Belize, British Honduras. 10th September 1931. As good a place as any to die...

Algernon Blackwood's spooky stories remain as dark, chilling and readable today as the time they were first published at the beginning of the 20th century. Algernon Blackwood was well-regarded in life as a master of the short horror story. Intertwining the supernatural and unexplained into a series of compelling narratives, the reader is left confused, scared and thrilled by the bizarre occurrences that puzzle, traumatize and terrify his characters. Blackwood's deft use of ambiguous endings leave the reader to interpret what may have happened. The author's stories exerted an enormous influence on H.P. Lovecraft (who himself termed Blackwood a 'master' of the craft of supernatural storytelling) and other horror authors. Together with strange and frightening tales, he was an enthusiastic author of essays and plays. As well as the 'weird' fiction for which he was famed, Blackwood would also write ordinary stories and tales aimed at younger audiences.

North Star: An almost unmoving point of light. Find it and you will know your way home. This collection of short stories and poems captures the unique voices of forty-five Northern Irish female writers. From mountains to lakes, from country to shore, the words resonate with the literary tradition that cloaks the land and infuses each of our souls. My native land grounds me, keeps me in contact with the rhythms of nature, the sound of the winds, the call of the wild birds and the dialects of its people. Aine MacAodha No matter where you are reading these poems and stories, North Star will guide you home.