Special Election
With his tenth book, celebrated author Brock Clarke once again demonstrates his mastery of the story form. In Special Election, ingenious fictions target our all-too-familiar preoccupations and vulnerabilities--belonging, (dis)engagement, the struggle for self-worth, the difficulty of loving and being loved, the banality and absurdity of existence. Brock Clarke's rapier wit, inexhaustible imagination, and brilliant leaps of illogic transform his characters' desperation and distress into tragicomic delight. In the title story, Lawrence Welk is ousted from heaven to run for governor in present-day North Dakota. In "One Goes Where One Is Needed," we follow the former Provisional Coalition Administrator of post-liberation Iraq, now a youth ski instructor at Okemo Mountain in Vermont. In "The Slim Jim," the protagonist finds himself (literally and figuratively) very slowly choking to death on a frozen microwavable burrito. "There is something wrong with me," states the narrator of "The Big Book of Useless Saturdays." This could be said of all the characters in Special Election, and through loopy misdirection and mordant observation, Clarke devotes himself to showing his characters and his readers exactly what is wrong. Yet the sharpness of his attention and lavish ludicrousness of his storylines belie a sneaking affection for this imperfect, disappointing world filled with imperfect, disappointing humans. Though Clarke has been compared to such greats as Barthelme, Bellow, and Saunders, the nine stories in Special Election vibrate at a frequency all his own, showcasing the strengths of one of our most gifted comic writers.
The Glass Gift and Other Stories
Author Lloyd Lim's third collection of fifteen short stories spans multiple genres and runs from the tragic to the comic. He explores the universal themes of human frailty and resilience. Love, loss, moral dilemmas, hypocrisy, hubris, injustice, the banality of evil, and the absurd-all find a place in Mr. Lim's storytelling. Settings range from a small-town funeral parlor to a battleground in France during World War I to the first human colony on Mars. The collection also includes three short stories from a prior collection which have been adjusted and four humorous poems. This set stands out due to its philosophical undertones and plot twists. The introspective tone and diversity of narrative styles and genres are key features. A range of narrative voices and perspectives are used. This collection should appeal to a broad range of readers, but particularly those drawn to reflective, philosophical narratives and character driven plots. If a film rating were attached to these stories, it would go no higher than PG-13. The stories vary in length, but are on the shorter side of "short," so that they will not unduly burden those with busy lives. Because Mr. Lim has teaching experience, he has included in the introduction some thoughts that will be helpful to aspiring writers in any genre.
Joyriders
In this collection of stories set across the Midwest and rural Appalachia, lonely people travel half-haunted landscapes and discover moments of light. In this debut collection, tangled bonds of love and family collide with a natural world both fragile and ferocious. Upended by grief, a widowed veterinarian seeks solace by fostering a litter of orphaned opossums. A young lawyer embarks on an affair, only to fall into a deeper, stranger entrancement with her lover's nine-year-old daughter during a weekend on the Lake Huron coast. In the depths of a Wisconsin winter, a recovering alcoholic risks everything to plot a careening course toward atonement. And in the title story, two teenagers steal a car, discover a loaded rifle in the backseat, and set off consequences both devastating and tender for a series of strangers they'll never meet. Set across the Midwest and rural Appalachia, the stories in Joyriders offer a resonant vision of rural and small-town life: lonely, half-haunted landscapes are pierced with moments of light, and even the most taciturn faces conceal inner worlds both rich and strange. Comfort and heartache abound--entangled, inseparable. "What was Kevin suggesting," wonders Valerie, after struggling for years to steer her innocent, angry, mysteriously afflicted son through the world, "that she loved him less because of his troubles? Oh, preposterous. More, she wanted to tell him, more." Characters' paths repeatedly bend in unforeseen directions, and the shape of each story surprises--illuminating, in this way, the surprising contours of entire lives.
Long Stories Short
Long Stories Short is a collection of short stories, written in a variety of genres, many with a touch of paranormal. There is something for almost everyone who enjoys taking time out of life's demands to escape into the realm of literature. Expect the unexpected. A house fire causes tragedy in "Aftermath." "Magic or Miracles" takes the reader on a journey to decide if there's a difference. How long is "Forever?" Mark and Erin discover the power of the Ouija Board, in "You Summoned Me." Does Bigfoot exist? Eli believes so and "One Step at a Time" tells his story. Is there life after death? "A Candle in the Darkness" looks at both sides of the question. "Mountain Justice," a story of domestic violence, friendship and a horse's devotion might make you wonder how far you would go to save a friend's life. A hasty decision has devastating results in "Unintended Consequences." Dreams and reality collide in "The Hunted." Man's best friend proves that he truly is, in "Indisputable Evidence."
Life At Myself
Life At Myself: First Book Of Prophecies is a compilation of nine short stories written and illustrated by the anonymous Anningan. The stories within range from psychological horror and historical murder thrillers to poetry, fables, and even theater. In these stories, Anningan explores the light-and sometimes very dark-aspects of human existence. He takes the reader along on a journey of strong emotion, logic, and self-discovery that is tightly bound with imaginative, expressive writing. Anningan has always believed that prophecy is true understanding; it cannot come without comprehending oneself and, by extension, the human condition. Do you dare to look inside?
Topographia Hibernica
'Memorable, unsettling and humane' GUARDIAN'One of the best books I have ever read ... I can't recommend him or it enough' JOHNNY MARR 'One of the most gifted writers of his generation'IRISH TIMES Driving with a donkey stuffed in the back seat; jackdaws pecking brains out through the roof of a confessional box; cat piss and astronauts. This is not the world as you see it, but as it is, twisted from the maverick mind of Blindboy Boatclub. These are stories of the strange unsettlings in the souls of men caught in between the past and the possible; stories of heart-blinding rage and disquieting compassion. Blindboy Boatclub is the essential voice for the Irish condition in the twenty-first century, and in Topographia Hibernica he unravels the knotted threads of humanity, nature and colonisation from a contemporary perspective. * Topographia Hibernica was a bestseller in Ireland in November 2023 *
Guatemalan Rhapsody
A vibrant debut story collection--poignant, unflinching, and immersive--this work of literary fiction masterfully moves between sharp wit and profound tenderness. Guatemalan Rhapsody offers a kaleidoscopic portrait of an ever-changing country, the people who claim it as home, and those who no longer do.Ranging from a custodian at an underfunded college to a medicine man living in a temple dedicated to San Simon, the patron saint of alcohol and cigarettes, the character-driven stories in this collection find their subjects at defining moments in their lives, where sacrifices may be required of them, by them, or for them.In "Saint Dismas," four orphaned brothers pose as part of a construction crew, stopping cars along the highway and robbing anyone foolish enough to hit the brakes. In "Heart Sleeves," two wannabe tattoo artists take part in a contest, where one of them hopes to win not only first place but also the heart of his best friend's girlfriend. And, in "Fight Sounds," a character who fancies himself a Don Juan is swept up in the commotion of an American film crew shooting a movie in his tiny town, until the economic and sexual politics of the place are turned on their head.Across this powerful collection of Central American literature, Lemus's characters test their loyalty to family, community, and country, illuminating the ties that both connect us and constrain us. Guatemalan Rhapsody explores how we journey from the circumstances that we are forged by, and whether the ability to change our fortunes lies in our own hands or in those of another. Revealing the places where beauty, desperation, love, violence, and hope exist simultaneously, Jared Lemus's debut establishes him as a major new voice in the form.
I Have Not Considered Consequences
New flash fiction collection by Sherrie Flick, coeditor of Flash Fiction America and author of Thank Your Lucky Stars and Whiskey, Etc., a Foreword INDIES bronze prize for best story collection.I Have Not Considered Consequences delves into the complexities of grief, desire, and a peculiar intersection between humans and bears. Flick's evocative and thought-provoking stories follow characters like Bobby, a local home inspector who zips into a bear suit on his daily rounds, and a Gen-X couple, Matty and Trudy, navigating the ups and downs of their adult lives, from a dead fish named Patti Smith to dashed dreams of indie rock stardom. Women wander through small-town streets as they ponder love, allegiance, and Edith Wharton.In Flick's world, bears don't just roam the wild--they play basketball, dance, and even work as midlevel business professionals. Through this memorable cast of characters, Flick reveals intriguing secrets about humanity and yearning with her signature blend of stark honesty and humor.
Collected Stories - Volume 7
Enjoy my twenty-five original short stories from all genres (mystery, adventure, sci-fi, romance, westerns, etc.) including some true tales and analysis.
Close to a Flame
Named one of Literary Hub's 100 Notable Small Press Books 2025Finalist, National Indie Excellence Awards (NIEA)From a dive bar in Big Rapids, Michigan, to nowhere Ohio, and back, the characters in Close to a Flame are broken in the ways all people are. On a cross-country road trip, Robin can't stop thinking about her ex-boyfriend. Carol has grown increasingly unhappy in her long marriage to Gerald. On a summer Saturday, Christine comes through for Dalia in an important way. Pat takes his girlfriend, Katie, to San Francisco for what he hopes will be a romantic proposal. Beth's son, Jonah, gets called to the principal's office; and Jamie gets a scare from her elderly mother. With her radiant stories, Colleen Alles wants to tell you it's often the case that deep connections to other people-sometimes friends, sometimes sweethearts, sometimes spouses-help restore what's broken.
God-Disease
Winner of the 2023 Mary McCarthy Prize in Short Fiction, selected by Manuel Mu簽oz. Imagine a space where cities and municipalities are delineated only by letters. A place in flux, a freewheeling confluence that does not commit to being American, Korea, or even Korean American. This is where God-Disease takes place. Strange things happen here. Identities warp and shift; sometimes they vanish altogether. In the titular story, a museum insect curator returns to her birth town, J Municipality, feeling empty and searching for answers to her mother's absence; was it insanity that plagued her, or was it shin-byeong--god-disease? Equal parts Southern Korean Gothic and slipstream, the collection is a meditation on language, identity, and names, and how deceptively fragile they can be.
Swimming and other stories
"It's strange how life can turn on the smallest of things. An action or event that seems innocent at the time can lead to more than it should. For me, everything changed because of a feud with the boy next door, a rainstorm, and something to do with a fish pie.""Yes, love is present in small details, but not the details you have shown. Love is in a splinter pulled from a wound, a glass of water fetched in the middle of the night..."Swimming and other stories is the revised and updated first collection from multiple award-winning New Zealand writer Bernard Steeds. These ten tales range from the dirty realism of the New Zealand landscape to magic realist fables, from love stories to ghost stories to fairy tales and myths. Water features throughout, as a life-and-death force, a medium that connects and divides.About the authorBernard Steeds is a fiction writer, journalist and researcher from Wellington, New Zealand. His stories have twice won the Sunday Star-Times short story competition, have won the At the Bay Katherine Mansfield Short Fiction Prize, and been shortlisted or commended in numerous other prizes including The Moth Short Story Prize. His work has appeared in numerous anthologies and journals including The Penguin New Zealand Anthology: Fifty Stories for Fifty Years in Aotearoa, and The Penguin Book of Contemporary New Zealand Short Stories.
