Anthologies & Short Stories

Book Synopsis_________________‘Thank goodness for Katie Fforde, the perfect author to bring comfort in difficult times. She really is the queen of uplifting, feel good romance.’ AJ PEARCE_________________Delve inside this CHRISTMAS STOCKING choc-full of perfectly themed, never-before-published seasonal short stories perfect for anyone who loves romance, humour and happy-ever-after endings. By the Sunday Times Number One bestselling author, Katie Fforde.'A lovely, warm read to sink your teeth into' Heat'Delicious - gorgeous humour and the lightest of touches' Sunday Times 'A perfect match for an afternoon curled up on the sofa!' Sun THE CHRISTMAS STOCKING: Romy is all set to join her boyfriend and his family in France for Christmas, though truth be told she isn’t looking forward to it very much. And then she meets Felix – and her plans for the big day suddenly become a lot more interesting.CANDLELIGHT AT CHRISTMAS: It was meant to be the perfect Christmas – surrounded by friends and family in their beautiful home in the country. But then the lights go out, and Fenella knows she will have to work very hard to keep everyone happy …THE CHRISTMAS FAIRY: It’s Christmas Eve in Crinan, and a young man is on his own with only his nephew and niece for company. Then Ella arrives. Dressed as a fairy, she is determined to wave her wand and give them all the best Christmas ever.And many more! Guaranteed to make this your happiest Christmas ever!Trade ReviewBY THE SUNDAY TIMES NUMBER ONE BESTSELLING AUTHORDelve inside this CHRISTMAS STOCKING choc-full of perfectly themed, never-before-published seasonal short stories perfect for anyone who loves romance, humour and happy-ever-after endings. * from the publisher's description *This book is an absolute page turner and will never fail to impress. * Woman and Home *A wonderful and magical Christmas read! Katie Fforde has done it again with six seasonal stories you’ll be transformed into a world of romance, humor and happy ever-afters. * Under the Christmas Tree Blog *Gloriously festive… beautiful anthology…Every single one will remind you why this time of year is referred to as the most wonderful of them all. You’ll be decking the halls and feeling jolly before you know it. * Heat *The Sunday Times Top 10 romance story legend will warm the cockles of your heart with this heady cocktail of festive season tales. * Peterborough Evening Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisThere is a sequestered glen off the east coast of the Hudson, New York state, which has long continued under the sway of some witching power; the neighbourhood abounds with tales, haunted spots and twilight superstitions. But as hapless schoolmaster Ichabod Crane will discover, the wildest of all stories in this region of shadows relate to one particularly dreadful spectre - the Headless Horseman of Sleepy Hollow.Washington Irving's comic horror story is the best known of this collection of stories, observations and sketches written on his travels around Britain and America in the eighteenth century. Also includes 'Rip Van Winkle' and 'Little Britain'.Trade ReviewMacabre horror, fish-out-of-water humour...A heady gumbo of witchcraft, apocalyptic prophecies and occult rivalries * Guardian *Irving was befriended by Sir Walter Scott, admired by Lord Byron and widely considered the first American writer who could hold his own with England's best * Washington Post *Beautifully composed of dense texture and dark pleasures * Daily Mirror *Irving is at his best...the inventor of the modern short story... The remote valleys and mountain glens, where strange contagions seem to hang in the air and ghosts and goblins dwell, seem as real to us today as they must have done centuries ago * Daily Mail *'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow' is...a classic, essential, exquisitely American tale * Washington Post *

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Book SynopsisEnjoy Helen Simpson’s sharply funny, humane take on the everyday joys and struggles of motherhood in this perfect Mother’s Day gift. Welcome to motherhood – a land of aching fatigue, constant self-sacrifice and thankless servitude, a land of bottomless devotion, small hands and feet like warm pink roses, and velvet kisses. Here is a land where men and women, once carefree and engrossed in work and sex, now try to solve age-old arguments and search fruitlessly for another hour in the day. Perhaps you know this land well, or perhaps you’re entering it for the first time – either way, you need these honest funny humane stories from an expert guide.Selected from Helen Simpson’s short story collections Dear George, Hey Yeah Right Get a Life and ConstitutionalVINTAGE MINIS: GREAT MINDS. BIG IDEAS. LITTLE BOOKS.A series of short books by the world’s greatest writers on the experiences that make us humanAlso in the Vintage Minis series:Language by Xiaolu GuoFatherhood by Karl Ove KnausgaardEating by Nigella Lawson Drinking by John CheeverTrade ReviewHelen Simpson is a writer with such a gift for sweet tenderness that one could almost overlook the glittering sharpness of the insights... Not many writers manage to be as funny as Helen Simpson without sacrificing the honesty that her writing unmistakably has -- Philip Hensher * Mail on Sunday *Imagine our joy when Vintage announced that it is publishing a collection of easily digestible books from the world’s most celebrated writers on the experiences that make us human… They look good and read well. That’s win/win in our book. * Stylist *

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Book Synopsis'Wright's unrelentingly bleak landscape was not merely that of the Deep South, or of Chicago, but that of the world, the human heart' James Baldwin Natural disasters, cold-blooded murders, political agitation - all haunt these dark, dramatic novellas set in an American Deep South still corrupted by its slave-owning past. But at the heart of each are the stories of the men, women and children whose resistance against oppression will come to define their lives. Originally published in 1938, Uncle Tom's Children was Richard Wright's first published work. It would establish his reputation as both a powerful storyteller and a fierce chronicler of racism, violence and oppression in America at the time.

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Book Synopsis An uncompromisingly honest collection of short stories, examining with unique perspicacity the missteps, mistakes and misunderstandings that define our lives. Pride and disgrace. Nostalgia and revenge. Tenderness and seduction. From the dusty backstreets of Santiago and the sun-baked alleyways of impoverished fishing villages to the dark stairwells of urban apartment blocks, Paulina Flores paints an intimate picture of a world in which the shadow of humiliation, of delusion, seduction and sabotage, is never far away. This is a Chile we seldom see in fiction. With an exceptional eye for human fragility, with unfailing insight and extraordinary tenderness, Humiliation is a mesmerising collection from a rising star of South American literature, translated from the Spanish by Man Booker International Prize finalist Megan McDowell. Trade Review‘In this impressive debut, nimbly translated by Megan McDowell, Flores explores the indignities of poverty, widespread in her native Chile… Like Alice Munro, Flores sparks empathy with a careful attention to details. Humanity, she makes clear, is bound together by a shared vulnerability.’ * Guardian *'An exceptional debut - beautifully translated by Megan McDowell - from one of Latin America's most exciting young writers.' * Monocle *‘I was struck by the maturity and richness of Humiliation… [the stories] show a side of Chile that is very relevant in the current political climate of the country’. * Morning Star *'It’s still rare to encounter a debut with a grip this sure. Young Chilean writer Paulina Flores leads you with such cool confidence through her nine stories that I can’t wait to follow wherever she goes next... Masterly.' * Observer *'Every once in a while one encounters a new voice and thinks: they will last.' * El País *'An incredible storyteller. Paulina Flores has a knack for laying bare those fragile, often inarticulated, often hard to pin down emotions children hold for their parents.' * Jennifer Nansubuga Makumbi, author of Kintu *'Chilean writer Flores’ debut short story collection has garnered critical acclaim in its Spanish-language edition, winning several awards, including the Roberto Bolaño Prize. Now McDowell presents an agile translation... With conflicts personal and communal in a land in the grip of tyranny, Flores dramatizes difficult situations vividly specific and resonantly universal.' * Booklist *'Until the protests, nobody outside of Chile was talking about how one percent of its inhabitants take home one third of the income generated in the entire country. The fearless, clear-eyed stories of Paulina Flores offer a portal into what living in that extreme inequality means.' * Electric Literature, Recommended Reads *'Written with the possessive, disquieting calm of contemporaries like Catherine Lacey and Richard Chiem, Humiliation is a dazzling debut from a woman within full command of her craft.' * Paperback Paris *'Winner of multiple awards, including the Roberto Bolaño Prize, Humiliation is an intensely political debut... The thing that these nine stories share most prominently is longing. For change. For approval. For affection.' * Minor Literature[s] *'A masterful collection of uncommon stories' * Book Munch blog *'Flores has won several prizes in her native Chile, and it's not hard to see why: her prose (deftly translated by McDowell) is fluid and assured... This collection marks the arrival of an interesting young writer.' * Kirkus *'Flores' strong debut collection provides an intimate look at characters in a Chile brimming with desperation and misfortune... [These] intense stories are tied together with dark, palpable emotion... This is a challenging, impressive collection.' * Publishers Weekly *'The magic of Paulina Flores’ writing lies in placing us in that critical moment when everything is about to change, yet everything seems still. A finely tuned literary high-wire act if ever there was one.' * Carlos Fonseca, author of Colonel Lágrimas *'Nine powerful short stories about day-dreams, disillusionment and retaliation.' * Bookoxygen *'Paulina Flores deftly captures our startling humanity; there's awe and dread in these pages—but there's joy, too, fleeting and overwhelming. The worlds she crafts in Humiliation are our worlds, in all their terror and amazement.' * Bryan Washington, author of Lot *'Humiliation is a brilliant book that captures the volatility of misunderstandings, the moment when failures matter less than the need to share them.' * Alejandro Zambra *'Expertly translated into English by Megan McDowell, Humiliation heralds the arrival of a powerful new voice in international literature. Flores has her finger on the pulse of modernity―a writer to watch.' * trampset *'A debut that marks the arrival of a powerful figure in Chilean letters. [...] We must celebrate it wholeheartedly.' * La Vanguardia *'A brilliant and daring collection of stories.' * ABC *'Chilean author Paulina Flores might be only 28-years-old, but her mature style and her insight into the cracks beneath the surface of middle class life have astonished readers and critics alike.' * Marie Claire *'Humiliation is a masterful collection of uncommon stories.' * Bookmunch *'Nine perfect stories that form an extraordinary collection.' * Letras Libres *'Stories through which life flows with astonishing ease.' * Librújula *'A work that is as original as it is strong, as it is delicate.' * TenMag *'With elegance, strength and the eye of a hunter, Paulina Flores writes as though she's lived twice as long as her age.' * Vozpópuli *'Flores’s style is minimalist and sparse, deprived of all artificiality, aiming straight at the heart.' * Libros y Literatura *'While Paulina Flores’s approach is radically political, her stories explore a world of nuance and complexity, brought to life through the author’s relentless quest for the humanity in each of her characters.' * El Español *'Nimble, precise, emotional and enigmatic, every one of these stories suggests that Humiliation is only the start of what will be a long career.' * Tiempo, Madrid *'Paulina Flores's vision is unique and, like only good literature can, it will confront, disturb, and dazzle you.' * Mujer Hoy *'Fiction that is as alive as Chekhov's and as vibrant as Munro's.' * Babelia *'The stories remain with you long after shutting the cover of her book. Her characters are fascinating―captivating you as you turn the pages, reminding you of what power there is in indulging in excellent writing.' * The Rumpus *'In these stories, a struggling father brings his daughters along with him to his job interviews; a group of teenage boys try to steal musical instruments from a church; a woman moves back in with her mother after a bad break-up. People are caught up in harrowing, humiliating situations, and Flores pulls no punches in showing life’s mess. These stories are searing, dark, and sometimes bleak, but really try to get at the tough corners of life, painful and embarrassing. And the tales rarely go where the reader expects them to.' * BookRiot *

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Book Synopsis*SHORTLISTED FOR THE GUARDIAN FIRST BOOK AWARD 2015* SHORTLISTED FOR THE LA TIMES BOOKS PRIZE 2015 A SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE NOTABLE BOOK OF 2014 A BOSTON GLOBE BEST FICTION OF 2014 ROXANE GAY’S TOP TEN BOOKS OF 2014 AN AMAZON BEST SHORT STORY COLLECTION OF 2014 AN iBOOK BEST OF 2014 Perfectly pitched and gorgeously penned, this astonishingly bold collection of stories explores the boundary between the wild and the civilized. Pitting human beings against the extremes of nature, Diane Cook surgically peels back the layers of civilization to lay bare our vulnerabilities and the ease with which our darker, primal urges emerge. These exhilarating and terrifying tales are set in worlds that are distorted versions of our own, where an alpha male is pursued through city streets by murderous rivals, a marooned woman defends her house against the rising flood and hordes of desperate refugees, and a pack of not-needed boys take refuge in a murky forest and compete against one another for food. Wry, transgressive and utterly unique, Cook’s wildly inventive debut collection illuminates, with surreal humour and heartbreak, humankind’s struggle not only to thrive, but survive.Trade Review'Sharply written and imaginative...Cook is an accomplished writer with a darkly comic touch...As with the short fiction of Stephen King and Miranda July, many of the bizarre tales in Man V. Nature would make for excellent viewing...brilliant...echoes of Margaret Atwood'. * Irish Times *'These are grimly funny stories; dark but dizzyingly alive.' * Sunday Express *'Makes for compulsive reading...these tales dizzy and trick...chilling and darkly comic'. * New Statesman *'A deeply original collection...deliciously unsettling...downright chilling...uncomfortably resonant.' * Independent *'Exhilarating… quirky, often edged with menace… understated dystopia… Cook’s is a fresh and vivid voice; it’s unsurprising the likes of Miranda July and Roxane Gay are fans’. * Observer *‘Masterly.’ * New York Times *'Cook's stories gleefully tip a familiar-seeming world into something dark, dangerous and funny'. * Psychologies *‘A knockout ... every single story could make a great movie.’ * New York Times Book Review, Miranda July *‘As close to experiencing a Picasso as literature can get.’ -- Téa Obreht, author of The Tiger's Wife‘Quirkiness abounds, with several fairy-tale tropes thrown in for good measure ... Some stories jump off the page ... all are oddly charming.’ * Publishers Weekly *‘Astonishing.’ -- Roxane Gay, author of Bad Feminist‘I couldn’t pry myself away from Man v. Nature ... The stories are grim, violent, and darkly funny, but never so far removed from our most human urges to seem TOTALLY implausible.’ * Buzzfeed *‘Potent and unnerving ... stark spookiness in the vein of Shirley Jackson and William Golding ... [and] a lonely weirdness like that of Aimee Bender and George Saunders ... Cook writes assuredly of archetypal terror and even more insightfully of hunger-for food, friendship, love and above all, survival. A canny, refined, and reverberating debut.’ -- Booklist‘Hunger, despair, and perpetual awe for the collapsing natural world and the vulnerability of existence therein. Apply liberally before exposure to the elements. Contents include truth and other known allergens.’ * Flavorwire *‘This past month I discovered Diane Cook and had many moments of story-delight, really just too many to count, because Diane Cook is that good ... Cook’s writing is lively and frank.’ * Impose Magazine *'Seethes with heat, rejection and twisted perception ... I found myself enthralled by all of the stories in this collection. Not only are they surprising, but also fresh, funny, sad, often surreal and oddly true.' -- Omnivoracious‘Irresistible reading ... The author probes her characters’ psychological depths in weird and wonderful ways ... With Man v. Nature Cook makes a bold, original debut.’ * San Jose Mercury News *‘Lively, apocalypse-tinged tales ... Cook mines the moments that precede the losses – when the battles are truly raging – and it’s in them that she finds great beauty and strangeness ... And, in the end, this collection suggests, meaning might be worth the battle.' * New York Times Book Review *‘Man V. Nature could also be called Diane Cook V. The Challenges of Writing Fresh, Invigorating Fiction in Our Age. In the latter contest, Cook crushes. Here is a bold debut.’ -- Sam Lipsyte, author of Home LandMan v. Nature may be Diane Cook’s first book, but the former “This American Life” producer’s work is impressively precocious – making it our favourite short-story collection of October.’ -- GQ‘Here’s a good rule: If Diane Cook wrote it, read it ... Safety is tenuous, if not an illusion, in her thoughtful, unsettling, and darkly funny collection.’ * Boston Globe *‘This debut story collection takes the familiar narrative conflict and applies it to contemporary characters. The capriciousness of the natural world in Cook’s stories colours them with a Romantic, almost surreal light that fans of Megan Mayhew Bergman are sure to appreciate.’ * Huffington Post *‘[Cook] puts forth idiosyncratic and twisted conceits, but delivers the narrative goods when it comes to depicting the tragic, emotional lives of her characters ... Like the best kind of fiction, the reader is left with much to think about within the broad realms of sex, death, love and friendship.’ * San Francisco Chronicle *‘Diane Cook’s writing is sharp, bawdy, bold and often hilarious. Her stories are refreshingly crude and her imagination is unbounded. Like her characters, Cook does what she wants. Her world is another universe, where people are wilder.’ -- Rebecca Curtis, author of Twenty Grand‘What I like most about these stories is that many of them are dispatches from the end of the world, and it turns out to be a surprisingly familiar place.’ -- Ira Glass, Host, This American Life‘Diane Cook’s stories are like high-wattage bulbs strung across a sinister, dark land. Man V. Nature is equal parts dazzle and depth.’ -- Ramona Ausubel, author of No One is Here Except All of Us‘Masterful ... Each darkly comic modern fable reveals our societal preoccupations – with status, sex, motherhood, belonging – for what they really are: thin veneers over our ever-present animal selves, ready to crack at the merest provocation. A book that’ll grab your attention and keep you thinking.’ -- Helene Wecker, author of The Golem and The Jinni'Echoes Margaret Atwood, William Golding and Cormac McCarthy... [Cook] moves effortlessly between unsettling tales and darkly humorous examinations of contemporary society.' -- The Tablet‘A dark pleasure ... In ‘Meteorologist Dave Santana’ sex happens less often than the desperate, older woman (the meteorologist’s neighbour) would like. Cook is a young woman imagining an older woman’s need, and not charitably. But if Cook is anything like me, that desperate neighbour is herself. I’ve never really felt young.’ -- Miranda July, Goodreads‘When people ask me the desert island question, I usually say this is the book I'd bring.’ * San Francisco Weekly *

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Book SynopsisHaunting, uplifting, beautiful: the final work from Helen DunmoreHelen Dunmore passed away in June 2017, leaving behind this remarkable collection of short stories. With her trademark imagination and gift for making history human, she explores the fragile ties between passion, love, family, friendship and grief, often through people facing turning points in their lives:A girl alone, stretching her meagre budget to feed herself, becomes aware that the young man who has come to see her may not be as friendly as he seems.Two women from very different backgrounds enjoy an unusual night out, finding solace in laughter and an unexpected friendship.A young man picks up his infant son and goes outside into a starlit night as he makes a decision that will inform the rest of his life.A woman imprisoned for her religion examines her faith in a seemingly literal and quietly original way. This brilliant collection of Helen Dunmore’s short fiction, replete with her penetrating insight into the human condition, is certain to delight and move all her readers.Trade ReviewThis posthumous collection from the much-loved author, focusing on motherhood, war and women under threat, is an act of tender commemoration… there are new departures on the themes that preoccupied Dunmore: childhood, motherhood, war, friendship, forgotten lives. * Guardian – Book of the Week *Wisdom and wit shine out from Helen Dunmore’s last stories…The simplicity of the writing is deceptive; Dunmore manages to say a lot about families, about the mystery of creativity, and the shock of seeing someone you thought you knew in a new light. * The Times *Dunmore’s gift for period detail combines with the respect she has for her characters’ inner lives to produce an effect that is oddly moving. * Sunday Times *Dunmore’s love of history glints and gleams in this elegant, posthumous collection * The Daily Mail *Whether musing on a portrait of John Donne or a friendship between two widows, the late, much missed Dunmore always has something worth saying * Mail on Sunday, Event – Summer Reads *

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Book SynopsisA fantastic writer - compassionate, funny and fearless' George Saunders'One of the US's finest writers' according to Joshua Ferris, Jim Shepard now delivers a new collection that spans borders and centuries with unrivalled mastery. These ten stories ring with voices as diverse as those belonging to Arctic explorers in history's most nightmarish expedition, the Montgolfier brothers competing to be the first man to fly, and two American frontierswomen whose passionate connection is severed by jealous husbands and a deadly snowstorm.In each case the personal is the political as these humans, while falling in love or negotiating marital pitfalls or simply coming to terms with their own failings, face the tidal wave of nature's indifference and cruelty. History has swept them from our sympathy; Jim Shepard has reached into the past and sought them out.In his first collection to be published in the UK, this celebrated master of the short story displays his formidable acuity in imagining these wildly different worlds, and what our various lives feel like in the grip of catastrophe.Trade ReviewA fantastic writer - compassionate, funny and fearless . . . inspires us to look more closely at life, and be more caring * George Saunders *What is so impressive is how Shepard extrapolates what's constant about the human condition . . . The result is as warm as it is devastating, and somehow exorcises existential terror . . . Shepard's characters may not endure, but his prose will. -- Jamie Fisher * Times Literary Supplement *Scrupulously researched and sumptuous in detail . . . This collection delivers that beguiling dichotomy of what we understand from history - the pointlessness of our experiences in the cosmos - yet the universality of our most intimate experiences: our crises of conscience, our secret desires, our fragility. -- Ruth McKee * Irish Times *Remarkable for their sheer range . . . Everything he writes is enriched by an underlying magnanimity. -- Phil Baker * Sunday Times *In ten meticulously researched stories, Shepard elegantly places the emotional dilemmas of morose, melancholy, misunderstood characters against backdrops that emphasise the vastness of the world and the smallness of their hopes and dreams . . . Wonderful -- Eithne Farry * Daily Mail *Retelling 'real' stories is Shepard's forte. He is a dramatist with a reporter's dispassion. The measured tone is pitchperfect. There is no sense of sensationalism, no over-emoting, no embellishment. He lets his facts do the talking and in several of the stories in The World to Come the effect is devastating and affecting . . . He is a terrific writer whose arrival on these shores is long overdue. -- Alan Taylor * Glasgow Herald *Greedier writers would spin entire novels out of just one of the richly weird, hilariously bizarre premises that distinguish a Jim Shepard story. His stories can be set in any corner of the world, at any era in time, and there is no oddment or calamity of the human experience Shepard does not find fascinating. His stories are droll, action packed, ingenious and finally moving. * Colin Barrett *An outrageously versatile and gifted fiction writer, Shepard continues his original, precise exploration of times and places long ago and far, far away . . . Shepard's project is always to push toward that sense of wonder and the 'high hopefulness' of purpose that ordinary people have always brought to the project of living - to give us through fiction a sense of profound empathy that the historical record alone cannot. He most stunningly succeeds * Washington Post *Like Alice Munro, Shepard has a knack for compressing a novel's worth of life into thirty or forty pages . . . It all adds up to a peculiar yet arresting vision, as Shepard lets you see a startling variety of dangers and conundrums through the eyes of characters who, poignantly or even despairingly, can't quite summon the humanity that's hidden away in them * Boston Globe *This is what you get with Shepard's short stories - weight and validity, lingo and precision . . . This approach gives the individual stories heft and the collections a dizzying range . . . What impresses is his ability to convey compressed, cinematic action. He knows when to pop rivets and bend structures, add histrionics as well as saltwater stocism . . . Shepard's beautifully researched creations inhabit different eras * New York Times *Ten exceptionally powerful tales of courageous responsibility and criminal indifference . . . Throughout this masterful, profoundly involving collection, Shepard elucidates with stirring precision the emotions of characters ambushed by terrifying powers beyond their control * Booklist *Let's hope Jim Shepard becomes as influential as he should be. He's the best we've got * Dave Eggers *His insight is humbling, deeply grained, outrageously perceptive and full of a signature humour . . . If you haven't read Shepard, you should, because he's also one of the US's finest writers, full of wit, humanity and fearless curiosity . . . It's a hell of a thing to walk the earth with Jim Shepard -- Joshua Ferris * Guardian *[An] American master * O, the Oprah Magazine *

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Book SynopsisSHORTLISTED FOR SALTIRE FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR, 2017LONGLISTED FOR THE EDGE HILL PRIZE, 2018A local tries to sell his sister to a trucker as he passes through town; a couple put their children to bed and hear a loud scratching at the wall; a man looks into a mirror and reflects on becoming more like his father.Sparky, touching and brilliantly daring, these stories uncover human feeling in the ordinary and the everyday, and are a reminder of Kelman's exceptional talent.Trade ReviewKelman is on another level to most of the living writers in the UK * * Guardian * *Kelman has always been a true and honest writer; which is why he is one of the fairly few who really matter -- ALLAN MASSIE * * Scotsman * *Brilliant . . . this collection shows a writer who is still at the top of his game, brimming with creativity, vitality and artistic integrity * * Irish Independent * *Like the best short story writers - James Joyce, Kafka, John Cheever, Alice Munro - he has reinvented the form * * The Herald * *Kelman brings alive a human consciousness like no other writer can -- ALAN WARNERPRAISE FOR THE STORIES OF JAMES KELMAN:Tender and funny in a way that may surprise those who know him only by reputation * * Daily Telegraph * *A rollicking, riveting read . . . Kelman's language of inner thought is so fluid and immediate it reads more like breath than words * * Daily Herald * *The mixture of the precisely but surreally bureaucratic and the casually macabre is perfectly judged * * Sunday Times * *You only have to read one phrase to recognise his utterly distinctive voice: lyrical, philosophical as a pub stool resident and steeped in the street . . . The result, for those who take words seriously, is canonical and pure joy * * Metro * *Kelman's language is immediately exciting; like a musician, he uses repetition and rhythm * * New Yorker * *

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Book SynopsisPrepare to enter a world where the infatuation with death, ruin and destruction is total. Set in locations from New York to the west of Ireland, and to the nameless realms of the imagination, it is a world where beautiful but deranged children make lethal bombs, talented sculptors spend careers dismembering themselves in pursuit of their art, and wasters rise up with axes and turn into patricides.McCormack's celebrated debut collection is richly imaginative, bitterly funny, powerful and original.Trade ReviewSharp as knives, mixing tongue-in-cheek bog Gothic with metaphysical flourishes and lashings of ultraviolence * * Guardian * *McCormack is one of our bravest and most innovative writers - he shoots for the stars . . . and does not fall short -- Kevin BarryRemarkable, even at the most extreme moments * * Irish Times * *Funny, fantastical tales that trample on the toes of the twentieth century itself * * New York Times * *McCormack's first collection of short stories ranges from the west of Ireland to New York to Purgatory . . . A helpless howl of protest that presages not only the end of the [twentieth] century but the end of civilisation itself * * Times Literary Supplement * *

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Book SynopsisIn this dazzling collection, Nam Le takes us across the globe as he enters the hearts and minds of characters from all over the world. Whether it's the story of fourteen-year-old Juan, a hit man in Colombia; an ageing painter in New York mourning the death of his much-younger lover; or a young refugee fleeing Vietnam, crammed in the ship's hold with two hundred others, the result is unexpectedly moving and powerful. This is an extraordinary work of fiction that takes us to the heart of what it means to be human.Trade ReviewThe short story collection is constantly on the endangered list, but this stunning collection . . . shows that it is alive and in the best of health * * The Times * *A superb collection, brimming with humour and compassion * * Daily Telegraph * *Nam Le's lyricism and emotional urgency lend his portraits enormous visceral power . . . A remarkable collection * * New York Times * *Each voice is achingly present and authentic . . . ['Halflead Bay'] is as good as anything Tim Winton has produced about Australian society * * Guardian * *A breathtakingly assured collection of stories - powerful, moving, unsparingly honest - exhibiting a narrative confidence and range that is as remarkable as it is mature. A tremendous debut -- WILLIAM BOYDAn assured and tremendously readable collection from a young writer with rare scope and strength * * Observer * *These are people on the edge, and Nam's prose captures their desperation . . . bold and worthwhile. Memoirists should stick to what they know; the point of literature is to expand the limits of the world -- Aravind Adiga * * Financial Times * *Le has the ability to hit notes of real emotional intensity -- Hari Kunzru * * Scotsman * *A promising and fiercely talented writer * * Telegraph * *Wonderful stories that snarl and pant across our crazed world . . . an extraordinary performance by a fine new talent. Nam Le is a heartbreaker, not easily forgotten -- JUNOT DIAZ

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Book SynopsisA young woman struggles to assert herself within a regrettable marriage.A boy learns about life on an epic summer's journey to a new school.A doctor attempts to befriend his most interesting patient.A young man tries to figure out the best way to live.This riverrun edition presents a selection of Chekhov's longer stories - novellas, effectively - in Constance Garnett's timeless translations. These four stories, Ward No.6, The Wife, The Steppe and My Life, tell of characters attempting to create meaning through work, connection with others and art; they deal with misunderstandings and loss; they celebrate brief joys, sudden passions and unsatisfied longings, all underscored by Chekhov's gentle wit and great humanity. This unique collection - selected and introduced by the celebrated Janet Malcolm - is unmissable for the enthusiast and a brilliant introduction to one of the nineteenth century's greatest writers.

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Book Synopsis'Being asked to write about Kafka is like being asked to describe the Great Wall of China by someone who's standing just next to it. The only honest thing to do is point.' Joshua Cohen, from his preface to He: Shorter Writings of Franz KafkaThis is a Kafka emergency kit, a congregation of the brief, the minor works that are actually major. Joshua Cohen has produced a frame that refuses distinctions between what is a story, a letter, a workplace memo and a diary entry, also including popular favourites like The Bucket Rider, The Penal Colony and The Burrow. Here we see Kafka's preoccupations in writing about animals, messiah variations, food and exercise, each in his signature style.Cohen's selection emphasises the stately structure of utterly coherent logic, within an utterly incoherent illogical world, showing how Kafka harnessed the humblest grammar to metamorphic power until the predominant effect ceases to be the presence of an unreliable narrator, but the absence of the universe's only reliable narrator. Who is God.

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Book Synopsis'I have always been ridiculous, and I have known it, perhaps from the hour I was born'A man goes mad because he is happy.A civil servant behaves like a monster at a wedding-party.A man is swallowed by a crocodile, but not eaten nor seriously damaged.Dostoevsky's stories inhabit similarly volcanic atmospheres as his novels, places of curiosity and exception. They resemble jokes and anecdotes, told by volatile, voluble, morbidly sensitive and frustrated characters. These narrators all have a tendency to express themselves in crescendos of conflicting emotions, while the stories themselves steer clear of grand conclusions. Michael Wood's selection of Dostoevsky's shorter works is drawn from the timeless translations of Constance Garnett whose work, he says in his preface, gives readers the best of several worlds.

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Book Synopsis"Another recent volume of the Gothic Fantasy series is Haunted House Short Stories, which offers another selection of excellent fiction." - Kirkus Following the great success of our Gothic Fantasy deluxe edition short story compilations, Supernatural Horror, Murder Mayhem, Lost Souls and many others, this latest title takes housebound trapped spirits and creepy gothic mansions as its chilling subject. Contains a potent mix of classic and brand new writing, with authors from the US, Canada, and the UK. Oh, what is that sound within the walls? The creaking floorboards, the children hiding in the mirror, the spirits that rake across the flesh of the mind – all find a home in this anthology of spine-tingling tales. New, contemporary and notable writers featured are: Rebecca Buchanan, Ramsey Campbell, H.B. Diaz, Tom English, John Everson, Marina Favila, Shannon Fay, Adele Gardner, Gwendolyn Kiste, Bill Kte'pi, John M. McIlveen, Kurt Newton, M. Regan, Zandra Renwick, Zach Shephard, Morgan Sylvia, and Mikal Trimm. Classic authors include E.F. Benson, Sheridan Le Fanu, Elizabeth Gaskell, W.W. Jacobs, M.R. James, Edith Wharton and more.Trade Review"Another recent volume of the Gothic Fantasy series is Haunted House Short Stories, which offers another selection of excellent fiction."

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Book SynopsisClose to Midnight is the third 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: WOLVES by Rio Youers BEST SAFE LIFE FOR YOU by Muriel Gray SOUVENIRS by Sharon Gosling THE OPERATED by Ramsey Campbell IN THE WABE by Alison Littlewood I PROMISE by Conrad Williams FLAT 19 by Jenn Ashworth THE FORBIDDEN SANDWICH by Carl Tait AUTUMN SUGAR by Philip Fracassi COLLAGEN by Seanan McGuire REMAINS by Charlie Hughes THE FLOOR IS LAVA by Brian Keene THE TRUE COLOUR OF BLOOD by Stephen Laws THE NINE OF DIAMONDS by Carole Johnstone ROOM FOR THE NIGHT by Jonathan Janz WELCOME TO THE LODGE by Alison Moore GOING HOME by Evelyn Teng THE SPACEMAN’S MEMORY BOX by Laura Mauro BAGS by Steve Rasnic Tem RISE UP TOGETHER by Adam L.G. Nevill 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 ReviewPraise for the first two books 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 "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." — Phantastiqa “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 SynopsisAn impressive joint project, this outstanding new anthology brings the best of Chinese and English-language science fiction in a mediation on the theme of Exploration in Space. New, emerging, established and much-lauded writers from both cultures are brought together to demonstrate that technology and humanity when they work together bring challenges, joy and benefits to all of humankind. From Bao Shu comes 'A Trip to the End', from Allen Stroud 'The First', from He Xi 'Never Meet Again in Life', from Amdi Silvestri 'A Minuet of Corpses' and under the guiding eye of Patrick Parrinder (President of the H.G. Wells society) and Yao Haijun (celebrated editor of Science Fiction World in China) thirteen authors create a series of worlds which will enthral and entertain.

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Book SynopsisThis book shows how, in everyday situations, people think, interpret behaviour, language and gestures differently. The consequences of these misinterpretations, without establishing the truth or facts, can be damaging in the long term to a relationship.

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Book SynopsisThe Locus Award-winning short story collection from the multiple-award winning brain of Charlie Jane Anders. Enter the wild and fantastic worlds of one of the brightest minds in science fiction today. A short story collection packed with infinite worlds and endless possibilities, from the electric mind of Charlie Jane Anders. Cracking open science fiction and fantasy ideas with joyous exuberance, Anders delivers a riotous cavalcade of ideas. These stories of transformation and finding a place to call your own reinvent that unique hit of discovery that lives at the heart of genre fiction. Witness vampire zombies and fairy werewolves in a barroom brawl, fully-immersive AR cat-brain MMORPGs, love in the form of tentacles and The Time Travel Club's first successful experiment. Watch as two friends embark on an Epic Quest To Capture The Weapon That Threatens The Galaxy, or else they'll never achieve their dream of opening a restaurant. Whatever you do, don't stop trying new things, and don't be afraid of Even Greater Mistakes.

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Book SynopsisA witty, scatological illustrated version of the world's most celebrated fables, allegedly written by a slave in the 5th century BC. A book for our times: as Gébler notes, Aesop has two subjects – the exercise of power and the experience of the powerless, who endure life and all that it inflicts on them. This retelling of the Fables makes them relevant and richly enjoyable. Gavin Weston's brilliant images complement Gébler's prose. Large and fierce animals kill and butcher weaker creatures; gods play games with the hopes and fears of lesser species, including men and women; and occasionally the weak turn the tables on the strong, exposing their pretensions. This is a stunning new version of a book that was often bowdlerised and used to teach moral lessons to children. Gébler's Aesop is darker and more realistic, and compulsively readable.Trade ReviewThis repackaging of [Aesop's] fables by Carlo Gebler and illsutrator Gavin Weston is a reminder that adult minds were originally the target of this litany of pocket-sized parables... There is very much a feeling here of the ancient sound-tracking the alarmingly present' * Sunday Independent (Dublin) *Scary new versions of ancient morality tales, Aesop's Fables, with stings in all their tails [...] are full of adult wisdom, human misfortune and bitter experiences, which, because they happen to other people, are hilarious * Belfast Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisFolk tales take us beyond our own boundaries into unknown lands. Yet within these adventures, riddles and enchantments we find our common ground and shared humanity. Lost & Found is Elizabeth Garner’s own retelling of fifteen treasured folk tales that have nurtured, sustained, terrified and enthralled her in equal measure. Some of the stories are taken from the books of her childhood, some are remembered, and others she has discovered in her reading over the years.Garner’s tapestry of words is adorned with engraver Phoebe Connolly's beautiful woodcut illustrations that bring the friends and foes of folklore to life. Included in the collection are stories such as ‘The Riddle of the Crossroads’, ‘The Twisted Oak’, ‘The Wits of the Whetstone’ and many more. With a varied and diverse cast of characters, Garner’s retellings expertly traverse a myriad of mysterious worlds; always staying true to tradition, while simultaneously speaking to modern times.This illustrated collection is another link in the chain between storyteller, listener and our shared ancestors: tales from the past, told to enrich the present and to be carried forward into the future.Trade Review'It’s the job of each generation to make the old tales speak afresh, and in this collection Elizabeth Garner has fashioned a vibrant web' Hugh Lupton"Lost & Found recalls the darker inheritance of Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber and Other Stories, adding a new and enigmatic tone” - Times Literary Supplement

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Book Synopsis'Curious and unflinching ... deftly executed and cringingly funny' Guardian 'Truly excellent' Brandon Taylor, author of Real Life, shortlisted for the 2020 Booker Prize Whether working in food service or in high-end retail, lit by a laptop in a sex chat or by the camera of an acclaimed film director, or sharing a flat in the city or a holiday rental in Mallorca, the protagonists of the ten stories comprising Paul Dalla Rosa's debut collection navigate the spaces between aspiration and delusion, ambition and aimlessness, the curated profile and the unreliable body. By turns unsparing and tender, Dalla Rosa explores our lives in late-stage Capitalism, where globalisation and its false promises of connectivity leave us further alienated and disenfranchised. Like the legendary Lucia Berlin and his contemporary Ottessa Moshfegh, Dalla Rosa is a masterful observer-and hilarious eviscerator-of our ugly, beautiful attempts at finding meaning in an ugly, beautiful world. 'Voyeuristically addictive, funny, and deceptively simple' Halle Butler, author of The New MeTrade ReviewWith caustic wit, Dalla Rosa performs a kind of surgery on his characters, splitting them wide open to reveal something exciting and vivid, ugly and depraved * Guardian *Truly excellent ... read it, both for Paul's sharp, dry wit and also the taut beauty of his lines -- Brandon Taylor, author of Real Life, shortlisted for the 2020 Booker PrizePitch perfect, with undercurrents of sorrow and angst -- Kit de Waal, Judge of the Sunday Times 2019 Short Story Prize Panel and author of The Trick to TimeDarkly funny ... Bitingly ironic and immensely original * Sunday Times *These are bold, acerbic stories that draw out the surreality of our disconnected, often brutal world. -- Seán HewittI love these voyeuristically addictive, funny, and deceptively simple stories. Paul Dalla Rosa has perfectly articulated the bizarreness of human isolation and human behaviour. -- Halle ButlerA precise and perfect depiction of a particularly current brand of emptiness and aloneness ... hilarious, brutal, warm and tender -- Abigail Ulman, the author of Hot Little HandsEngrossing, gleefully unsettling, curious but mercifully never whimsical, this is an eminently readable collection -- Lauren John Joseph, author of At Certain Points We TouchThe contemporary urgency of his stories is intoxicating.... This is such an exciting collection - writing this good is thrilling, exhilarating -- Christos Tsiolkas, author of The SlapHilarious and heartbreaking ... It's deliciously deadpan, often absurd, and painfully alive. -- Alice Ash, author of Paradise BlockPaul Dalla Rosa's writing is beautiful in its simplicity, awe-inspiring in its assessment of contemporary culture, and hilarious when you least expect it. Each story in An Exciting and Vivid Inner Life contains its own stunning world and its own cast of unforgettable characters playing out scenes that only Dalla Rosa could write. This book is a knockout. -- Chelsea Hodson, author of Tonight I'm Someone ElseStriking, singular -- Gurnaik Johal, author of We MoveA blisteringly brilliant and deliciously unsettling short-story collection * Attitude *What is remarkable about this collection is that Dalla Rosa harnesses the unique strengths of the short story form to achieve a myriad portrait of this particular crossroads in contemporary history, especially as it impinges on young gay people. -- Bobuq Sayed * Astra *Collected in An Exciting and Vivid Inner Life, the short stories of Melbourne writer Paul Dalla Rosa use minimalism to elevate the state of in-betweenness to an exercise of constraint. His stories eschew spectacle ... but their resonance is created by more subtle means, by the promises that these lonely and angst-ridden characters are learning about themselves, learning (through their failures) how to exist in a world with the odds stacked against them * Sydney Morning Herald *

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Book Synopsis'The Long Answer is a triumph of human portraiture, as subtle as it is seething' Sunday Times 'A startling meditation on grief and family and betrayal and the stories we tell about ourselves ... introspective, psychologically astute, and engaging' Kirkus starred review 'There were other women, how many other women, who had felt and wanted what I'd felt and wanted, and felt and wanted differently too. Anywhere I've been and will go next, there they will be.' Twelve weeks pregnant for the first time, Anna speaks to her sister on the other side of the country and learns she has just miscarried her second child. As this loss strains their bond, and complications with Anna's own pregnancy emerge, her tenuous steps towards motherhood are shadowed and illuminated by the women she meets along the way, whose stories of the babies they have had, or longed for, or lost, crowd in. The Long Answer is a stunning novel of secrets kept and secrets shared. Deeply empathetic and hugely absorbing, it unravels the intimate dynamics of female friendship, sisterhood, motherhood and grief, and the ways in which women are bound together and pulled apart by their shared and contrasting experiences of pregnancy, abortion, miscarriage and infertility.Trade ReviewA breathtaking roundup of the many ways that women carry and lose babies and pregnancies, so many possible and impossible choices to be made, so many capitulations and coercions to be endured. All the narratives in the novel make clear that the only thing that makes any of it bearable is the agency each woman can claim...These stories are crucial. * The New York Times Book Review *A brilliant debut, both coolly empathetic and searingly personal, a powerful bridge between fiction's two current modes. Anna Hogeland writes beautifully, with unwavering passion and insight, about the complexities of motherhood and female relationships. -- Jess Walter, New York Times-bestselling author of The Cold MillionsThe Long Answer is truly brilliant. Anna Hogeland writes generously and astutely about motherhood, grief, fertility, and the relationship dynamics between mothers and daughters, sisters and friends, articulating with aching clarity the irresolution of loss, and the quiet power of love. I'm so happy that this beautiful book exists. -- Miranda Ward, author of AdriftAn introspective, psychologically astute, and engaging debut... a heart-rending tale that blurs the line between fiction and reality...A startling meditation on grief and family and betrayal and the stories we tell about ourselves. * Kirkus starred review *I loved this debut novel by Anna Hogeland about motherhood - so coolly and intricately constructed, so quietly intimate, and devastating at its heart. -- Lucy CaldwellThe Long Answer is a triumph of human portraiture, as subtle as it is seething * Sunday Times *In concentric circles of stories told and stories secreted away, The Long Answer is about women making life and losing life and about fertility itself - the promise and the more complicated truth. This beautiful novel tugs at friendship, marriage, family and women in moments of heartbreaking and miraculous transformation. -- Ramona Ausubel, author of Sons and Daughters of Ease and PlentyA brilliantly constructed novel about women, and about the power of love in the heart of one woman through whom these female souls are elucidated, their passions, their terrible losses, and their bravery. These characters breathe on the page, and their stories are moving and involving. Anna Hogeland is a wonderfully talented writer. -- Richard Bausch, PEN/Malamud and Dayton Literary Peace Prize-winning authorA subtle, honest, engaging novel about female friendships, sibling relationships and the joys and costs of motherhood -- Alice Jolly, author of Mary Ann Sate, Imbecile, shortlisted for the the 2019 Rathbones Folio PrizeIn her gorgeous debut, The Long Answer, Anna Hogeland expertly explores issues of fertility, pregnancy, childbirth, and the uncertainty and trauma that too often accompany these major events ... readers will feel heard and seen. -- Erika Krouse, author of Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private InvestigationA compelling, often-heartbreaking tale of belonging, loss, and rebirth. Looking beyond pregnancy's physical transformations, Hogeland explores what it means to feel parental, to choose a life bigger than your own, or to lose a precious gift ... a heartfelt, finely wrought journey for fans of Suzanne Finnamore, Erica Jong, and Marian Keyes. -- Stephanie Turza * Booklist *Anna Hogeland's The Long Answer is the novel that millions of parents, mothers in particular, have been waiting for. It breaks the silence that has prevailed for so long around pregnancy and its discontents, the anguish of losing a pregnancy, the wrenching decision to end one, the rage and envy that so many woman feel around the process of procreation. I've never read a book that speaks so bravely, and eloquently, about the burdens that women carry. Hogeland brings moments of darkness into the light. Astonishing. A masterpiece. -- Steve Almond, author of CandyfreakTold with tenderness and care, one woman's journey manages to encapsulate a whole chorus of voices sharing their private heartbreaks. The Long Answer is a subtle and deeply moving novel; I loved it. -- Ruth Gilligan, author of The Butchers and winner of the 2021 RSL Ondaatje PrizeProvocative * The Sunday Post *Hogeland invites us to feel things without prodding us hard to amplify the pain ... In The Long Answer each story is totally absorbing and vivid. Quite a feat! -- Lizzy Stewart, author of Alison

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Book Synopsis'The Long Answer is a triumph of human portraiture, as subtle as it is seething' Sunday Times 'There were other women, how many other women, who had felt and wanted what I'd felt and wanted, and felt and wanted differently too. Anywhere I've been and will go next, there they will be.' Twelve weeks pregnant for the first time, Anna speaks to her sister on the other side of the country and learns she has just miscarried her second child. As this loss strains their bond, and complications with Anna's own pregnancy emerge, her tenuous steps towards motherhood are shadowed and illuminated by the women she meets along the way, whose stories of the babies they have had, or longed for, or lost, crowd in. The Long Answer is a stunning novel of secrets kept and secrets shared. Deeply empathetic and hugely absorbing, it unravels the intimate dynamics of female friendship, sisterhood, motherhood and grief, and the ways in which women are bound together and pulled apart by their shared and contrasting experiences of pregnancy, abortion, miscarriage and infertility.Trade ReviewA breathtaking roundup of the many ways that women carry and lose babies and pregnancies, so many possible and impossible choices to be made, so many capitulations and coercions to be endured. All the narratives in the novel make clear that the only thing that makes any of it bearable is the agency each woman can claim...These stories are crucial. * The New York Times Book Review *A brilliant debut, both coolly empathetic and searingly personal, a powerful bridge between fiction's two current modes. Anna Hogeland writes beautifully, with unwavering passion and insight, about the complexities of motherhood and female relationships. -- Jess Walter, New York Times-bestselling author of The Cold MillionsThe Long Answer is truly brilliant. Anna Hogeland writes generously and astutely about motherhood, grief, fertility, and the relationship dynamics between mothers and daughters, sisters and friends, articulating with aching clarity the irresolution of loss, and the quiet power of love. I'm so happy that this beautiful book exists. -- Miranda Ward, author of AdriftAn introspective, psychologically astute, and engaging debut... a heart-rending tale that blurs the line between fiction and reality...A startling meditation on grief and family and betrayal and the stories we tell about ourselves. * Kirkus starred review *I loved this debut novel by Anna Hogeland about motherhood - so coolly and intricately constructed, so quietly intimate, and devastating at its heart. -- Lucy CaldwellThe Long Answer is a triumph of human portraiture, as subtle as it is seething * Sunday Times *In concentric circles of stories told and stories secreted away, The Long Answer is about women making life and losing life and about fertility itself - the promise and the more complicated truth. This beautiful novel tugs at friendship, marriage, family and women in moments of heartbreaking and miraculous transformation. -- Ramona Ausubel, author of Sons and Daughters of Ease and PlentyA brilliantly constructed novel about women, and about the power of love in the heart of one woman through whom these female souls are elucidated, their passions, their terrible losses, and their bravery. These characters breathe on the page, and their stories are moving and involving. Anna Hogeland is a wonderfully talented writer. -- Richard Bausch, PEN/Malamud and Dayton Literary Peace Prize-winning authorA subtle, honest, engaging novel about female friendships, sibling relationships and the joys and costs of motherhood -- Alice Jolly, author of Mary Ann Sate, Imbecile, shortlisted for the the 2019 Rathbones Folio PrizeIn her gorgeous debut, The Long Answer, Anna Hogeland expertly explores issues of fertility, pregnancy, childbirth, and the uncertainty and trauma that too often accompany these major events ... readers will feel heard and seen. -- Erika Krouse, author of Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private InvestigationA compelling, often-heartbreaking tale of belonging, loss, and rebirth. Looking beyond pregnancy's physical transformations, Hogeland explores what it means to feel parental, to choose a life bigger than your own, or to lose a precious gift ... a heartfelt, finely wrought journey for fans of Suzanne Finnamore, Erica Jong, and Marian Keyes. -- Stephanie Turza * Booklist *Anna Hogeland's The Long Answer is the novel that millions of parents, mothers in particular, have been waiting for. It breaks the silence that has prevailed for so long around pregnancy and its discontents, the anguish of losing a pregnancy, the wrenching decision to end one, the rage and envy that so many woman feel around the process of procreation. I've never read a book that speaks so bravely, and eloquently, about the burdens that women carry. Hogeland brings moments of darkness into the light. Astonishing. A masterpiece. -- Steve Almond, author of CandyfreakTold with tenderness and care, one woman's journey manages to encapsulate a whole chorus of voices sharing their private heartbreaks. The Long Answer is a subtle and deeply moving novel; I loved it. -- Ruth Gilligan, author of The Butchers and winner of the 2021 RSL Ondaatje PrizeProvocative * The Sunday Post *Hogeland invites us to feel things without prodding us hard to amplify the pain ... In The Long Answer each story is totally absorbing and vivid. Quite a feat! -- Lizzy Stewart, author of Alison

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Book SynopsisForget everything about what you think is true. Rhiannon, Gwydion, Mathonwy - did you think that they are only myths? The ''Blue Book'' has been rediscovered... strange creatures gather in the shadows... and forces beyond your understanding spread their claws to tear your reality to shreds..

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Book SynopsisSeven short stories by the author and tutor, Esyllt Maelor. They are suitable for those starting to learn Welsh at entry level (Mynediad). Welsh-English vocabulary appear at the bottom of each page and at the back of the book. Part of the ''Amdani'' series for learners.

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Book SynopsisFrom the towering imagination of Joyce Carol Oates, literary icon and author of BLONDE, now a major motion picture, seven feverishly unsettling works of suspense.. A precocious eleven-year-old, in thrall to the mysterious black sheep of the family, climbs into his sky-blue Chevy to be driven to an uncertain, unforgettable, fate. A university student becomes obsessed with the murder of a female classmate as her own sense of self deteriorates. A recent widow grieves inside her lakefront home and fantasizes about transforming into a great flying predator – unerring and pitiless in the hunt. These meticulously crafted, deeply disquieting stories confront the dangers that surround us, and the dangers that lurk within. Reviews for Joyce Carol Oates: 'A writer of extraordinary strengths.' Guardian 'Oates chillingly depicts the darkness lurking within the everyday.' Sunday Express 'Both haunting and sublime.' Literary Review 'Splendidly chilling.' Financial Times 'Visceral, psychologically involving, and socially astute.' BooklistTrade ReviewPRAISE FOR JOYCE CAROL OATES: 'Oates is simply the most consistently inventive, brilliant, curious and creative writer going, as far as I'm concerned' Gillian Flynn. 'A collection that displays Oates's ability to inhabit distinctive voices to chilling effect' Observer. 'An unsettling read worth every resulting jump in the night' Daily Mail. 'Oates chillingly depicts the darkness lurking within the everyday' Sunday Express. 'A writer of extraordinary strengths' * Guardian *Table of ContentsDis mem ber The Crawl Space Heartbreak The Drowned Girl The Situations Great Blue Heron Welcome to Friendly Skies!

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Book SynopsisAn intellectually stimulating yet accessible collection of short vignettes on Russia and Germany by Alexander Kluge. Not just in light of a contested pipeline during the war in Ukraine but also after centuries of both exchange and rejection, Russia and Germany were and are as far away from each other as they are intrinsically linked. The geopolitical present seems critical, the signs pointing towards conflict and polarity. In this hot climate, German author Alexander Kluge makes Russia the exclusive subject of his latest book, offering multiple perspectives: from that of the historical German patriots of the Napoleonic Wars of Liberation to the narrative point of view of Franz Kafka and Heiner Müller; from messianic yearning and utopian expectations of the twentieth century to the full-blown or near-miss catastrophes in the atomic age. Composed in Kluge’s characteristic short-prose vignette style, interspersed with numerous images and often humorous asides, Russia Container is yet another brilliant and thought-provoking work from one of Europe’s most prolific and deeply intellectual literary genius. The volume includes a preface specially written to engage with the current events in Ukraine, making Kluge’s narratives even more timely and topical. Trade Review“Kluge is a prolific writer with a distinctive style that blends history and fiction, written texts with visual imagery, and public matters with personal fixations. Russia, as a place but especially as an idea, has been a lifetime fascination. In hundreds of brief vignettes and musings, Kluge collects moments and artifacts, historical anecdotes and odd baubles." * Booklist *"The old magician Alexander Kluge has released Russia Container into the literary supply chain: an intoxicating feat of imagination that resurrects multiple lost Russias before the reader’s eyes.” * New Statesman *Table of Contents1.“All of Russia’s Souls Point to Heaven with their Roots”2.Russia, Fatherland of Peculiarities3.The Plunderer’s Eye Turned Towards the Map / “Principle of Abstraction”4.“Power’s Concealed in the Plaster” / Lamento for a Lost Perestroika5.Russia as v-16.Notes and Supporting Documents

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Book SynopsisA HAUNTING COLLECTION OF STORIES THAT WEAVES HAWAIIAN MYTHOLOGY WITH A RICH SENSE OF PLACE This wrenching and sensational debut story collection follows a cast of mixed native Hawaiian and Japanese women through a contemporary landscape thick with inherited wisdom and the ghosts of colonisation. This is a Hawai'i where unruly sexuality and generational memory overflow the postcard image of paradise and the boundaries of the real, where the superstitions born of the islands take on the weight of truth. A childhood encounter with a wild pua'a (pig) on the haunted Pali highway portends one young woman's fraught relationship with her pregnant body. An elderly widow begins seeing her deceased lover in a giant flower. A kanaka writer, mid-manuscript, feels her raw pages quaking and knocking in the briefcase. Every Drop Is a Man's Nightmare is both a fierce love letter to Hawaiian identity and mythology, and a searing dispatch from an occupied territory threatening to erupt with violent secrets.Trade ReviewIn Every Drop is a Man's Nightmare, the enormously talented Megan Kakimoto gives us her Hawai'i, as bright as blood, as dark as blood. It's a book about beauty and brutality, love and threat, home and estrangement, as original and fearless a book as I've read in years. It does not pull its punches; it's altogether a knockout. Eleven knockouts, one KO for every story -- Elizabeth McCracken, author of THE SOUVENIR MUSEUMKakimoto's bold and haunting stories are brilliant on the mysterious and potent languages of the body, and on the enduring power of the stories that shape us. Every Drop Is a Man's Nightmare is a stunning debut -- Laura van den Berg, author of I HOLD A WOLF BY THE EARS and THE THIRD HOTELMegan Kakimoto is an extraordinary writer - compassionate, insightful, fiercely funny and super-smart - and Every Drop Is a Man's Nightmare thrums with intelligence, wisdom and wild originality. A tremendous debut by a writer who, lucky for us, has only just begun -- Molly Antopol, author of THE UNAMERICANSLyrical collisions of superstition, folktales, and modern Hawaiian culture saving itself in the face of cliches. Desire and confusion are rarely far apart in these powerful coming-of-age stories that prove it is possible to be many things, all the time, all at once -- Amy Hempel, author of SING TO ITMegan Kakimoto is one of those rare writers who has mastered both story and sentence. The women in this story are audacious, resilient, and unforgettable-they have my whole heart -- Kimberly King Parsons, author of BLACK LIGHT

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Book SynopsisIn the four provinces of Ireland there are thirty-two counties. Each county and its people have their own traditions, beliefs and folklore – and each one is also inhabited by the Sidhe: an ancient and magical race. Some believe they are descended from fallen angels, whilst others say they are the progeny of Celtic deities. They go by many names: the good folk, the wee folk, the gentle people and the fey, but are most commonly known as ‘the fairies’.These are not the whimsical fairies of Victorian and Edwardian picture books. They are feared and revered in equal measure, and even in the twenty-first century are spoken of in hushed tones.The fairies are always listening.Storyteller Steve Lally and his wife singer-songwriter Paula Flynn Lally have compiled this magnificent collection of magical fairy stories from every county in Ireland. Filled with unique illustrations that bring these tales to life, Irish Gothic Fairy Stories will both enthral and terrify readers for generations to come.

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Book SynopsisA collection of tales that grew out of the sprawling flatlands, the oozing fjords, the dark forests and the waves that crash on the shores of Denmark.How a Viking ship carried a future king into Roskilde Fjord, how a mermaid’s laughter brought fortunes to her fisherman host, how the people of Lolland survived a flood with waves 3m high and how a princess found her freedom in becoming a prince.Experience the history, landscapes, stories and fairy tales brought to life by a storyteller who called this country home for nearly sixty years.Trade ReviewFeatured in the Winter issue of Simply Scandi magazine * Simply Scandi magazine *

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Book SynopsisWith new stories by modern writers and classic tales from many traditions, Hidden Realms Short Stories delves into the secret corridors, the hidden doors at the end of the alley, the hole in the trunk of an ancient oak. This new collection of fantasy stories continues the bestselling Gothic Fantasy series by mixing open submissions and classic literature (from Alice in Wonderland to Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and tales of the hidden city of Telassar) exploring the adventures of hidden places, secret gardens, and shadow lands in forests and mountains, in the swamps and wild places of our world, and beyond. New, contemporary and notable writers featured are: Florence Adongo Bull, Monica Butler, Sam Dawson, Kat François, Evelyn Freeling, Sandra M. Grayson, Deanne Heron, Liam Hogan, Jennifer Hudak, Zoe Kaplan, E.E. King, Amanda Cecelia Lang, Karima Leslie, Susan L. Lin, Briana Una McGuckin, David McVey, Ville Meriläinen, Eric Montag, Marshall J. Moore, Michelle Muenzler, Chiamaka Muoneke, Aimee Ogden, Takbir Rahman, Lance Schonberg, Anna Taborska, Kanishk Tantia, Brian Trent, William H. Wandless, J. Weintraub, and Ramez Yoakeim. These feature alongside classic stories by the likes of Lewis Carroll, Lord Dunsany, George MacDonald, Mary de Morgan and Edith Nesbit. The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories, the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.

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Book SynopsisTales from writers with Latinx, Caribbean, Asian, African, Arabic, North American, East European origins, and more, challenge the reader with stories that spill out into space, parallel realms or just hidden in plain sight. The stories explore the world from the perspective of the incoming, whether necessitated through war or oppression, financial or familial need, or with hope for a better future, examining visions of displacement and relocation in future and speculative settings. New stories selected from open submissions are set alongside classic sci-fi by the likes of Otto (Eando) Binder and Zenna Henderson, modern stories by such authors as Celu Amberstone and Ken Liu, and older, realist immigrant narratives by Abraham Cahan, Sui Sin Far, Lee Yan Phou, Constantine Panunzio and more. Complemented by a foreword by author E.C. Osondu and an insightful introduction by Betsy Huang, Ph.D., this is an intriguing view of the conflict and anxiety between the settled and the unsettled. The new, contemporary and notable writers featured are: Ali Abbas, Celu Amberstone, Bebe Bayliss, Christine Bennett, Ben Blattberg, Judi Calhoun, V. Castro, P.A. Cornell, Yelena Crane, Indra Das, Deborah L. Davitt, Greg van Eekhout, Louis Evans, Illimani Ferreira, Beáta Fülöp, Elana Gomel, Eileen Gonzalez, Roy Gray, Alex Gurevich, Jennifer Hudak, Jordan Ifueko, Frances Lu-Pai Ippolito, Jas Kainth, Ken Liu, Samara Lo, Kwame M.A. McPherson, E.C. Osondu, Simon Pan, C.R. Serajeddini, Bogi Takács, Kanishk Tantia, Tehnuka, Francesco Verso (translated by Michael Colbert), M. Darusha Wehm, Kevin Martens Wong, and Eris Young. The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories, the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.

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Book SynopsisGilman created a world that could be viewed from the feminist gaze. She focused on how women were not just stay-at-home mothers they were expected to be but also people who had dreams, who were able to travel and work just as men did, and whose goals included a society where women were just as important as men. In the early 1900s this was striking and revolutionary. The stories in this collection are: 'A Coincidence'; 'According To Solomon', 'An Offender', 'A Middle-Sized Artist', 'Martha's Mother', 'Her Housekeeper', 'When I Was A Witch', 'Making a Living', 'A Coincidence, The Cottagette', 'The Boys and the Butter', 'My Astonishing Dodo', and 'A Word In Season'.

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Book SynopsisAn exceptional addition to the stunning, richly-rewarding short story collections of Flame Tree’s Gothic Fantasy series, with intriguing and thrilling tales from both new submissions and ancient sources. Plato’s Lost Atlantis thought-experiment began in Timaeus with the idea of a perfect society lost to the world, but it has haunted the speculative mind for over 2000 years, bearing powerful narratives of Francis Bacon’s New Atlantis and the Utopian tales of Thomas More, Samuel Butler, William Morris, Charlotte Perkins Gilman and in modern times, TV series and short stories galore. An imaginative tour-de-force that examines the nature and desires of humanity, from Antiquity to the present day. New, contemporary and notable writers featured are: Ash Arya, Rose Beardmore, Leah Cypess, Niya M.K. Davis, Deborah L. Davitt, Tracy Fahey, Isobel Granby, John Linwood Grant, David Hankins, M.K. Hutchins, Karl Sade, Silas Leavitt, Kwame M.A. McPherson, Damien Mckeating, John Moralee, Barry Neenan, Spencer Orey, Erica Ruppert, C.R. Serajeddini, Zach Shephard, Calie Voorhis, and Lucy Zhang. These appear alongside classic work by Francis Bacon, Lord Dunsany, Clark Ashton Smith, Jules Verne and more. The gorgeous editions of Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories, the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure. Jennifer Fuller (foreword) is a Communications and Training Lead at Sierra 7 where she works to provide high-quality trainings and communications support for Veterans Affairs. Previously, she was a college professor serving at Jackson State University, Idaho State University, and Warner University. Her previous book Dark Paradise was a work of literary criticism that explored the Pacific islands through the lens of nineteenth-century literature. Her love of islands (and science fiction) is a theme that carries through much of her work, including her current co-authored project Beyond Atlantis: Islands of Imagination.

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Book SynopsisSpirits, ghosts and ghouls dance their macabre fortunes in the pages of this thrilling new book. From cemeteries and abandoned mansions, battered tenement buildings and ice-cold chambers to the desert wastelands of Arabia, this new collection gathers stories from open submissions and surrounds them with the ghastly emanations of H.P. Lovecraft, M.R. James, Mary Elizabeth Braddon, Amelia Edwards and the frightful tales of Le Fanu, Charlotte Riddell and Elizabeth Gaskell. New, contemporary and notable writers featured are: Stewart C. Baker, Rebecca Brothers, Ramsey Campbell, Georgia Cook, Gina Easton, Bruce Golden, Caye Gowyn, John Linwood Grant, Rayne Hall, Vanessa C. Hawkins, Jennifer Hudak, Brianna Ishii-McFaull, Dylan Kingsley, Amanda Cecelia Lang, Fiona Lehn, Samuel Marzioli, S.R. Masters, Bret Nelson, Lena Ng, Sam W. Pisciotta, Josephine Queen, Erica Ruppert, C.R. Serajeddini, Evelyn Teng, and Wen Wen Yang. The gorgeous, deluxe edition Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories, the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.

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Book SynopsisAlong with Mary Shelley, Bram Stoker and Oscar Wilde, Robert Louis Stevenson brought to life the monstrous nature that hides within humanity. For his masterpiece The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde, the clever manipulator of the dark and gothic mood revealed the duality of human nature with a tale that resonates still today. This new selection gathers together 'The Body Snatcher', 'A Lodging for the Night', 'The Isle of Voices', 'The Bottle Imp', 'Story of the Physician and the Saratoga Trunk', and many other chilling and thrilling stories for readers who delight in the shadows and the mysterious. The Flame Tree Gothic Fantasy, Classic Stories and Epic Tales collections bring together the entire range of myth, folklore and modern short fiction. Highlighting the roots of suspense, supernatural, science fiction and mystery stories, the books in Flame Tree Collections series are beautifully presented, perfect as a gift and offer a lifetime of reading pleasure.

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Book SynopsisFrom sonnets on the very nature of love life and death; a selection of poems on parenthood, nature, and God; a horror story that will chill your very bones; to a madcap tale of Fruit Ninjas taking on some familiar (but well-disguised) faces. This collection of poetry and prose has it all; something for absolutely everyone.Thomas Rowan''s style flips effortlessly from soul-searching philosophy to the creation of terrifying monsters in gothic mansions and zany gaming-style adventures and all of it very readable.

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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