Anthologies & Short Stories

Book SynopsisCollecting the exclusive short story fiction from Star Trek Magazine tying into the Star Trek online game. Collecting the exclusive short story fiction from Star Trek Magazine tying into the Star Trek online game. This incredible collection features 19 illustrated stories exclusively written for the Star Trek Magazine. It features action-packed tales starring iconic characters such as Data, Seven of Nine, and Scotty, plus alien enemies including the Klingons and the Jem'Hadar.

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Book SynopsisMaman was exigeante—there is no English word—and I had the benefit of her training. Others may not be so fortunate. If some other young girl, with two million dollars at stake, finds this of use I shall count myself justified.Trade Review"A staggeringly intelligent examination into the nature of truth, love, respect, beauty and trust...This is that rare thing, or merle blanc, as maman might say: a perfect book. I've read it four times, which you can do between breakfast and lunch." -- Nicola Shulman - The Times Literary Supplement"Weighing in at just 64 pages, Helen DeWitt’s The English Understand Wool is a delight." -- Mia Levitin - The Irish Times"This is a short, sharp sliver of a story—only 64 pages—but every single word is pitch perfect… Think of it as the literary equivalent of a shot of ice-cold vodka—Belvedere or Grey Goose only, of course." -- Lucy Scholes - Prospect"For a wonderfully sideways take on the complex intersections between class, wealth and power—intersections that invariably favour those who have most of them already—I recommend reading The English Understand Wool, by the American writer Helen DeWitt." -- Alex Clark - The Observer"The English Understand Wool is Helen DeWitt’s best and funniest book so far – quite a feat given the standards set by the rest of her work… Its pages are rife with wicked pleasures. It incites and rewards re-reading." -- Heather Cass White - The Times Literary Supplement"Readers of Helen DeWitt’s limited previous output—two novels and a collection of stories in twenty-two years—will fall greedily on anything new. Her novella The English Understand Wool exceeds expectations." -- John Self - The Critic

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Book SynopsisThis riverrun edition of Turgenev's most accomplished stories contains A Nest of Gentlefolk, A Quiet Backwater, First Love, and A Lear of the Steppes - the defining masterpieces of his career. Justly celebrated as a novelist, playwright, and poet, these stories encapsulate his skills: in the scope and span of his depiction of nineteenth-century provincial life; in his nuanced portraiture of the vivid quirks of human character; and in the elusive poise of his narrative style - all artfully captured in Jessie Coulson's subtly brilliant translation.Presented by riverrun editions with an exclusive preface by award-winning translator Boris Dralyuk.

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Book SynopsisBeyond the Veil is the second volume in an annual, non-themed horror series of entirely original stories, showcasing the very best short fiction that the genre has to offer, and edited by Mark Morris. This new anthology contains 20 original horror stories, 16 of which have been commissioned from some of the top names in the genre, and 4 of which have been selected from the 100s of stories sent to Flame Tree during a 2-week open submissions window. Contents List: THE GOD BAG by Christopher Golden CAKER’S MAN by Matthew Holness THE BEECHFIELD MIRACLES by Priya Sharma CLOCKWORK by Dan Coxon SOAPSTONE by Aliya Whiteley THE DARK BIT by Toby Litt PROVENANCE POND by Josh Malerman FOR ALL THE DEAD by Angeline B. Adams and Remco van Straten THE GIRL IN THE POOL by Bracken MacLeod NURSE VARDEN by Jeremy Dyson IF, THEN by Lisa L. Hannett AQUARIUM WARD by Karter Mycroft A MYSTERY FOR JULIE CHU by Stephen Gallagher AWAY DAY by Lisa Tuttle POLAROID AND SEAWEED by Peter Harness DER GEISTERBAHNHOF by Lynda E. Rucker ARNIE’S ASHES by John Everson A BRIEF TOUR OF THE NIGHT by Nathan Ballingrud THE CARE AND FEEDING OF HOUSEHOLD GODS by Frank J. Oreto YELLOWBACK by Gemma Files FLAME TREE PRESS is the imprint of long-standing Independent Flame Tree Publishing, dedicated to full-length original fiction in the horror and suspense, science fiction & fantasy, and crime / mystery / thriller categories. The list brings together fantastic new authors and the more established; the award winners, and exciting, original voices. Learn more about Flame Tree Press at www.flametreepress.com and connect on social media @FlameTreePress.Trade Review"There is no end to the talent Mark Morris has brought together here. Fans of the genre will be pleased to see new work from such favorites as Nathan Ballingrud and Gemma Files, among others. So if you’re ready for a long fall night, pick up a copy of this massive anthology and fall into the mysterious worlds Beyond the Veil." -- PhantastiqaPraise for the first book in the series: "This rich and masterful collection of horror highlights both up-and-coming and established authors in an interesting twist on the standard anthology [...] Highly recommended for longstanding horror fans and those readers who may not think horror is for them. There is something for everyone in this one." — Booklist "This is a short story collection that does exactly what it sets out to, delight and scare. With stories from well-known authors in the genre as well as a few from emerging voices, After Sundown has something for everyone. Highly recommended." — The British Fantasy Society "An entertaining, slickly written, mainstream, fun, something-for-every-horror-fan anthology.” — HorrorTree “Beautifully written pieces that lean into the intuitive and fantastic.” — Publishers Weekly “There’s a refreshing lack of pretentiousness about these stories. The authors span several continents so there’s a decent array of themes and styles. Each tale had a very distinct voice, with a superb variety that perfectly illustrates what a broad church the genre covers. I had a blast reading this book. It really has reinvigorated my interest in the horror genre.” — Stephen Bacon, author & critic“I'm impressed with the imagination and variety coming from the writers. Beyond the Veil, from Flame Tree Press, is another happy clump of ickiness...and I mean that in a good way.” -- The Happy Horror Writer

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Book SynopsisFinalist for the 2021 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction“A House Is a Body will not simply be talked about as one of the greatest short story collections of the 2020s; it will change the way all stories—short and long—are told, written, and consumed. There is nothing, no emotion, no tiny morsel of memory, no touch, that this book does not take seriously. Yet, A House Is a Body might be the most fun I’ve ever had in a short story collection.” —Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy Dreams collide with reality, modernity with antiquity, and myth with identity in the twelve arresting stories of A House Is a Body. Set in the United States and India, Swamy’s characters grapple with motherhood, relationships, and their bodies to reveal small but intense internal moments of beauty, pain, and power that contain the world. In “Earthly Pleasures,” a young painter living alone in San Francisco begins a secret romance with one of India’s biggest celebrities, and desire and ego are laid bare. In “A Simple Composition,” a husband’s professional crisis leads to his wife’s discovery of a dark, ecstatic joy. And in the title story, an exhausted mother watches, hypnotized by fear, as a California wildfire approaches her home. Immersive and assured, provocative and probing, these are stories written with the edge and precision of a knife blade.A House Is a Body introduces a bold and original voice in fiction, from a writer at the start of a stellar career. Don't miss Shruti Swamy's debut novel, The Archer (available September 7, 2021), which has already been longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.Trade ReviewAn Electric Lit Favorite Short Story Collection of 2020“A House Is A Body might be the most fun I've ever had in a short story collection.” —Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy “Stunning.” —Ms. “Swamy’s debut short story collection is rich, mesmeric . . . These are nuanced and quietly powerful stories about our most urgent and deeply felt experiences—grief, love, and desire.” —BuzzFeed (29 Summer Books You Won't Be Able to Put Down) “Equal parts elegance and sorrow, absurdity and sensuality. This book is magic.” —C Pam Zhang, author of How Much of These Hills Is Gold “Swamy connects the narratives through her clean prose, punctuating moments both surreal and eerily realistic.” —Time ("Here Are the 12 New Books You Should Read in August") “In this story collection that hops back and forth between India and the U.S., Shruti Swamy delivers a meticulous investigation of the pleasures, pains, and confusions that bodies afford—especially when those bodies belong to people of color. In the hypnotic, almost Lynchian title story (which previously appeared in The Paris Review), a Californian woman watches as a wildfire steadily advances on her home. These are closely observed stories that often turn into provocative studies about the absurdity of our entanglement with others.” —The Millions “Two-time O. Henry Award winner Shruti Swamy shows impressive range within the deceptively narrow confines (200 pages) of her debut short story collection, A House Is A Body . . . Swamy’s words readily dazzle, and the collection’s themes, including a haunting exploration of sibling rivalry, reveal themselves gradually.” —The AV Club ("5 New Books to Read in August") “The 12 stories that make up Shruti Swamy's A House Is a Body are mesmerizing in their richness . . . Swamy captures the full breadth of the human experience.” —PopSugar ("26 Incredible New Books Coming Your Way This August") “[Swamy] writes with sureness and grace. Her writing is more poetry than prose . . . The stories are rewarding for the elegance and lilt of the writing. Swamy takes you on an easy, well-articulated rides set in India, Germany, and the United States . . . If you love words, the way they can be used to describe objects and actions, the ways they can be assembled for effect, buy A House Is a Body. You will be rewarded.” —New York Journal of Books “The winner of two O. Henry Prizes, Shruti Swamy will publish her first short-story collection this summer, and you won't want to miss out on reading it. The 12 stories in A House Is a Body move between India and the U.S., focusing on women's interior lives and the ways in which their identities differ from the perceptions and presumptions of those around them.”—Bustle "Swamy’s pulsating prose produces riveting narratives. Her stories twist in subtle yet unexpected ways . . . The fallible characters in Swamy’s ravishing book are always falling into something and bravely grasping what they can on their way down in a frenetic attempt to pull themselves back up. A dazzling and exquisitely crafted collection." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review“Spanning the geographical and social distance between India and the U.S., Swamy’s 12 tales illuminate her characters’ imperfections and struggles, ultimately forming an attuned and mystical exploration into the enigmas of being human.”—Booklist"Swamy writes with a cool precision that draws the reader into her debut collection . . the plots unspool in lovely lucid prose that has a poetic omniscience . . . Swamy is off to a strong start." —Publishers Weekly “This is one of the books I'll turn to again and again, to study the tapestry of the prose, which is so beautiful and original. And there is such a deep curiosity at work here. I couldn't stop reading once I'd begun, couldn't part with this clear, exquisite, intelligent mind, contemplating an endlessly troubled and intimate world. It made me love reading all over again.” —Rebecca Lee, author of Bobcat and Other Stories “I’ve been reading Shruti Swamy’s stories for a long time and so for me to have them here together is cause for great celebration. These stories are written with such rare patience and a restraint that they are at times, almost unbearably tense. That’s a story writer. Not a book to read in a hurry. Take your time, as Swamy did. No need for hyperbole, either. The beauty and timeless grace of these stories will always speak for themselves.” —Peter Orner, author of Maggie Brown Others: Stories "Shruti Swamy writes with a confidence and rich understanding that recalls such renowned storytellers as Katherine Anne Porter and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Her collection A House is a Body is the perfect book for lovers of the short story and for all those willing to lose themselves in Swamy’s thoroughly developed fictional worlds. Shruti Swamy is a rare talent and A House is a Body is a gorgeous debut." —Laura Furman, author of The Mother Who Stayed and former series editor of The O'Henry Prize Stories "Powered by intense imagery and jolts of frank sexuality, Shruti Swamy’s A House Is a Body blurs the line between fantastical and naturalistic storytelling with its tales of love, loss, and life lived across cultures . . . mesmerizing."—Foreword Reviews, starred review

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Book SynopsisIn her brilliantly inventive debut collection, Vanessa Onwuemezi takes readers on a surreal and haunting journey through a landscape on the edge of time. At the border with another world, a line of people wait for the gates to open; on the floor of a lonely room, a Born Winner runs through his life's achievements and losses; in a suburban garden, a man witnesses a murder that pushes him out into the community. Struggling to realize the human ideals of love and freedom, the characters of Dark Neighbourhood roam instead the depths of alienation, loss and shame. With a detached eye and hallucinatory vision, they observe the worlds around them as the line between dream and reality dissolves and they themselves begin to fragment. Electrifying and heady, and written with a masterful lyrical precision, Dark Neighbourhood heralds the arrival of a strikingly original new voice in fiction.Trade Review‘Onwuemezi, who is also a poet, has said she thinks first of rhythm when she writes. When she deploys her considerable skill for sound and metre with purpose, the resulting lyricism makes for compelling reading...she has a rightful place in the tradition of surrealist, nihilistic writers such as Julio Cortázar, Jorge Luis Borges, Silvina Ocampo and Samanta Schweblin.... there are stories here that give shape to incoherence with a precision and style that is dazzling.’ — Baya Simons, Financial Times‘[A] beautiful, vertiginous and enriching first collection ... there is a folkloric power in the way Onwuemezi combines clarity and mystery, evoked in a dramatic, memorable soundworld.’ — David Hayden, Guardian‘Onwuemezi conjures nightmarish urban landscapes that swallow their protagonists. Each story in the book is like a window in an apartment block: lonely squares of light in the dark …The stakes are surreal but precipitously high, which is all that matters really. When you fall from the heights of heaven, you’ll hit the ground with a thud.’ — Susannah Goldsbrough, Telegraph‘Vanessa Onwuemezi’s work makes legible the liminal spaces of contemporary existence: border-zones at once geopolitical, metaphysical and – above all – linguistic. She sends English off on a great line of flight, from which it returns as poetry.’ — Tom McCarthy, author of Satin Island‘Onwuemezi is an exceptionally gifted writer. Her prose is bold, her vision singular. Unnervingly brilliant, Dark Neighbourhood is a phenomenally imaginative collection.’ — Claire-Louise Bennett, author of Checkout 19‘Dark Neighbourhood is a thrill and a challenge. Vanessa Onwuemezi is her own thing, but reading her I experience the same exciting, destabilizing sense of the world being shown anew – being made anew – that I get from Silvina Ocampo, Clarice Lispector or Dambudzo Marechera.’ — Chris Power, author of A Lonely Man ‘Onwuemezi’s writing is a breath of fresh air. This collection is a marvel.’ — Daisy Johnson, author of Sisters ‘With stories of ambiguous embodiments, slick, mordant desires and warping cityscapes, Vanessa Onwuemezi's Dark Neighbourhood offers a new poetics of storytelling. Lyrical clarity combines with formal experimentation alongside hotching, grimaced, and dazzling world-building: a potent, portentous, truly original collection.’ — Eley Williams, author of The Liar's Dictionary‘Every sentence in Vanessa Onwuemezi’s Dark Neighbourhood demands and deserves attention. Each story pulses and throbs with a precise and electric energy, yet there’s still so much space for her characters to explore the depths of themselves, and, in turn, ask the reader to do the same. Onwuemezi is a writer who approaches her craft with real rigour and care, and her voice is unlike any I’ve read.’ — Caleb Azumah Nelson, author of Open Water

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Book SynopsisWhat kind of Detective am I? Eardrum or tympanum? Gullet or aesophagus? Pussy or pudenda? A Detective needs a language almost as much as a language needs a Detective.In this new collection of stories, award-winning author Ivan Vladislavić invites readers to do some detective work of their own. Each story can be read as just that – a story – or you can dig a little deeper. Take a closer look, examine the artefact from all angles, and consider the clues and patterns concealed within.Whether skewering extreme marketing techniques or constructing dystopian parallel universes; whether mourning a mother’s loss or tracing a translator’s on-stage breakdown, Vladislavić’s pitch-perfect inquisitions will make you question your own language – how it defines you, and how it undoes you. Trade Review ‘Kafka isn’t named in the catalogue of 101 Detectives, but his fingerprints are all over this book. Or do they belong to Ivan Vladislavic? One of the boldest, wittiest, and most imaginative fiction writers working today, Vladislavic packs a “snub-nosed lingo” and has a knack for the uncanny. He finds it in ordinary and unlikely places . . . Seeing “every human action as sign, symptom, or subterfuge,” Vladislavic’s amazing fiction makes detectives of readers and writers alike.’ -- Laurie Greer (bookseller) * Politics & Prose *‘Vladislavic experiments with the identities and roles society proposes. He is a detective pondering meaning ("There's a pattern I'm missing, he thought. A pattern I'm missing. Or is there?" ... "Let's say the whole thing is a set-up, he thought, an elaborate sting to do away with me"). He is a South African outsider in American tentatively trying to fit in but actually repelled and overcome by casual monstrosity. He is a guest at the lavishly and artistically staged launch of the new Ford Kafka motor car. He describes a "corporate storyteller" having a bad day with the menacing recitation pod imposed upon her by Human Capital and Technology. In "The Reading", an African woman reads an account of her abduction as a child slave to a room full of civilised and casually well-meaning German liberals, each with their own concerns. Does anyone understand? Can language convey her experience? Possible universes clash and diverge. Follow Vladislavic into that very familiar anomie which is our daily life at the beginning of the third millennium.’ -- Newham Bob Archer (bookseller Books)‘Known for “juxtaposing the banal and the bizarre,” Vladislavić’s work provides fascinating glimpses into post-apartheid South Africa as well as “dystopian parallel universes”’. * World Literature Today *‘Whether skewering extreme marketing techniques or construction dystopian parallel universes; whether mounting a mother's loss or tracing a translator's on-stage breakdown, Vladislavić's perfect inquisitions will make you question your own language - how it defines you, and how it undoes you.’ * Bookshy Books *‘Vladislavic has created a work of art that I have every confidence will continue to be de-constructed by reader-detectives for many years to come.’ * The Bookbag *‘[written in an] enjoyably imaginative writing style’ * The Skinny *‘This collection has got me thinking and excited.’ * Lizzy's Literary Life *

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Book SynopsisHaunting in their tone, brilliant in their images - very like fantastic presences moving across glass - the twenty-one fictions in this startling debut collection seem both inexplicably familiar and like no writing we have seen before.Trade Review"Reading the 21 runelike stories that comprise Schwartz's debut collection is a bit like eavesdropping: you may not follow the conversation, but you'll certainly overhear something interesting. In these fragmentary, oblique vignettes, unnamed narrators mention mostly unnamed characters, and the relationships among the various theys, shes and hes are often unspecified. Replacing the structure of narrative are some of the pleasures of poetry ... The title story opens: 'The goblet, to begin with.' It continues with descriptions of a flag, a confession, a will, a map. The heart of the tale lies in oblique references to a murder in an earlier century, and the possible massacre of a family. In the mysteriously titled 'Killies,' maiden sisters holiday too peacefully in Spain ... Clearly this collection is not for those who want a take-charge narrator, but it may intrigue those who prefer their fiction through a glass darkly." Publishers Weekly / "Schwartz's first book lies somewhere between short stories and poetry. His stories, sometimes only a page in length, investigate such events as a train ride, a visit to a garrison, or a wedding through an impressionistic stream of consciousness. Often, an object will evoke a flow of ideas; for example, the image of a postage stamp leads to an image of slaughter. Words are spare but significant, and they echo long after being read. Collections of experimental fiction will want this volume." Library Journal

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Book SynopsisJust when you thought it was safe to go back online, YouTube sensation Mr. CreepyPasta returns with a whole new collection of truly creepy tales deemed too terrifying for the offline world—until now.The Creepypasta Collection, Volume 2 delves into the depths of the absolute best short stories from the darkest corners of the Internet. You won’t be able to sleep with the light off after experiencing the misadventures of our heroes and heroines, who encounter everything from the highly suspicious to the incredibly disturbed. With stories that range from the unforgettable “Jeff the Killer” to the fear-inducing “Smiling Dog,” this collection is the perfect gift for Creepypasta fans and horror enthusiasts alike.Trade Review“This second in a series of Creepypasta collections is even better than the first. If you enjoyed Vol. 1, you'll certainly enjoy this one as well. If you haven't, I'd recommend starting with this one instead of the first. Horror fans will certainly find something here to like.” * Cultured Vultures *

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Book SynopsisA collection of urgent, thrilling and original stories from the award-winning, bestselling author of The Slap and Barracuda. Love, sex, death, family, friendship, betrayal, tenderness, sacrifice and revelation... This incendiary collection of stories from acclaimed writer Christos Tsiolkas takes you deep into worlds both strange and familiar, and introduces you to characters that will haunt you long after you have turned the final page.Trade ReviewThe best writing you are likely to come across on the shifting boundaries between love and friendship... A blistering, accomplished collection * Independent *As compelling to read as a novel... A contemporary storyteller working at the very top of his game * Guardian *An engrossing, powerful, disturbing collection * Independent on Sunday *Raw and powerful * Evening Standard *Not just an impressive talent but an appalling one * Sunday Times *Acclaim for The Slap:'A cool, calm, irresistible masterpiece' Chris Cleave'The Slap is nothing short of a tour de force' Colm Tóibín'Honestly, one of the three or four truly great novels of the new millennium' John Boyne 'As addictive as the best soap opera' Daily MailAcclaim for Barracuda:'Tsiolkas writes with compelling clarity about the primal stuff that drives us all: the love and hate and fear of failure... A brilliant, beautiful book. If it doesn't make you cry, you can't be fully alive.' (Sunday Times)'I finished Barracuda on a high: moved, elated, immersed... This is the work of a superb writer who has completely mastered his craft but lost nothing of his fiery spirit in so doing. It is a big achievement.' * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisLyrical, dark, comic or iconoclastic, the Irish short story has always punched well above its weight. Anne Enright has brought together a dazzling collection of Irish stories by authors born in the twentieth century - from Mary Lavin and Frank O'Connor to Claire Keegan and Kevin Barry. With a pithy and passionate introduction by Enright, The Granta Book of the Irish Short Story traces this great tradition through decades of social change and shows the pleasure Irish writers continue to take in the short-story form. Deft and often devastating, the short story dodges the rolling mythologies of of Irish life to produce truths that are delightful and real. Also includes stories by: Maeve Brennan, Roddy Doyle, Mary Lavin, Colum McCann, William Trevor, John McGahern, Colm Tóibín, Claire Keegan and Kevin Barry.Trade ReviewEnright has assembled a collection notable for its emotional range, its openness to many voices (not all lonely) and its willingness to reflect current realities. There is no conclusive formula linking such disparate narratives, no slick exploitation of Irishness, but rather a rich interplay of themes that capture a world in transition -- Declan Kiberd * Irish Times *A rich and absorbing volume, an evocation of life in Ireland which, at its finest, produces brilliantly skewering fragments written to pierce as well as gleam ... Enright's choice is a shrewd one, succeeding in typifying each writer whilst expressing their uniqueness -- Tom Adair * Scotland on Sunday *A book that intoxicates you with the sheer scope and potency of the short story form -- Daragh Reddin * Metro *The Granta Book of the Irish Short Story is more cherishable than canonical, and refreshingly contemporary in its selection of writers and writerly concerns -- Keith Hopper * Times Literary Supplement *[Anne Enright's] witty, brilliant introduction is one of the jewels in this selection ... When making her choices she concentrated on the art rather than the Irishness, and the result is sometimes wonderfully unexpected - here are William Trevor, Colm Tóibín, Roddy Doyle, Clare Boylan and all the other geniuses, but not as you think you know them. Unmissable -- Kate Saunders * The Times *In an elegant and considered introduction to this collection, [Enright] explains that these short stories are simply ones she enjoys. However, the 31 inclusions cannot but say something about Ireland ... 'A Priest in the Family' by Colm Tóibín is superb ... Edna O'Brien offers another fresh take on the sexuality of the clergy ... The further positives of The Granta Book of the Irish Short Story are too many to mention ... In this collection you encounter loners, outsiders and deeper versions of people you know; and eventually, one will say something just to you, and the mystery of the Irish short story comes as close as it can to being understood -- Eithne Shortall * Sunday Times Ireland *We may not be very good at economics or honest politics, but we certainly know how to write a short story. The excellent Granta Book of the Irish Short Story, edited by Anne Enright, is a must-read. * Irish Times *Full of tales that combine lyricism, humour and tragedy by the likes of William Trevor as well as relative newcomers such as Claire Keegan and Philip Ó Ceallaigh, it is shot through with an enduring sense of place but at the same time marks the enormous social changes Ireland has undergone in the past century -- Giles Foden * Conde Nast Traveller *This collection makes a bewitching bedside companion, amply illustrating that the Irish short story is very much alive and kicking -- Emma Hagestadt * Lady *The collection shines with personality, studiously avoiding what the editor describes as "charm", or "God save the mark", Irish charm * Independent *From Roddy Doyle to Elizabeth Bowen, and William Trevor to Edna O'Brien, a wealth of authors are contained within this excellent collection of modern Irish short fiction * Metro *An eclectic mix of intriguing short stories ... each story leaves you hungry for the next one -- Siobhan White * Big Issue in the North *This collection attempts to define the essential Irish aspects of the stories chosen ... the best pieces here serve as a prompt to find or rediscover the writers' other works -- Isobel Montgomery * Guardian *An] excellent miscellany of modern short fiction from Ireland ... Throughout, the prose is economical, in the sense of being deft, not sparse ... The prevailing mode is an everyday realism of carefully observed gestures and lifelike dialogue, well adapted to the mental turmoil of lustful, lovelorn protagonists ... Wisely, the stories are arranged imaginatively, not chronologically - think mix tape, not reference work - so, unlike many anthologies, this is a book you actually want to sit down with and read -- Anthony Cummins * Observer *Over 400 pages of amazing writing -- Judi Curtin * Irish Daily Mail *A dazzling collection * Guardian *

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Book SynopsisTo the tradition of eldritch horror pioneered and refined by writers such as H.P. Lovecraft, Peter Straub, and Thomas Ligotti comes Laird Barron, an author whose literary voice invokes the grotesque, the devilish, and the perverse with intensity and astonishing craftsmanship.Collected here for the first time are nine terrifying tales of cosmic horror, including the World Fantasy Award-nominated novella “The Imago Sequence,” the International Horror Guild Award-nominated “Proboscis,” and the never-before-published “Procession of the Black Sloth.” Together, these stories, each a masterstroke of craft and imaginative irony, form a shocking cycle of distorted evolution, encroaching chaos, and ravenous insectoid hive-minds hidden just beneath the seemingly benign surface of the Earth.With colorful protagonists, including an over-the-hill CIA agent, a grizzled Pinkerton detective, and a failed actor accompanying a group of bounty hunters, Barron’s stories are resonant and authentic, featuring vulnerable, hard-boiled tough guys attempting to stand against the stygian wasteland of night. Throughout the collection, themes of desolation, fear, and masculine identity are played out against the backdrop of an indifferent, devouring cosmos.Skyhorse Publishing, under our Night Shade and Talos imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of titles for readers interested in science fiction (space opera, time travel, hard SF, alien invasion, near-future dystopia), fantasy (grimdark, sword and sorcery, contemporary urban fantasy, steampunk, alternative history), and horror (zombies, vampires, and the occult and supernatural), and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller, a national bestseller, or a Hugo or Nebula award-winner, we are committed to publishing quality books from a diverse group of authors.Trade ReviewWINNER OF THE 2007 SHIRLEY JACKSON AWARD FOR BEST COLLECTION"One of my favorite writers, period. ... one of the most unique and accomplished prose talents now working in America. He writes dangerous stories, in something I've described as like a cross between H.P. Lovecraft and James Dickey ... Very much like crack to my brain."—Nic Pizzolatto, creator of HBO's True Detective“[Barron’s] successfully transposed the oddly yoked pleasure and dread of Lovecraft's work to a modern and more complex idiom with skillful craftsmanship, intelligence, and a fertile, detailed imagination.”— William Mingin, Strange Horizons“When a horror story really works for me, I throw the book against the wall with a shriek and hide behind the sofa. Then, trembling, and in tears I crawl across the floor in supplication and pick up where I left off. Laird Barron does this to me.”—Christopher Hsiang, io9.com"Barron’s dark and haunting fiction also frequently draws on the tradition of hard-boiled detectives and noir that are clear influences on True Detective. The Imago Sequence, his first collection, is a great place to start."—Buzzfeed“Laird Barron is one of those writers who makes other writers want to break their pencils. I’m serious. His work is that good. Worse than that, he’s an original (damn him!), and the finest writer to join the ranks of the dark fantastic in a long, long time.”—Norman Partridge, author of Dark Harvest and Lesser Demons"Relentlessly readable, highly atmospheric, sharply and often arrestingly written—Barron’s prose style resembles, by turns, a high-flown Jim Thompson mixed with a pulp Barry Hannah."—Slate"The scariest writer on the planet has to be Laird Barron."—Paul Goat Allen, The Barnes & Noble Book Blog"Laird Barron has, in a remarkably short period of time, emerged as one of the leading writers of contemporary weird fiction."—S. T. JoshiWINNER OF THE 2007 SHIRLEY JACKSON AWARD FOR BEST COLLECTION"One of my favorite writers, period. ... one of the most unique and accomplished prose talents now working in America. He writes dangerous stories, in something I've described as like a cross between H.P. Lovecraft and James Dickey ... Very much like crack to my brain."—Nic Pizzolatto, creator of HBO's True Detective“[Barron’s] successfully transposed the oddly yoked pleasure and dread of Lovecraft's work to a modern and more complex idiom with skillful craftsmanship, intelligence, and a fertile, detailed imagination.”— William Mingin, Strange Horizons“When a horror story really works for me, I throw the book against the wall with a shriek and hide behind the sofa. Then, trembling, and in tears I crawl across the floor in supplication and pick up where I left off. Laird Barron does this to me.”—Christopher Hsiang, io9.com"Barron’s dark and haunting fiction also frequently draws on the tradition of hard-boiled detectives and noir that are clear influences on True Detective. The Imago Sequence, his first collection, is a great place to start."—Buzzfeed“Laird Barron is one of those writers who makes other writers want to break their pencils. I’m serious. His work is that good. Worse than that, he’s an original (damn him!), and the finest writer to join the ranks of the dark fantastic in a long, long time.”—Norman Partridge, author of Dark Harvest and Lesser Demons"Relentlessly readable, highly atmospheric, sharply and often arrestingly written—Barron’s prose style resembles, by turns, a high-flown Jim Thompson mixed with a pulp Barry Hannah."—Slate"The scariest writer on the planet has to be Laird Barron."—Paul Goat Allen, The Barnes & Noble Book Blog"Laird Barron has, in a remarkably short period of time, emerged as one of the leading writers of contemporary weird fiction."—S. T. Joshi

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Book SynopsisJeffrey Archer, whose novels and short stories include the Clifton Chronicles, Kane and Abel and Cat O' Nine Tales, is one of the world's favourite storytellers and has topped the bestseller lists around the world in a career spanning four decades. His work has been sold in more than 100 countries and in fifty-one languages. He is the only author ever to have been a number one bestseller in fiction, short stories and non-fiction (The Prison Diaries).Jeffrey is also an art collector and amateur auctioneer, and has raised more than 50m for different charities over the years. A member of the House of Lords for over a quarter of a century, the author is married to Dame Mary Archer, and they have two sons, two granddaughters and three grandsons.

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Book SynopsisThe classic Japanese bestseller published in English for the very first time - a darkly funny and relatable book portraying the lives of five women'Witty, wise and thought-provoking' Cecelia Ahern'Crackles and pops with humour, empathy and intelligence' Lisa Owens, author of Not Working'So brilliantly written that I kept trying to memorise sentences in order to repeat them to people later' Roxy Dunn, author of As Young as ThisIzumi needs to get a job. Haruka needs to stop talking about how she once had cancer. Kato needs to get through a shift at the convenience store without being harassed. Mito needs to break up with her boyfriend - or marry him. Sumie just needs somewhere to live. In this classic Japanese bestseller, published in English twenty-five years after it took Japan by storm, the lives of five ordinary women are depicted with irresistible humour and searing emotional insight.

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Book Synopsis'I am not asking you to agree with me. In fact, I'd be happier if you didn't. I am afraid of self-censorship in a place of supposed radicalism like a liberal arts school because I am afraid that one day we will all be too afraid of being wrong.'We grew up on the internet, or the Internet, as it was originally known - a proper noun, a place to visit and explore, before we claimed it as everybody's, turning it into a place where we pay bills, shop, fall in love, where kids get past parental controls to come of age. Honor Levy lends her experience to the narrators of these propulsive, provocative and pill-fuelled dispatches, speaking to the malleable reality we all inhabit, where clicks, codes, unreliable words and memes shape identities, personas and reputations. In My First Book, Honor Levy endeavors to contextualize Gen-Z, a generation of young people desperate to discern what matters in a world that paints every event as a catastrophe. Irony is the salve of choice, and Levy deploys it masterfully. She paints the chasm in understanding between her parents' generation and the Zoomer reality overloaded with niche signs and meanings.

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Book SynopsisAbove a disused bar, in a dilapidated Parisian hotel that houses an assortment of indigent, marginalized lost souls, one of the inhabitants, a mysterious, reclusive holy man, is the subject of much speculation from some of his fellow occupants and respectful reverence from others. As the tale unfolds, the dynamics of this precarious microcosm are laid bare, in a powerful portrayal of those society has forgotten.Written when the author of Cain's Book was at the height of his creative powers and enjoying an increasing reputation in avant-garde literary circles, The Holy Man' is here presented with A Being of Distances', Peter Pierce' and A Meeting', stories which similarly tackle themes of loneliness and disenfranchisement.Trade ReviewThis collection will hopefully encourage people to discover the work of one of the most formidably intelligent and radical avant-garde writers Britain has ever produced. – The Morning Star

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Book SynopsisL. Frank Baum’s work is universally celebrated and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz is known worldwide, in particular for its 1939 musical film adaptation starring Judy Garland as Dorothy. Published in 1900, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz depicted the young farm girl Dorothy and her pet dog Toto, who are swept away to the Land of Oz in a cyclone. Baum was inspired by the works of the Brothers Grimm and Hans Christian Andersen, focusing on manipulating the fairy tale tradition with an American feel in the Oz series. This edition collects together the best of L. Frank Baum’s Oz works, taking material from the very first 1900 publication of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and subsequent novels including Ozma of Oz, Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz and The Lost Princess of Oz.

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Book SynopsisMalevolent and dark, the fairy tales collected by the Brothers Grimm are not for the faint-hearted. The stories were originally published in 1812 and form a vivid and fascinating body of work that is rich in folkloric significance. Replete with sinister characters and grotesque imagery, this collection is the perfect addition to our series of deluxe Gothic Fantasy giftbooks, and features some of the lesser-known tales alongside favourites like Snow White, Rapunzel, Rumpelstiltskin, and Hansel and Gretel.

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Book SynopsisThis new selection offers the most chilling and unsettling of Hodgson's short fiction, from encounters with abominations at sea to fireside tales of otherworldly forces from his inventive `occult detective' character Carnacki, the ghost finder.Table of ContentsIntroduction; `A Tropical Horror' (1905); `The Voice in the Night' (1907); 'Out of the Storm' (1908); `The Gateway of the Monster' (1910); `The Horse of the Invisible' (1910); `The Whistling Room' (1910); `The Derelict' (1912); `The Thing in the Weeds' (1916); `The Hog' (1947); `The Riven Night' (1973)

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Released in 1952, Judgment Night collects five Moore novellas from the pages of editor John W. Campbell, Jr.'s Astounding Science Fiction magazine:''Judgment Night'' (first published in August and September, 1943) balances a lush rendering of a future galactic empire with a sober meditation on the nature of power and its inevitable loss; ''The Code'' (July, 1945) pays homage to the classic Faust with modern theories and Lovecraftian dread; ''Promised Land'' (February, 1950) and ''Heir Apparent'' (July, 1950) both document the grim twisting that mankind must undergo in order to spread into the solar system; ''Paradise Street'' (September, 1950) shows a futuristic take on the old western conflict between lone hunter and wilderness-taming settlers.Chosen by the author herself as the best of her longer-form writing, these stories show a gifted wordsmith working at the height of her talents.

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Book SynopsisGina Chung is a Korean American writer from New Jersey currently living in New York City. She is the author of the novel Sea Change and the short story collection Green Frog. A recipient of the Pushcart Prize, she is a 20212022 Center for Fiction/Susan Kamil Emerging Writer Fellow and holds an MFA in fiction from The New School. Her work appears or is forthcoming in The Kenyon Review, Catapult, Electric Literature, Gulf Coast, Indiana Review and Idaho Review, among others.

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Book SynopsisFrom the imaginations of Gothic short-story writers such as Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mary Shelley and H.P. Lovecraft came one of the most complex of villains - the mad scientist. Promethean Horrors presents some of the greatest mad scientists ever created, as each cautionary tale explores the consequences of pushing nature too far.

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Book SynopsisHailed as a Southeast Asian Gabriel García Márquez for the exuberant beauty of his prose and the darkly comic surrealism of his stories, Eka Kurniawan is the first Indonesian writer to be nominated for a Man Booker International Prize. Here is his first collection of short stories to be translated into English.A man captures a caronang, a strange, intelligent dog that walks upright, and brings it home, only to provoke an all-too-human outcome. A girl plots against a witch doctor whose crimes against her are, infuriatingly, like any other man's. Stories explore the turbulent dreams of an ex-prostitute, a perpetual student, victims of anti-communist genocide, an elephant, a stone. Dark, sexual, scatalogical, violent, and mordantly funny, these fractured fables span city and country, animal and human, myth and politics.Trade ReviewBrash, worldly and wickedly funny, Eka Kurniawan may be South-East Asia's most ambitious writer in a generation... * Economist *Kurniawan creates a vivid sense of poverty and rural isolation and weaves magic realism into his narratives to terrific effect. It's easy to see why he is being compared to Gabriel García Márquez and hailed as one of the leading lights of contemporary Indonesian fiction. * Financial Times *Kurniawan's writing demonstrates an affinity with literary heavyweights such as, yes, García Márquez and Dostoevsky, as well as Indonesia's own social-realist master Pramoedya Ananta Toer, to whom domestic fans have dubbed him an heir. Most intriguing, though, is the influence of the home-grown pulp fiction that was popular when he was growing up in West Java * Guardian *Many have deemed Kurniawan the next Pramoedya Ananta Toer, an acclaimed pioneer of socialist realism. The observation is inevitable, given the paucity of well-known Indonesian literary voices. But, unlike Pramoedya, Kurniawan eschews political conviction for a knowing ambivalence. * New Yorker *Indonesia's most original living writer of novels and short stories, and its most unexpected meteorite. Who could predict the arrival of Sophocles, Virgil, Lady Murasaki, Cervantes, Melville, Lu Hsün, Shakespeare, Proust, Gogol, Ibsen, Márquez, or Joyce? -- Benedict Anderson * New Left Review *These stories are blasphemous, perverse, and shocking! But so are you, if you're a human being. With exceptional fervor, wit, and bite, Kurniawan faces the truth. Can you? -- James Hannaham, author of Delicious FoodsThese short, spiky tales are a joy to read. * New Internationalist *Scintillating and often darkly humorous, Kitchen Curse by Eka Kurniawan is masterful take on the vicissitudes of life for contemporary Indonesians. * Asian Review of Books *Like Beauty Is a Wound, Man Tiger is a tale of generations bound by tragedy and burdened by unspeakable histories. But it also reveals the banality of violence that has turned routine. Kurniawan suggested to an audience at the Melbourne festival that unpredictable outbreaks of violence were part of the fabric of Indonesian life. As a teenager, he saw a mob set two men on fire after the men tried to steal a guitar from a minibus. * New Yorker *Tight, focused and thrilling... Like a good crime novel, Man Tiger works best when read in a single sitting, and its propulsive suspense is all the more remarkable because Kurniawan reveals both victim and murderer in the first sentence. * New York Times *Sex, violence, and betrayal loom large throughout, as in Kurniawan's award-winning previous novels. * Library Journal *Erupting with awareness and dark wit, this work puts Kurniawan in league with Hassan Blasim, Witold Gombrowicz, and Daniil Kharms. * Publishers Weekly *These stories are sites of bold experimentation ... They provide ways of looking at Indonesia's politics, history, and culture through the lens of the everyday and the marginal: the world of the outcasts. -- Intan Paramaditha * Singapore Unbound *

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Book SynopsisFrom domineering mothers and very modern daughters to the quiet dreamers on either side of the generational divide, this anthology sketches a joyous, fraught, and ultimately tender portrait of mother-daughter relationships throughout the 20th century.

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Book SynopsisRuchama, a wigmaker from an ultra-orthodox Brooklyn enclave, journeys into Manhattan for inspiration, frequenting a newsstand where she flips through forbidden fashion magazines. An elderly Jew with a long, white beard reluctantly works as a department store Santa Claus every year - until he can take it no longer. And a Hasidic man, frustrated by his wife''s lack of interest, gets a dispensation from a rabbi to see a prostitute for the relief of unbearable urges.

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Book SynopsisRecipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968, the novelist Yasunari Kawabata felt the essence of his art was to be found not in his longer works but in a series of short storieswhich he called Palm-of-the-Hand Storieswritten over the span of his career. In them we find loneliness, love, and the passage of time, demonstrating the range and complexity of a true master of short fiction.

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Book SynopsisWonderfully sardonic and slyly humorous, the writings of landmark American feminist and socialist thinker Charlotte Perkins Gilman were penned in response to her frustrations with the gender-based double standard that prevailed in America as the twentieth century began. Perhaps best known for her chilling depiction of a woman''s mental breakdown in her unforgettable 1892 short story ''The Yellow Wall-Paper'', Gilman also wrote Herland, a wry novel that imagines a peaceful, progressive country from which men have been absent for 2,000 years. Both are included in this volume, along with a selection of Gilman''s major short stories and her poems.

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Book SynopsisA collection of masterful short stories in Julio Cortazar's sophistocated, powerful and gripping style.'Julio Cortázar is truly a sorcerer and the best of him is here, in these hilariously fraught and almost eerily affecting stories' Kevin BarryA grieving family home becomes the site of a terrifying invasion. A frustrated love triangle, brought together by a plundered Aztec idol, spills over into brutality. A lodger’s inability to stop vomiting bunny rabbits inspires a personal confession. As dream melds into reality, and reality melts into nightmare, one constant remains throughout these thirty-five stories: the singular brilliance of Julio Cortazar’s imagination.WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY KEVIN BARRY ‘Anyone who doesn't read Cortázar is doomed’ Pablo NerudaTrade ReviewA fecund mixture of surrealism, symbolism, nouveau roman experimentation and Borgesian fantasy, Cortázar enthusiastically seeds his realistic settings – for the most part split between Buenos Aires and Paris – with impossible invasions of the fantastical and supernatural. The effect is often a refined philosophical take on the "uncanny tales" strand of speculative fiction * Guardian *Cortázar is one of the most distinctive voices in Latin American literature * Newsday *Original...circuitous and powerful... Cortázar's method is to keep tight control over a world in which, just below the surface of charming, sophisticated social life, lies the unfaceable and unmentionable * Financial Times *Cortázar can induce the kind of chilling unease that strikes like a sound in the night * Time *A first-class literary imagination at work * The New York Times Book Review *

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Book SynopsisA chemist by training, the author became one of the witnesses to twentieth-century atrocity. In these haunting reflections inspired by the elements of the periodic table, he ranges from young love to political savagery; from the inert gas argon - and 'inert' relatives like the uncle who stayed in bed for twenty-two years - to life-giving carbon.

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