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A short-story magazine that assembles a thrilling new mix of stories from genres including horror, science fiction, comedy, and suspense. Buried at the heart of every story in the magazine is a unique artifact, an object that has inspired our storytellers to create a big idea, an irresistible question, a new immersive world, or a sense of wonder. Unearth your next great story with Assemble Artifacts.

A famous mystery writer drowns in a hotel bathtub. Was it an accident, or foul play? His ghost thinks it was murder. His mystery writer colleagues want to help Mary solve the case. Gary Copper is still on the loose, and gunning for both Bradley and Mary.

With passion and authenticity, teen author Sara Barratt calls on her generation to reject apathy and embrace a daring, costly faith. Not content with safe religion that demands nothing of us, Sara shows teens how they can stop giving in to the status quo and devote themselves fully to Christ, following him no matter what their friends do or the culture around them does. She challenges them to give everything over - their comfort zones, their time, their loyalties, their pride - and discover that in losing control they are gaining the life that was meant for them all along.

Everyone in Phoebe Ferris' life tells a different version of the truth. Her mother, Meg, ex-rock star and professional question evader, shares only the end of the story - the postfame calm that Phoebe's always known. Her sister, Luna, indie rock darling of Brooklyn, preaches a stormy truth of her own making, selectively ignoring the facts she doesn't like. And her father, Kieran, the cofounder of Meg's beloved band, hasn't said anything at all since he stopped calling three years ago.

The bedroom door flew open with a powerful crash. "What the...?" Mary exclaimed. Mike nodded. "Yeah, well see, that's the problem," he said with a sigh. "You brought someone home with you tonight." "What?" "And it looks like she's not real happy about your relationship with Bradley," he said. "I have a jealous ghost in my house?" Mary asked, astonished. Mike shook his head apologetically. "No, sweetheart," he said. "You have a jealous poltergeist in your home."

"But Sol, it ain't haunted like you thought," Marty argued cautiously. It wasn't a good idea to get Sol too angry. "We've tried everything, séances, Ouija boards, mediums - everything. This place is just an old, empty house. A creepy, old house." Sol shook his head, disregarding Marty's words, and started up the tall staircase to the second floor. "It just has to seem like a haunted house," he said.

Kali Ling has faced down death hundreds of times for the entertainment of millions. She knows fear - and she knows what's truly terrifying.... There's a new game in town. A brutal, winner-takes-all international video game tournament showcasing the world's most elite players, promising fame, prestige, and unbelievable fortune. But there's a catch. The game uses new VR pods guaranteed to push digital warriors to their physical and psychological brink - adapting every time a gamer makes a move.

When Nico Morris' older sister mysteriously disappears, her parents, family, and friends are devastated. But Nico can never admit what she herself feels: relief at finally being free of Sarah's daily cruelties. Then the best and worst thing happens: four years later, after dozens of false leads, Sarah is found. But this girl is much changed from the one Nico knew. She's thin and drawn when Sarah had been golden and athletic; timid and unsure instead of brash and competitive; and, strangest of all, sweet and kind when she had once been mean and abusive.

In 1965, 17-year-old Victoria, having just escaped an unstable home, flees to the ultimate place for dreamers and runaways - the circus. Specifically, the VanDrexel Family Circus where, among the lion tamers, roustabouts, and trapeze artists, Victoria hopes to start a better life. Fifty years later, Victoria's 16-year-old granddaughter Callie is thriving. A gifted and focused tightrope walker with dreams of being a VanDrexel high wire legend just like her grandmother. Callie can't imagine herself anywhere but the circus. But...Callie is forced to leave her lifelong home behind.

Chloe Carter's Internet date commits the ultimate gastronomic faux pas: He dies before dessert. Ever in search of the perfect meal - and the perfect man - 20-something grad student and food connoisseur Chloe Carter draws the line at speed dating. But when the Massachusetts native reluctantly signs up for Back Bay Dates, she's soon communicating with a guy after her own heart.

The trial for Gary Copper has begun, but was there another murder in his past? One that would change the future for Bradley's daughter? And as Rosie and Stanley prepare for their wedding, they both have some ghosts in their own closets they will have to deal with.

The man smiled at Timmy. “That would be nice of you. Why don't you lead the way?” Timmy moved past the man and started back up the hill. He heard the whoosh of something moving quickly through the air, but it hit him before he had time to react. He felt the impact against his head and his whole body flew sideways through the air.

What happens when you ask a bunch of losers, discipline cases and misfits to save the galaxy from an ancient evil? The ancient evil wins, of course.

Life for Riley ends when her young children die in her arms…victims of a global viral outbreak that claims the lives of everyone she’s ever known. Left to fend for herself with only a dog as her companion, she sets out on a journey to find others, leaving notes everywhere she goes…hoping that one day someone will come looking for her.

Having survived a violent confrontation with the US government, Avie is not out of danger. Both she and the young man she loves, Yates, have been declared terrorists, and Yates is hospitalized in critical condition, leaving Avie with the perilous task of carrying information that can bring down the Paternalist party, if she can get it into the right hands.

After her grampa dies, the last place Libby expects to see him is sitting on the edge of her bed. But that's what happens the night after the funeral. Even more surprising is that Grampa has three important things to tell her: first, that she isn't alone or forgotten - "The dead ain't never that far from the living", he says; second, that she has "the Sight" - the ability to see family members who have died; and third, that there is something special just for her in the lake. Something that could help her and her father - if she can find it.

Victory comes at a price. Mare Barrow learned this all too well when Cal's betrayal nearly destroyed her. Now determined to protect her heart - and secure freedom for Reds and newbloods like her - Mare resolves to overthrow the kingdom of Norta once and for all...starting with the crown on Maven's head. But no battle is won alone, and before the Reds may rise as one, Mare must side with the boy who broke her heart in order to defeat the boy who almost broke her. Cal's powerful Silver allies, alongside Mare and the Scarlet Guard, prove a formidable force.

The Crescent Empire teeters on the edge of a revolution, and the Five Daughters of the Moon are the ones to determine its future.

Shane and Ava are a team. He steals the aircraft, she charms their mark, and together they take what they need. Not even their distracting chemistry could get in the way. Until Shane was caught and left to rot on a prison moon. Now, freshly escaped from confinement, he has his sights set on their biggest job yet. Cyrus just graduated from the flight academy with a shiny new position lined up reporting to a well-respected general. On his very first assignment, he stops the outlaws in their tracks—or he would have, if his copilot, Lark, hadn’t fallen for Ava’s deception.

Bored administrative assistant, Tessa Golden, is trapped in a life of lousy weather, irritating bosses, and mind-numbing secretarial work. Her dreams of being an artist have rapidly deteriorated into building things out of paperclips while on hold with tech support. To make matters even worse, the love of her life has gone off and married another woman.