Stories

Al Sarantonio is an expert editor in this field and he has edited collections of horror writing with top authors of the genre including Stephen King.

Neil Gaiman is the acclaimed and award-winning author of the novels American Gods, Stardust, Anansi Boys, Neverwhere, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book. Winner of the Hugo, Nebula and Bram Stoker Awards, his work has been adapted for film, television, and radio, including Stardust (2007) and the BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated animated feature film Coraline (2009). He has written scripts for 'Doctor Who' and collaborated with Terry Pratchett, and The Sandman is already established as one of the classic graphic novels. As George R. R. Martin says, 'There's no one quite like Neil Gaiman'.

"The joy of fiction is the joy of the imagination. . . ."

The best stories pull readers in and keep them turning the pages, eager to discover more—to find the answer to the question: "And then what happened?" The true hallmark of great literature is great imagination, and as Neil Gaiman and Al Sarrantonio prove with this outstanding collection, when it comes to great fiction, all genres are equal.
Stories is a groundbreaking anthology that reinvigorates, expands, and redefines the limits of imaginative fiction and affords some of the best writers in the world—from Peter Straub and Chuck Palahniuk to Roddy Doyle and Diana Wynne Jones, Stewart O'Nan and Joyce Carol Oates to Walter Mosley and Jodi Picoult—the opportunity to work together, defend their craft, and realign misconceptions. Gaiman, a literary magician whose acclaimed work defies easy categorization and transcends all boundaries, and "master anthologist" (Booklist) Sarrantonio personally invited, read, and selected all the stories in this collection, and their standard for this "new literature of the imagination" is high. "We wanted to read stories that used a lightning-flash of magic as a way of showing us something we have already seen a thousand times as if we have never seen it at all."
Joe Hill boldly aligns theme and form in his disturbing tale of a man's descent into evil in "Devil on the Staircase." In "Catch and Release," Lawrence Block tells of a seasoned fisherman with a talent for catching a bite of another sort. Carolyn Parkhurst adds a dark twist to sibling rivalry in "Unwell." Joanne Harris weaves a tale of ancient gods in modern New York in "Wildfire in Manhattan." Vengeance is the heart of Richard Adams's "The Knife." Jeffery Deaver introduces a dedicated psychologist whose mission in life is to save people in "The Therapist." A chilling punishment befitting an unspeakable crime is at the dark heart of Neil Gaiman's novelette "The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains."
As it transforms your view of the world, this brilliant and visionary volume—sure to become a classic—will ignite a new appreciation for the limitless realm of exceptional fiction.

“Stories is the perfect dark counterbalance to the smells of suntan lotion and barbecue smoke waiting for you this summer.” — Los Angeles Times
“These stories are part of what Gaiman and Sarrantonio call “a new literature of the imagination,” a rewardingly imprecise theme that guarantees that no matter how many times you dip into this tomish treasure chest, there will always be something surprising waiting for you inside.” — www.veryshortlist.com on STORIES
“If you can’t find something to like from [Stories] roster, you really need a vacation.” — St. Petersburg Times
“A sometimes creepy, dark and dreamlike two thumbs up.” — Time Out New York
“An ambitious anthology with a pleasing mix of modes and moods. Stories has a little something for everyone who appreciates the possibilities of short fiction.” — San Francisco Chronicle