WINNER OF THE 2025 AUDIO PUBLISHERS ASSOCIATION AUDIE AWARD FOR BEST SHORT STORY COLLECTION 'You like it darker? Fine, so do I', writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life - both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form,...

An antiques dealer discovers that a legendary toy commissioned by a Civil War General now sits in the home of a black minister in Queens. Five strangers find themselves thrown together and face unexpected judgment. An American president draws inspiration from a conversation he overhears in a stable. And members of The Five-Carat Soul Bottom Bone Ba...

With tales ranging from the deadly serious to the absurdly hilarious—including an original story for this volume—Side Jobs is a must-have collection for every devoted Harry Dresden fan.As Chicago’s only professional wizard, Harry Dresden has had cases that have pitted him against insane necromancers, power-hungry faerie queen...

In this dark and gritty collection—featuring short stories from Jim Butcher, Seanan McGuire, Kevin J. Anderson, and Rob Thurman—nothing is as simple as black and white, light and dark, good and evil..Unfortunately, that’s exactly what makes it so easy to cross the line.In #1 New York Times bestselling author Jim Butcher’s Co...

Who wants to fall asleep to tales of dragons being slain, wars being fought, and princesses being rescued who, quite frankly, could have rescued themselves? Our boys need a new kind of hero. Rule-breakers and innovators who aren't afraid to think outside and be themselves, whatever people think about how men should behave. Bedtime Stories for Boys...

Exhilarating short stories of women breaking free from conventionEvery now and then, right in the middle of an ordinary day, a woman rebels, kicks up her heels, and commits a small act of liberation.What would you do, if you were going to break out and away? Go AWOL from Weight Watchers and spend an entire day eating every single thing you want&nda...

The Body is a dazzling collection of fiction from Hanif Kureishi, beginning with a novella that delves into the concept of identity, and its root in our physical being. Adam is a middle-aged playwright who accepts a tempting offer to have his mind transported into a younger body for six months. Youth restored, he embarks on an odyssey of physical h...

In this powerful Tudor short story, Sunday Times bestselling novelist Alison Weir reimagines the life of the secret love child of Cardinal Wolsey. Few can claim to be a cardinal's daughter, but I can . . . Dorothy Clausey grows up in the splendid shadow of Worcester Cathedral, raised by loving parents she believes to be her own. But soon after her...

Sleep-deprived fathers conjuring phantoms; sharp-toothed children and stolen skulls; persecuted young women drawn to self-immolation. Organized crime sits side-by-side with the occult in Buenos Aires - a place where reality and the supernatural fuse into strange, new shapes.These acclaimed gothic tales follow the wayward and downtrodden, revealing...

Brought to you by Penguin.I was the guy who always found a way.I was the guy that couldn't be stopped.From the world's number one thriller writer, twenty pulse-pounding short stories are collected for the first time in one edition, complete with an introduction from the author.A drug-dealing hit man unburdens his fears to a stranger. An overlooked...

Six short stories from the Queen of Crime, featuring our favourite young detectives, Tommy and Tuppence. Tommy and Tuppence Beresford were restless for adventure, so when they were asked to take over Blunt’s International Detective Agency, they leapt at the chance. After their triumphant recovery of a pink pearl, intriguing cases kept on comi...

Experience the magic of The Wood at Midwinter, a captivating Christmas short story written and read by Susanna Clarke, internationally bestselling author of Piranesi and Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell. Immerse yourself in this haunting tale, accompanied by exquisite music composed by Rusty Bradshaw.**Named a book to look out for in 2024 by the S...

Brought to you by Penguin.The heartwarming Japanese bestseller for fans of Matt Haig, Fredrik Backman and THE CAT WHO SAVED BOOKS'Library. What a nice-sounding word. So comforting. I feel like I'm a student again. Library ... Am I allowed to borrow books?''What are you looking for?' asks Tokyo's most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi. She is no o...

Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, Doctor Who, Game of Thrones) reads chilling tales by the unsung master of the classic ghost story - E.F. Benson.There's nothing sinister about a London bus. Nothing supernatural could occur on a busy train platform. There's nothing terrifying about a little caterpillar. And a telephone, what could be scary about that? Don't b...

Funny, moving and sharply observed, these stories are confirmation of Boyd's status as one of English fiction's finest writers. Here are twenty-four gripping tales told in bold, distinct voices from Brazil to Africa and from Nice to Hollywood. This eclectic collection by the acclaimed author of Restless and Brazzaville Beach is a must-read for any...

Originally featured in the acclaimed story collection If It Bleeds, this unforgettable, mind-bending tale takes readers through the extraordinary life of Charles 'Chuck' Krantz. In a crumbling world plagued by natural disasters, collapsing infrastructure, and mass panic, bizarre billboards and advertisements appear throughout town: 'Charles Krantz...

'All the Christmases roll down toward the two-tongued sea, like a cold and headlong moon bundling down the sky that was our street; and they stop at the rim of the ice-edged fish-freezing waves, and I plunge my hands in the snow and bring out whatever I can find.' Cherished by generations as a Christmas classic ever since it was first recorded and...

Often ranked as one of M.R. James’s most unnerving narratives, A Warning to the Curious is an ominous tale of the consequences of an enquiring mind. First published in the literary journal, London Mercury in 1925, A Warning to the Curious follows young antiquary and archaeologist Paxton, holidaying on the south-east coast of England. During h...

A young, scientifically minded college professor finds an old bronze whistle while exploring the ruins of a Knights Templars' preceptory. That night, he blows on the whistle and a vision comes to him of a dark expanse with a lonely figure in its midst. The sound also appears to call up a gust of wind, but the sensible professor dismisses it as a co...

The complete collection of Edgar Allan Poe's stories, read by award-winning actor Jonathan Keeble. Edgar Allan Poe was a writer, poet, editor and literary critic. Poe is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales of mystery and the macabre, and is widely regarded as a central figure of Romanticism in the United States and o...

Who but P. G. Wodehouse could have extracted high comedy from the most noble and ancient game of golf? And who else could have combined this comedy with a real appreciation of the game, drawn from personal experience? Wodehouse's brilliant but human brand of humor is perfectly suited to these stories of love, rivalry, revenge, and fulfillment on th...