HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF JUST RUNNING AWAY FROM IT ALL? In Driftwood: Stories from the Margarita Road, free-spirited Americans fleeing mundane and disappointing lives head south in search of a fresh start. When they end up in Playa Paraiso—a lush, unspoiled beach town on Mexico’s idyllic Caribbean coast—they discover the hedonistic and unpredictable world of the tropics. Poppa, the savvy, irreverent owner of the local beach bar, is always...

This collection of short stories focuses on moments in life when something turns, a choice is made, a promise kept or broken. With vivid and precise details, these quiet tales introduce you to characters whose inner lives are both troubled and eloquent. You smell the permeating odors in a rundown Chicago apartment building, touch the texture of a bear's thick fur, feel your feet scraping against the coils of a hairy rope ladder in the bathtub. These...

When one thinks of classic fairy tales and folklore, it's usually the enchanted forests of Europe that spring to mind. But in Charles M. Skinner's Myths and Legends of Our Own Land, the author proves that scrappy upstart America is an equally rich source of myths and legends. This engaging volume brings together dozens of old favorites and more obscure tales, as well.

Collects forty short stories published between 1915 and 2015, from writers that include Ernest Hemingway, John Updike, and Alice Munro that exemplify their era and stand the test of time.

A quirky collection of short sci-fi stories for fans of Kij Johnson and Kelly Link Assimilation is founded on surrender and being broken; this collection of short stories features people who have assimilated, but are actively trying to reclaim their lives. There is a concert pianist who defies death by uploading his soul into his piano. There is the person who draws his mother's ghost out of the bullet hole in the wall near where she was executed....

As always, Piercy writes with high intelligence, love for the world, ethical passion, and innate feminism." -Adrienne Rich, feminist and author, A Change of WorldIn this collection of short stories, bestselling author Marge Piercy brings us glimpses into the lives of everyday women moving through and making sense of their daily internal and external worlds. Keeping to the engaging, accessible language of Piercy's novels, the collection spans decades...

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"The characters in Steven J. McDermott's short story collection Winter of Different Directions struggle to keep life's body blows and uppercuts from becoming knockout punches, whether they bring them on themselves, or receive them from friends, lovers, co-workers, or family. You might root for them. You might root against them. But just like the relatives you hope won't show for Thanksgiving, these are characters you can't forget. With his stunning...

Very funny and very pointed, Adam Haslet's "Siebert," honored in the Best American Short Stories 2014, gets to the root of how technology-our personal obsession with it and its role in creating a society built on surveillance-disrupts our relationships with each other. Single in New York and connected to her smartphone, Sylvia has a problem living in reality. Or, rather, she lives in an alternate reality of constant scrolling headlines promising apocalypse...