In doing so, the book triumphed over a very strong shortlist, including collections by one Booker Prize winner in Anne Enright and two authors who have been Booker shortlisted in Shena Mackay and Ali Smith (the latter a winner of the Whitbread Prize).When announcing the winner, one of the judges – James Walton, journalist and chair of BBC Radio 4’s The Write Stuff – said, “I suspect Chris Beckett winning the Edge Hill Prize will be seen as a surprise in the world of books. In fact, though, it was also a bit of surprise to the judges, none of whom knew they were science fiction fans beforehand.”In 2012 the Sunday Times named Chris’ latest novel Dark Eden the best science fiction novel of the year, and it is currently shortlisted for the BSFA Award in the same category. NewCon Press are delighted to be publishing The Peacock Cloak, the latest collection from one of Britain’s most distinguished and accomplished genre authors. Contains twelve stories (85,000 words) all previously uncollected.

    What if the prophecies of Revelation hit today? What sort of craziness and evil would ensue? With this list of excellent authors contributing, it’s sure to be a Hell of a read! Wrath James White Sam West The Sisters of Slaughter Jeff Strand K Trap Jones C Derick Miller Christine Morgan Patrick C. Harrison III John Wayne Comunale Hyäne Sawbones Delphine Quinn James Watts Wile E. Young Chris Miller Mark Deloy Richard Raven

    They soon discover her house has been tossed, and everything with her company is not as it seems. With both of them on the run, Joshua enlists help from friends, who quickly end up in the cross hairs of a powerful private military group. Can Joshua put aside his quest for revenge long enough to save the beautiful financial wizard? Or will her own choices lead to results that are more than they can handle? Book Two What starts out as a light security job for Kincaid turns explosive as a young bartender named Mindy becomes the target of both a car bomb and a personalized, at home booby trap. But when an attorney from Mindy’s hometown is found murdered in his hotel room while on a trip to meet her, both security agent and barkeeper are quickly put under the microscope by local law enforcement. Forced to flee from the city, they must travel to the one place Mindy can confront her past and the troubles plaguing them both: the home she abandoned as she tried to put her past behind her. Book Three A routine bodyguard detail for a Japanese businessman goes south when Ben ends up at a local underground gambling hall as part of an evening of entertainment. Things get even worse when rivals to the local crime syndicate show up to cause problems, and both he and the hostess Elizabeth are forced to work together to rescue as many revelers and gamblers. Now, Ben is being tapped by a local fixer to find the gambling hall’s head of security, and if he refuses Elizabeth and her younger sister will be the ones held responsible. Ben will have to swallow his pride and work with the attractive woman if he wants to make it out alive. But can he do it, even as a third criminal organization appears seemingly from nowhere and begins to hunt the same man? Book Four He just wanted to deliver a letter from her dead brother. He didn’t want to end up protecting the gorgeous political campaign manager from a crazy stalker ex-boyfriend, or be responsible for trying to extract her former roommate from a communal religious cult. But, as the local Mayoral election heats up, Thomas and Rachel will find out there’s more than meets the eye when it comes to all the moving pieces in the local electoral game. Especially since the cult leader has a shady, murderous past, and is busy trying to secede from the city. Thomas will have to find a way to bring in the cult’s founder while also mustering the courage he needs to tell Rachel that he’s the one really responsible for her brother’s death. Book Five The owner and boss of Eagle Eye has had some of the worst jobs imaginable. At least, he thought so. Now, Mark Riley is forced to deal with hired killers and drug cartel hitmen as he tries to spark a war and save Paige Henry, the daughter of a Washington bureaucrat who can end Eagle Eye with nothing more than a stroke of her pen. The target of his rescue attempt, a covert CIA agent, is less than satisfied with the outcome. The only way she’ll let him return her home to “the company” is if he first helps her bring down the cartel that first kidnapped her. The only problem is that it’s the same cartel that invaded his own adopted city. Can Mark temper Paige’s desperate need for revenge? Or will she drag him down with her as he’s forced to confront Eagle Eye’s own involvement in the cartel’s rise to criminal power?

    Rain—all set in the City of Angels, including:ELVIS HAS NOT LEFT THE BUILDINGIt's tough being the King. Which is why in 1977 Elvis faked his own death and endured massive facial reconstruction surgery, and disappeared from the limelight to live a normal life as the unassuming Aaron King. Unfortunately, leaving fame behind also meant leaving his fortune behind, too, and now Elvis finds himself broke and living in near poverty in a small apartment in Los Angeles. Luckily for him, it turns out he's a pretty good private investigator. Now in his seventies and contemplating a return to music (discreetly, of course), Elvis is hired to solve a baffling missing person case. A young starlet, at the beginning of a promising movie career, has seemingly disappeared off the face of the earth. As Elvis digs deeper, he finds himself surrounded by the seedier elements of Los Angeles, from nefarious Hollywood producers who prey upon the young, to twin brothers with a very dark secret. And as Elvis pieces the bizarre puzzle together, he slowly makes his singing comeback—and will be reunited on stage with someone even the King himself never dreamed possible.THE BODY DEPARTEDTwo years ago, a man broke into James Blakely's apartment and shot him in his sleep. Twelve times, killing him instantly. Dead and confused, James discovers he has a choice: he can move on into the afterlife, or he can stay behind. Unfortunately, since James has done some very bad things, moving on into the afterlife can only mean one thing: the fires of Hell. Or so he thinks. Forgoing eternal damnation, James instead chooses to haunt his old apartment building. Now James's days are mostly spent visiting his daughter and ex-wife, welcoming new neighbors, and talking to those who can see the dead. It's a simple, peaceful life, but with each passing day, James discovers something more and more alarming: memories of his former life—and even his own identity—begin slipping away. Faced with the prospect that he is rapidly deteriorating into a state of nothingness, James sets out to save his eternal soul. With the help of his daughter and a world-class medium, his journey to peace and forgiveness will not be an easy one, especially for a ghost who still wishes to be a father—and who fears he is destined for a fiery Hell as punishment for sins he cannot remember. Now, as James begins to uncover the devastating secret that connects his soul to earth, he will discover that even in death life has a few surprises.THE VAMPIRE WITH THE DRAGON TATTOOThree years ago, high school student Veronica Fortune witnessed the brutal murder of her parents. Now armed and dangerous, she sets out to hunt down the very thing that destroyed her life. That is, until she disappears. Spinoza is a private investigator who specializes in finding the missing. He's good at what he does. Damn good. But he's also a recovering alcoholic and a royal mess. Hired to find Veronica, Spinoza won't let his personal demons—or demons of any kind—get in the way of finding the truth about the missing girl. Now following a bizarre set of clues that leads him into stranger and stranger territory, Spinoza is about to come face-to-face with something legendary...and something thirsty for blood.(Includes a clickable Table of Contents.)

    SNAFU: Wolves at the Door will bring the bite, with soldiers fighting for their lives against were-animals. * * * * * In the blackest night or under the full moon, danger is lurking. It’s survival at all costs when you’re fighting against an enemy that could tear you apart – or convert you to the other side. Against the backdrop of an untamed wilderness or the dark depths of the city, the ultimate clash between the forces of man and nature rages on. Whether battling the monster within or a war around them – these soldiers may find the cost could prove too great.

    What do you get when you ask 34 of today's top indie authors to each submit a story and then ask a team of judges to scour that ore and pick out the gems? You get All These Shiny Worlds:A world of today, divided, black from white, good from evil, and held apart by the taste of a cookie.A world of griffons and glimmer bunnies, sassy llamas, and the magic of beer.A world of contemplation and serenity, of service and devotion, ruled by a jewel and guarded by children.Plus 12 more, for a total of 15 sparkling worlds to explore.From the brutal curators at ImmerseOrDie.com comes this collection of indie short stories, each a distinct jewel forged in the fires of judgment, and all carrying one simple promise:Guaranteed not to suck.

    From the painted faces of a child's nightmare to discovering what we really put in our bodies in the name of health. Here are 10 tales to read with the light on.TALE #1 - "Roll up, Roll up"TALE #2 - "Late Shift"TALE #3 - "You call that music?"TALE #4 - "Whose face is this anyway?"TALE #5 - "Pink Bow"TALE #6 - "Careful what you wish for"TALE #7 - "Recycling can be hazardous to your health"TALE #8 - "Mommy's little soldier"TALE #9 - "Trick or Treat"TALE #10 - "You are what you eat"

    

    Somerset Maugham; Ring Lardner; Ivan Bunin; Saki (H.H. Munro); W.W. Jacobs; O. Henry; Anton P. Chekhov; Robert Louis Stevenson; Guy de Maupassant; Anatole France; Mark Twain; Bret Harte; Leo N. Tolstoi; Edgar Allan Poe; Honoré de Balzac

    Featuring new fiction by Mary Robinette Kowal, E. Lily Yu, Shveta Thakrar, Charlie Jane Anders, Delilah S. Dawson, and Sarah Monette, classic fiction by Scott Lynch, essays by Natalie Luhrs, Sofia Samatar, Michael R. Underwood, and Caitlín Rosberg, poetry by C. S. E. Cooney, Bryan Thao Worra, and Sonya Taaffe, interviews with E. Lily Yu and Delilah S. Dawson by Deborah Stanish, a cover by Antonio Caparo, and an editoral by Lynne M. Thomas and Michael Damian Thomas.

    Sylvia Marstens, is making a fresh start. The move from NYU to Silicon Valley is just the ticket to break out of her rut. With a huge boost in salary, beautiful California weather, and complete autonomy at work, her new job is a dream come true. The world’s largest online video sharing service, UVid, has a problem. The Content Moderators hired to review questionable materials are quitting en masse. Some videos are just too disturbing and disgusting to forget. Dr. Marstens, with her unorthodox method of isolating and suppressing traumatic memories, has the perfect solution to solve UVid’s expensive turnover troubles. Her controversial technique, long denounced in the halls of academia, is more than welcome in the land of algorithms and code. It is a match made in heaven. She soon discovers some traumas cut too deep. Sometimes the past comes back. Some horrors will not stay buried. In this terrifying thriller, Dr. Marstens finds even she cannot escape her own dark history, because some things seen, can never be unseen.

    The carnival is about to begin, and the show is to die for... Grab your ticket and take a seat. The ringmaster’s opening act? A creature showcasing its bloody feat.There are haunting spirits with much to tell. Tales of torture and screams straight from the burning flames of hell.Tick-tock goes the time, seconds passing by as you slowly lose your mind.Watch.Wait.Listen.Evil is coming, and it’s striking from behind.Horror and fear, like filth on your skin it clings,Question is, are you brave enough to endure…The Carnival of Strange Things?

    An FBI agent falls in love with a robot built for a suicide mission. A young woman unintentionally cheats on her husband when she is transformed, nightly, into a deer. Two strangers become lovers and find themselves somehow responsible for the resurrection of a dog. A woman tries to start her life anew after the loss of a child but cannot help riddling that new life with lies. Thirteen pregnant teenagers develop a strange relationship with the Founding Fathers of American history. A lonely woman’s fertility treatments become the stuff of science fiction.Magic intrudes. Technology betrays and disappoints. Infidelities lead us beyond the usual conflict. Our bodies change, reproduce, decay, and surprise. With her characteristic unguarded gaze and offbeat humor, Hunt has conjured stories that urge an understanding of youth and mortality, magnification and loss, and hold out the hope that we can know one another more deeply or at least stand side by side to observe the mystery of the world.

    But he discovers that there is more than a ghost causing mayhem. The Mansion is a fast-paced supernatural story about 10,000 words long.

    It ended with a staggering body count as the world around her unraveled from a deadly virus. With her mission to extract the President’s daughter from the University of Arizona gone awry, she must choose between her sworn duties and her moral obligations to others as the city is overtaken by roving packs of flesh-eating mutants. If she and her small group are to survive the night and find a way out of the ravaged city, she will have to summon all of her training, mental prowess, and tactical abilities.All 5 Volumes in One Special EditionUntil Morning ComesIn Too DeepThe Way BackThe Gathering DarknessOne Final Mission