National Network for Equitable Library Service

Cloaked in gothic shadows, soaked in blood, darkness descends on the world of Sherlock Holmes. "I have heard, Mr. Holmes, that you can see deeply into the manifold wickedness of the human heart." Vengeance from beyond, forbidden passions and sadistic cruelty draw the great detective and his faithful companions into storms of madness and otherworldly violence which threaten to cloud the clarity of logic.

A collection of stories about what you've always feared. Lovers of shows such as Black Mirror, The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits, will enjoy Mark Le Dain's dark satirical collection of stories, Dreamtime. Dreamtime is a collection of twenty tales set in the near future where a person's life is monitored, influenced, and sometimes crafted by the technology we both love and hate. What would an autonomous car be willing to do when it's primary directive is to save your life over everything else? What if governments made you live in an environment that reflected your carbon footprint?

All emotions are universal. We live, we dream, we strive, we die... Stories that explore magic and science. Stories about love, revenge, and choices. Stories that challenge ideas about race, belonging, and politics. Each wrestling between ghostly pasts and uncertain future. Each trying to find a voice in history. Orphans and drug-smuggling in deep space. Mechanical arms in steampunk Vancouver. Djinns and espionage in futuristic Istanbul. Humanoid robot in steamy Kerala. Monsters in the jungles of Cebu. Historic time travel in Gyeongbok Palace. A rocket launch in post-apocalyptic Tokyo.

Adapted from family stories told across Newfoundland and passed down over generations, these 10 spine-tingling tales traverse centuries and introduce readers to nooks and the Island's nooks and crannies. This spooky collection features black-and-white illustrations as well as traditional context on each story and the art of storytelling in Newfoundland.

Patricia Robertson's new collection of short fiction, Hour of the Crab, is a work of insight and mastery, each story demonstrating an original vision, intriguing characters, and sophisticated skill. Readers will travel with Robertson's vivid characters, sharing their journeys, their challenges, their complicated choices. They will also discover other worlds - from an eleventh-century monastery in France to a near-future British Columbia where apocalyptic wildfires seem to be never-ending.

Twelve short stories about love, loss, failure, and acceptance by an award-winning author. The daughter of an alcoholic desperate to be loved. A father reliving a failed dream though his teenaged son. A struggling immigrant surprised to discover that money does not buy happiness. A creative boy struggling to please his dead father. An eco-warrior defying her entire town for what she believes is right. A father unable to reconcile the assault of his daughter with the world he raised her to believe in. A gay pastor in self-imposed exile from church and family.

With birth, death, contemplation, and close calls, Send More Tourists... the Last Ones Were Delicious explores how we respond to the weight of social expectations. From the hidden pressures of wall paint and tarot card predictions, to the burden of phone numbers and the dismembering of saints, Waddleton takes us on a surrealist road trip through the missteps of her vivid characters with honesty and compassion. These are stories of survival.

From We Need Diverse Books, the organization behind Flying Lessons & Other Stories, comes another middle-grade short story collection--this one focused on exploring acts of bravery--featuring some of the best own-voices children's authors, including R. J. Palacio (Wonder), Rita Williams-Garcia (One Crazy Summer), Linda Sue Park (A Long Walk to Water), and many more.

Evoking Beyoncé's Lemonade for a teen audience, these authors who are truly Octavia Butler's heirs have woven worlds to create a stunning narrative that puts Black women and gender-nonconforming individuals at its center. A Phoenix First Must Burn will take you on a journey from folktales retold to futuristic societies and everything in between. Filled with stories of love and betrayal, strength and resistance, this collection contains an array of complex and true-to-life characters through which you cannot help but see yourself reflected.

In the days when hunger could be cultivated and practiced as an art form, the individuals who practiced it were often put on show for all to see. One man who was so devout in his pursuit of hunger pushed against the boundaries set by the circus that housed him and strived to go longer than forty days without food. As interest in his art began to fade, he pushed the boundaries even further. In this short story about one man's plight to prove his worth, Franz Kafka illustrates the themes of self-hatred, dedication, and spiritual yearning.