Short stories

Book SynopsisThe short story is a barometer for the state and shape of literature. New American Stories presents the boldest, most innovative and most resonant fiction coming out of the American literary scene. Ben Marcus, author of The Flame Alphabet and Leaving the Sea, has here curated an anthology that gives the lay of the literary land. From established masters of the form like Don DeLillo and Lydia Davis to neoteric trailblazers such as Rebecca Curtis and Rachel B. Glaser, this collection sees Marcus trying to 'prove that the distinctions we erect between styles and approaches to fiction can be essentially meaningless'. The result is a must-read, must-own volume for readers of literary fiction.

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Book SynopsisThe nation’s favourite annual guide to the short story, now in its seventh year.Best British Short Stories invites you to judge a book by its cover – or more accurately, by its title. This critically acclaimed series aims to reprint the best short stories published in the previous calendar year by British writers, whether based in the UK or elsewhere. The editor’s brief is wide ranging, covering anthologies, collections, magazines, newspapers and web sites, looking for the best of the bunch to reprint all in one volume.Featuring stories by Jay Barnett, Peter Bradshaw, Rosalind Brown, Krishan Coupland, Claire Dean, Niven Govinden, Françoise Harvey, Andrew Michael Hurley, Daisy Johnson, James Kelman, Giselle Leeb, Courttia Newland, Vesna Main, Eliot North, Irenosen Okojie, Laura Pocock, David Rose, Deirdre Shanahan, Sophie Wellstood and Lara Williams.Trade ReviewFor those new to short stories, the quality and breadth of what is being showcased here, will not easily be bettered. Moreover, the experiential difference that contemporary short stories offer, when compared to novel reading – the unique register they can strike – makes this collection all the more valuable. * Bookmunch *Virtually every story in Best British Short Stories 2017 circles around something unspoken. This is not officially the theme of the collection, but it’s easy to read these pieces in dialogue with one another, as they explore what it means to be unspeakable. -- Eleanor Franzén * Litro *I suspect that Nicholas Royle, editor of Best British Short Stories 2017, was mindful that he not only had to choose the “best” stories of the year, but also to create a book with some variety that would appeal to as many readers as possible. Consequently, of the twenty stories he chose, some had to be simple and straightforward, with clear, transparent prose and enough background explanatory context to be easily accessible to the reader, while others were inevitably elliptical and puzzling, drawing attention to the language itself, experimenting with form, and refusing to help the reader understand the significance of the story. -- Charles May * Reading the Short Story *For those new to short stories, the quality and breadth of what is being showcased here, will not easily be bettered. Moreover, the experiential difference that contemporary short stories offer, when compared to novel reading – the unique register they can strike – makes this collection all the more valuable. -- Tamim Sadikali * Bookmunch *Table of Contents Nicholas Royle – Introduction Courttia Newland – Reversible Rosalind Brown – General Impression of Size and Shape Giselle Leeb – As You Follow Jay Barnett – Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Andrew Michael Hurley – While the Nightjar Sleeps Krishan Coupland – The Sea in Me Vesna Main – Safe Sophie Wellstood – The First Hard Rain Françoise Harvey – Never Thought He’d Go Peter Bradshaw – Reunion Laura Pocock – The Dark Instruments Irenosen Okojie – Filamo Lara Williams – Treats Deirdre Shanahan – The Wind Calling David Rose – Ariel Claire Dean – Is-and Eliot North – This Skin Doesn’t Fit Me Any More James Kelman – Words and Things to Sip Niven Govinden – Waves Daisy Johnson – Language Contributors’ Biographies Acknowledgements

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Book SynopsisThis often funny, frequently poignant collection of 22 stories in several genre, many with the theme of the dire effects of crime on the innocent, take us from the UK to the Caribbean, wartime Bavaria, the Vercours Mountains in France and starts with 'THE DARK SIDE OF LIGHT,' a story inspired by a real crime which had tragic results, set in eerie, moonlit Dorset in the early 1800's and ends with four, gripping stories featuring the old time Security Consultant, Eric Miller who can now only get jobs from shady clients. He falls for Anita Tregowan, a glamorous, talented caberet singer with abysmal tastes in men. Is she all she appears to be and does it go well for them?Trade ReviewTony Billinghurst explores what happens when crooks and criminal activity overlap with the lives of ordinary people. The stories he weaves - ranging from moody noir to brash thriller are thought - provoking, surprising, and full of capitvatingly idiosyncratic characters. - Charlie FishTable of ContentsThe Dark Side of Light 3 Historic Crime inspired by an actual event Just Let Go 41 Real Life Lunch with Hilda 51 Humour The Bridge at Drochaisling 57 Real Life No Trespassing 71 Crime 10 Strinburg Place 85 Fantasy The Occupant of Bench 24 107 Fantasy Two Running Men 111 Crime Soft Brown Eyes 129 Real Life Over Cheese Hill 135 Humour The Rose of Tewkesbury 143 Fantasy Dying for a Drink 155 Crime inspired by an event reputed to be true Bye Combe Vale 165 Real Life No Doubt About It 175 Fantasy Is That You, Dear? 187 Crime Closure by Proxy 197 Real Life A Man of his Word 207 Crime Barnaby Vole, Hero Of The Resistance 227 Children's The Eric Miller stories Cocktails at Sunset 243 Crime A Circle of Seagulls 261 Crime Who Knows? 301 Crime Inheritance 325 Crime

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Book SynopsisIn this collection of twenty-one short stories, explore the depths of human emotion through love, happiness, tragedy, and the poignant moments that define our lives.

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Book SynopsisIn this compelling collection of short stories, bestselling author Michael Chabon explores adolescent desire, love, friendship and fatherhood, moving subtly and incisively across this powerful emotional ground. Wry and whimsical, but also with intellectual depth, A MODEL WORLD is a collection of eleven wonderful stories about growing up and growing wise. In ‘S Angel’ a group of wedding guests is hijacked by a fast-talking real estate agent, but not before the bride herself disappears. ‘Smoke’ takes us to a baseball catcher’s funeral, where one of the mourners – a has-been pitcher – confronts the ruins of his career. In the hilarious title story, a graduate student plagiarizes a dissertation on the movement of clouds, only to find himself and his faculty advisor in a parlour game where each player must confess the worst thing he or she has ever done. The second part of the book, ‘The Lost World’, is a series of stories about a young boy, Nathan Shapiro, who must face the wrenching emotions caused by his parents’ bitter divorce. Serious, yet shot through with wit, humour and compassion, these are unforgettable stories from one of America’s most celebrated writers.Trade Review'Poignant, affecting, witty, wrenching, a terrific writer.' Washington Post 'Establishes Chabon as one of his generation's most eloquent voices.' New York Times Praise for ‘The Yiddish Policemen’s Union’: ‘His almost ecstatically smart and sassy new novel…Chabon is a spectacular writer…a language magician. He has you laughing out loud, applauding the fun he has with language and the way he takes the task of a writer and runs delighted rings around it.’ Guardian ‘Michael Chabon’s brilliant new novel starts with a bang…It hums with humour. It buzzes with gags…the accumulated reading experience is one of admiration, close to awe, at the vigour of Chabon’s imagination…a hilarious, antic whirl of a novel.’ Sunday Times ‘It makes film noir look like film blanc by comparison.’ Arena

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