American Short Fiction

Here are 10 unabridged stories by the greatest American authors. These treasured stories from the most influential authors of the 19th and early 20th centuries were selected for their literary importance as well as their dramatic oral qualities.

From the National Book Award “5 Under 35” honoree and author of Bestiary comes startling stories that center the bodies, memories, myths, and relationships of Asian American women. In “Auntland,” a steady stream of aunts adjust to American life by sneaking surreptitious kisses from women at temple, buying tubs of vanilla ice cream to prepare for citizenship tests, and hatching plans to name their daughters “Dog.” In “The Chorus of Dead Cousins,” ghost-cousins cross space, seas, and skies to haunt their live-cousin, wife to a storm chaser.

Burri is a fashion designer and icon with a biochemistry background. Her latest pieces are African inspired and crafted to touch the heart. They enable wearers to absorb nanorobotic memories and recount the stories of Black lives and forgiveness. Wenda doesn’t buy it. A protest performance artist, Wenda knows exploitation when she sees it. What she’s going to do with Burri’s breakthrough technology could, in the right hands, change race relations forever.

Some treasures can't be measured in silver. In 1880s Idaho Territory, Boston-trained assayer Katherine Lobmeyer is determined to prove her worth in her ailing father's Silver City office, even if it means challenging every convention about a woman's proper place. Matthew Sterling, owner of the richest silver mine in the Owyhees, doesn't believe a woman belongs in the scientific world of mineral testing—until Katherine's brilliant mind and fierce dedication force him to question everything he thought he knew about a lady's capabilities. When theft and sabotage threaten the mining community...

This cross-genre anthology written by superstar YA authors from across the Latin American diaspora offers bold new thrills for every monster fan. In these fifteen original short stories, bloodthirsty vampires are hunted by a quick-witted slayer; children are taken from their beds by “el Viejo de la Bolsa” while a military dictator steals their parents; and anyone you love might be a monster waiting to strike. The sinister worlds of these narratives are also magical ones, where supernatural beings can be avatars for justice, vengeance, sisterhood, and empowerment.

Madeline Harper, an 87-year-old career-focused woman who spent her life chasing ambition, has a sudden accident while preparing for Thanksgiving. When she wakes, she is thrust into a vivid, dreamlike experience where she is hosting the Thanksgiving of her dreams—filled with family, love, and bittersweet humor. But reality hits hard when she wakes up in a hospital to find she has no one to take her home. What follows is a heartfelt, funny, and emotional journey as Madeline reconnects with the only person who ever held her heart, finding hope and love when she thought all was lost.

From sultry international jungles to the rugged terrain of the American Southwest, join the larger-than-life, scorching-hot alpha heroes of the Bureau of American Defense, Black Ops, Inc., and the US Navy SEALs for all the pulse-pounding, heart-racing, toe-curling excitement. They're cool under pressure, steamy under the sheets, and when the enemy strikes, there's not a lethal mission these gorgeous men can't handle.

In the series of linked stories at the heart of Filthy Animals, set among young creatives in the American Midwest, a young man treads delicate emotional waters as he navigates a series of sexually fraught encounters with two dancers in an open relationship, forcing him to weigh his vulnerabilities against his loneliness.

Detrás de esta selección de cuentos y sátiras de H. Zumbado (La Habana, 1932-2016) se encuentra un criterio casi exclusivamente editorial, un criterio seguro, que deleitará a los lectores a través de lo divertido y lo profundo, dos términos que en el caso de Zumbado, siempre van de la mano. Sus admiradores de siempre, volverán a encontrarse con cuentos tan queridos como “Amor a primer añejo” o “Imagínate tú”, o con sátiras breves tan lúdicas y plenas de lucidez como “Chapucio”, “Ausencio” o “Festivaldo”.

A rural town finds itself under the authoritarian sway of a tree that punishes children. A pair of old friends navigate their fraught history as strange happenings escalate in a Mexican restaurant. A pair of narcissistic friends wreak havoc on an activist community. An aloof young man finds himself living through his lover’s memories. And a day of LARPing takes a cosmic turn.

With only two hundred dollars, Unique packed her suitcase and headed to New York City for a brand-new start. It's there that Unique meets big-time boxing promoter Kennard, and it is love at first sight.... After nine months of living in the lap of luxury with Kennard, skeletons from Unique's past show up, and it will cost her a cool million dollars to keep not only her relationship but her life.... Unique isn't about to lose it all. With the help of her best friend, she devises a major heist; to pull it off all she has to do is stay alive....

In his first, glorious collection of stories, Rupert Everett takes us on exhilarating journeys with a cast of extraordinary characters. From Oscar Wilde’s last night in Paris to the ferociously unforgiving world of a Los Angeles talent agency and beyond, these stories are evocative, moving, and tender. Brilliantly witty, elegiac, and drawing from the wealth of film and TV ideas Everett has worked on over the course of his illustrious career, The American No will delight and surprise his many fans.

Set in Northern New Mexico, an astonishing, beautifully rendered debut about living in a landscape shaped by love, loss, and violence. With intensity, dark humor, and emotional precision, Kirstin Valdez Quade's unforgettable stories plunge us into the fierce, troubled hearts of characters torn between their desires to escape the past and to plumb its depths.

An incident at a TSA security check point sows chaos and rumors, creating a chain of events that impacts twelve young Asian Americans in a crowded and restless airport. As their disrupted journeys crisscross and collide, they encounter fellow travelers—some helpful, some hostile—as they discover the challenges of friendship, the power of courage, the importance of the right word at the right time, and the unexpected significance of a blue Stratocaster electric guitar.

Being a P.I. with a new fiance and side-kick isn't easy. Greyson and Sarah’s wedding planning comes to a halt when they must find a missing girl. Will Greyson get a chance to start over with Sarah after all they’ve been through? Will their search for the missing girl foil their romance and pending wedding? Sarah Starting Over (Siletz Bay #1) ends with some unanswered questions for a P.I. and a widowed mom. Greyson Starting Over is (Siletz Bay # 2) takes place one year later in the sleepy seaside town of Siletz Bay.

Melanie has been living the good life. She met a handsome man with a vicious dick game. They have hit it off instantly and have been inseparable ever since. They are going on dates and planning a life together. And did I mention the sex is phenomenal! Everything seems so perfect. Melanie Hyde has got herself a man! Xavier has met the perfect woman for him. She's smart and beautiful with a body that he adores. Not to mention she wants nothing from him but love. He can't let her go. But can he let go of the demons from his past? Just as life starts to heat up for the two of them life shakes ...

On Ash Wednesday in 1908, Swiss German immigrant Fritz Hirter arrives at his children’s school, where he is the lone custodian. But soon after lessons start, a fast-moving fire breaks out—its cause is unknown, but its effects are horrifying. Although Fritz is soon cleared of any responsibility for the catastrophe, the community continues to suspect him, supremely testing Fritz and his family.

Just as he finds the love of his life, it seems he's run out of time. Jude knows that he is almost out of time and his love life had taken the back seat for too long. Having just a few days before becoming an illegal citizen he finds love on the London bus or so it seems. Will he be able to make it all work out when his boss offers him an unconventional conflicting way out of his illegal status?

This collection is full of gritty stories of strong, spirited women who deal with everything from homicide and drugs to all sorts of turmoil - all while showing the men of the streets of Brooklyn that they are not afraid of anything. Perhaps the edgiest of all the Girls from da Hood books, this drama-filled installment follows a drug-fueled crime operation, which could put the girls and their extravagant lifestyles in permanent danger. But these girls from da hood are trying to find a way out of their troubles, by any means necessary.

Karlie Houston hasn't seen a raise in forever, but the payday loan office she manages is raking in the cash. So why not get what she's rightfully owed by masterminding a heist? Once her lover Sidney's boys hit all the company's locations at one time, there's a fortune to split. But suddenly bodies start dropping - and Karlie better devise the perfect plan to survive.