An award-winning middle grade novel, originally published by Viking Children's and praised by critics and educators, The Charmed Children of Rookskill Castle is a gripping story of courage, loyalty, and survival set against the backdrop of World War II.When World War II forces three siblings, led by oldest sister Kat Bateson, out of London during the Blitz, they are evacuated to Scotland—and deposited at Rookskill Castle, a vast estate, now so-called school that fe...

Welcome to Black Cat Weekly #58.This issue kicks off our Halloween celebrations with a holiday-inspired tale. An incomplete draft of “Had a Wife...” was found in Janet Fox’s papers following her death, and I completed it. I hope you enjoy it. Keeping up the fantasy theme, we have a powerful tale by Craig Laurance Gidney inspired by the music of Joni Mitchell (selected by our acquiring editor Cynthia Ward). Our other acquiring editors have been busy, too—Michael Bracken pre...

Sixteen-year-old Maggie Bennet is poised for her glittering Newport debut when her world collapses. Her mother vanishes under mysterious circumstances, leaving behind scandal and whispers of madness. Instead of a summer of gowns and dances, Maggie is swept west with her father to the untamed wilderness of Yellowstone, where he believes there may be answers.Amid geysers, steaming pools, and mountains that test her courage, Maggie discovers more than clues to her mother's fate. She m...

An Edgar Award NomineeLonglisted for the Reading the West Book AwardA girl tackles a vacation filled with mystery, treasure, and learning to be her true self in this middle grade “frothy summer adventure…which bristles with gentle thrills and chills” (Publishers Weekly) that’s a modern-day Holes set on a dusty dude ranch in Montana.Becca Soloway’s perfect summer goes up in smoke when her mom flees a...

Rooted in ancient myth, these stories follow women who change—physically and emotionally—to claim their power.In Unbound, women step out of the shadows of myth and fairy tales and into their own power. Drawing on ancient traditions of goddesses, nymphs, and mortal women shaped and tested by gods and men, these stories reimagine transformation as an act of survival, resistance, and becoming. Through physical and emotional change, each woman claims w...

Barbara married for wealth, but after her grasping, elderly husband finally dies, a series of mysterious disasters unfolds. With a growing sense of dread, Barbara begins to suspect the dead hold more power than she ever imagined.

Another week, another great issue—this time featuring terrific originals from H.K. Slade (part of his Friday Hampton/Ambrose Broyhill series, courtesy of Acquiring Editor Michael Bracken) and Ken Foxe (a crime story set at rival coffee shops). And we have modern tales by Susan Dunlap (thanks to Acquiring Editor Barb Goffman), Janet Fox (a sword and sorcery tale featuring her master thief, Jaquerel), and John S. Glasby (dark fantasy from a British master).For our mystery novel, we h...

You know the old rhyme, "Peter, Peter Pumpkin-Eater, had a wife and couldn't keep her..." They made the mistake of mocking Joey Hobin with that song. Joey Hobin, who carved the wooden animals and, at Halloween time, ran Hobin's Hobgoblins. He might be old, but he knew what was what. Or did he?An unfinished draft of this short story was found among Janet Fox's papers after she passed away. It has been completed by best-selling fantasy author John Gregory Betancourt.

“A poignant and powerful reminder that homelessness is not hopelessness.” —Kirby Larson, author of Newbery Honor book Hattie Big SkyTwo sisters struggle to keep their father’s disappearance a secret in this tender middle grade novel that’s perfect for fans of Katherine Applegate and Lynda Mullaly Hunt.Twelve-year-old Lulu and her younger sister, Serena, have a secret. As Daddy always says, “it’s best if we keep it to ourselves,” an...

Welcome to another wide-ranging collection of dark fantasy and horror stories. From familiar classics to rare pulp stories, from the Victorian era to contemporary tales, there's something here for every taste. Included are:GARAGE SALE, by Janet FoxSOULS OF THE DAMNED, by John D. SwainJOHNNY ON THE SPOT, by Frank Belknap LongTHE HAUNTED CHAIR, by Richard MarshTHE UPPER BERTH, by F. Marion CrawfordA BIT OF THE DARK WORLD, by Fritz LeiberTHURN...

MYSTERIES / SUSPENSE / ADVENTURE“Promised Land” by Andrew Welsh-Huggins [Michael Bracken Presents short story]Security specialist Erie Hollar uncovers a sinister conspiracy on the moon’s Shackleton City. After discovering a body and surviving a brutal attack, Erie races against time to unravel the truth, dodging dangerous enemies and bureaucratic traps in a tense, moonlit sci-fi mystery.“The Great Diet Duplicity,” b...

When 17-year-old Josephine Winter's father ships her off to live with her rich cousins on the glittering island of Manhattan, he thinks it's to find a husband. But Jo knows better - there's trouble brewing, and in 1925 all that glitters is not gold. Caught up in a swirl of her cousin's bobbed-hair set - and the men that court them - Jo soon realizes that this world of jazz and gangsters and their molls hides a nest of lies. But when she befriends Lou O'Keefe, the 21-year-old girlfriend of ...