And so the Editor ventured forth, wandering the land of Story from shore to shore, climbing massive mountains of books and delving deep into lush, literary forests, gathering together thirty-three of the best re-tellings of fairy tales he could find. Not just any fairy tales, mind you, but tantalizing tales from some of the biggest names in today’s fantastic fiction, authors like Gregory Maguire, Susanna Clarke, Charles de Lint, Holly Black, Alethea Kontis, Kelly Link, Neil Gaiman, Patricia Briggs, Paul Di Filippo, Gregory Frost, and Nancy Kress. But these stories alone weren’t enough to satisfy the Editor, so the Editor ventured further, into the dangerous cave of the fearsome Bill Willingham, and emerged intact with a magnificent introduction, to tie the collection together. And the inhabitants of Story—from the Kings and Queens relaxing in their castles to the peasants toiling in the fields, from the fey folk flitting about the forests to the trolls lurking under bridges and the giants in the hills—read the anthology, and enjoyed it. And they all lived... ...Happily Ever After.

    

    Underwood, L. E. Modesitt, Jr., Nathan Archer, Jody Lynn Nye and many others, including a new urban fantasy by Sharon Lee! So come along and meet an orphan with a dream, a dockworker who believes in freedom, a maintenance worker with feelings and visit a soup kitchen with a secret.Contents:Voyeur / Eric Witchey --Digger don't take no requests / John Teehan --The gate between hope and glory / Holly Phillips --Riis run / eluki bes shahar --Bidding the walrus / Lawrence M. Schoen --The gift / Laura J. Underwood --The dock to heaven / L.E. Modesitt, Jr. --Find a pin / Ru Emerson --Sailing to the temple / Alan Smale --The pilgrim trade / Mark W. Tiedemann --More to glory / Patrice Sarath --Gonna boogie with Granny Time / Sharon Lee --Angel's kitchen / Chris Szego --Lair of the lesbian love goddess / Edward McKeown --Contraband / Nathan Archer --Spinacre's war / Lee Martindale --Bottom of the food chain / Jody Lynn Nye --Zappa for bardog / Joe Murphy --The times she went away / Paul E. Martens --Scream angel / Douglas Smith.

    SmithThe Other Side of the Sky: Arthur C. ClarkeThe Man Who Sold the Moon: Robert A. HeinleinMagic City: Nelson S. BondThe Morning of the Day They Did It: E. B. WhiteLetters from Laura: Mildred ClingermanThe Stars My Destination: Alfred Bester (novel)

    Cambias, Greg Egan, Charles Coleman Finlay, James Alan Gardner, Dominic Green, Daryl Gregory, Gwyneth Jones, Ted Kosmatka, Mary Robinette Kowal, Nancy Kress, Jay Lake, Paul McAuley, Ian McDonald, Maureen McHugh, Sarah Monette, Garth Nix, Hannu Rajaniemi, Robert Reed, Alastair Reynolds, Mary Rosenblum, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Geoff Ryman, Karl Schroeder, Gord Sellar, and Michael Swanwick.Supplementing the stories are the editor’s insightful summation of the year’s events and a lengthy list of honorable mentions, making this book both a valuable resource and the single best place in the universe to find stories that stir the imagination, and the heart.xi • Acknowledgments (The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Sixth Annual Collection) • (2009) • essay by Gardner Dozoisxiii • Summation: 2008 • (2009) • essay by Gardner Dozois1 • Turing's Apples • (2008) • shortstory by Stephen Baxter16 • From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled • (2008) • shortstory by Michael Swanwick (aka From Babel's Fall'n Glory We Fled . . .)32 • The Gambler • (2008) • novelette by Paolo Bacigalupi50 • Boojum • [Boojum] • (2008) • shortstory by Elizabeth Bear and Sarah Monette65 • The Six Directions of Space • (2008) • novella by Alastair Reynolds107 • N-Words • (2008) • shortstory by Ted Kosmatka120 • An Eligible Boy • (2008) • novelette by Ian McDonald140 • Shining Armour • (2008) • shortstory by Dominic Green (aka Shining Armor)154 • The Hero • (2008) • novelette by Karl Schroeder172 • Evil Robot Monkey • (2008) • shortstory by Mary Robinette Kowal175 • Five Thrillers • (2008) • novelette by Robert Reed209 • The Sky That Wraps the World Round, Past the Blue and Into the Black • (2008) • shortstory by Jay Lake217 • Incomers • (2008) • shortfiction by Paul J. McAuley233 • Crystal Nights • (2008) • novelette by Greg Egan252 • The Egg Man • (2008) • novelette by Mary Rosenblum270 • His Master's Voice • (2008) • shortstory by Hannu Rajaniemi280 • The Political Prisoner • (2008) • novella by Charles Coleman Finlay327 • Balancing Accounts • (2008) • shortstory by James L. Cambias341 • Special Economics • (2008) • novelette by Maureen F. McHugh362 • Days of Wonder • (2008) • novelette by Geoff Ryman390 • City of the Dead • (2008) • novelette by Paul J. McAuley [as by Paul McAuley ]410 • The Voyage Out • (2007) • shortstory by Gwyneth Jones424 • The Illustrated Biography of Lord Grimm • (2008) • shortstory by Daryl Gregory439 • G-Men • (2008) • novelette by Kristine Kathryn Rusch466 • The Erdmann Nexus • (2008) • novella by Nancy Kress520 • Old Friends • (2008) • shortstory by Garth Nix526 • The Ray-Gun: A Love Story • (2008) • novelette by James Alan Gardner543 • Lester Young and the Jupiter's Moons' Blues • (2008) • novelette by Gord Sellar568 • Butterfly, Falling At Dawn • (2008) • novelette by Aliette de Bodard585 • The Tear • (2008) • novella by Ian McDonald

    Read about Holmes and Watson through time and space, as they tackle a witch-trial in seventeenth century Scotland, bandy words with Andy Warhol in 1970s New York, travel the Wild Frontier in the Old West, solve future crimes in a world of robots and even cross paths with a young Elvis Presley... Set to include stories by Kasey Lansdale, Guy Adams, Jamie Wyman, J E Cohen, Gini Koch, Glen Mehn, Kelly Hale, Kaaron Warren, Emma Newman and more.

    Melding supernatural horror with hardboiled noir, espionage, and a scientific backbone, Barron’s stories have garnered critical acclaim and have been reprinted in numerous year’s best anthologies and nominated for multiple awards, including the Crawford, International Horror Guild, Shirley Jackson, Theodore Sturgeon, and World Fantasy awards.Barron returns with his third collection, The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All. Collecting interlinking tales of sublime cosmic horror, including “Blackwood’s Baby”, “The Carrion Gods in Their Heaven”, and “The Men from Porlock”, The Beautiful Thing That Awaits Us All delivers enough spine-chilling horror to satisfy even the most jaded reader.

    Frank Baum introduced Dorothy and friends to the American public in 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz became an instant, bestselling hit. Today the whimsical tale remains a cultural phenomenon that continues to spawn wildly popular books, movies, and musicals. Now, editors John Joseph Adams and Douglas Cohen have brought together leading fantasy writers such as Orson Scott Card and Seanan McGuire to create the ultimate anthology for Oz fans—and, really, any reader with an appetite for richly imagined worlds. Stories include: Seanan McGuire’s “Emeralds to Emeralds, Dust to Dust” finds Dorothy grown up, bitter, and still living in Oz. And she has a murder to solve—assuming Ozma will stop interfering with her life long enough to let her do her job. In “Blown Away,” Jane Yolen asks: What if Toto was dead and stuffed, Ozma was a circus freak, and everything you thought you knew as Oz was really right here in Kansas? “The Cobbler of Oz” by Jonathan Maberry explores a Winged Monkey with wings too small to let her fly. Her only chance to change that rests with the Silver Slippers. In Tad Williams’s futuristic “The Boy Detective of Oz,” Orlando investigates the corrupt Oz simulation of the Otherland network. Frank Baum’s son has the real experiences that his father later fictionalized in Orson Scott Card’s “Off to See the Emperor.”Some stories are dystopian... Some are dreamlike... All are undeniably Oz.***No stranger to Oz reinvention himself, Wicked author Gregory Maguire provides the foreword to these outstanding modern stories inspired by the enchanting Land of Oz.

    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.

    Brave New Worlds brings together the best dystopian fiction of the last 30 years, demonstrating the diversity that flourishes in this compelling subgenre. This landmark tome contains stories by Ursula K. Le Guin, Cory Doctorow, M. Rickert, Paolo Bacigalupi, Orson Scott Card, Neil Gaiman, Ray Bradbury, and many others.Table of ContentsIntroduction / John Joseph Adams --Lottery / Shirley Jackson --Red card / S.L. Gilbow --Ten with a flag / Joseph Paul Haines --Ones who walk away from Omelas / Ursula K. Le. Guin --Evidence of love in a case of abandonment / M. Rickert --The Funeral / Kate Wilhelm --O happy day! / Geoff Ryman --Pervert / Charles Coleman Finlay --From homogeneous to honey / Neil Gaiman & Bryan Talbot --Billennium / J.G. Ballard --Amaryllis / Carrie Vaughn --Pop squad / Paolo Bacigalupi --Auspicious eggs / James Morrow --Peter Skilling / Alex Irvine --The Pedestrian / Ray Bradbury --Things that make me weak and strange get engineered away / Cory Doctorow --Pearl diver / Caitlin R. Kiernan --Dead space for the unexpected / Geoff Ryman --"Repent harlequin!", said the Ticktockman / Harlan Ellison --Is this your day to join the revolution? / Genevieve Valentine --Independence day / Sarah Langan --Lunatics / Kim Stanley Robinson --Sacrament / Matt Williamson --Minority report / Philip K. Dick --Just do it / Heather Lindsley --Harrison Bergeron / Kurt Vonnegut Jr. --Caught in the organ draft / Robert Silverberg --Geriatric ward / Orson Scott Card --Arties aren't stupid / Jeremiah Tolbert --Jordan's waterhammer / Joe Mastroianni --Of a sweet slow dance in the wake of temporary dogs / Adam-Troy Castro --Resistance / Tobias S. Buckell --Civilization / Vylar Kaftan.

    Here for the first time are his short stories and other short form fiction collected into one volume. A Blink of the Screen charts the course of Pratchett's long writing career: from his schooldays through to his first writing job on the Bucks Free Press,; to the origins of his debut novel, The Carpet People; and on again to the dizzy mastery of the phenomenally successful Discworld series.Here are characters both familiar and yet to be discovered; abandoned worlds and others still expanding; adventure, chickens, death, disco and, actually, some quite disturbing ideas about Christmas,all of it shot through with his inimitable brand of humour.With an introduction by Booker Prize-winning author A.S. Byatt, illustrations by the late Josh Kirby and drawings by the author himself, this is a book to treasure.

    In “Mimsy Were the Borogoves”–the inspiration for New Line Cinema’s major motion picture The Last Mimzy–a boy finds a discarded box containing a treasure trove of curious objects. When he and his sister begin to play with these trinkets–including a crystal cube that magnifies the unimaginable and a strange doll with removable organs that don’t quite correspond to those of the human body–their parents grow concerned. And they should be. For the items are changing the way the children think and perceive the world around them–for better or worse. Ray Bradbury called Henry Kuttner “a man who shaped science fiction and fantasy in its most important years.” Marion Zimmer Bradley and Roger Zelazny said he was a major inspiration. Kuttner was a writer’s writer whose visionary works anticipated our own computer-controlled, machine-made world. At the time of his death at forty-two in 1958, he had created as many as 170 stories under more than a dozen pseudonyms–sometimes writing entire issues of science fiction magazines–in close collaboration with his wife, C. L. Moore. This definitive collection will be a revelation to those who wish to discover or rediscover Henry Kuttner, a true master of the universe.

    They retain strips of flesh to contain their humanity. They live in Strongholds. They prowl the war rooms of their Strongholds and plan wars.Quite a world, Moderan. Come visit. The war is about to begin...Contents:- IntroductionPart I: The Beginnings- Thinking Back (Our God Is a Helpful God!)- No Cracks or Saggings- The Butterflies Were Eagle-Big That Day- New Kings Are Not for Laughing- One Time, a Red Carpet...- Battle Won- Head Thumping the Troops- New-Metal Mistress Time- And So White Witch Valley- The Bird Man of Moderan- Bubble-Dome Homes- One False Step- Survival Packages- New-Metal- Of Hammers & Men- The Stronghold- 2064, or Thereabouts- Penance Day in Moderan- Strange Shape in the Stronghold- Getting Regular- The Walking, Talking I-Don't-Care ManPart II: Everyday Life in Moderan- To Face Eternity- In the Innermost Room of Authority- The Problem- Playmate- A Husband's Share- A Complete Father- Was She Horrid?- A Glance at the Past- Educational- It Was Black Cat Weather- Sometimes I Get So Happy- Remembering- A Little Girl's Xmas in Moderan- The Flesh-Man from Far WidePart III: Intimations of the End- The One from Camelot Moderan- Reunion- The Warning- Has Anyone Seen This Horseman?- Interruption in Carnage- The Miracle of the Flowers- Incident in Moderan- The Final Decision- Will-Hung & Waiting- How They Took Care of Soul in a Last Day for a Non-Beginning- How It Ended

    Gene Wolfe, of whom The Washington Post said, “Of all SF writers currently active none is held in higher esteem,” has selected the short fiction he considers his finest into one volume.  There are many award winners and many that have been selected for various Year’s Best anthologies among the thirty-one stories, which include: “Petting Zoo,” “The Tree Is My Hat,” “The Island of Dr. Death and Other Stories,” “The Hero as Werewolf,” “Seven American Nights,” “The Fifth Head of Cerberus,” “The Detective of Dreams,” and “A Cabin on the Coast.” Gene Wolfe has produced possibly the finest and most significant body of short fiction in the SF and fantasy field in the last fifty years, and is certainly among the greatest living writers to emerge from the genres.  This is the first retrospective collection of his entire career.  It is for the ages.Contents11 • The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories • [Archipelago] • (1970) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe23 • Afterword (The Island of Doctor Death and Other Stories) • essay by Gene Wolfe25 • The Toy Theater • (1971) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe30 • Afterword (The Toy Theater) • essay by Gene Wolfe31 • The Fifth Head of Cerberus • (1972) • novella by Gene Wolfe76 • Afterword (The Fifth Head of Cerberus) • essay by Gene Wolfe78 • Beech Hill • (1972) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe83 • Afterword (Beech Hill) • essay by Gene Wolfe84 • The Recording • (1972) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe86 • Afterword (The Recording) • essay by Gene Wolfe88 • Hour of Trust • (1973) • novelette by Gene Wolfe112 • Afterword (Hour of Trust) • essay by Gene Wolfe114 • The Death of Dr. Island • [Archipelago] • (1973) • novella by Gene Wolfe158 • Afterword (The Death of Dr. Island) • essay by Gene Wolfe159 • La Befana • (1973) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe162 • Afterword (La Befana) • essay by Gene Wolfe163 • Forlesen • (1974) • novelette by Gene Wolfe201 • Afterword (Forlesen) • essay by Gene Wolfe202 • Westwind • (1973) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe208 • Afterword (Westwind) • essay by Gene Wolfe209 • The Hero as Werwolf • (1975) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe221 • Afterword (The Hero as Werwolf) • essay by Gene Wolfe222 • The Marvelous Brass Chessplaying Automaton • (1977) • novelette by Gene Wolfe236 • Afterword (The Marvelous Brass Chessplaying Automaton) • essay by Gene Wolfe237 • Straw • (1975) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe243 • Afterword (Straw) • essay by Gene Wolfe244 • The Eyeflash Miracles • (1976) • novella by Gene Wolfe291 • Afterword (The Eyeflash Miracles) • essay by Gene Wolfe292 • Seven American Nights • (1978) • novella by Gene Wolfe331 • Afterword (Seven American Nights) • essay by Gene Wolfe333 • The Detective of Dreams • (1980) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe346 • Afterword (The Detective of Dreams) • essay by Gene Wolfe347 • Kevin Malone • (1980) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe355 • Afterword (Kevin Malone) • essay by Gene Wolfe356 • The God and His Man • (1980) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe360 • Afterword (The God and His Man) • essay by Gene Wolfe361 • On the Train • [Redwood Coast Roamer] • (1983) • shortfiction by Gene Wolfe362 • Afterword (On the Train) • essay by Gene Wolfe363 • From the Desk of Gilmer C. Merton • (1983) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe367 • Afterword (From the Desk of Gilmer C. Merton) • essay by Gene Wolfe368 • Death of the Island Doctor • [Archipelago] • (1983) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe372 • Afterword (Death of the Island Doctor) • essay by Gene Wolfe373 • Redbeard • (1984) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe377 • Afterword (Redbeard) • essay by Gene Wolfe379 • The Boy Who Hooked the Sun • (1985) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe381 • Afterword (The Boy Who Hooked the Sun) • essay by Gene Wolfe382 • Parkroads—A Review • (1987) • shortfiction by Gene Wolfe384 • Afterword (Parkroads—A Review) • essay by Gene Wolfe385 • Game in the Pope's Head • (1988) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe390 • Afterword (Game in the Pope's Head) • essay by Gene Wolfe391 • And When They Appear • (1993) • novelette by Gene Wolfe408 • Afterword (And When They Appear) • essay by Gene Wolfe409 • Bed and Breakfast • (1996) • shortfiction by Gene Wolfe (variant of Bed & Breakfast)426 • Afterword (Bed and Breakfast) • essay by Gene Wolfe427 • Petting Zoo • (1997) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe431 • Afterword (Petting Zoo) • essay by Gene Wolfe433 • The Tree Is My Hat • (1999) • novelette by Gene Wolfe452 • Afterword (The Tree Is My Hat) • essay by Gene Wolfe454 • Has Anybody Seen Junie Moon? • (1999) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe464 • Afterword (Has Anybody Seen Junie Moon?) • essay by Gene Wolfe466 • A Cabin on the Coast • (1984) • shortstory by Gene Wolfe475 • Afterword (A Cabin on the Coast) • essay by Gene Wolfe

    Sometimes sad, often humorous and always creative, these tales touch on a wide range of life experiences from romance and family to death and sex. Nana rocked in her old wooden rocking chair. “Timmy, you have always been my favorite,” she said. He looked at her. “Nana, I’m Bobby.” Read your diary, discovered your secret. I thought I loved you, but now I’m not sure. Don’t know what to do, you look so human. Clowning was Daryl’s profession, cooking was his passion. Stella thought he was perfect. She liked to laugh and never learned to cook. Alex bought Sharon a ring for Valentine’s Day, which she sold to buy the gun that stopped him from loving her. In 2009, Sean Hill combined his love of writing and technology by creating @VeryShortStory, a Twitter feed where he interacts with his readers and shares his 140-character stories.