Anthologies & Short Stories

Book SynopsisMurder Squad, a group of award-winning crime and mystery writers, celebrate their twenty-first birthday with a bang in this criminally good collection of short stories.A dawn swim turns deadly in a brand-new short story starring DCI Vera Stanhope . . . Two bored cell-mates play a game with chilling results . . . A hen night in an isolated cottage brings new meaning to ''I will survive'' . . . A train traveller teaches a valuable lesson in reading labels . . . A day at the seaside turns stormy for a woman who doesn''t care for foreigners . . . A wealthy retiree makes a new friend who connects her to the Other Side . . . and much much more.Short, sharp and packed with twists, these 21 unputdownable tales showcase Murder Squad''s range and talent throughout the years. So why not treat yourself to a slice of murderously moreish fiction, and join us in wishing the squad ''Many Deadly Returns''.With stories by Ann Cleeves, Martin Edwards, Kate Ellis, Margaret Murphy, Chris Simms and Cath Staincliffe, as well as John Baker, Chaz Brenchley and Stuart Pawson.

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Book Synopsis‘All she wants is a new country, a new language, new food. New people, new stories ... She wants all this newness – which is as old as the hills – to encourage her, enclose her, remake her... She feels this, though she doesn’t really believe it.’ In these eleven stories, Éilís Ní Dhuibhne draws us into the lives of characters struggling to find equilibrium. Visited by change and crisis, they are forced to confront the stories that define their sense of themselves and their place in the world. Beautifully written and sharply observed, this dazzling and daring collection is a deft exploration of the complexities of human desire – its darkness, its incoherence, its potential to help us tell a new story.Trade ReviewLittle Red and Other Stories is a treasure chest, full of such jewels. -- Henrietta McKervey * Irish Independent *These stories are rooted in human feeling and authenticity … a gift to her readers -- John Boyne * Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisThis collection of eleven stories by one of Ireland’s best writers is a compelling exploration of what comes from moving about the place. In these stories, Evelyn Conlon vividly imagines her characters all over the world: Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Italy, Monaco, in a house with two drills of vegetables in Skerries. A couple spend their lives wandering around the equator because of a lie they told during anti-apartheid days; one person holds out in a border-straddling tree; a woman from Hiroshima makes the decision to get pregnant; an Irishwoman attempts to assassinate Mussolini, another fights for women's suffrage in Australia. Brilliantly written, witty, and full of the sharp observation for which Conlon is well known, Moving About the Place brings together some of the best of her recent work, along with brand-new stories, including a novella, to show how borders, movement and history change and transform people’s lives. ‘A genuinely exploratory writer … her work is excitingly original.’ The Times ‘Sharp sinuous writing, full of controlled anger and suddenly opened passion.’ The Scotsman

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Book Synopsis‘When the story is finished, Muriel and Polly sit in silence. The coloured lights on the fuchsia bush twinkle against the black sea and the black mountain and the black sky. They sit in silence. They let the story settle.’ For almost forty years, Éilís Ní Dhuibhne has captivated readers and critics alike with the dazzle and daring of her stories. Hailed as an original voice from her first collection, she has gone on to create a body of work that has established her as one of Ireland’s finest and most compelling storytellers. The fourteen stories gathered here demonstrate the breadth of Ní Dhuibhne’s achievement across her long writing career, particularly in terms of her depiction of the richly complex territory of women’s lives. They are testament to her great and enduring talent for weaving stories that draw us in and stay with us in the silence, long after the story has ended. ‘A masterful storyteller, tonally adept at pivoting from searing and political, to comic and moving in a matter of pages.’ SINÉAD GLEESON ‘Ní Dhuibhne’s stories stand out for their superb sense of character and time and place.’ COLM TÓIBÍN ‘A fully contemporary writer working old magic; Ní Dhuibhne calls on ancient tradition to renew the way we see the world.’ ANNE ENRIGHT Stories: The Postmen’s Strike - Blood and Water - The Flowering - The Wife of Bath - Gweedore Girl - Estonia - The Pale Gold of Alaska - The Banana Boat - A Literary Lunch - The Moon Shines Clear, The Horseman’s Here - Bikes I have Lost - The Coast of Wales - New Zealand Flax - Little Red.Table of ContentsSelected Stories: The Postmen’s Strike Blood and Water The Flowering The Wife of Bath Gweedore Girl Estonia The Pale Gold of Alaska The Banana Boat A Literary Lunch The Moon Shines Clear, The Horseman’s Here Bikes I have Lost The Coast of Wales New Zealand Flax Little Red

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Book Synopsis'Signs and Wonders' documents a couple's divorce after twenty-six years of marriage; in 'Robbing the Cradle', a teacher desperate to conceive resorts to the most extreme measures imaginable; and 'The Stepmother's Story' sees a young woman experience every parent's worst nightmare while on holiday in Edinburgh. These are but three of the stories in a collection showcasing Alix Ohlin's matchless characterization and raw readability. The reader reaches the end of one story, feels sad to leave its cast behind, yet are buoyed when, mere moments later, they find themselves equally engrossed in the next offering.Trade Review'I loved these touching, deeply human stories ... Nothing short of marvelous' Jay Parini. * Jay Parini *'Contains much to admire ... individual stories leave their mark and [Ohlin] is in command of her unifying theme: the risk and unavoidable pain of relationships' Literary Review. * Literary Review *'Unputdownable: crisp, focused, lovely and lasting' Marie Claire. * Marie Claire *'These stories are smart, tough, deeply felt and beautifully delivered, without one wasted word' Richard Bausch. * Richard Bausch *Table of ContentsSigns and Wonders. Forks. Robbing the Cradle. The Stepmother's Story. The Idea Man. Who Do You Love? The Teacher. Vigo Park. The Only Child. Three Little Maids. You Are What You Like. A Month of Sundays. The Cruise. The Assistants. Bruno. Fortune-Telling.

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Book SynopsisA pioneering collection describing and dramatizing the Nepalese diaspora - the displacement and exile of the Nepali-speaking world*SHORTLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE*A disfigured servant girl plans to flee Nepal; a Kalimpong shopkeeper faces an impossible dilemma; a Hindu religious festival in Darjeeling brings with it a sacrifice; a Nepali-Bhutanese refugee pins her hopes on the West; a Gurkha's daughter tries to comprehend her father's complaints; two young Nepali-speaking immigrants meet in Manhattan. These are just some of the stories of the people whose culture and language is Nepalese but who are dispersed to India, Bhutan and beyond. From every perspective and on every page, Prajwal Parajuly blends rich colour and vernacular to paint an eye-opening picture of a unique world and its people.Trade Review'Equally moving stories, the author takes us effortlessly inside the lives of the families in this remote ancient kingdom and its diaspora' Daily Mail. * Daily Mail *'[An] accomplished debut collection ... A distinctive talent' Financial Times. * Financial Times *'Crisp, inventive and insightful ... Marvellous' Guardian. * Guardian *Table of ContentsThe Cleft. Let Sleeping Dogs Lie. A Father's Journey. Missed Blessing. No Land is Her Land. The Gurkha's Daughter. Passing Fancy. The Immigrants.

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Book SynopsisFrom the author of The Cotswolds Werewolf comes a new collection of Sherlock Holmes pastiches in the vein of Conan Doyle, revealing for the first time the secrets behind the theft of the hobnailed boots, the mysterious madness of the Right Honourable Wilfred Crabb, the case of the haunted public house, the curious and seemingly supernatural events surrounding a remote hotel on the east coast, and the truth behind the strange disappearance of Cyrus Thicknesse, the man in the sensible necktie. "I must say, Holmes, I am a bit surprised to see you taking an interest in something based on sympathy." "You do not think me sympathetic?" "Of course I do. But you have said yourself that it is the rational challenge and not the human aspect that draws you to your cases. Humans are mere factors in a problem, I think were your words." "Did I really say that? Hm, well, I am an odd sort, am I not?"

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Book SynopsisIn a world of chances, one decision can bring down the house, one roll of the dice could bring untold wealth, or the end of everything. Here the players gather, their stories often dark, and always compelling. The players and the played, this new anthology from Jonathan Oliver (Magic, End of The Road, House of Fear, The End of The Line, World War Cthulhu) brings together brand new stories from an international team of talented authors, each with their own deadly game. This collection is set to include a full house of top authors including Hugo award-winning American writer Pat Cadigan, Brit Gary McMahon, Mexican Silvia MorenoGarcia, plus Tade Thompson, Rebecca Levene and more!Table of Contents Introduction, Jonathan Oliver Big Man, Chuck Wendig The Yellow Door, Silvia Moreno-Garcia Die, Lavie Tidhar Chrysalises, Benjanun Sriduangkaew South Mountain, Paul Kearney The Game Changer, Libby McGugan Distinguishing Characteristics, Yoon Ha Lee Captain Zzapp!!! – Space Hero from 3000 AD, Gary Northfield Death Pool, Melanie Tem The Bone Man’s Bride, Hillary Monahan Honourable Mention, Tade Thompson Loser, Rebecca Levene Two Sit Down, One Stands Up, Ivo Stourton Ready or Not, Gary McMahon The Monogamy of Wild Beasts, Robert Shearman The Stranger Cards, Nik Vincent All Things Fall Apart and Are Built Again, Helen Marshall Lefty Plays Bridge, Pat Cadigan

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Book SynopsisIt is the dawn of the twentieth century.Following the Martians' failed invasion of Earth, the British Empire has seized their technology and unlocked its secrets for themselves. It is a Golden Age of discovery, adventure, culture, invention—and of domination, and rebellion.Scarlet Traces reveals a world of ant-headed nightmares; vacuum salesmen; war machines; deadly secrets; clockwork marvels; and Sherlock Holmes, T. S. Eliot and Thomas Edison as you've never seen them before...Including stories by Stephen Baxter, I. N. J. Culbard, Adam Roberts, Emma Beeby, James Lovegrove, Nathan Duck, Mark Morris, Dan Whitehead, Chris Roberson, Maura McHugh, Jonathan Green and Andrew Lane.Trade Review"This is exceptional: scathing socio-political satire made sweet by being British speculative fiction through and through." * Page 45 * "A saga over a decade in the making" * Comicon.com * "A series that increases its dramatic and imaginative scope with every step. It's clever, accessible, scary, thought-provoking and thrilling, all wrapped up in a beautiful package" * Grovel.org.uk * "a showcase for D'Israeli's art, every face a moment of peace or panic in a vividly identifiable style, traditional in its framing but radically expressive in the figurework. It's a very productive friction, beefing up a robust science-fiction air for the Wells adaptation and emphasising the physical impact of Martian war machines, laying waste to pastoral Surrey and ingesting plenty of the population." * Tripwire (On Scarlet Traces comics) * 'A vivid and exciting version of the original story combined with a wonderful sequel' * Starburst Magazine * 'A uniquely strange and absorbing body of work' * AV Club (on Scarlet Traces comic) *Table of Contents Introduction, Ian Edginton Going Up the Blue, Stephen Baxter Something Sweet in the Superstitions, I. N. J. Culbard The Martian Waste Land, Adam Roberts The Menagerie, Emma Beeby The Adventure of the Wheezing Man, James Lovegrove Voice for a Generation, Nathan Duck Spitting Blood, Mark Morris The Alarmist, Dan Whitehead Last Shot, Chris Roberson The Mechanical Marionette Mob, Maura McHugh Wonderful Things, Jonathan Green Red Frame, White Heat, Andrew Lane

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Book SynopsisNot the Tales You Were ToldOnce upon a time, Rudyard Kipling’s Just So Stories—fantastical yarns of wondrous creatures in faraway places—bewitched children across the world. But times change. Today, Kipling’s writing tells us a different tale; of a love of Empire, and the troubling legacy of British colonialism.In Not So Stories, writers of colour from around the world reclaim these stories and remake them into something new. Something different. Something that belongs to us all. Including stories by Adiwijaya Iskandar, Joseph Elliott-Coleman, Raymond Gates, Stewart Hotston, Zina Hutton, Georgina Kamsika, Cassandra Khaw, Paul Krueger, Tauriq Moosa, Jeannette Ng, Ali Nouraei, Wayne Santos, Zedeck Siew and Achala Upendran, with illustrations by Woodrow Phoenix and a foreword by Nikesh Shukla.Trade Review"There is a lot to enjoy here. A book whose time has come..." -- Suroor Alikhan * Talking About Books *"For any adult who was charmed by Kipling as a child." * Starburst Magazine *"Whether you love or can't stand Kipling, this is a terrific book." * The B&N Sci-Fi and Fantasy Blog *“Funny, touching, and often profound.” * Tor.com *“Fantastical fables about why things are the way they are, like Just So Stories… but without all the British Colonialism.” -- Alex Wells, Bookriot -- Alex Wells * Book Riot *Table of Contents Foreword, Nikesh Shukla How the Spider Got Her Legs, Cassandra Khaw Queen, Joseph Elliott-Coleman Best Beloved, Wayne Santos The Man Who Played With the Crab, Adiwijaya Iskandar Saṃsāra, Georgina Kamsika Serpent, Crocodile, Tiger, Zedeck Siew How the Tree of Wishes Gained its Carapace of Plastic, Jeannette Ng How the Ants Got Their Queen, Stewart Hotston How the Snake Lost its Spine, Tauriq Moosa The Cat Who Walked by Herself, Achala Upendran Strays Like Us, Zina Hutton How the Simurgh Won Her Tail, Ali Nouraei There is Such Thing as a Whizzy-Gang, Raymond Gates How the Camel Got Her Paid Time Off, Paul Krueger

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Book SynopsisThis hilarious collection of short stories from the award-winning humorist Simon Rich includes the story that inspired the Seth Rogen comedy An American Pickle. Having skewered the problems of falling in and out of love in The Last Girlfriend on Earth, Simon Rich's next book is another subject we can all relate to: parents and their kids. From the perils of raising an actual monster in Manhattan - it's pretty hard to find teachers who really understand the talents of a five-year-old with horns and a taste for blood - to Sell Out, the story of Simon's ancestor, returned to life decades after an industrial accident involving pickling brine, these stories are inventive, witty and sometimes a bit too much like real life.Trade ReviewSimon Rich is outrageously, lavishly gifted -- Caitlin MoranRich is seriously funny * GQ *Arguably the wittiest American humourist of his generation * Guardian *A James Thurber for our times, in Borges' suit, wearing Flann O'Brien's hat -- Ian McMillan * BBC Radio 3 The Verb *I lolled - how fabulously funny [on Twitter] -- Lauren LaverneSimon Rich is a comedic shape shifter, adopting the plights of hamsters and hipsters alike, and Spoiled Brats is vividly hilarious in the way Woody Allen and Donald Barthelme are vividly hilarious. Simon Rich is also much taller in real life than you'd think. Like the reverse of an actor. -- Sloane Crosley, author of I Was Told There’d Be Cake and How Did You Get This NumberI can't recommend any Simon Rich book - especially this one - highly enough. From the hyper-competitive rituals of Scrabble players to the laments of a grieving, widowed hamster in an elementary school classroom, each story in Spoiled Brats opens with a brilliant comedic perspective that only gets funnier, more fascinating, more surprising, and more insightful from there. First-rate comedy with a heartbeat, this is one of my favorite books from one of my favorite authors. -- B.J. Novak, author of One More Thing: Stories and Other Stories and star of "The Office"Simon Rich is the funniest writer alive -- Matt Haig * Twitter *If you don't yet know about Simon Rich, you just got lucky. If you do, you'll need no encouragement from me to get hold of his latest collection of short stories ... His sheer invention is captivating. Rich has a wonderful way of making a familiar situation strange and then presenting it in deceptively simple language, within a perfectly lucid, concise structure ... Genius ... He is a Thurber, even a Wodehouse, for today. Who could ask for more? You can give his books to people and just watch them laugh. Only after you've snorted through them yourself, though. -- David Sexton * Evening Standard *I discovered myself reading Spoiled Brats with a broad grin, only interrupted with an equally broad laugh ... A mix of gentle surrealism and smiley satire, the stories are bright, witty and occasionally tart. -- Sam Kitchener * Sunday Telegraph *Simon Rich...is in the 'Blazing Saddles' phase of his writing career... as hilarious a portrait as you'll find of the self-involved, easily outraged, post-post-post-ironic world into which we've dumped the next generation. -- Patton Oswalt * New York Times Book Review *Simon Rich is very much laugh-out-loud funny. He can conjure authentic, from-the-abdomen laughter on almost every page. He stacks surrealism on top of slick satire on top of pure childish silliness in such a brilliant and condensed way, there are sometimes three laugh-out-loud moments within the same paragraph ... He is exactly the right kind of writer for the internet: funny, high-concept, accessible, short, sharable, a James Thurber for the Twitter age ... this collection of stories isn't simply the funniest book of the year. It might just make us think about the spoiled brats we've become. -- Matt Haig * Guardian *Spoiled Brats reads like Kafka with jokes...It bounces from the ridiculous to the sublime: every page bursts with a new gag or three, but despite its seemingly bright, zingy, occasionally (and deservedly) tart tone, you'll be struck by a tender humanity, and like the best satire, a deep sense of morality. -- Sunil Badami * Sydney Morning Herald *The American novelist and screenwriter Simon Rich writes the kind of humorous books you dearly wish that editors on this side of the Atlantic would be more frequently brave enough to commission: loose, chaotic collections of essays, united by the vaguest of themes (in this case, children who are thoroughly oblivious to just how good life in the 21st century is for them) whose point, above all, is to raise as many laughs as possible ... Spoiled Brats cements Rich's reputation as a James Thurber for the iPhone generation. Best of all are two essays where the 30-year-old Rich pokes fun at his own privileged upbringing: one narrated by the neglected hamster at his prep school, another where his ancestor, a pickle-factory worker, wakes up in the modern world, having been preserved in brine, and proceeds to illustrate just how trifling Rich's (and by extension 21st-century New York's) day-to-day problems are. This is the work of a joyous, untrammelled imagination, with a level of self-awareness beyond its years. -- Tom Cox * Guardian *

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Book Synopsis'Simon Rich is outrageously, lavishly gifted' - Caitlin Moran 'Simon Rich is the funniest writer alive' - Matt Haig 'How fabulously funny' - Lauren Laverne 'One of my favourite authors' - B J Novak From a bitter tell-all by a horse who made a man famous and then got left behind to a gushing magazine profile of one of your favorite World War II dictators, these stories trawl through history to skewer our obsession with fame and fortune - all the way from ancient Babylon to Hollywood. What father-to-be wouldn't feel a little jealous when his baby outstrips his success from the womb? And what happens when a film critic is forced to live in the movies he so cruelly damned? Loved in the UK by celebs, writers and readers alike, from Lauren Laverne to Matt Haig and Caitlin Moran, Simon Rich is back with his funniest and most personal collection of stories to date.Trade ReviewSimon Rich is outrageously, lavishly gifted -- Caitlin MoranHow fabulously funny -- Lauren LaverneOne of my favourite authors -- B J NovakSimon Rich is the funniest writer alive -- Matt HaigGenius ... He is a Thurber, even a Wodehouse, for today. Who could ask for more? You can give his books to people and just watch them laugh. Only after you've snorted through them yourself, though * Evening Standard *With Simon Rich's new collection you will laugh out loud regularly ... The stories are very, very funny ... Read Hits and Misses if you like laughing at things. -- Patrick Freyne * Irish Times *Wildly funny -- Anthony Cummins * Metro *

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Book SynopsisRenae Lucas-Hall is an Australian-born British novelist and writer. She has always had a passion for reading and writing stories and speaking foreign languages. She enjoys writing about Japan in particular, whether it be fiction or non-fiction. Renae graduated from university in Australia with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Japanese language and culture. She went on to live in Tokyo for two years where she taught English. Over the past twenty years, Renae has visited Japan many times for work or as a tourist. Renae lives in Gloucestershire in the United Kingdom with her husband.

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Book Synopsis'Profoundly imagined characters, spiced with the off-kilter and deliciously mad . . . a work of great empathy and imagination' THE IRISH TIMESThe season's just begun at Seacliff Caravan Park, but none of the residents are having a good time. Frankie is haunted by his daughter's death. Vidas, homeless and far from Lithuania, seeks sanctuary in an abandoned caravan. Anna struggles to shake off the ghost of her overbearing mother. Kathleen struggles to accept her daughter for who she is. Malcolm, a failed illusionist, makes one final attempt to reinvent himself. Agatha Christie-obsessed Alma faces her toughest case yet as she tries to help them all find what they've lost.With trademark wit and playfulness, in this stunning linked short-story collection Jan Carson explores complex family dynamics, ageing, immigration, gender politics, the decline of the Church and the legacy of the Troubles. The Last Resort firmly places Carson as one of the most inventive and daring writers of her generation.'One of the most exciting and original Northern Irish writers of her generation' SUNDAY TIMESTrade ReviewProfoundly imagined characters, spiced with the off-kilter and deliciously mad . . . a work of great empathy and imagination - The Irish Times -- The Irish Times. . . stories filled with wit and humanity - Irish Independent -- Irish Independent

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Book SynopsisNeil Gaiman, Joanne Harris and other bestsellers re-imagine famous fairy tales in this wonderfully rich, scary anthology, illustrated by Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings artist Alan Lee. Following in the grand tradition of the Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, some of today's finest writers have created their own brand-new fairy tales - but with a decidedly dark twist. Fearie Tales is a fantastical mix of spellbinding retellings of 'Cinderella', 'Rapunzel', 'Hansel and Gretel' and 'Rumpelstiltskin', amongst others, with unsettling tales inspired by other childhood classics, all interspersed with the sources of their inspiration: the timeless stories first collected by the Brothers Grimm.Edited by Stephen Jones, Britain's best-known anthologist of dark tales, and illustrated by Oscar-winning artist Alan Lee, who also provided the magnificent cover, with stories by Neil Gaiman; Joanne Harris; Garth Nix; John Ajvide Lindqvist; Markus Heitz; Michael Marshall Smith; Angela Slatter; Robert Shearman; Christopher Fowler; Ramsey Campbell; Peter Crowther; Brian Hodge; Brian Lumley; Reggie Oliver and Tanith Lee.But be warned: this stunning volume of frightening fables is definitely not suitable for children!Trade ReviewFearie Tales has the edge here, mainly because it proved so refreshing and authentic, reflecting the true intention of the original storytellers, after decades of sugarcoated Disney fare. * The Stylist Book Wars *The best spooky fiction: Close the curtains, pull up a chair, open a book - and prepare to be pleasantly scared * The Metro *Authentically terrifying . . . The whole is gorgeous, the hardback from paper to font is a treasure to hold, even before we see Alan Lee's magnificent drawings * ScienceFic *This is one absolutely beautiful collection. A must-have. * Terror-Tree *Marvellous: each story is great in its own way and together they just work remarkably well to bring thrills and nightmares. All of them are terrifying and mesmerising at the same time. The illustrations by Alan Lee are incredible. Read it if you dare and see if you can keep your lights off during the night. 10 stars! -- Marc Aplin * Fantasy-Faction *Stephen Jones remains at the top of the tree as one of the world's premier anthologists * Crime Time *A collection of definitely-not-for-kids fairy tales twisted and retold by an amazing list of authors * Bibliosanctum *This is an impressive one: horror yarns inspired by the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm. Add in a splendid cover illustration and superb pieces of interior art by Alan Lee and you have the makings of a great anthology * British Fantasy Society *Moving, shocking, funny, pretty essential * Concatenation *I've dipped in and out, read half the book in one go, re-read, and mulled over. The stories are tense, creepy, twisted, sad, and horrible in varying proportions * Andthenireadabook *Takes the retold fairy tale sub-genre, already claimed and used exquisitely in fantasy and dark fantasy fiction, deep into horror territory * Ellen Datlow, Best Horror of the Year *Satisfyingly creepy and viscerally horrific -- Luna Centifanti * Times Higher Education, Books Of The Year *This book provides a double dose of delight to fans of fear-fraught fiction. Firstly, there is Alan Lee's captivating and delightfully mordant artwork which adorns the covers, endpapers and interiors, and then there are the stories themselves, which are compelling, intriguing, and unsettling in equal measure . . . Added together with Jo Fletcher Books' impeccable design and production values, and you have a book that you will treasure for years to come. * Illustrators *With Fearie Tales, noted horror anthologist Stephen Jones sets out to return the form to its roots. Using the original tales collected in the early 19th Century by the Brothers Grimm as inspiration, Jones presents a collection of modern-day fairy tales designed to frighten and unsettle, and written by some of the foremost practitioners of horror and dark fantasy currently working in their respective fields . . . This is a must for horror aficionados everywhere, and doubly so for anyone with a penchant for fairy tales in particular. The usual high production values from Jo Fletcher mean this is a book that you'll want to have displayed on your shelf, and that's just the icing on the cake. Dark, disturbing but most of all: wonderful. -- Matt Craig * Reader Dad *'For a goosebump-raising story, look no further than the beautifully illustrated Fearie Tales . . . All the time-honoured horror themes are here -- Russell Williams * Metro *Table of ContentsIntroduction: Don't Scare the Children - Stephen Jones. The Wilful Child. Find My Name - Ramsey Campbell. The Singing Bone. Down to a Sunless Sea - Neil Gaiman. Rapunzel. Open Your Windows, Golden Hair - Tanith Lee. The Hare's Bride. Crossing the Line - Garth Nix. Hansel and Gretel. Peckish - Robert Shearman. The Three Little Men in the Wood. Look Inside - Michael Marshall Smith. The Story of a Youth Who Went Forth to Learn What Fear Was. Fraulein Fearnot - Markus Heitz. Cinderella. The Ash-Boy - Christopher Fowler. The Elves #1. The Changeling - Brian Lumley. The Nixie of the Mill-Pond. The Silken Drum - Reggie Oliver. The Robber Bridegroom. By the Weeping Gate - Angela Slatter. Frau Trude. Anything to Me is Sweeter, Than to Cross Shock-Headed Peter - Brian Hodge. The Elves #2. The Artemis Line - Peter Crowther. The Old Woman in the Wood. The Silken People - Joanne Harris. Rumpelstiltskin. Come Unto Me - John Ajvide Lindqvist. The Shroud.

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Book SynopsisA stunning classic set in Italy's most vibrant and turbulent metropolis - Naples - in the immediate aftermath of World War Two. These lively and superbly written stories helped inspire Elena Ferrante's Neapolitan novels. Ortese's work was also championed by Italo Calvino, who was her Italian editor. The stories and reportage collected in this volume form a powerful portrait of ordinary lives, both high and low, family dramas, love affairs, and struggles to pay the rent, set against the crumbling courtyards of the city itself, and the dramatic landscape of Naples Bay. This classic is exquisitely rendered in English by Ann Goldstein and Jenny McPhee, two of the leading translators working from Italian today. Included in the collection is 'A Pair of Eyeglasses', one of the most widely praised Italian short stories of the last century.

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Book SynopsisThis exquisite anthology collects together the very best fiction from across the Nordic region. Travelling from cosmopolitan Stockholm to the remote Faroe Islands, and from Denmark to Greenland, this unique and compelling volume displays the thrilling diversity of writing from these northern nations. Selected and introduced by Sjon, The Dark Blue Winter Overcoat includes both notable authors and exciting new discoveries. As well as an essential selection of the best contemporary storytelling from the Nordic countries, it's also a fascinating portrait of contemporary life across the region. The perfect book to curl up with on a cold winter's evening. Naja Marie Aidt (Denmark), Per Olov Enquist (Sweden), Dorthe Nors (Denmark), Linda Boström Knausgård (Sweden), Madame Nielsen (Denmark), Rosa Liksom (Finland), Johan Bargum (Finland), Kristín Ómarsdóttir (Iceland), Kjell Askildsen (Norway), Ulla-Lena Lundberg (Finland/Sweden), Hassan Blasim (Finland), Sørine Steenholdt (Greenland, Guðbergur Bergsson (Iceland), Sólrún Michelsen (Faroe Islands), Frode Grytten (Norway), Carl Jóhan Jensen (Faroe Islands), Niviaq Korneliussen (Greenland)Trade ReviewSjon is the trickster that makes the world, and he is achingly brilliant -- Junot Diaz Sjon is an extraordinary and original writer -- A. S. Byatt

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Book Synopsis'I am still unable to leave the burnt-out ruins' Akiyuki Nosaka, 2014 In 1945, Akiyuki Nosaka watched the Allied firebombing of Kobe kill his adoptive parents, and then witnessed his sister starving to death. The shocking and blisteringly memorable stories of The Cake Tree in the Ruins are based on his own experiences as a child in Japan during the Second World War. They are stories of a lonely whale searching the oceans for a mate, who sacrifices himself for love; of a mother desperately trying to save her son with her tears; of a huge, magnificent tree which grows amid the ruins of a burnt-out town, its branches made from the sweetest cake imaginable. Profound, heartbreaking and aglow with a piercing beauty, they express the chaos and terror of conflict, yet also how love can illuminate even the darkest moment.Trade Review'These deeply intense and parable-like tales of suffering tear at the heartstrings, but also show hope and resiliency in a nation haunted by war. . . Akiyuki Nosaka offers beautiful and haunting tales of suffering and starvation in the aftermath of the Allied bombing of Japan in World War II.' - -- Nancy Powell, in Shelf Awareness 'Nosaka transmutes the pain of his personal experiences into sharp, heart-wrenching depictions of a country in desperate destitution... In each of these stories, the connections and relationships that are often taken for granted in day-to-day life are elevated alongside the stakes, shining intensely and brilliantly even as tragedy unfolds.' — World Literature Today‘Magical realism with the touch of a master… Nosaka, drawing on his own experiences, in just a few pages bringing to life a world now largely forgotten.' — The Reading Life 'Remarkable stories... They are dark but so beautiful, so profound; subtle and elegant. It is a book that will last all your life.' - Irish Times'Heart-wrenching...Tragic and imaginative... These short vignettes stand as chilling reminders of the wartime trauma inflicted upon Japanese youth during and after World War II.' - Los Angeles Review of Books 'Nosaka's hauntingly sad and beautiful stories... remind us of the full tragedy of World War II.' - Japan Times 'One can only be shaken by these cruel and magnificent tales, which are also the most eloquent plea for peace imaginable.' - L'Express 'Moving snapshot of moments in the life of a shattered nation... Unforgettable.' - Children's Books Ireland

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Book Synopsis'Madeleine Bourdouxhe is one of the more remarkable literary discoveries of the last few years' Jonathan Coe These are stories of longing and dissatisfaction, of daily life ruptured by strange currents of feeling. A woman, wandering alone and heartbroken, is first attacked and then romantically pursued by a stranger. A maid wears her mistress's expensive coat to meet her lover, but finds herself more preoccupied by fantasies of intimacy with 'Madame'. A woman gives birth on the day foreign troops invade the city, and must flee with her newborn on the back of a truck. Written in the aftermath of the Nazi occupation of Europe, and admired by the Existentialists and the Surrealists alike, these stories are now translated with extraordinary clarity by Faith Evans. With piercing insight and candour, Madeleine Bourdouxhe illuminates the conflicted hearts of the housewife, the mother, and the maid. These unforgettable tales of ordinary women are suffused with desire and melancholy, memory and fantasy, and lit by the furnace burning just beneath the surface of everyday life.Trade Review"Often dream-like but centred on the daily life of women… magnificent." - Guardian "Her lonely, fantasising women call up Rhys and Mansfield." – Hermione Lee, Observer"The stories here reveal a poetic imagination which combines the startling imagery of the surrealists with intensely female preoccupations . . . a singular, resonant voice." – Literary Review"These are the stories of a very gifted, very honest writer, who moves quite naturally between fidelity to fact and fidelity to the furnace beneath it, of memory and fantasy and bereavement." – TLS "Madeleine Bourdouxe is one of the more remarkable literary discoveries of the last few years." - Jonathan Coe "An unforgettable, thrilling achievement... What [Marie] does, no less, is stake a claim to Bourdouxhe's rightful position alongside Proust and Virginia Woolf as an explorer of interior life." - Sunday Times "A stunning collection... [Bourdouxhe] has the observational expertise and tightness in structure of Katherine Mansfield, a touch of Angela Carter’s wildness, and the realism in her characterisation and dialogue reminded me of Daphne Du Maurier’s later work... a moving, powerful and transformative reading experience." — The Heroine Collective"Exquisite, elegant, and nonsentimental... Bourdouxhe conveys the sharp, almost physical intensity of thought." - Irish Times on Marie"the laureate of yearning… [her] greatness lies in her ability to conjure the most exquisite and heart-rending moments from the most quotidian circumstances. Everyone should read her." — Graeme Macrae Burnet, author of His Bloody Project "Powerful stories… what a treat for modern readers to have her work revived." — A Life in Books blog"The surrealist soul of these stories is played with in both tragedy and comedy, and is frightfully good at bringing colour and electricity to the flat and the ordinary." — Books and Bao blog"There are not many writers you can think of who have understood the patriarchal situation with such clarity and disregarded it all the same with the exact proportionate amount of dignity, nihilistic abandon and fatalism." — Flowerville blog"Bourdouxhe’s women have almost untold depths of feeling and trauma…But they are never bowed: they love, they mourn, they desire, they dream, they take risks. Above all, they never lose their sense of self." — Translating Women blog "I loved her writing, with its bare starkness." — Bookword blog"remarkable collection. Vivid… exquisite… stylish." — Book Jotter blog "A compact, yet challenging, piece of work… explores a variety of themes… continues to invoke debate and deliberation." — Swirl and Thread blog

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Book Synopsis'When we read Tolstoy, it feels easy. This is life itself' Howard Jacobson 'No other writer wrote so often, or so imaginatively, about the actual moment of dying' Orlando Figes Tolstoy's stories contain many of the most acutely observed moments in his monumental body of work. This new selection of his shorter works, sensitively translated by the award-winning Boris Dralyuk, showcases the peerless economy with which Tolstoy could render the passions and conflicts of a life. These are works that take us from a self-interested judge's agonising deathbed to the bristling social world of horses in a stable yard, from the joyful vanity of youth to the painful doubts of sickness and old age. With unwavering precision, Tolstoy's eye brings clarity and richness to the simplest materials.Trade Review • "Gratifying and timely." --Times Literary Supplement • "When literature has a Tolstoy, it is easy and gratifying to be a writer. Even if you are aware that you have never accomplished anything, you don't feel so bad, because Tolstoy accomplishes enough for everyone"--Anton Chekhov • "The greatest of all novelists"--Virginia Woolf

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Book SynopsisThis is a collection resplendent with longing. In these compact pages, people meet without actually connecting, travellers set off but never seem to find home. We meet them on the fjords of Norway, in the bustle of Los Angeles, and among the lights of Copenhagen. Outsiders yearn to be on the inside, insiders are desperate to be free. A writer befriends an ex-lover's mother. An elderly man offers his body to aging women. A woman's childhood memories of wild swimming draw her back to the water. In prose that is both elegantly spare and saturated with emotion, Dorthe Nors shines a light into forgotten corners and conjures darkness where it's least expected. Her characteristic sharpness and sense of humour is ever-present, catching us when the melancholy threatens to come too close. Love, cruelty, friendship, and loneliness are all here, in these stories that brim with life.

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Book SynopsisJoseph Roth's sensibility-both clear-eyed and nostalgic, harshly realistic and tenderly humane-produced some of the most distinctive fiction of the twentieth century. This collection of his most essential stories, in exquisite new translations by Ruth Martin, showcases the astonishing range and power of his short stories and novellas. In prose of aching beauty and precision, Roth shows us isolated souls pursuing lost ideals and impossible desires. Forced to remove a bust of the fallen Austrian emperor from his house, an eccentric old count holds a funeral for it and intends to be buried in the same plot himself; a humble coral merchant, dissatisfied with his life and longing for the sea, chooses to adulterate his wares with false coral, with catastrophic results; young Fini, just entering the haze of early sexuality, falls into an unsatisfying relationship with an older musician. With the greatest craft and sensitivity, Roth unfolds the many fragilities of the human heart.Trade Review‘One of the greatest writers of the first half of the tormented 20th century’ — Simon Schama, Financial Times 'Roth is Austria's Chekhov'--William Boyd 'Joseph Roth is counted among the great novelists of the twentieth century'--TLS‘What Roth sees and hands on is a unique essence, conveying the fragility of what is truly human in us, the ridiculous and the tragic' — Nadine Gordimer

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Book SynopsisAn icon of Russian literature, Turgenev was able to contain the narrative sweep of a novel in a single short story. His protagonists experience the joy and painful turbulence of first love, the thrilling adventures of youth, and the layered reflections of maturity. His great skill is to make his readers feel alongside these characters, rendering their complex interiorities, whether nobility or serf, in these stories charged with a profound social conscience. This collection, in a lyrical new translation by Nicolas Slater, places Turgenev's great novella First Love alongside a selection of his classic stories. From the evocative rural scenes of 'Bezhin Meadow' and 'Rattling Wheels', to the pathos and humanity of 'The District Doctor' and 'Biryuk', these are stories to be lingered over.Trade Review • 'Turgenev's Russia is but a canvas on which the incomparable artist of humanity lays his colours and his forms in the great light and the free air of the world' - Joseph Conrad • 'He was the stuff of which glories are made' - Henry James • 'Turgenev's achievement lies in how he succeeded, in spite of himself, his country and his time, in exempting his work from public duty. This has given it that unnameable quality that makes every sentence true, every silence trustworthy' - Guardian • 'There are two masters of seeing in Russian literature: Tolstoy and Turgenev' - V. S. Pritchett

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Book SynopsisKatherine Mansfield was one of the true pioneers of the short story. Her style shifts subtly between the comic and the tragic, as calm surfaces are punctured by moments of disruption, insight and strange beauty. This new collection gathers together the best of Mansfield's work exploring different facets of relationships between women. From complex expressions of desire and connection to shared experiences of frustration and release, these stories capture fleeting movements of feeling with unmatched precision.Trade Review"One of the genuine, if frequently under-recognized, geniuses of 20th-century literature" – The Wall Street Journal on Katherine Mansfield"A great writer and a tragic one" Irish Times"The only writing I have ever been jealous of" Virginia Woolf

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Book SynopsisIn these stories of the surreal mundanity of office life and obscure tensions at sea, Melville's darkly modern sensibility plunges us into a world of irony and mystery, where nothing is as it first appears. A lawyer hires a new copyist, only to be met with stubborn, confounding resistance. A cynical lightning rod salesman plies his trade by exploiting fears in stormy weather. After boarding a beleaguered Spanish slave ship, an American trader's cheerful outlook is repeatedly shadowed by paralyzing unease.Trade Review"Melville instinctively aspired to the grandest scale, and even in his shorter works offers vast inklings and the resonance of cosmic concerns." -- John Updike"Melville seems to promise the very stuff of existence: time, space, air. We don't so much read him as inhale him." -- Geoffrey O'Brien, Village Voice"There are very few stories that, on re-reading after re-reading, seem to become impossibly more perfect, but Herman Melville's eerie, aching story 'Bartleby, the Scrivener' is one such." -- Stuart Kelly, Guardian

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Book SynopsisIsaac Babel honed one of the most distinctive styles in all Russian literature. Brashly conversational one moment, dreamily lyrical the next, his stories exult in the richness of everyday speech and sensual pleasure only to be shaken by brutal jolts of violence. These stories take us from the underworld of Babel's native Odessa, city of gangsters and lowlives, of drunken brawls and bleeding sunsets, to the terror and absurdity of life as a soldier in the Polish-Soviet War. Selected and translated by the prize-winning Boris Dralyuk, this collection captures the irreverence, passion and coarse beauty of Babel's singular voice.Trade Review'Compact, irreverent, enigmatic, savage and tender... it is impossible to look at the world the same way after reading Babel... one of the enduring jewels of 20th-century Russian literature' - Financial Times'Fractured, jarring, beautiful, alive to humour... they have the ring of contemporaneity, and probably always will' - Guardian'Unforgettable stories, lyrical and earthy' - Irish Times'Marvelously subtle, tragic, and often comic' - James Wood'Elegiac, but not in the usual sense: Babel's is an ebullient elegy, filled with violence, sex, and life' - LA Review of BooksTable of ContentsTable of Contents Translator’s Preface Guy de Maupassant (Part I) Childhood and Youth The Story of My Dovecote First Love In the Basement The Awakening Di Grasso (Part II) Gangsters and “Old Odessans” The King How It Was Done in Odessa Lyubka the Cossack Father Justice in Quotes The End of the Almshouse (Part III) Red Cavalry Crossing the Zbrucz The Catholic Church in Novograd A Letter Pan Apolek The Italian Sun Gedali My First Goose The Rebbe The Tachanka Doctrine The Death of Dolgushov The Life Story of Pavlichenko, Matvei Rodionych Salt The Rebbe’s Son Argamak

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Book SynopsisThe stories in this collection are rich, tangled, and suffused with mystery and wonder. In the narrowing, winding city streets, strange figures roam. Great flocks of birds soar over rooftops, obscuring the sun. Cockroaches appear through cracks and scuttle across floorboards. Individuals careen from university buildings to dimly lit parlour rooms, through strange shops and endless storms. Crowded with moments of stunning beauty, the stories in this collection showcase Schulz's darkly modern sensibility, and his status as one of the great transformers of the ordinary into the fantastical.Trade Review"An accessible, exhilarating introduction to Schulz’s oeuvre." --The Washington Post “Stanley Bill’s translations come as an invigorating reminder of the uncanny verbal sorcery behind this unique voice and vision.... The results, hauntingly phrased, can be suitably weird—but never impenetrable... Bill catches the outrageous wit of Schulz’s nightmare tableaux,” --The Wall Street Journal

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Book SynopsisMachado de Assis is one of the most enigmatic and fascinating story writers who ever lived. What seem at first to be stately social satires reveal unanticipated depths through hints of darkness and winking surrealism. This new selection of his finest work, translated by the prize-winning Daniel Hahn, showcases the many facets of his mercurial genius. A brilliant scientist opens the first asylum in his home town, only to start finding signs of insanity all around him. A young lieutenant basks in praise of his new position, but in solitude feels his identity fray into nothing. The reading of a much-loved, respected elder statesman's journals reveals hidden thoughts of merciless cruelty.Trade Review'The greatest writer ever produced in Latin America' - Susan Sontag'If Borges is the writer who made Garcia Marquez possible then it is no exaggeration to say that Machado De Assis is the writer who made Borges possible' - Salman Rushdie'Another Kafka' - Allen Ginsberg'A great writer who chose to use deadly humor where it would be least expected to convey his acute powers of observation and his penetrating insights into psychology. In superbly funny books he described the abnormalities of alienation, perversion, domination, cruelty and madness. He deconstructed empire with a thoroughness and an esthetic equilibrium that place him in a class by himself' - New York Times'Machado de Assis was a literary force, transcending nationality and language, comparable certainly to Flaubert, Hardy or James' - New York Times Book Review

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