Vampires crash prom, aliens run from the government, a president’s daughter comes into her own, a true romantic tries to soften the heart of a cynical social media influencer, a selkie and the sea call out to a lost soul. Teapots and barbershops, skateboards and VW vans, Street Fighter and Ares’s sword: Out Now has a story for every reader and surprises with each turn of the page!

    Banks, Kelley Armstrong, and many more! Horror fiction explores the dark side of human nature, often pushing the limits of violence, graphic gore, and extreme emotions. But with the popularity of shows and movies, such as "The Walking Dead," "True Blood," "Twilight," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," audiences have demonstrated their love for the genre--especially accompanied with a dose of humor to tone down the terror."Blood Lite III: Aftertaste" continues to put the fun back into dark fiction, featuring a wide range of humorous and highly entertaining horror-filled tales. Edited by Horror Writers Association founding member and award-winning author Kevin J. Anderson, the stories vary in tone from wry to downright laugh-out-loud funny. Featuring such well-known horror writers as Jim Butcher, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Christopher Golden, and many others, this collection of tales is perfect for anyone who enjoys being entertained as much as they love a good scare.Contents:I was a teenage Bigfoot / Jim Butcher --Blood-red greens / Joel A. Sutherland --V plates / Kelley Armstong --Put on a happy face / Christopher Golden --Devil's contract / E.S. Magill --Nine-tenths of the law / Eric James Stone --Scrumptious bone bread / Jeff Strand --Let that be a lesson to you / Mark Onspaugh --Mint in box / Mike Baron --Great zombie invasion of 1979 / J.G. Faherty --Dating after the apocalypse / Stephen Dorato --Typecast / Jeff Ryan --Making the cut / Mike Resnick, Lezli Robyn --Acknowledgments / Will Ludwigsen --Mannequin / Heather Graham --Short term / Daniel Pyle --Distressed travelers / Nina Kiriki Hoffman --Bayou brawl / L.A. Banks --Steeple people / John Alfred Taylor --For sale / David Sakmyster --Man who could not be bothered to die / Norman Prentiss --Last demon / Don D'Ammassa --Misadventure to call your own / Adrian Ludens --Smoke and mirrorballs / Chris Abbey --Brians!!! / D.L. Snell --Still life / Ken Lilli-Paetz --Day in the life / Sherrilyn

    The stories traverse the magical and the mundane, where supernatural beings are indistinguishable from their mortal counterparts in their complexity and complicity.

    Where tinkerers and dreamers craft and re-craft a world of automatons, clockworks, calculating machines, and other marvels that never were. Where scientists and schoolgirls, fair folk and Romans, intergalactic bandits, utopian revolutionaries, and intrepid orphans solve crimes, escape from monstrous predicaments, consult oracles, and hover over volcanoes in steam-powered airships.

    In "Stone Animals," a house's haunting takes the unusual form of hordes of rabbits that camp out nightly on the front lawn. This proves just one of several benign but inexplicable phenomena that begin to pull apart the family newly moved into the house as surely as a more sinister supernatural influence might. The title story beautifully captures the unpredictable potential of teenage lives through its account of a group of adolescent schoolfriends whose experiences subtly parallel events in a surreal TV fantasy series. Zombies serve as the focus for a young man's anxieties about his future in "Some Zombie Contingency Plans" and offer suggestive counterpoint to the lives of two convenience store clerks who serve them in "The Hortlak." Not only does Link find fresh perspectives from which to explore familiar premises, she also forges ingenious connections between disparate images and narrative approaches to suggest a convincing alternate logic that shapes the worlds of her highly original fantasies.Contents:The Faery Handbag (2004)The Hortlak (2003)The Cannon (2003)Stone Animals (2004)Catskin (2003)Some Zombie Contingency Plans (2005)The Great Divorce (2005)Magic for Beginners (2005)Lull (2002)

    K. Jemisin, Charles Yu, Jamie Ford, and more. For many Americans, imagining a bright future has always been an act of resistance. A People's Future of the United States presents twenty never-before-published stories by a diverse group of writers, featuring voices both new and well-established. These stories imagine their characters fighting everything from government surveillance, to corporate cities, to climate change disasters, to nuclear wars. But fear not: A People's Future also invites readers into visionary futures in which the country is shaped by justice, equity, and joy.Edited by Victor LaValle and John Joseph Adams, this collection features a glittering landscape of moving, visionary stories written from the perspective of people of color, indigenous writers, women, queer & trans people, Muslims and other people whose lives are often at risk.Contributors include: Violet Allen, Charlie Jane Anders, Ashok K. Banker, Tobias S. Buckell, Tananarive Due, Omar El Akkad, Jamie Ford, Maria Dahvana Headley, Hugh Howey, Lizz Huerta, Justina Ireland, N. K. Jemisin, Alice Sola Kim, Seanan McGuire, Sam J. Miller, Daniel José Older, Malka Older, Gabby Rivera, A. Merc Rustad, Kai Cheng Thom, Catherynne M. Valente, Daniel H. Wilson, G. Willow Wilson, and Charles Yu.

    In The Dragon's Treasure, a dragon obsessed with cleanliness quietly pines over a regular customer to his shop. In The Selkie No One Wanted, a selkie who is nothing like his beautiful siblings winds up helping the fisherman he has long admired. A demon finds himself dealing with two troublesome humans in The Spawn, and in Mad Finnegan, a mad wizard reunites with the person who first drove him into the 'madness' that has made him infamous. A young chef winds up with an unusual assistant in Dragon Stew and a man finds that life has not quite yet passed him by in The Innkeeper's Story. The Quest sends a loud-mouthed demon to earn the affections of a mate who does not want him, and in Spellbound a talented thief longs to find a way to steal the heart of his latest client.

    WeinO for a Fiery Gloom and Thee • (1998) • short story by Brian StablefordPersephone or, Why the Winters Seem to Be Getting Longer • (1998) • short fiction by Wendy FroudPrivate Words • (1998) • novelette by Mark W. TiedemannTaking Loup • (1998) • short story by Bruce GlasscoTastings • (1998) • short story by Neil GaimanThe Eye of the Storm • (1998) • novelette by Kelley EskridgeThe Faerie Cony-Catcher • (1998) • short story by Delia ShermanThe House of Nine Doors • (1998) • short story by Ellen KushnerThe Light That Passes Through You • (1998) • short story by Conrad WilliamsThe Sweet of Bitter Bark and Burning Clove • (1998) • novelette by Doris EganWolfed • (1998) • short story by Tanith Lee

    Elliott is a highly-compelling voice in genre fiction, an innovative author of historically-based narratives set in imaginary worlds. This first, retrospective collection of her short fiction is the essential guide to Elliott's shorter works. Here her bold adventuresses, complex quests, noble sacrifices, and hard-won victories shine in classic, compact legends. In "The Memory of Peace," a girl's powerful emotions rouse the magic of a city devastated by war. Meeting in "The Queen's Garden," two princesses unite to protect their kingdom from the blind ambition of their corrupted father. While "Riding the Shore of the River of Death" a chieftain's daughter finds an unlikely ally on her path to self-determination. Elliott's many readers, as well as fantasy fans in search of powerful stories featuring well-drawn female characters, will revel in this unique gathering of truly memorable tales.

    From Roger Zelansky's delightful tale of Death's disobedient godson to Peter Straub's blood-chilling examination of a gargantuan Cinderella and her terrible twisted "art," here are stories strange and miraculous -- remarkable modern storytelling that remold our most cherished childhood fables into things sexier, more sinister... and more appealing to grown-up tastes and sensibilities. The "Snow White, Blood Red" Collection #1. Snow White, Blood Red #2. Black Thorn, White Rose #3. Ruby Slippers, Golden Tears #4. Black Swan, White Raven #5. Silver Birch, Blood Moon #6. Black Heart, Ivory Bones

    Parker (Seafire), and many more. Edited by Dhonielle Clayton (The Belles).In the fourth collaboration with We Need Diverse Books, fifteen award-winning and celebrated diverse authors deliver stories about a princess without need of a prince, a monster long misunderstood, memories that vanish with a spell, and voices that refuse to stay silent in the face of injustice. This powerful and inclusive collection contains a universe of wishes for a braver and more beautiful world.AUTHORS INCLUDE: Samira Ahmed, Libba Bray, Dhonielle Clayton, Zoraida Córdova, Tessa Gratton, Kwame Mbalia, Anna-Marie McLemore, Tochi Onyebuchi, Mark Oshiro, Natalie C. Parker, Rebecca Roanhorse, Victoria Schwab, Tara Sim, Nic Stone, and a to-be-announced debut author/short-story contest winner

    Elrod, Caitlin Kittredge, Marjorie M. Liu, Katie MacAlister, Lilith Saintcrow & Ronda Thompson.What newly married couple doesn't dream of a romantic retreat where they can escape the world for a while — but what happens when supernatural forces intrude on their wedded bliss? Nine of today’s hottest paranormal authors answer that question in this all-star collection of supernatural stories. Can a vampire-hunter enjoy her honeymoon after learning that her new hubby is a werewolf? How can newlyweds focus on their wedding night when their honeymoon suite is haunted by feuding ghosts? And what’s a wizard to do when a gruesome monster kidnaps the bride on her way home from the wedding? With so much otherworldly mayhem awaiting our newlyweds, will they ever get around to the honeymoon itself? Find out in...My Big Fat Supernatural Honeymoon.Contents:Stalked / Kelley Armstrong --Heorot / Jim Butcher --Roman holiday, or SPQ-arrrrrr / Rachel Caine --Her mother's daughter / P.N. Elrod --Newlydeads / Caitlin Kittredge --Where the heart lives / Marjorie M. Liu --Cat got your tongue? / Katie MacAlister --Half of being married / Lilith Saintcrow --A wulf in groom's clothing / Ronda Thompson.

    They are more than a memory from an age of wizards and heroes. These winged, fire-breathing beasts soar through the traditions of many lands, and through our dreams. In their many guises – Western or Eastern, reptile or lizard or serpent, wyvern, hydra, basilisk – dragons embody everything that we humans call magic. In this volume of the acclaimed ‘Future Chronicles’ anthology series, twelve authors invite you to journey to very different worlds – lands of fire and fury, of legend and lore – but all worlds where dragons roam unshackled from myth, freed from the imagination, and real. “The Dragon Chronicles” features stories by bestselling authors Elle Casey (War of the Fae), David Adams (Ren of Atikala), K.J. Colt (Klawdia), Terah Edun (Courtlight), and Daniel Arenson (Dragonlore) plus seven more of today's most visionary authors in fantasy and speculative fiction.Ten Things You Should Know About Dragons (Elle Casey)If you’re going to train to be a Dragon Rider, you need to know the basics, and Ishmail Windwalker is the guy to teach them to you. In fact, he’s the only one left to teach anything to anyone about Dragons, being the last of a dying breed. Join him as he gives a seminar about Dragons and their partners and keepers, the Dragon Riders. Of Sand and Starlight (Daniel Arenson)Erry is a dock rat, an orphan, living on the boardwalk of a crumbling town, rummaging through trash for food. She's hurt, haunted, and the sea keeps calling her to sleep forever in its depths. Erry can also turn into a dragon. Her magic is ancient, the magic that lets her people grow scales, breathe fire, and rise as dragons. Yet her power is outlawed. A cruel emperor rules her land, and only his soldiers may use the magic. Erry must choose: her freedom on the boardwalk, hungry and hurt…or servitude with a tyrant, as a dragon. Tasty Dragon Meat (K.J. Colt)Dragon meat. It's for dinner. In the town of Bolopsy lives a humble butcher, Nogdo, who's quietly making a fortune selling dragon meat. But when the town’s children start growing black dragon scales, Nogdo is horrified. The source of his new fortune is cursed. He wipes dragon meat off the menu and hopes the problem goes away on its own. It doesn't. Now his youngest son is growing scales. Poor Nogdo seeks guidance from the Dark Magician. But the quest involves retrieving two dragon eggs...from a very angry dragon mother, and father, and a horde of barbarians. Transparency (Alex Albrinck)Damir, a fire dragon, must protect the underworld from invasion by the ice dragons. He’s worked to dismantle a growing complacency among his kind, and counter growing movements claiming that the ice dragon threat and the surface are both outdated myths. Damir’s dream: to lead his people to the surface and reclaim the land that’s rightfully theirs. But when a personal scandal erupts, Damir must confront the unthinkable: that the greatest threat to his invasion plans comes not from the mortal enemies flying above, but from those he trusts above all others. Sacrifice (David Adams)Before the Godsdeath we had power. Dragons commanded the arcane and the divine equally. We could have raised our stillborn eggs to life. Such things were not unusual for our kind, especially not those who had magic or motivation. I had both. It’s Time to Change (Terah Edun)Since he was little, Vedaris knew that to be a dragon he needed to be able to shape shift. But what happens when you’re born a freak? Without the ability to turn and the natural magic of his dragon race, Vedaris is more than just a desperate outcast…he’s in mortal danger. Dragon Play (Ted Cross)All their lives the group of young Vikings had heard of their clan’s past glories, but all they have known is the terror of being relegated to living within the shadow of a dragon’s mountain. When the chieftain’s daughter finds an ancient scroll showing a hidden back entrance to the dragon’s lair, she and her three friends decide to sneak in and retrieve the lost talisman that held the luck of their clan. A Diversion in Time (Nina Croft)At last there is peace in the Universe. But some people just aren’t interested in peace, so once the dust has settled, the crew of the Blood Hunter set off in search of a little excitement. They are heading back to Earth and going back in time. Along for the ride are a couple of stowaways: Angel, a young werewolf in search of adventure, and Kronus, an ancient dragon, seeking to regain the power his people once wielded. But when things don’t go entirely as planned, can the two overcome their differences and help each other find what they are looking for? The Book of Safkhet (Kim Wells)The nature of history, of the origins of civilization, and our own human story, may be changed forever by the discovery of an ancient scroll that tells the story of a doomsday device that threatens civilization as we know it. The Dragons, empathic interstellar navigators of uncertain origin, may be able to save some. But where will the survivors go?  Grey (Chris Pourteau)When Amanda stumbles into a cave, she discovers it’s the lair of an old dragon, the last of his kind. Not yet old enough to know she should fear the creature, Amanda is quickly won over by his kindness toward her. Over time, the human and the dragon—whose respective races are age-old enemies, prey and predator—become fast friends. When an army of savages known as The Bane threatens her village, Amanda’s people decide to flee. She seeks help from her old friend, but the dragon refuses her. When The Bane attack, what will become of Amanda and the friendship she feels has been betrayed by her ancient, erstwhile friend? The Storymaster (Vincent Trigili)The era of dragons has passed but is not forgotten. There will be at least this one last ride, one last battle, before the masters of the domain of air fade into history and become legend.  Judgment (Monica Enderle Pierce)Consequences are dire when vigilantes falsely accuse Peregrine Long of murder and horse theft. But guns and hanging aren’t the scariest things a cowboy can face in the town of Bonesteel. A dragon’s opinion and appetite are even harder to reckon with, especially for men who have trouble telling the truth.

    She was given an explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted.Three short lines, fired over social media in response to questions of why Senator Elizabeth Warren was silenced on the floor of the United States Senate, for daring to read aloud the words of Coretta Scott King. As this message was transmitted across the globe, it has become a galvanizing cry for people of all genders in recognition of the struggles that women have faced throughout history.Three short lines, which read as if they are the opening passage to an epic and ageless tale.We have assembled this flash fiction collection featuring several of the best writers in SF/F today, including Seanan McGuire, Charlie Jane Anders, Maria Dahvana Headley, Jo Walton, Amal El-Mohtar, Catherynne M. Valente, Brooke Bolander, Alyssa Wong, Kameron Hurley, Nisi Shawl and Carrie Vaughn. Together these authors share unique visions of women inventing, playing, loving, surviving, and – of course – dreaming of themselves beyond their circumstances.At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

    It’s the secret heart of London, beating to its own rhythm, pumping lifeblood through the veins of its streets and alleys hidden in eternal darkness, where creatures of the night congregate and where the sun is afraid to shine. It’s the place to go if you’re looking to indulge the darker side of your nature—and to hell with the consequences. Tales from the Nightside presents ten macabre mysteries that shine a dim beam into the neighborhood’s darkest corners to reveal things that should never come to light. Take a walk with such deadly and dangerous denizens of the Nightside as Razor Eddie, Dead Boy, and Larry Oblivion as they encounter things even more inhuman and inhumane than they are. And join John Taylor, the PI with a knack for finding lost things, as he confronts Sir Francis Varney, King of the Vampires, in a never-before-published novella-length adventure. There may be nothing to be afraid of in the dark, but there’s plenty to be afraid of in the Nightside… Includes “The Big Game,” a Never-Before-Published Nightside novella.