It's all there - a wicked duke and duchess, the ghost of the murdered king, dim soldiers, strolling players, a land in peril. And who stands between the Kingdom and destruction? Three witches. Granny Weatherwax (intolerant, self-opinionated, powerful), Nanny Ogg (down-to-earth, vulgar) and Magrat Garlick (naïve, fond of occult jewellery and bunnies).Stephen Briggs has been involved in amateur dramatics for over 25 years and he assures us that the play can be staged without needing the budget of Industrial Light and Magic. Not only that, but the cast should still be able to be in the pub by 10 o'clock!Oh, and a world of advice omitted from the play text:LEARN THE WORDSHavelock, Lord Vetinari

    In his singular universe, televisions talk (and sometimes sing), animals live in small apartments where their nephews visit from the sea, and men and women and boys and girls fall down wells and fly through space and find love on Ferris wheels. In a voice full of fable, myth, and dream, Stories for Nighttime and Some for the Day draws us into a world of delightfully wicked recognitions, and introduces us to a writer of uncommon talent and imagination.Contains 40 stories, including "The Duck," "The Man and the Moose," and "Death and the Fruits of the Tree," as heard on NPR's This American Life, "The Book," as heard on Selected Shorts, and "The TV," as found in The New Yorker.A selection of the Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers Program and the Starbucks Coffee Bookish Reading Club.Winner of the 2011 Nobbie Award for Best Book of the Year."This guy can write!" –Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451

    Let's face it-some bonds are made to be broken.Here, for the first time ever, are four stories from today's most provocative authors that take the classic idea of the "faerie tale wedding" and give it a swift kick in the bustle.“Can He Bake a Cherry Pie?” by Laurell K. Hamilton.“The Shadow of Mist” by Yasmine Galenorn.“The Tangleroot Palace” by Marjorie M. Liu.“The Wrong Bridegroom” by Sharon Shinn.

    Beagle's The Last Unicorn captured the hearts and the imaginations of people of all ages around the world. Now, by popular demand, Beagle has at last reunited with the fabulous mythical creature. An integral symbol in each piece, the fabled unicorn assumes many shapes - from the Chinese ki-lin, to the classic European cloven-hoofed legend, and more. Explore the near limitless imaginings of the more than two dozen contributing authors in this unique anthology.

    There's nothing inconstant about this Moon; a fact that shines forth brightly in all her Phases.Contents:Bargains --ABCs in Zero G --A delicate adjustment --Too wet to plow --Gut feelings --The generic rejuvenation of Milo Ardry --New World Symphony --Just another day at the weather service --Politics --In suspect terrain --The happy frog --Horse of her dreams --Knight of other days --Aura --Those who walk in darkness.

    Swamp Planet ChristmasSnake EyesBystanderWhat do the Simple Folk do?...Gift of a Useless ManSurfeitThe Dark Light GirlInstant With Loud VoicesCommunicationThe Last RunWu-Ling's FollyVillage of the Chosen

    All feature princesses touched with or by magic. There is Linadel, who lives in a kingdom next to Faerieland, where princesses are stolen away on their seventeenth birthdays-and Linadel's seventeenth birthday is tomorrow. And Korah, whose brother is bewitched by the magical Golden Hind; now it is up to her to break the spell. Rana must turn to a talking frog to help save her kingdom from the evil Aliyander. And then there are the twelve princesses, enspelled to dance through the soles of their shoes every night. . . . These are tales to read with delight!

    But if, by chance, an insider led you to the White Hart on a Wednesday night, you would have found yourself in the midst of a select gathering or writers, editors, scientists and interested laymen—drinking, swapping odd bits of information, and, like as not, listening to Harry Purvis' memorable stories. A scientist by profession, Harry Purvis has had or heard about some of the most astonishing experiences—like the story of the carnivorous orchid that was used in a murder plot, or the one about the military computer that was converted to pacifism. There's SILENCE PLEASE, involving a spurned lover and a device that was supposed to destroy sound; and BIG GAME HUNT, in which an ambitious researcher becomes so wrapped up in his latest projest—controlling animal behavior with electrical impulses— that he overlooks one tiny important detail. Such stories may challenge your powers of logic and strain your imagination. Yet even if you doubt their veracity, they're guaranteed to provide you with hours of SF reading. Baron Munchausen, step aside.Contains: Silence Please; Big Game Hunt; Patent Pending; Armaments Race; Critical Mass; The Ultimate Melody; The Pacifist; The Next Tenants; Moving Spirit; The Man Who Ploughed the Sea; The Reluctant Orchid; Cold War; What Goes Up; Sleeping Beauty & The Defenestration of Ermintrude

    Kinney"A Collective Pseudonym and an Expanding Universe: A Conversation with James S.A. Corey" by Chris Urie"Another Word: Dystopias Are Not Enough" by Kelly Robson"Editor’s Desk: Stomp Stomp Stomp" by Neil Clarke

    With rich and vibrant worldbuilding, readers are transported to antiquated realms to witness noble sacrifices and astonishing wonders. Gathering a comprehensive survey of beloved stories from the genre, this compilation includes stories by such luminaries as George R.R. Martin, Melanie Rawn, Ursula K. Le Guin, Robin Hobb, and Tad Williams, with a foreword by author Brent Weeks. Inspiring and larger-than-life, these tales offer timeless values of courage and friendship in the face of ultimate evil and express mankind's greatest hopes and fears.Stories:01 - Robin Hobb, Homecoming02 - Ursula K. Le Guin, The Word of Unbinding03 - Tad Williams, The Burning Man04 - Aliette de Bodard, As the Wheel Turns05 - Paolo Bacigalupi, The Alchemist06 - Orson Scott Card, Sandmagic07 - Patrick Rothfuss, The Road to Levinshir08 - Brandon Sanderson, Rysn09 - Michael Moorcock, While the Gods Laugh10 - Melanie Rawn, Mother of All Russiya11 - Kate Elliott, Riding the Shore of the River of Death12 - Mary Robinette Kowal, The Bound Man13 - N.K. Jemisin, The Narcomancer14 - Carrie Vaughn, Strife Lingers in Memory15 - Trudi Canavan, The Mad Apprentice16 - Juliet Marillier, Otherling17 - George R.R. Martin, The Mystery Knight

    Here are eleven of her finest stories, surprising tales in which the impossible becomes real, the real becomes impossible, and strangeness lurks at every turn.The end of the world comes not with a bang but a series of whimpers over many years in "The Last of the Winnebagos."The terror of pain and dying gives birth to a startling truth about the nature of the stars, a principle known as the "Schwarzschild Radius."In "Spice Pogrom," an outrageous colony in outer space becomes the setting for a screwball comedy of bizarre complications, mistaken identities, far-too-friendly aliens--and even true love.The last of the Winnebagos --Even the queen --Schwarzschild radius --Ado --Spice pogrom --Winter's tale --Chance --In the late Cretaceous --Time out --Jack --At the Rialto

    Murphy (Walker Papers), Steven Savile (Glasstown), Caitlin Kittredge (the Hellhound Chronicles and the Black London series), Jeffrey Somers (The Ustari Cycle), Sam Witt (Pitchfork County), Craig Schaefer (Daniel Faust), Jon F. Merz (Lawson Vampire), Faith Hunter (Jane Yellowrock), and Diana Pharaoh Francis (Horngate Witches).“Even Hand” copyright © 2017 by Jim Butcher and previously published by St. Martin’s Press in the Dark and Stormy Nights collection“Hounded” copyright © 2017 by Kelley Armstrong“Nigsu Ga Tesgu” copyright © 2017 by Jeffrey Somers“Sixty-Six Seconds” copyright © 2017 by Craig Schaefer“Kiss” copyright © 2017 by Lilith Saintcrow“The Naughtiest Cherub” copyright © 2017 by Kevin Hearne“The Resurrectionist” copyright © 2017 by Caitlin KittredgeCompilation and “Down Where the Darkness Dwells” copyright © 2017 by Joseph Nassise“Bellum Romanum” copyright ©2017 by Carrie Vaughn“Altar Boy” copyright © 2017 by Jonathan Maberry“Make It Snappy” copyright © 2017 by Faith Hunter“Chase the Fire” copyright © 2017 by Jon F. Merz“Unexpected Choices” copyright © 2017 by Diana Pharaoh Francis“Reel Life: A Glass Town Story” copyright © 2017 by Steven Savile“The Difference Between Deceit and Delusion” copyright © 2017 by Domino Finn“Balance” copyright © 2017 by Seanan McGuire“Everywhere” copyright © 2017 by Sam Witt

    K. Rowling, and was published online on June 11th, 2008. Set three years before the birth of Harry Potter, the story recounts an adventure had by Sirius Black and James Potter.J.K. Rowling announced on May 28, 2008 that she was writing a prequel story for English PEN, the writers' association, and the Dyslexia Society. The story, handwritten on a card, would then be auctioned off alongside similar cards from other authors on June 11th, 2008, with the proceeds going to charity. A book of facsimiles was published in August 2008, allowing fans to own and read the story. The story can be found online.

    The stories in Federations will continue that tradition. What are the social/religious/environmental/technological implications of living in such a vast society? What happens when expansionist tendencies on a galactic scale come into conflict with the indigenous peoples of other planets, of other races? And what of the issue of communicating across such distances, or the problems caused by relativistic travel? These are just some of the questions and issues that the stories in Federations will take on.Contents:Introduction / John Joseph Adams --Mazer in prison / Orson Scott Card --Carthago delenda est / Genevieve Valentine --Life-suspension / L.E. Modesitt, Jr. --Terra-exulta / S.L. Gilbow --Aftermaths / Lois McMaster Bujold --Someone is stealing the great throne rooms of the galaxy / Harry Turtledove --Prisons / Kevin J. Anderson and Doug Beason --Different day / K. Tempest Bradford --Twilight of the gods / John C. Wright --Warship / George R.R. Martin and George Guthridge --Swanwatch / Yoon Ha Lee --Spirey and the queen / Alastair Reynolds --Pardon our conquest / Alan Dean Foster --Symbiont / Robert Silverberg --Ship who returned / Anne McCaffrey --My she / Mary Rosenblum --Shoulders of giants / Robert J. Sawyer --Culture archivist / Jeremiah Tolbert --Other side of Jordan / Allen Steele --Like they always been free / Georgina Li --Eskhara / Trent Hergenrader --One with the interstellar group consciousnesses / James Alan Gardner --Golubash, or wine-blood-war-elegy / Catherynne M. Valente

    Two magics. One world.There’s nowhere in America like the Big Easy. Just ask Jane Yellowrock, shapeshifting vampire killer, whose hunting grounds run the length and breadth of the Bayou.Just ask Joanne Walker, whose shamanic magic has drawn her to the heart of American Weird.But it’s not Joanne’s world, and it isn’t Jane’s either. In a New Orleans where Katrina never hit and supposedly-dead vampires stalk the streets, Jane and Jo have to find and defeat the magic that brought them there–or they just might find themselves…EASY PICKINGSfan fiction by the authors themselves!