Modern Short Stories

In the past 50 years, the American short story has changed dramatically. New voices, forms, and mixtures of genres have brought this unique US genre a thrilling burst of energy. This rich anthology celebrates this avalanche of talent. Beginning in 1970, it culls together a half century of powerful American short stories from all genres, including - for the first time in a literary anthology - science fiction, horror, and fantasy.

A terrifying, thrilling collection of must-listen horror stories chock-full of nightmarish supernatural beings and the murderously disturbed that are sure to keep you up all night long.

After the loss of her mother, a woman returns to the San Fernando Valley only to uncover a haunting secret about her childhood friend. A visiting professor at a charming but strange California liberal arts college must face her past in order to protect her son. A sister, lost in the woods, confronts the dangerous truth about her brother, her stepmother, and herself. Rose's dog Wolfie has died, and three seductive women offer to help return him to her. But only if she will pay the price.

Modern Manners for Kids is a fun, easygoing book packed with short stories, playful poems, and simple ideas kids can try at home to bring kindness and respect into their everyday lives. Whether it’s learning to say please and thank you, figuring out how to share with others, or being a good friend on the playground, this book helps kids understand why modern manners matter—without sounding like a rule book. Each story shares an important lesson, and the poems and activities make it fun to practice at home with family and friends.

Call If You Need Me includes all of the prose previously collected in No Heroics, Please, four essays from Fires, and those five marvelous stories that range over the period of Carver's mature writing and give his devoted fans a final glimpse of the great writer at work. The pure pleasure of Carver's writing is everywhere in his work, here no less than in those stories that have already entered the canon of modern literature.

Enter the Druidverse® and discover a world of magic, mythology, and urban fantasy! This set contains three short story collections and three novellas: Blood Scent (a prequel novella), Druid Blood (a prequel novella), Blood Circus (a short story collection), Blood Ties (a short story collection), Blood Bound (a short story collection), and Colin McCool Saves Christmas (a Christmas novella). The novellas primarily focus on everyone’s favorite down-on-his-luck druid, Colin McCool, while many of the short stories feature supporting characters.

Three deeply unsettling stories. One world where monsters wear human faces, shadows whisper secrets, and legends aren’t just bedtime tales. Each story grips you quietly… then drags you into darkness. Inside this chilling mini-anthology, you’ll discover: psychological dread, haunted homes, urban legends, and survival against impossible evil.Stories Included: Smile In a cold and cruel future, people are forced to smile through unimaginable pain or die trying. One mother watches helplessly as her son dares to resist… and pays the ultimate price. Lady in My House After moving back into ...

Twenty-three stories, all unabridged, from a diverse group of star writers and readers. A truly memorable collection with a wide appeal. Includes "The Years Midnight" by Helen Simpson, read by Harriet Walter; "On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful Morning" by Haruki Marukami, read by Walter Lewis; "Bablady" by A. S. Byatt, read by Roslaind Eyres; "Hotel des Vaoyaguerus" by William Boyd, read by Martin Jarvis; and "Who?" by Fay Weldon, read by Julie Christie.

College never felt this exhilarating. I felt crushed under the weight of college life, watching my confidence shrink with each passing day as I pined after a girl I couldn't bring myself to approach. Then Claire walked into my life with her knowing smile and an offer I couldn't refuse - she'd teach me everything I needed to know about being a man. My education started in this little café downtown, the kind of place where the coffee came in actual cups and the pastries looked like art. But it was her home that changed everything--that first night with her blew past every fumbling fantasy ...

Paul Auster's signature work, The New York Trilogy, consists of three interlocking novels: City of Glass, Ghosts, and The Locked Room - haunting and mysterious tales that move at the breathless pace of a thriller.

The five tales here are dark short stories with a twisted tail - not the ending you expect. Sit back on the beach as you read, but don't enter the sea. The first story tells of an agoraphobic woman on her first holiday away with her family. Her children get more than they expected from the water. An artistic daughter is unhappy with her father's plan to close his art supply shop. Oh, dear, somebody spilt the oils. Would you take her in if you found a young girl on a lonely road? You had better think long and hard. Taxidermy is a hobby that interests few people. But in this tale, a man is ...

Some neighbors share sugar. We shared everything. A journey of passion, pleasure, and self-discovery. This intimate memoir chronicles Skylar's journey from curious author to confident hotwife. What starts as a forbidden moment between new friends quickly evolves into an exploration that challenges everything she thought she knew about fidelity, attraction, and her own sexuality. Follow Skylar and Chris as they accept their first invitation to an exclusive swingers club, where champagne flows freely and inhibitions melt away under dimmed lights. With unflinching honesty, Skylar details their...

When Lena marries Alex, a daring young helicopter pilot, it feels like she’s won life’s lottery. But as Russia descends deeper into a brutal war with Ukraine, Alex returns home a changed man—haunted, violent, and loyal only to the military machine that devours him. Who is Alex now? A war criminal? A looter? A man willing to commit a horrific act to save his dead friend’s wife and children from a predatory bank? War claims Alex, and he becomes a ghost in Lena's life. A ghost who sends her money—huge sums. And yet, she is left to raise their son alone in a world growing colder by ...

Fairies, elves, demons... Secrets and desire... Dark humour, magic, wonder... Twelve stories that will transport you into other worlds, or twisted versions of our own. If you had magic, what would you do with it? If you loved someone, how far would you go?

Urban Fairy Tales: Totally Twisted Part 2 Get ready to laugh out loud with Urban Fairy Tales: Totally Twisted Part 2! This new collection takes classic stories and spins them into hilariously modern adventures.What's Inside? We've reimagined your favorite characters like Sleeping Beauty, Chicken Little, Pinocchio, and Alice in Wonderland, giving their timeless tales a fresh, comical twist. Prepare for a delightful blend of silliness and wit that will have you giggling from start to finish.Instant Download & Free Preview Dive into this enchanting, modernized world of humor instantly! Urban ...

A marvelous collection of Poems and Short Stories from Robert E. Kearns - Award Winning author of Hy Brasil: Island of Eternity, Crabb, Carnivore, Freedom is For the Few, Ossuary, Embers and A Donnybrook Affair. In this work Kearns provides us with thought provoking poems, and an array of incredible stories. . Now with a Five Star editorial review from Readers' Favorite, Poems & Short Stories Vol. 1 is the perfect introduction to the author's work, which can be cherished over and over.

Deep within the cold, primordial forest and the Algonquin people's consciousness lives the Wendigo: a towering, emaciated being with translucent skin draped over its skeletal frame like a veil of mortality. Its hollow eyes gleam like fiery coals, emanating a malevolent crimson glow that mirrors its unquenchable craving for human flesh. An extraterrestrial shifter, stranded on our planet millennia ago, assumes the forms of not only humans but also hideous creatures in order to survive. The story of the Wendigo spans millennia, entwining native folklore with modern-day mysteries.

Don’t Share This Link: Creepypastas You’ll Wish You Never Read You clicked. You shouldn’t have. From haunted apps and cursed livestreams to group chats that resurrect the dead, this collection of digital-age horror stories will make you double-check every notification—and regret every click. Inside these thirteen terrifying tales, you’ll meet: A gamer whose face begins showing up in other people’s videos—smiling in places he’s never been. A girl who dreams of her favorite sleep streamer’s bedroom—until he starts dreaming of her too. A friend group haunted by an AI ...

A Collection of Short Tales is an anthology of unique stories that will capture one's imagination. Characters that you might cheer or jeer for are woven into these stories. Maybe... just maybe you will get lost within a tale and emerge a new person. Or maybe... just maybe you will have a good laugh. Either way dive into this compilation of distinctive stories and have fun.

Learning a new language is never an easy task, but it doesn't have to be hard. By learning the 1,000 most-used verbs in a language, you give yourself a fantastic foundation to start building upon to your road to fluency.