaga] • (2000) • novella by Ian McDonaldThe Cost to Be Wise • (1996) • novelette by Maureen F. McHughThe Hemingway Hoax • (1990) • novella by Joe HaldemanTurquoise Days • [Revelation Space] • (2002) • novella by Alastair Reynolds

    . . . . . a misguided faery maiden and a surly but handsome knight, the pirate Devlin Angell and the ever-hopeful Myra, a faery under the ruse of Lord Kembell and a lady of nobel birth, a blacksmith and a duchess, a flapper and a barnstormer pilot . . . But can Keely keep her own heart? With faery magic, anything can happen! This enchanted carpet-ride features ten romantic faery tales, ten happy couples, and a journey through history with Keely, who grows from a kindergartener to a beautiful young faery woman.

    Every week, in a few hundred words, Dexter cut directly to the heart of the American character at a time of national turmoil and crucial change. With haunting urgency, his columns laid bare the violence, hypocrisy, and desperation he saw on the streets of Philadelphia and in the places he visited across the country. But he reveled, too, in the lighter side of his own life, sharing scenes with the indefatigable Mrs. Dexter, their young daughter, and a series of unforgettable creatures who strayed into their lives. No matter what caught Dexter's eye, it was illuminated by his dark, brilliant humor.Collected here for the first time are eighty-two of the best of those spellbinding, finely wrought pieces—with a new introduction by the author—assembled by Rob Fleder, editor of the bestselling Sports Illustrated 50th Anniversary Book. Paper Trails is searing, heart-breaking, and irresistibly funny, sometimes all at once. As Pete Hamill says in his foreword, these essays "are as good as it ever gets."

    Harlan Wilson, Anthony Michael Smith, Jeremy C. Shipp, Bryson Newhart, Andrew Adams, Julius Henry and Ryder Collins

    During the last twelve years, half of the Man Booker awards went to novels written in non-standard English. What would once have been derogatorily termed "dialect literature" has come into its own in a language known variously as slang, creole, patois, pidgin, or, in the words of Nigerian novelist Ken Saro-Wiwa, "rotten English."The first anthology of its kind, "Rotten English" celebrates vernacular literature from around the English-speaking world, from Robert Burns, Mark Twain, and Zora Neale Hurston to Papua New Guinea's John Kasaipwalova and Tobago's Marlene Nourbese Philip. With concise introductions that explain the context and aesthetics of the vernacular tradition, Rotten English pays tribute to the changes English has undergone as it has become a global language.Contents:"Raal right singin'": vernacular poetry. Colonization in reverse" and Bans O'killing by Louise BennettWings of a dove by Kamau BrathwaiteAuld lang syne, Highland Mary, and "Bonnie Lesley" by Robert BurnsA negro love song and When Malindy sings by Paul Laurence DunbarMother to son and Po' boy blues by Langston HughesInglan is a bitch by Linton Kwesi JohnsonWukhand by Paul Keens-DouglasTommy by Rudyard KiplingUnrelated incidents-no.3 by Tom LeonardComin back ower the border by Mary McCabeQuashie to Buccra by Claude McKayDis poem by MutabarukaQuestions! Questions! by M. NourbeSe Philipno more love poems #1 by Ntozake Shange"So like I say ... ": vernacular short stories. Po' Sandy by Charles ChestnuttThe brief wondrous life of Oscar Wao by Junot DiazLetters from Whetu by Patricia GraceSpunk and Story in Harlem slang by Zora Neale HurstonBetel nut is bad magic for airplanes by John KasaipwalovaJoebell and America by Earl LovelaceThe ghost of Firozsha Baag by Rohinton MistryThe celebrated jumping frog of Calaveras County and A True story, repeated word for word as I heard it by Mark TwainA soft touch and Granny's old junk by Irvine WelshOnly the dead know Brooklyn by Thomas Wolfe. "I wanna say I am somebody": selections from vernacular novels. from True history of the Kelly Gang by Peter Careyfrom The snapper by Roddy Doylefrom Once there were warriors by Alan DuffAn overture to the commencement of a very rigid journey by Jonathan Safran Foerfrom Beasts of no nation by Uzodinma IwealaBaywatch and de preacher from Tide running by Oonya KempadooFace, from Rolling the R's by R. Zamora Linmarkfrom Londonstani by Gautam Malkanifrom No mate for the magpie by Frances Molloyfrom Push by Sapphirefrom Sozaboy: a novel in rotten English by Ken Saro-Wiwafrom The housing lark by Sam Selvon. "A new English": essays on vernacular literature. The African writer and the English. language by Chinua AchebeHow to tame a wild tongue by Gloria AnzalduaIf Black English isn't a language, then tell me what is? by James Baldwinfrom History of the voice: the development of nation language in Anglophone Caribbean poetry by Kamau Brathwaitefrom Minute on Indian education by Thomas MacaulayAfrican speech ... English words by Gabriel OkaraThe absence of writing or How I almost became a spy by M. NourbeSe PhilipMother tongue by Amy Tan

    These are the stories of that frozen river.And so opens one of the most breathtaking and original works being published this season. The Frozen Thames contains forty vignettes based on events that actually took place each time the river froze between 1142 and 1895. Like a photograph captures a moment, etching it forever on the consciousness, so does Humphreys’ achingly beautiful prose. She deftly draws us into these intimate moments, transporting us through time so that we believe ourselves observers of the events portrayed. Whether it’s Queen Matilda trying to escape her besieged castle in a snowstorm, or lovers meeting on the frozen river in the plague years; whether it’s a simple farmer persuading his oxen the ice is safe, or Queen Bess discovering the rare privacy afforded by the ice-covered Thames, the moments are fleeting and transformative for the characters — and for us, too.Stunningly designed and illustrated throughout with full-colour period art, The Frozen Thames is a triumph.

    Enter Stacey Richter, a virtuoso contender for that very prize, whose offbeat characters manage to toe the line between eccentricity and banal daily life. Each story is organized around a pair of characters, and these characters are permitted to reach their full bizarre potential against mundane backdrops. The result is fiction that drives toward a place of surreal revelation, in these sometimes disturbing, often funny, short pieces. In Twin Study, Richter beautifully captures -- albeit through unlikely exemplars -- the essential experience of humanity.

    Translated by Russian literature professor Park Hyeong Gyu. Vol 1 of 2

    Hanan, Nadia, Reema, and Aliyah search for a meaningful sense of home, caught in the cultural gap that exists between the Middle East and the United States. Daughters of Palestinian immigrants who have settled into the diverse southern section of Philadelphia, the four friends live among Vietnamese, Italians, Irish, and other ethnic groups. Each struggles to reconcile her Arab identity with her American one. Muaddi Darraj adds the perspectives of the girls’ mothers, presented in separate stories, which illuminate the often troubled relationship between first and second generations of immigrants. Her suite of finely detailed portraits of arresting characters, told in evocative, vivid language, is sure to intrigue those seeking enjoyment and insight.“This sweet, sorrowful book is rich with insight. The Inheritance of Exile tells an authentic story of Arab-American life—these characters are true, expressive, and moving. A fully engaging, satisfying collection indeed.” —Diana Abu-Jaber, author of Origin, Crescent, and The Language of Baklava “These dazzling stories of four Palestinian-American women and their families give us a rare portrait of the life of exiles in America. Susan Muaddi Darraj writes with care and intelligence, and her compassion for her flawed and complex characters reminds us of our own humanity.” —Laila Lalami, author of Hope and Other Dangerous Pursuits “The Inheritance of Exile is a remarkably engaging collection. With this effort, Muaddi Darraj announces her presence as a major voice in the genre of fiction. The collection sparkles with a lively sense of place, conflict, and description. So often, and so vividly, I felt as if I was reading the cultural items from my own memory.” —Steven Salaita, author of Arab American Literary Fictions, Cultures, and Politics

    "It is my destiny to do strange things." My father gripped the wheel of his car. "I am the chauffeur for foolishness."We said no more.Foolhardy missions. Life-altering conversations. Gifts—given and received. Loss. Getting lost. Wisdom delivered before dawn and deep into the night. Love and kissing (not necessarily in that order). Laughter. Rides on the edge. Roses. Ghosts.As a traveling poet and visiting teacher, Naomi Shihab Nye has spent a considerable amount of time in cars, both driving and being driven. Her observations, stories, encounters, and escapades—and the kernels of truth she gathers from them—are laugh-out-loud funny, deeply moving, and unforgettable. Buckle up.

    What you are about to encounter is the unfiltered stuff of the dream, and that is wild, terrifying, provocative, and unsettling material. In this volume, some of the best living Southern writers are offering up a feast of their dreams, wonderful and awful in equal measure, for you to enjoy. These dream stories and poems will tell you what you have always known, but what you are too afraid to say out loud in the full light of day: that we are a race of chimeras, beings made up of the incompatible parts of innumerable mutually antagonistic creatures. Our pieces do not fit together. We are, when were willing to tell the truth about ourselves, surreal at our hearts. Welcome to the Surreal South.Contents:The echo of neighborly bones by Daniel WoodrellSales call by Susan WoodringHelp me find my spaceman lover by Robert Olen ButlerWillows / The swan by Rodney JonesThe river that was my father / Poem in the ninth month by Beth Ann FennellyFat lighter by George SingletonSautéing the platygast by Dean PaschalPig helmet & the wall of life by Pinckney BenedictThe drinking gourd by Katie EstillSwans by Benjamin PercyThe Bear Bryant funeral train by Brad ViceNight by Jacinda TownsendDog song by Ann PancakeThe era of great numbers by Lee K. AbbottDecirculating the monkey by Chris OffuttCorpse bird by Ron RashMother by Andrew HudginsThe widow Sunday by Kathy ConnerSmonk gets out alive by Tom FranklinWitches, all by Laura BenedictThe paperhanger by William GaySilver man / Dinner date by Joy Beshears HayCrazy ladies by Greg JohnsonCactus Vic and his marvelous magical elephant / The best chicken in Arkansas by Jon TribbleBirdfists by Julianna BaggottThe bingo master by Joyce Carol OatesThe truth and all its ugly by Kyle MinorContributors biographies & notes

    Tragic, lyrical, hilarious, and politically controversial, they exist in a world where fact is as strange as fiction, and fiction is often disguised as fact.The Jiri Chronicles & Other Fictions is divided into three sections, each a unique literary experiment. In Snapshots: A Genealogy in Flight, Debra Di Blasi draws inspiration from real family photographs to creat a haunting portrait of successive generations of a fictionalized Midwest family. "Hyperfictions" features writing that is interactive and nonlinear, dissolving borders between poetry and prose, visual art and music.At the work's comic center is an invention that transgresses the boundaries of fiction and fraud. Just who is Jiri Cech? A businessman, vampire, and artist from Czechoslovakia? A website? A hoax? An American con artist whose racism and sexism, although loathsome, only heighten his allure? Or something greater or smaller than the sum of these parts?This astonishing collection challenges the stylistic and thematic boundaries of traditional literature, questioning what it means to be human—and awake—in the post-millenium.

    I Carry A Hammer In My Pocket For Occasions Such As These turns cartwheels, plants daisies, and sings love songs in honor of all that is strange, sad, serious, and sublime about being alive.”—Myla Goldberg, author of Bee SeasonI Carry A Hammer In My Pocket For Occasions Such As These is a collection of fifty-seven pieces that range in length from compressed paragraphs to ten-page stories. Characters, voices, and surreal scenarios are unified in a playful vision of the world sustained by metaphor, memory, cartoon, tragedy, love story, and song.Speed and brevity are a large part of the collection’s design. In a culture where attention spans are shorter and more fractured, the need for a literature for the subway and the waiting room—something to resonate in the smaller gaps of our lives—is emerging. To this end, I Carry A Hammer In My Pocket For Occasions Such As These is quick, colloquial, and comic, yet challenges readers to think. It offers—at a glance—a journey into a fictional world that is poetic and narrative, fantastic and familiar, accessible and adventurous.“The Difference”Although I was never an early riser, my father always counseled me to rise with the sun.“Early bird gets the worm!” he told me.“Sure,” I said, “but the worm who sleeps late, lives.”Anthony Tognazzini lives in New York City, where he makes his living as a teacher and freelance journalist. His awards include an AWP Award, an Academy of American Poets prize, a Greer Artist Foundation Fellowship, and a Hemingway Fellowship.

    . . only a poet, and a good one, could have written it.” — The Atlantic MonthlyW.S. Merwin’s acclaimed short prose pieces — many of which first appeared in The New Yorker — blur the distinction between fiction, poetry, essay, and memoir. Reminiscent of Kafka, Borges, and Beckett, they evoke mythical patterns and unlikely adventures and raise questions about art, reality, and meaning. As the, itself fabled, Saturday Review once remarked, the prose pieces have “astonishing range and power.”The Book of Fables comprises all the short prose from two of Merwin's out-of-print collections, The Miner’s Pale Children and Houses and Travellers. The pieces run from a single sentence to a dozen pages and create a poetic landscape both sere and sensuous.

    Each story was written by a unique up and coming author. This book has received praise in a number of reviews and has been recommended for an HWA Bram Stoker Award, and winning one is the highest honor one can achieve in the Horror Genre. The authors and editors are waiting patiently for the results.

    In these stories compiled by Harvey Leake, Wolfkiller shares the ancient wisdom of the Navajo elders that was passed to him while a boy growing up near the Utah/Arizona border. Wolfkiller's story was recorded and translated by pioneer trader Louisa Wade Wetherill, an unlikely pairing that came together when she moved to this remote area of southern Utah in 1906. Wetherill recognized that Wolfkiller was a man of exceptional character, with lessons and wisdom of the Navajo that deserved to be recorded and preserved for the benefit of future generations.

    There are surprises, plot twists, playful language and form, shifts in emotion that catch you off guard. Most importantly, Smith infuses these stories with humor. He surprises you with it; he alleyoops comedic setups then grabs you and breaks your heart, leaving you wondering what just happened."

    Like an early Richard Ford, Don Waters writes with skill, empathy, and an edgy wit of worlds not often celebrated in contemporary literature. In Desert Gothic, Waters unleashes a wild and gritty cast and points them down paths of reckoning, where the characters earn the grace of their hard-won wisdom.      Set in bars, mortuaries, nursing homes, truck stops, and the “poverty motels that encircled downtown’s casino corridor,” Waters’s ten stories are full of misfit transients like Julian, a crematorium worker who decorates abandoned urns to create a “lush underground island,” and the instant Mormon missionary Eli, a hapless divorcé who “always likes people better when they’re a little broken.” Limo drivers, ultra-marathoners, vagabonds, and a distraught novelist-to-be populate the pages of these gritty stories.

    Having grown up on a cattle ranch in Oregon, he has an intimate connection to the vast landscape that was once vital to his family's trade. He has also witnessed, over many decades, the depletion of the West's natural resources due to overuse. In The Next Rodeo, the author's luminous essays move effortlessly from the personal to the political. With grace and integrity, Kittredge directly confronts the myths that lie at the heart of the Western experience: male freedom and female domesticity, the wild and the tame, self-interest and the love of the land.On the heels of Kittredge's first novel, The Willow Field, published to wide critical acclaim in 2006, we are pleased to offer the best of his nonfiction writings.

    Lee

    From Marta Randall, comes thirteen previously uncollected stories spanning the author’s career, including Lapidary Nights, The View from Endless Scarp, The Dark Boy, Lázaro y Antonio, Big Dome, Sea Changes, On Cannon Beach, and Nebula Award finalist, Dangerous Games.

    The single mum, the student working in the pie factory, the newborn baby, the dying woman, the kiwi alone in New York; all are vivdly rendered. Prize-winning writer Sarah Laing has written a superb collection of stories which stimulate and surprise.