American Short Fiction

On the outside looking in JayCee had what everyone would call the great life. She had a great career as head chef of a five-star restaurant until she met her now husband Sage. He filled her head up with broken promises making her believe that everything was going to be okay. The minute the ink dried on their wedding papers Sage turned into someone completely different. JayCee didn’t know what to expect. She gave her all to try and make her marriage work, but it seems as the years went by the harder it became to be his wife. Trauma after trauma life became hard for JayCee to bear, not even...

We have gathered between these pages. To bring you stories of love, murder, deception, and redemption. Untethered by a single plot but molded as one in pen. With seeds planted in EyeCU Reading & Chatting's weekly writing challenges, and nurtured with inspiration from its founder Ebony Evans, our creativity blossomed. We present this bouquet!

Kali Fajardo-Anstine’s magnetic story collection breathes life into her Indigenous Latina characters and the land they inhabit. Against the remarkable backdrop of Denver, Colorado - a place that is as fierce as it is exquisite - these women navigate the land the way they navigate their lives: with caution, grace, and quiet force. In “Sugar Babies,” ancestry and heritage are hidden inside the Earth but tend to rise during land disputes.

New Easy Rawlins mysteries—original short stories from the New York Times bestselling and award-winning mystery author. As Carolyn See said in The Washington Post Book World: "God bless the day that Walter Mosley created Easy Rawlins!" This handsome collection contains six interconnected stories. Fans can now add these original stories in Six Easy Pieces to their Walter Mosley library: "Smoke," "Crimson Stain," "Silver Lining," "Lavender," "Gato Green," "Gray-Eyed Death," and "Amber Gate."

Here are four unforgettable stories by Yann Martel, the New York Times best-selling author of Life of Pi. In the exquisite title novella, a very young man dying of AIDS joins his friend in fashioning a story of the Roccamatio family of Helsinki, set against the yearly march of the 20th century.

Many Indigenous people believe that one should never whistle at night. This belief takes many forms: for instance, Native Hawaiians believe it summons the Hukai’po, the spirits of ancient warriors, and Native Mexicans say it calls Lechuza, a witch that can transform into an owl. But what all these legends hold in common is the certainty that whistling at night can cause evil spirits to appear—and even follow you home. These shiver-inducing tales introduce listeners to ghosts, curses, hauntings, monstrous creatures, complex family legacies, desperate deeds, and chilling acts of revenge.

A remarkable talent far ahead of her time, Diane Oliver died in 1966 at the age of 22, leaving behind these crisply told and often chilling tales that explore race and racism in 1950s and 60s America. In this first and only collection by a masterful storyteller finally taking her rightful place in the canon, Oliver’s insightful stories reverberate into the present day.

The ancient Druid Atticus O’Sullivan gets more than greasy corn dogs and flat soda when he visits a carnival in Kansas to which his apprentice, Granuaile, drags him. He runs across a barker with a strange power over the crowd: attractive women leave their men and disappear into an unmarked tent, never to be seen again, and the men wander away, forgetting that they ever had girlfriends or wives. When Granuaile falls under the barker’s influence and enters the tent, Atticus isn’t about to forget it and move on.

“CHILLING HISTORICAL HORROR” “Wildly imaginative” A delicious mix of history, horror, and love. Three early American gothic tales, including America’s last witch trial in 1730, the birth of the Jersey Devil in 1735, and the true origin of the Headless Horseman in 1776. In 1730 Ben Franklin published a story about a witch trial in Mount Holly, in The Pennsylvania Gazette. But did he tell the complete story, or was it a coverup of more sinister and frightening events? Emmet, an aspiring reporter, takes his first assignment for Franklin’s Pennsylvania Gazette and travels to New ...

In his introduction, guest editor S. A. Cosby observes that writing short stories is “a special skill that combines brevity with wit and cleverness and the hint of the existential malaise that imbues crime fiction with its gravitas.” The stories in this collection overflow with gravitas in the most unexpected ways: a cryptic note left on a windshield, a murder for hire meets a game of Mouse Trap, a swipe right on a dating app goes horribly wrong.

The “best short story writer in English” (Time) is back with a masterful collection that explores ideas of power, ethics, and justice, and cuts to the very heart of what it means to live in community with our fellow humans. With his trademark prose—wickedly funny, unsentimental, and perfectly tuned—Saunders continues to challenge and surprise: here is a collection of prismatic, deeply resonant stories that encompass joy and despair, oppression and revolution, bizarre fantasy and brutal reality.

Rulfo comenta los relatos que sigue escribiendo en cartas a su novia Clara Aparicio. En 1951 se publica el séptimo, "Diles que no me maten", en la revista América. Gracias a la primera beca que Rulfo recibe del Centro Mexicano de Escritores puede terminar los ocho que aparecerán con los previos en 1953, en el libro titulado El Llano en llamas, dedicado a Clara. Dos relatos más, aparecidos en revistas en 1955, serán incluidos en la edición de 1970.

Book 1: Introduces 23 year old, newly divorced young woman named Layla. Before her divorce, Layla was married to her middle school sweetheart, Darren. Aside from holding down a full time job, being a student AND a mother, Layla stayed loyal to Darren until he cheated on her. Layla's best friend, Michelle convinces her that the single life isn't so bad, especially when she meets the super sexy, smooth talking Marcus; who not only gives her great conversation, but the best sex in her life. She thought she could handle a "friends with benefits" situation, but she couldn't have been more wrong....

A new president has just been elected and has promised to clean America of illegal immigrants. Johnny, an American citizen, and the son of an illegal immigrant, finds his world turned upside down as he and his family are forced to leave their home in search of safety. They must escape, not only from the police, but also from the hate and violence that has gripped the nation.

"In a thrilling urban setting, two siblings embark on an unforgettable adventure with The Forgotten Treasures, an enigmatic figure who holds the power to transform their lives. With unexpected surprises and a hint of fantasy, readers will find themselves captivated by the secrets, self-discovery, and magical elements woven throughout this exciting tale."

John LeBrock is the greatest MMA fighter on Earth. He takes on all opponents and destroys them with ease. He is rich, good-looking, and oozes charisma. He wants for nothing, and life is good. John will soon find out that a seemingly perfect life can change in the blink of an eye. The MMA world champion will be given the opportunity to travel through a cosmic doorway that leads to the other side of the universe to a strange but beautiful world called Azura.

Romeo’s irrational decision that ended Tiana, Ebony, and Malaysia’s lives has finally come back to haunt him. Now his brothers, and his entire crew are in deadly danger, having been made the targets of a heartless assassin. With a hit list circulating, the brothers must eliminate the threat before the Grim Reaper hits their next target… ROMEO!With Chico recently released from prison, he has no choice but to get his hands dirty once again in order to protect his boys. Racing against time, to find out the true identity of the assassin, Chico orchestrates a plan to draw out the beautiful...

Weeping endures for a night, but does joy really come in the morning?

With the same unforgettable and distinctive prose on display in his other books, Airtight Willie & Me is further evidence that Iceberg Slim was an expert at capturing the language of the streets. Always compelling, sometimes funny, and often bleak, Slim gives us six slices of city life that will leave you thirsting for more.

An American cult figure, Paul Bowles has fascinated such disparate talents as Norman Mailer, Allen Ginsberg, Truman Capote, William S. Burroughs, Gore Vidal, and Tobias Wolff. From “The Delicate Prey” to “Too Far from Home,” this definitive collection celebrates the Bowles’s masterful artistry in short fiction.