Selected by the preeminent Kafka biographer and scholar Reiner Stach and newly translated by the peerless Michael Hofmann, the seventy-four pieces gathered here have been lost to sight for decades and two of them have never been translated into English before. Some stories are several pages long; some run about a page; a handful are only a few lines long: all are marvels. Even the most fragmentary texts are revelations. These pieces were drawn from two large volumes of the S. Fischer Verlag edition Nachgelassene Schriften und Fragmente (totaling some 1100 pages). "Franz Kafka is the master of the literary fragment," as Stach comments in his afterword: "In no other European author does the proportion of completed and published works loom quite so...small in the overall mass of his papers, which consist largely of broken-off beginnings." In fact, as Hofmann recently added: "'Finished' seems to me, in the context of Kafka, a dubious or ironic condition, anyway. The more finished, the less finished. The less finished, the more finished. Gregor Samsa's sister Grete getting up to stretch in the streetcar. What kind of an ending is that?! There's perhaps some distinction to be made between 'finished' and 'ended.' Everything continues to vibrate or unsettle, anyway. Reiner Stach points out that none of the three novels were 'completed.' Some pieces break off, or are concluded, or stop-it doesn't matter!-after two hundred pages, some after two lines. The gusto, the friendliness, the wit with which Kafka launches himself into these things is astonishing."

In Alligator and Other Stories, Dima Alzayat captures luminously how it feels to be ‘other’: as a Syrian, as an Arab, as an immigrant, as a woman. Each of the nine stories is a snapshot of those moments when unusual circumstances suddenly distinguish us from our neighbours, when our difference is thrown into relief.

Here are ‘dangerous’ women transgressing, missing children in 1970s New York, a family who were once Syrian but have now lost their name, and a young woman about to discover the hollowness of the American dream. At its centre lies ‘Alligator’: a remarkable compilation of real and invented sources, which rescues from history the story of a Syrian-American couple who were murdered at the hands of the state.

Alzayat explores experiences that are startling and real, delivering an emotional punch that lingers long after reading.

Someone is waiting for a train, or it could be a bus or an aeroplane. They are alone. For company, in their coat pocket, they are carrying a book of stories. They sit down and take out the book. It falls open on the first page of a new story. What would be the perfect read for them to find there? Fifteen writers have risen to the challenge to put the ideal story into their fellow traveller's hand. The results are inside this book. "Ideas Above Our Station" is a title in the acclaimed "Route Series of Contemporary Stories".

'Kaleidoscopic, urgent, hilarious, revelatory' Marlon James, author of A Brief History of Seven Killings 'Sumptuous and astute ... An absolute delight to read' Diana Evans, author of Ordinary People 'A compelling hurricane of a book' Ann Patchett, author of The Dutch House LONGLISTED FOR THE NATIONAL BOOK AWARD FOR FICTION A major debut, blazing with style and heart, that follows a Jamaican family in Miami navigating recession, racism and Hurricane Andrew. You want a home. You want to win back your girlfriend's admiration. You want to prove that your father bet on the wrong son. 1979. Topper and Sanya flee to Miami as political violence consumes their native Kingston. But they soon learn that the welcome in America will be far from warm. Trelawny, their youngest son, comes of age in a society which regards him with suspicion and confusion, greeting him with the puzzled question 'What are you?' Their eldest son Delano's longing for a better future for his own children is equalled only by his recklessness in trying to secure it. As both brothers navigate the obstacles littered in their path - an unreliable father, racism, a financial crisis and Hurricane Andrew - they find themselves pitted against one another. Will their rivalry be the thing that finally tears their family apart? The thrilling linked stories in Jonathan Escoffery's If I Survive You pulse with inimitable style, heart and barbed humour while unravelling what it means to carve out an existence between cultures, homes and pay checks. They announce Escoffery as a once in a generation talent and chronicler of life at its most gruesome and hopeful. 'Escoffery's is a strong, much needed new voice in our literature' Percival Everett, Booker shortlisted author of The Trees 'A welcome reminder of what fiction can do' Rumaan Alam, author of Leave the World Behind 'Brilliant wit, real heart and electric humour' Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of Friday Black

This anthology highlights the rich range of modern Italian fiction, presenting the first English translations of works by many famous authors. Contents include stories by Italo Calvino, Elsa Morante, Alberto Moravia, and Cesare Pavese; historical fiction by Leonardo Sciascia and Mario Rigoni Stern; and lesser-known tales by Luigi Pirandello and Carlo Emilio Gadda.

Touched is a collection of fantastical short stories where the bizarre meets the mundane and nothing is quite what it seems. In Touched, the writer takes you on a journey through the garden of fantasy. The reader will pick the flowers of jokes, mysteries, weirdness, and enjoyment. You will enjoy reading this collection of eighteen short stories brimming with unexpected events and unforeseen endings. So, please, sit down on a comfortable chair, lean back, and plunge your mind into a world of fantasy. You will be Touched. We hope you like surprises. Why not? Everybody likes surprises...

Godlessness is a collection of short stories set in the Pagan Rhythms universe written by SpiritWorld's Stu Folsom. Inspired in equal parts by the western pulp of Louis L'Amour, the novels of Cormac McCarthy, and the twisted horror of Clive Barker, Godlessness is the fictional companion piece to Pagan Rhythms, the iconic debut album by Folsom's metallic hardcore brainchild, SpiritWorld. Dedicated to the memory of, and edited in part by, Power Trip's Riley Gale, who died unexpectedly in 2020 at the age of thirty-four from the toxic effects of fentanyl, Godlessness was initially released as a limited-edition paperback, along with the initial now-collectible self-released pressing of Pagan Rhythms, and now available for the first time worldwide in hardcover, e-book, and audiobook.

Classic crime fiction's 'Indiana Jones' Tony Medawar unearths more unpublished and uncollected stories from the Golden Age of suspense, including John Bude, John Dickson Carr, Dorothy L. Sayers and Julian Symons. 'Five books in, and the selection here might well be the strongest yet. This series continues to delight with the high standard of forgotten gems that Medawar uncovers, and there's sufficient range to ensure that all fans of the genre will find something to enjoy. Book 6 can't come soon enough.' Jim Noy, author of The Red Death Murders The end of the First World War saw the rise of an insatiable public appetite for clever and thrilling mystery fiction and a new kind of hero - the modern crime writer. As the genre soared in popularity, so did the inventiveness of its best authors, ushering in a "Golden Age" of detective fiction - two decades of exemplary mystery writing: the era of the whodunit, the impossible crime and the locked-room mystery, with stories that have thrilled and baffled generations of readers. The Golden Age still casts a long shadow, with many of the authors who were published at that time still hugely popular today. Aside from novels, they all wrote short fiction - stories, serials and plays - and although many have been republished in books over the last 100 years, Bodies from the Library collects the ones that are impossible to find: stories that appeared in a newspaper, magazine or an anthology that has long been out of print; ephemeral works such as plays not aired, staged or screened for decades; and unpublished stories that were absorbed into an author's archive when they died . . . Complete with fascinating biographies by Tony Medawar of all the featured authors, this latest volume in the annual Bodies from the Library series once again brings into the daylight the forgotten, the lost and the unknown, and is an indispensable collection for any bookshelf.

'A gifted and determined stylist, Colum McCann seems to have taken a vow never to write a dull line' New York Times Book Review 'Orwell would have been proud to journey with a writer as good as Colum McCann' Irish Sunday Independent ______________________ An ageing nun is tracked to ground by her sister; a garrulous beautician must lay out the corpse of a loved one. These are eloquent tales of exile and displacement, of characters always in search of a way back home or of a way to leave it. Mischievous, assured and versatile, Colum McCann's collection of short stories marks him out as one of our best contemporary writers.

Complicated, awkward, funny, cruel, heartbroken, mysterious; Self-Help forms an idiosyncratic guide to female existence which is just as relevant today as it was 30 years ago. These stories are modern America at its most real, with characters sharing thoughts and experiences they could have borrowed from our own lives. This is how to deal with divorce, adultery, cancer, how to talk to your mother or become a writer, the Lorrie Moore way.

Seven powerful, gripping short stories from bestselling author, Amanda Prowse.'If you have not discovered Amanda Prowse yet you are in for a real treat... Full of incident and real characters' Rascals of LondonCollection includes: Something Quite Beautiful, The Game, Ten Pound Ticket, Imogen's Baby, Miss Potterton's Birthday Tea, A Christmas Wish and Mr Portobollo's Morning Paper. Susie has just arrived in Australia. She is clutching a newborn baby, but she has no wedding ring on her left hand. With no money, and no hope, how can she turn her life around? Gemma Peters, a happy-go-lucky teenager has disappeared without trace. Where has she gone? Why has she been lying to her family? And, most importantly, will she ever come home? Twenty-four-year-old Imogen longs for a baby. She knows it's hard to raise a child alone, but Imogen is also blind. Can she overcome life's challenges and have the baby she longs for? Funny, heart-warming and moving, these seven short stories are the perfect excuse for a bit of me-time.

An unmissable collection of eight unconventional and captivating short stories for young and adult learners of Brazilian Portuguese. "Olly's top-notch language-learning insights are right in line with the best of what we know from neuroscience and cognitive psychology about how to learn effectively. I love his work - and you will too!" - Barbara Oakley, PhD, Author of New York Times bestseller A Mind for Numbers Short Stories in Brazilian Portuguese for Beginners has been written especially for students from high-beginner to low-intermediate level, designed to give a sense of achievement, a feeling of progress and most importantly - enjoyment! Mapped to A2-B1 on the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) for languages, these eight captivating stories are designed to give you a sense of achievement and a feeling of progress when reading. What does this book give you? - Eight stories in a variety of exciting genres, from science fiction and crime to history and thriller - making reading fun, while you learn a wide range of new vocabulary - Controlled language at your level to help you progress confidently - Realistic spoken dialogues, to help you learn conversational expressions and improve your speaking ability - Accessible grammar so you learn new structures naturally, in a stress-free way - Beautiful illustrations accompanying each story, to set the scene and support your understanding - Pleasure! Research shows that if you're enjoying reading in a foreign language, you won't experience the usual feelings of frustration - 'It's too hard!' 'I don't understand!' Carefully curated to make learning a new language easy, these stories include key features that will support and consolidate your progress, including: - A glossary for bolded words in each chapter - Full plot summary - A bilingual word list - Comprehension questions after each chapter. As a result, you will be able to focus on enjoying reading, delighting in your improved range of vocabulary and grasp of the language, without ever feeling overwhelmed. From science fiction to fantasy, to crime and thrillers, Short Stories in Brazilian Portuguese for Beginners will make learning Brazilian Portuguese easy and enjoyable.

This stylish new series of the best-loved classics by Jane Austen, Charlotte Bronte, Emily Bronte, Charles Dickens, Edgar Allan Poe and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle are sure to appeal to all book lovers. From students to adults, to those of us who enjoy rereading our favourite classics and to the newest enthusiasts who have been introduced to these classics through film and TV, there is always something more to discover in these books and the new designs will make them even more irresistible. With their fine attention to detail - including cloth covers, gold foil detail, coloured edges and illustrated endpapers - these volumes will make a highly collectable addition to everyone's bookshelves.

A New York Times Book Review 100 Notable Books of 2017 "Nowhere is [Winterson's] faith in the transporting power of storytelling more on display than in her new book, Christmas Days . . . dark, otherworldly and (trademark Winterson) wickedly funny . . . [a] holiday treasure . . . to be pulled out on a December night, fireside, and read aloud." --New York Times Book Review "If you crave the mystery, the family rituals, and the special victuals of Christmastime, you'll savor . . . bold, revelatory feminist writer Jeanette Winterson's Christmas Days." --Elle Jeanette Winterson brings together twelve of her brilliantly imaginative, funny and bold Christmas stories, linked by personal memories and twelve delicious recipes for the Twelve Days of Christmas. From jovial spirits to a donkey with a golden nose, a haunted house to a SnowMama, Winterson's innovative stories encompass the childlike and spooky wonder of Christmas. Enjoy the season of peace and goodwill, mystery, and a little bit of magic courtesy of one of our most fearless and accomplished writers. "Winterson has presented us with unexpected holiday cheer . . . perfect for stuffing the stockings of your eccentric relatives . . . The magical tales are all exuberant." --Washington Post "Funny, spooky stories for the Christmas season." --Los Angeles Times "A feast of stories . . . Winterson has wrapped up a holiday present between two covers." --NPR

Finalist for the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Semiprozine. Celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of cutting-edge science fiction from the hit podcast, Escape Pod. Escape Pod has been bringing the finest short fiction to millions of ears all over the world, at the forefront of a new fiction revolution. This anthology gathers together fifteen stories, including new and exclusive work from writers such as from Cory Doctorow, Ken Liu, Mary Robinette Kowal, T. Kingfisher and more. From editors Mur Laffterty and S.B. Divya comes the science fiction collection of the year, bringing together bestselling authors in celebration of the publishing phenomenon that is, Escape Pod.

An extraordinary collection from a master of science fiction

Much of Neal Asher’s fiction is set in the galactic civilization he calls the Polity, an alliance of human-populated worlds. And in this collection of thirteen marvellously inventive and action-packed short stories, Asher is on top form.

You can expect conflicted humans, fiendishly clever plot twists, extraordinary technologies and so much more. The discerning reader can also savour tales of alien poisons, the walking dead, the Sea of Death, and the putrefactor symbiont. No one does weird, wonderful and downright gruesome aliens better than Neal Asher, so prepare to visit his favourites. Sample the lifestyles of creatures such as the gabbleduck and the hooder, as Asher takes you on a wild ride into his vividly-imagined futures.

From the architect of the Polity universe, Neal Asher's The Gabble - And Other Short Stories reveals a universe of unbridled imagination, and each one is a delight in itself.

A startlingly perceptive series of portraits of the young, the hip, the lost, the unsettled and the unhinged of modern-day America, from the supremely talented Lorrie Moore. 'Her stories, her stories, are perfect.' Slate 'Irresistible.' New York Times Book Review 'Such a delight.' Sunday Telegraph 'One of America's most brilliant writers.' Stylist Lorrie Moore's dazzling collection of stories is remarkable for its range, emotional force and dark humour, and for the sheer beauty and power of its language. It unfolds a startlingly brilliant series of portraits of the young, the hip, the lost, the unsettled and the unhinged of modern-day America. In what may be her most stunning book yet, Lorrie Moore explores the personal and the universal, the idiosyncratic and the mundane with all of the wit, brio and verve that have made her one of the best storytellers of our time.

Along with completely original material, this new collection is a compilation of the best of Dennis Lehane's previously published short fiction, including "Until Gwen," which was adapted for the stage in 2005 and appears in this book as the play Coronado. By turns suspenseful, surreal, romantic, and tragically comic, these powerful tales journey headlong into the heart of our national myths--and reveal that the truth awaiting us there is not what we would expect.