From the historical to the fastastical, the real to the surreal, this exciting new anthology of New Zealand fiction, short stories, poetry and artwork present the varied voices and styles of New Zealand writing at its best - exhibiting work from established and award-winning authors as well as some lively 'fresh ink' from previously unpublished literary voices.

**A woman desperate to turn a new page heads to the Scottish coast and finds herself locked in a battle of wills with an infuriatingly aloof bookseller in this utterly heartwarming debut, perfect for readers of Evvie Drake Starts Over.“Humor and charm abound. . . . [This] love story hits the spot.”—Publishers Weekly**Thea Mottram is having a bad month. She’s been let go from her office job with no notice—and to make matters even worse, her husband of nearl...

Named a Best Book of the Year by TheNew York Times, NPR, Slate, Lit Hub, Fresh Air, and moreFrom the critically acclaimed and award‑winning author of Golden Hill, an “extraordinary…symphonic…casually stunning” (The Wall Street Journal) novel tracing the infinite possibilities of five lives in the bustling neighborhoods of 20th-century London.Lunchtime o...

Something Special, Something Rare presents outstanding short fiction by Australia’s finest female writers. These are tales of love, secrets, doubt and torment, the everyday and the extraordinary.A sleepy town is gripped by delusory grief after the movie being filmed there wraps and leaves. A lingering heartbreak is replayed on Facebook. An ordinary family walks a shaky line between hopelessness and redemption.Brilliant, shocking and profound, these tales will leave...

'An intricately crafted novel, sharp-eared, current and full of heart' Guardian, Books of the YearA spirited fourteen-year-old, Fay, goes missing from a Lincoln council estate. Is she a runaway, or a victim – another face on a poster gradually fading with time? The story of her last few days before she vanishes is interwoven with the varied lives of six locals – all touched in life-changing ways.David is on a family holiday on the bleak Lincolnshir...

There's a new rule at South School—if you misbehave, you go to the Suspension Room (or "the Dungeon," as the students of Room 2B call it). The rumors are flying about what actually goes on down there, but Harry won't be satisfied until he finds out for himself."Fans of Song Lee, Harry, and Doug will enjoy the latest simple chapter-book about school matters that loom large and surprise you."--BooklistSuzy Kline is the author of ten books that star Horrible Harry and...

Featuring:Sarah Hall, Lucy Wood, Lisa Blower, Lavinia Greenlaw and Lionel Shriver.Edgar Allan Poe once claimed the greatest literary works were those that could be read ’in one sitting’. ‘Brevity must be in direct ratio of the intensity of the intended effect,’ he argued, once the effect has been established, of course.The stories shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award 2013 all use brevity with striking results, whether presenting a comp...

They say there's no place like home. It's where the heart is...Meet the little boy who believes in miracles.Meet the mother who loves to bring babies home from the newborn aisle of her supermarket.Meet the husband who carves a longed-for baby out of ice as a gift for his wife.Meet the widow who is reminded of romance whilst pegging out the washing.Awarded the Scott Prize for short story writing, Sweet Home weaves together mo...

In his introduction to this anthology, Witi Ihimaera describes Auckland, Tamaki makau rau, as the place desired by many. The variety in this absorbing collection of short stories, poetry and extracts from novels and memoirs shows that while Auckland may not always have been desirable, it has certainly fascinated generations of very different writers, who have explored almost every part of this far-flung city. C.K. Stead and Maurice Gee, for example, go west, Tina Shaw and Diane Brown visit...

‘A natural storyteller with a Sedaris-like eye for black humour. There are sharp splinters of comic relief … compelling and nuanced.” Edel Coffey, Irish TimesQuick-witted, charismatic and generous; angry, vicious and hurt; in pubs all over Cork City, Noelle McCarthy's mother Carol rages against her life and everything she has lost. Soon after leaving college, in the early years of the millennium, Noelle flees. Even on the other side of the world, with fame...

These outstanding stories from the 2010 Bristol Short Story Prize will provoke, stimulate, move, amuse, unsettle, and entertain

English Magic moves through fields and parklands, estates and empty beaches.It lands at Heathrow Airport, takes a taxi to the suburbs, finds emptiness and oppression. It strikes out for the countryside on May Day, to where maypoles whirl and haybales blaze, and where blessings sound like threats.It's in a flat, drags itself out of half sleep... and there's something tapping behind the gas fire...In her debut collection of short stories, Uschi Gatward takes us on a t...