American Fiction Short Stories

In this striking and bleak, yet luminous debut collection, Nathan Ballingrud, winner of the inaugural Shirley Jackson Award, uses the trappings of the Gothic and the uncanny to investigate a distinctly American landscape: The loneliest and darkest corners of contemporary life. Ballingrud’s stories are love stories. They’re also monster stories. Sometimes the monsters collected here are vampires or werewolves.

Call If You Need Me includes all of the prose previously collected in No Heroics, Please, four essays from Fires, and those five marvelous stories that range over the period of Carver's mature writing and give his devoted fans a final glimpse of the great writer at work. The pure pleasure of Carver's writing is everywhere in his work, here no less than in those stories that have already entered the canon of modern literature.

This collection is a short-story lover's dream. Included are 17 classic works, representing the finest American writers in the genre. Included are "Bartleby the Scrivener" by Herman Melville, "The One Million Pound Bank Note" by Mark Twain, "The Pit and the Pendulum" by Edgar Allan Poe, and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving.

After attending a Christmas party at one of Atlanta’s hottest R & B clubs, Raya Williams catches the eye of Major Bennett. One too many drinks land her in bed with the incredibly sexy man. Doing the walk of shame, she doesn’t expect to ever see him again until he appears at the bank she works at. His reckless mouth and rough exterior makes her even more attracted to him.​ What was supposed to be a one and done situation turns into a holiday affair. Things seemed to be going smoothly until Raya learns of Major’s heartache. With his cold and hot ways she battles on whether to let him ...

The American literary tradition has, in a far shorter span of time than others throughout history, achieved a glowing and glittering reputation. From its transatlantic roots it has absorbed the sons and daughters of other cultures, other lands and made them part of her own. Within this melting pot of styles, genres and wordplay one fact stands out: In the American short story, Literary tradition has a strong, vibrant and almost inclusive history, if you know where to look.

America’s most talented storytellers share their most interesting, engaging, unputdownable work in a collection made for story lovers. The third volume of the annual anthology that’s been praised nationwide by readers and numerous award-winning and bestselling authors, COOLEST AMERICAN STORIES 2024 exudes its editors’ philosophy that a collection of widely appealing short stories can make for common ground that could unite rather than divide Americans. Toward this end, COOLEST AMERICAN STORIES 2024 features a funny yet heart-stopping story by Agatha, Macavity, and Anthony Award ...

All Valentina ‘Valley’ Diallo wanted for Valentine’s Day was to celebrate with the two men in her life. Javel Marley and Nico Galley have been together with Valley for years and had never missed a day, but this year, her two men were away on business. Find out if Valley will be spending Valentine’s Day alone or if her men will find their way back to her before the day ends.

Latasha Lee has always been extraordinary. The proud byproduct of her genius Botanist Mother Lola Lee, and her father, Commander Joseph Lee. However, she craved freedom within her chin-up and the shoulders-back world she lived in. Her idea ... to do something she'd never seen done before. Latasha wanted to pick her afro in space. Follow her wild ride with her group of friends to see if she can turn her dream into a reality.

The groundbreaking trans-genre work of Argentinian writer Jorge Luis Borges (1899-1986) has been insinuating itself into the structure, stance, and very breath of world literature for well over half a century. Multi-layered, self-referential, elusive, and allusive writing is now frequently labelled Borgesian.

In Kenya, when a young American man falls in love with the sophisticated daughter of an African chief, their marriage is strong. But tradition will soon put their union to the supreme test. Gripping and soulful, A Woman's Worth is a tale of cultural divisions, emotional wounds, and a love that struggles to transcend them.

When Alexandra ‘Alex’ Flint accompanies her best friend Catrice Mitchell to a masked birthday party, she decides to take her advice and live a little. She has no idea that it will involve experiencing what it feels like to be loved by a Remington. Ethan Remington grudgingly made an appearance at his 35th masked birthday party put together by his brother Isaiah. He had every intention of staying for one hour and leaving. That is until he laid eyes on her… See what happens when passion grabs hold of these two when they least expected it.

Major Key Publishing presents a collection of four short phenomenal stories written by six extraordinary authors that will blow your mind. Each story is filled with a combination of bad boys, sex, drugs, lust, and love-- but not necessarily in that order. All is fair in love and war, and many of these characters are determined to fight until the end just to get their own version of a happily ever after.

This audiobook, read by Audie award-winning narrators, includes unabridged recordings of all Mark Twains's greatest works: 12 novels; over 120 of his beloved short stories; Chapters From My Autobiography; 5 pieces of short non-fiction; and 6 pieces of his groundbreaking, wide-ranging travel writing.

The moment I encounter the beautiful tour guide, it’s clear I'll stop at nothing until she’s mine. She’s a spitfire. Doesn’t hold her tongue for anyone, especially not me. Women fall hard for me. Not Kara. She wants nothing to do with me. Well, at least that’s what she keeps telling herself. A few of the men in the small town of Talkeetna want to be with Kara. Won’t happen. I’ll show Kara I’m the man for her.

Women have been doing it for ages: Trying to create playdates for their husbands to hang out, get to know one another, and become fast friends. Rarely is that ever successful. But what happens when husbands try to force friendships on their wives? And it backfires? Carly can not stand Treasure and Treasure is nauseated by Carly, despite their husbands' best efforts to encourage them to become friends.They have nothing in common, they annoy one another; not to mention there is a huge ten-year age gap between them that creates boundaries. Both women are all set to call fowl and tell their ...

From the award-winning author of Chemistry comes a sharp and poignant short story that follows a young medical student working in clinical research and grappling with the realities of a future in her chosen field.

Michelle Carter is ready for a new stage in her life. She is a resident at a prestigious Miami hospital, and her path to becoming a doctor has required many sacrifices, including a failed relationship. Though to be honest, her ex was a jerk, and now Michelle isn't looking for a new guy anyway. She's concentrating on fulfilling her dream of being a doctor, and nothing else matters. Except somehow, bad luck follows her, and she manages to get into huge trouble at the new job. Lex Makarov is a painfully handsome local billionaire, a son of a Russian oligarch and his only heir. He isn't used to...

Short stories have always been a sort of instant access into an author’s brain, their soul and heart. They can lift our lives into locations, people and experiences with a sweep of landscape, narration, feelings and emotions that is difficult to achieve elsewhere. A new century dawns, one in which America would become pre-eminent as its industrial might and military power rose above all others. In literature too its authors tackled new forms and new ideas, they shied away from little, immersing themselves and their readers in the promise of a new Century.

Enjoy the Entire Collection Unequally Yoked Part 1 High school sweethearts, Monica and Robert fight to save their marriage when Robert decided to take his relationship with God seriously. His new commitment to his newfound faith forces Monica to feel judged and alone. Refusing to support Roberts life-changing efforts, Monica becomes rebellious and negligent as a wife and mother. She is desperate to keep her unhealthy marriage and questions the God who she feels is tearing them apart. Unequally Yoked Part 2 Robert is a new converted Christian and best friend of Calvin Snow, finally decides ...

“Imparting some piece of yourself—any part—is arduous and warrants some kind of commendation,” writes guest editor Wesley Morris in his introduction. Both personal and personable, the essayists in this volume use their own vulnerability to guide listeners on excursions that unfold on uncomfortable edges. From contemplating the nuances of memory to exploring the complexities of family, romance, gender identity, illness, and death, Morris’s selection of essays presents a roundup of the thinkers who masterfully grapple with the issues of our time.