Harper Lee remains a landmark figure in the American canon – thanks to Scout, Jem, Atticus, and the other indelible characters in her Pulitzer-winning debut, To Kill a Mockingbird; as well as for the darker, late-’50s version of small-town Alabama that emerged in Go Set a Watchman, her only other novel, published in 2015 after its rediscovery. Less remembered, until now, however, is Harper Lee the dogged young writer, who crafted stories in hopes of magazine publication; Lee the lively New Yorker, Alabamian, and friend to Truman Capote; and the Lee who peppered the pages of McCall’s and Vogue with thoughtful essays in the latter part of the twentieth century.

The Land of Sweet Forever combines Lee’s early short fiction and later nonfiction in a volume offering an unprecedented look at the development of her inimitable voice. Covering territory from the Alabama schoolyards of Lee’s youth to the luncheonettes and movie houses of midcentury Manhattan, The Land of Sweet Forever invites still-vital conversations about politics, equality, travel, love, fiction, art, the American South, and what it means to lead an engaged and creative life.

This collection comes with an introduction by Casey Cep, Harper Lee’s appointed biographer, which provides illuminating background for our reading of these stories and connects them both to Lee’s life and to her two novels.

Annelie Botes se afsterwe op 12 Desember 2024 het die einde van ’n era ingelui. ’n Era van byna meer as twee dekades waarin sy gedagtes, opinies en insigte oor die lewe met ’n toegewyde lesersgehoor gedeel het. Vir Afrikaans lesers was haar weeklikse rubrieke ’n bron waaruit hulle mildelik geskep het om sin te maak van die wêreld en om inspirasie te vind sodat hul eie skale kon balanseer.

Die rubrieke in hierdie bundel het van 2020 tot 2024 verskyn en volg op Voetstoots, ’n keur van Annelie se rubrieke tussen 2006 en 2020. Vir die menigte lesers vir wie Annelie se stem oor die jare ’n vertroude instelling geraak het, is haar menings ’n besielende kleinood
waarheen hulle meermale sal terugkeer om woorde te vind wanneer dit in hul eie stemme ontbreek.

Hierdie bundel is ’n versameling kantaantekeninge tydens tydperke van ingrypende inkeer en verlies. In Maart 2020 het die Covid-19-pandemie die wêreld getref – bunkertyd in Annelie se taal. In haar wêreld was die tyd van korona ’n voorspel tot haar eie finale
periode van aflegging, siekte, amputasie en uiteindelik, die onvermydelike seisoen van “die engele met raspervlerke”.

'You like it darker? Fine, so do I' writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of stories that delve into the darker part of life - both metaphorical and literal.

Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys and mysteries; each feels iconic. In 'Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream', a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny's most catastrophically. 'Rattlesnakes', a sequel to Cujo, sees a grieving widower travel to Florida for respite and instead receive an unexpected inheritance - with major strings attached. 'The Answer Man' asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.

King writes to feel 'the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind' and his ability to surprise, amaze and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed.

You like it darker? You got it.

For readers of Elena Ferrante, Nicole Krauss, and Carmen Maria Machado, In Other Lifetimes All I've Lost Comes Back to Me is a braided story collection that invokes the real, surreal, and mythic to explore the longings and loneliness of contemporary love. Populated with lovers who leave and return, with ghosts of the Holocaust and messages from the dead, Courtney Sender's debut collection speaks in a singular new voice about the longings and loneliness of contemporary love. The world of these fourteen interlocking stories is fiercely real but suffused with magic and myth, dark wit, and distinct humor. Here, ancient loss works its way deep into the psyche of modern characters, stirring their unrelenting lust for life. In "To Do With the Body," the Museum of Period Clothes becomes the perfect setting for a bloody crime. In "Lilith in God's Hands," Adam's first wife has an affair in the Garden of Eden. And in the title story, a woman spends her life waiting for any of the men who have left her to come back, only to find them all at her doorstep at once. For readers of Elena Ferrante, Nicole Krauss, and Carmen Maria Machado, and for anyone who has known love and loneliness, In Other Lifetimes All I've Lost Comes Back to Me is a wise and sensual collection of old hauntings, new longings, and unexpected returns, with a finale that is a rousing call to the strength we each have, together or alone.

It's deep winter and time to light the fire, pull up a blanket and curl up with your cat. But has it occurred to you that your feline companion might be licking blood from its paws?

Slink through shadows and brush with death in these three classic cat-themed mystery tales from beloved crime authors Catherine Aird, Edmund Crispin, Patricia Highsmith and Ellis Peters.

A Case of the Claws brings a thrilling winter chill to the festive season and asks: are these furry friends the guardians of our secrets or omens of misfortune?

An undocumented immigrant returns home after facing the indignities of the American dream working as a washer of the dead – only to be met with a tragedy. A child struggles to come to terms with the fate of their beloved one-eyed chicken Otuanya, who is treated as a family pet but is destined for the cooking pot. A family lives in fear of the dreaded Shadow Fever that haunts their town, keeping them trapped indoors after sunset lest they risk falling into an eternal sleep.

From realistic explorations of family life, parenthood and infidelity, to gritty noir and fantastical horror, the stories collected here are a testament to the endless imagination and possibilities of African literature. These witty, provocative and compulsively readable stories grapple with feminism, patriarchy, class and exploitation and showcase these writers as astute observers of life. This anthology is a generous feast of diverse, delectable narratives that offers something for everyone.

Midnight in the Morgue also features three remarkable South African literary talents: Sibongile Fisher, Morabo Morojele, and Nadia Davids. Davids has the distinction of being the first South African to win the Caine Prize since Lidudumalingani Mqombothi in 2016. Her story, Bridling, about a conflicted early-career actress performing in a subversive theatrical production was hailed as ‘a triumph of language, storytelling and risk-taking‘ by Chika Unigwe, Chair of Judges.

I was the guy who always found a way.

I was the guy that couldn't be stopped.

A drug-dealing hit man unburdens his fears to a stranger. An overlooked rookie cop is assigned to the department’s file room. A ruthless killer only kills bad guys. A methodical bodyguard quits his job when he’s outsmarted. A military mission is planned to perfection. . .

Meticulously plotted and utterly compelling, these are intimate portraits of humanity at its best and worst. Each story is entirely distinct. And with their economical prose and unexpected twists, each could only have been written by the creator of Jack Reacher.

INCLUDES A BONUS SHORT STORY FROM LEE CHILD AND TESS GERRITSEN, STARRING JACK REACHER AND MAGGIE BIRD.

'n Splinternuwe, skitterende versameling kortverhale deur Nataniël. 20 in Afrikaans en 8 in Engels. Skreeusnaaks, aangrypend, wys, onvoorspelbaar en -- soos altyd -- hoogs vermaaklik.

Soos gewoonlik delf hy goud uit sy kinderjare -- oor sy ouers, sy ouma -- maar daar is ook fantastiese en fantasmagoriese verhale oor sy lewe as sanger op plattelandse dorpies, oor 'n vreemdeling wat hom een aand in sy huis help om sy vrese te besweer, en hoe 'n mens jou eerste reus oorwin . . .

An intimate glimpse into diverse experiences, from our anxious present to terrifying futures of climate wreckage to the brutalities of our colonial past. These stories challenge our preconceived ideas around queerness, mental health, family, society and loss. The Lucky Ones champions love, kindness and connection against all odds. It is a dazzling, poignant collection of stories that brims with unforgettable characters and heart.

The New York stories, most of which take place around the year 2000, consider the fateful consequences that can spring from brief encounters and the delicate mechanics of compromise that operate at the heart of modern marriages.

Told from seven points of view, 'Eve in Hollywood' describes how one of Towles’s most beloved characters, the indomitable Evelyn Ross from Rules of Civility, crafts a new future for herself―and others―in a noirish tale that takes us through the movie sets, bungalows and dive bars of 1930s Los Angeles.

Written with his signature wit, humour and sophistication, Table for Two is another glittering addition to Towles’s canon of stylish and transporting fiction.

A lonely woman invites danger between tedious dates; a station guard plays a bloody game of heads-or-tails; an office cleaner sneaks into a forbidden room hiding grim secrets. Compelling and provocative, Annabel Banks's debut short fiction collection draws deeply upon the human need to be in control - no matter how devastating the cost.

A.W. Reed. Why are there black swans only in Australia? How did snakes become poisonous? Learn about the powerful Rainbow Snake, red and black flying foxes, the Eagle-hawk and the Medicine Man in these incredible tales of the Dreamtime. A unique collection of stories for those interested in learning more about this fascinating culture.

How did snakes become poisonous? Why are there black swans only in Australia? Learn a bout the powerful Rainbow Snake, red and black flying foxes, the Eagle-hawk and the Medicine-man in these incredible tales of the Dramtime. So much of traditional Aboriginal storytelling teaches us about the animal world and the spiritual bond shared between the Aboriginal people and nature.

Religious fanaticism, political intrigue and the heart-wrenching tale of a lost child . . . with women firmly centre stage' – The Mail on Sunday

A gripping story of one family’s fight to survive against the devastating tides of history, The City of Tears by Kate Mosse is an epic adventure, sweeping from Carcassonne to Paris and Amsterdam.

Paris, 1572. For ten violent years, the Wars of Religion have raged across France. Now, peace has been brokered and a royal engagement announced that could see the country reunited at last.

An invitation has arrived for Minou Joubert and her family to attend the wedding. Little does she know that her family’s most dedicated enemy will also be there, that the Jouberts will soon be forced to flee for their lives to Amsterdam, and that someone she loves dearly will disappear without a trace . . .

FEMINIST TALES FROM JAPAN BY THE ACCLAIMED AUTHOR OF WHERE THE WILD LADIES ARE

Piercing, inventive, and darkly humorous, the fifty-two stories in Aoko Matsuda’s The Woman Dies explore the persistent and pervasive sexism faced by women in modern-day Japan.

The normalization of violence against women on screen and in the media is confronted in the story ‘The Woman Dies’, while others invest inanimate objects with their own perspectives, examine the aesthetics of technology, and use clever wordplay to riff off the absurdity of contemporary life.

Masterfully translated by Polly Barton, the translator of Asako Yuzuki’s Butter, The Woman Dies is more than a simple thrill ride. Blending humour, surrealism, and sharp social critique, it’s a vast, multifaceted theme park of ideas by one of Japan’s most exciting writers.