"We Install offers a showcase of styles, from humor--in "Father of the Groom," a scientist with a penchant for wild experimentation helps his love-struck son by synthesizing a wedding ring out of two carrots--to classic science fiction, as in the Hugo Award-winning "Down in the Bottomlands" and "Hoxbomb," in which a regular guy just trying to make a living selling scooters has to deal with some very odd competition. The alternate history tale "Drang...

The author of the National Book Critics Award finalist Old War presents a latest collection of poetry in which he uses surreal, dreamlike language to meditate on the nighttime realities of such public areas as a gas station restroom, a shoe store and a racetrack, in a volume that also explores the historical and personal events that marked his childhood.

Twenty prizewinning stories selected from the thousands published in magazines over the previous year-continuing the O. Henry Prize's century-long tradition of literary excellence.

"With sharp, precise prose, Ewing's stories remind of Annie Proulx and Denis Johnson. These are Polaroids collected on a shelf, forgotten, then viewed again to tell of the lives they once chronicled—now dusty, scratched, lost. The effect is magnificent." —Christian Kiefer, author of Phantoms “Ewing’s debut tunes to a haunting static.” —FOREWORD REVIEWS "These landscapes, these characters, this prose, my god, it grabs you and it doesn't...

The O. Henry Prize Stories 2018 contains twenty breathtaking stories--by a vibrant mix of established and emerging writers--selected by the series editor from the thousands published in literary magazines over the previous year. The collection includes essays by the three eminent guest jurors on their favorite stories, observations from the winning writers on what inspired them, and a comprehensive resource list of the many magazines and journals,...

Presents a selection of the best works of short fiction of the past year from a variety of acclaimed sources.

"Sittenfeld was met by the same feeling selecting the stories for this year's edition. The result is a striking and nuanced collection, bringing to life awkward college students, disgraced public figures, raunchy grandparents, and mystical godmothers. To read these stories is to experience the transporting joys of discovery and affirmation, and to realize that story writing in America continues to flourish."--Provided by publisher.

"In this dark and gritty collection--featuring short stories from Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Kevin J. Anderson, and Rob Thurman--nothing is as simple as black and white, light and dark, good and evil... Unfortunately, that's exactly what makes it so easy to cross the line. In #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher's Cold Case, Molly Carpenter--Harry Dresden's apprentice-turned-Winter Lady--must collect a tribute from a remote Fae colony...

In her introduction to The Best American Short Stories 2021, guest editor Jesmyn Ward says that the best fiction offers the reader a "sense of repair." The stories in this year's collection accomplish just that, immersing the reader in powerfully imagined worlds and allowing them to bring some of that power into their own lives. From a stirring portrait of Rodney King's final days to a surreal video game set in the Middle East, with real consequences,...