Anthologies

These stories reflect a people and their region – the southern Alabamians of the mobile Bay area. The works derive from various writers’ experiences of the fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties. Notably, these essays and stories were written not only by professional writers, but also by waitresses, roughnecks, teachers, repairmen, housewives, graduate students, professors, and sportsmen. This collection delineates the rich lifestyle of the South, especially the exaggerated importance of the family and rural outdoors in almost everyone’s background. The writers’ techniques include skillfully executed interior monologues, free indirect discourse, and straightforward narration. As the authors capture or recreate various realms of experience, there is an honest confrontation of life itself that reverberates in one’s consciousness after reading the collection.

In its brief existence, THE BEST AMERICAN MYSTERY STORIES has established itself as a peerless suspense anthology. Compiled by the best-selling mystery novelist Ed McBain, this year's edition boasts nineteen outstanding tales by such masters as John Updike, Lawrence Block, Jeffery Deaver, and Joyce Carol Oates as well as stories by rising stars such as Edgar Award winners Tom Franklin and Thomas H. Cook. The 1999 volume is a spectacular showcase for the high quality and broad diversity of the year’s finest suspense, crime, and mystery writing. "Keller's Last Refuge" by Lawrence Block, "Safe" by Gary A. Braunbeck, "Fatherhood" by Thomas H. Cook, "Wrong Time, Wrong Place" by Jeffery Deaver, "Netmail" by Brendan DuBois, "Redneck" by Loren D. Estleman, "And Maybe the Horse Will Learn to Sing" by Gregory Fallis, "Poachers" by Tom Franklin, "Hitting Rufus" by Victor Gischler, "Out There in the Darkness" by Ed Gorman, "Survival" by Joseph Hansen, "A Death on the Ho Chi Minh Trail" by David K. Harford, "An Innocent Bystander" by Gary Krist, "The Jailhouse Lawyer" by Phillip M. Margolin, "Secret, Silent" by Joyce Carol Oates, "In Flanders Fields" by Peter Robinson, "Dry Whiskey" by David B. Silva, "Sacrifice" by L. L. Thrasher, "Bech Noir" by John Updike

This collection of thirty Southern writers gathers some of the finest authors in the country—with stories, essays, and a poem. Demonstrating a range of styles, topics, and themes these stories display each writer’s craftsmanship and talent and together form a testament to the grand literary tradition of the South. About the Editor Sonny Brewer owns Over the Transom Bookstore in Fairhope, Alabama. He was editor of the city magazine in Mobile, Alabama, associate editor of an Alabama weekly newspaper, and a feature columnist; he edited an anthology of Fairhope writers and artists called Red Bluff Review, and is the author of a parable on aging cleverly disguised as a children’s book, Rembrandt the Rocker, and a book of dime-store philosophy called A Yin for Change. Contributors: Marlin Barton Rick Bragg Jill Conner Browne C. Terry Cline, Jr. Pat Conroy Tom Corcoran Beth Ann Fennelly Patricia Foster Tom Franklin William Gay Jim Gilbert W.E.B. Griffin Winston Groom Melinda Haynes Frank Turner Hollon Silas House Suzanne Hudson Douglas Kelley Tom Kelly Michael Knight Bev Marshall Jennifer Paddock Barbara Robinette Moss Judith Richards Richard Shackelford George Singleton Monroe Thompson Sidney Thompson Brad Watson Steve Yarbrough

Presents a collection of short stories from such authors as Tom Franklin, Donald Hays, Suzanne Hudson, and Michelle Richmond.

Book by Franklin, Tom (EDT)/ Fennelly, Beth Ann (EDT)/ Kingsbury, Suzanne (EDT)/ Gay, William (EDT)

Rick Bragg. Tim Gautreaux. William Gay. Fannie Flagg. Diane McWhorter. Charles Simic. Daniel Wallace. Steve Yarbrough. These are just a handful of the acclaimed writers whose work has appeared in the Stories from the Blue Moon Café series since its 2002 inception. Now, in Cast of Characters and Other Stories , the fifth installment of the series, Sonny Brewer has selected a new crop of fiction promising to satisfy even the most discerning of tastes. This dynamic collection of fourteen short stories is a must-read, offering the best in contemporary Southern writing and a glimpse into the future of Southern literature.

A dollar donation for every book sold will be given to the Rock River Foundation, a charity dedicated to helping the arts and literacy in the Delta. Contributing to the volume are Ace Atkins, Lynne Barrett, James Lee Burke, Suzann Ellingsworth, Beth Ann Fennelly, Bill Fitzhugh, Tom Franklin, John Grisham, Carolyn Haines, Charlaine Harris, Suzanne Hudson, Alice Jackson, Dean James, Toni L.P. Kelner, Michael Lister, Daniel Martine, Mary Saums, David Sheffield, Nathan Singer, and Les Standiford. From the introduction by Morgan Freeman: This collection of short fiction captures both the art of the tale and the power of the blues, and is a nod at the human condition that often inspires musicians to write and sing the blues. These stories tell about bad men and bad women who sometimes do good?or sometimes follow their true nature. Some of these characters know all about the dangers of making a bargain with the devil. And some know the power of redemption. These are characters who would not be out of place in a Honeyboy Edwards tune, and would be right at home alongside the desolate wail of Clarksdale, Mississippi, native Son House.

The authors in Don't Quit Your Day Job have tried their hands at some of the same jobs as their readers. They’ve worked on the railroad, busted rocks with a sledgehammer, fought fires, wiped tables, soldiered and carpentered and spied, delivered pizzas, lacquered boat paddles, counted heads for the church, sold underwear, delivered mail, and driven garbage trucks. And like William Faulkner before them, they have quit those day jobs. These authors tell good tales — this is the book for those who wonder what work preceded the literary efforts of their favorite authors. This collection allows writers to build a bridge between themselves and their readers, connecting with those who love to read and those who dream about writing while on the job during the day.

The Best American Series® First, Best, and Best-Selling The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume’s series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected—and most popular—of its kind. The Best American Mystery Stories 2011 includes Lawrence Block, Brendan DuBois, Loren D. Estleman, Beth Ann Fennelly and Tom Franklin, Ed Gorman, Richard Lange, S. J. Rozan, Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins, and others

MWA Grand Master Margaret Maron, Edgar Award winner Tom Franklin, and New York Times bestselling novelist Ron Rash headline a new anthology of 21 tales spanning from traditional detective stories to comic capers to darkest noir and more—something for all tastes. Murder Under the Oaks is published in conjunction with Bouchercon, the World Mystery Convention, held in 2015 in Raleigh, North Carolina—the City of Oaks. As with the convention itself, the anthology spreads a broad canopy across a wide range of crime writers from across the country and around the world—including both veteran writers and the brightest up-and-coming talents in the field. Several of the stories in Murder Under the Oaks draw on the region’s history and culture—including the birth of a secret society at the University of Virginia, a mystery from Edgar Allan Poe’s childhood days, and a series of less-than-welcome visits by everyone’s favorite hometown sheriff. All participants contributed their efforts to support our charity—the Wake County Public Libraries—and by extension readers and writers everywhere. All profits go to the library. Edited by Art Taylor Including Stories By J.L. Abramo J.D. Allen Lori Armstrong Rob Brunet P.A. De Voe Sean Doolittle Tom Franklin Toni Goodyear Kristin Kisska Robert Lopresti Robert Mangeot Margaret Maron Kathleen Mix Britni Patterson Karen Pullen Ron Rash Karen E. Salyer Sarah Shaber Zoë Sharp B.K. Stevens Graham Wynd

“What you’ll find in this volume are stories that demonstrate a mastery of plotting; stories that compel you to keep turning the pages because of plot and because of setting; stories that wield suspense like a sword; stories of people getting their comeuppance; stories that utilize superb point of view; stories that plumb one particular and unfortunate attribute of a character,” promises guest editor Elizabeth George in her introduction. The Best American Mystery Stories 2016 is a feast of both literary crime and hard-boiled detection, featuring a seemingly innocent murderer, a drug dealer in love, a drunken prank gone terribly wrong, and plenty of other surprising twists and turns. The Best American Mystery Stories 2016 includes STEVE ALMOND, MEGAN ABBOTT, MATT BELL, LYDIA FITZPATRICK, TOM FRANKLIN, STEPHEN KING, ELMORE LEONARD, KRISTINE KATHRYN RUSCH and others ELIZABETH GEORGE, guest editor, is the New York Times and internationally best-selling author of twenty British crime novels featuring Detective Inspector Thomas Lynley and his unconventional partner, Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers. Her crime novels have been translated into thirty languages and featured on television by the BBC. OTTO PENZLER, series editor, is a renowned mystery editor, publisher, columnist, and owner of New York’s The Mysterious Bookshop, the oldest and largest bookstores solely dedicated to mystery fiction. He has edited more than fifty crime-fiction anthologies.