The nation's favourite annual guide to the short story, now in its twelfth year.Best British Short Stories invites you to judge a book by its cover – or, more accurately, by its title. This critically acclaimed series aims to reprint the best short stories published in the previous calendar year by British writers, whether based in the UK or elsewhere. The editor's brief is wide ranging, covering anthologies, collections, magazines, newspapers and web site...

While growing up, it’s important for children to contemplate what is possible, and then create what is to come. Yet because of growing dependency on technology, it is often difficult to tell what is real and distinguish between right and wrong. Thankfully, there are ways to build an unbreakable family bond, communicate in positive ways, and strengthen morals while finding our way in life. In a thought- provoking devotional, Edward Hogan Saunders IV shares 100 rhyming short stories intended...

AboutA couple recovering from a car accident struggle to learn how to live together in the country of their birth...An outsider looking for an apartment in an authentic part of Jerusalem finds the bareness of a new flat suddenly overwhelming...A Parks and Gardens employee adapts to the unwanted company of a teenage temp worker, while grappling with her own private failings...The stories shortlisted for the 2025 BBC...

If you could see the future, would you have the guts to change it? A new psychological thriller from the author of Daylight Saving.Fifteen-year-old Frances is sent to her aunt’s house for the summer to escape difficulties at home. Soon she meets Peter, a man unlike anyone she has ever known. Peter is a messenger—but his messages never bring good news. Peter believes that Frances is a messenger, too. In a compelling page-turner as complex as it is chilling,...

Can you save someone from something that’s already happened?Daniel’s expectations for his forced vacation with his father at the Leisure World Holiday Complex are low. He hates sports, and his father is mostly lost in drink and depression. But then he sees a strange girl swimming in the fake lake, and everything changes. Lexi has a smart mouth and a killer swim stroke, but dark secrets swirl around her. She’s got bruises and cuts that seem to be getting worse inste...

Melonhead is my preferred name. Preferred by me, not my mom. She likes people to call me by my real name, Adam Melon. Luckily, it’s too late for that because when my friend, Lucy Rose, invented Melonhead, it caughton fast.Usually I am the one doing the inventing. All my life, which is 10 years, great ideas have been popping in and out of my melon head. Sometimes they work. This year they’d better, because our class is entering an inventing fair. My friend Sam and I are dream...

The debut of a phenomenal new middle-grade talent.It's never too late for the adventure of a lifetime.In all the ways that matter, Mark is a normal kid. He's got a dog named Beau and a best friend, Jessie. He likes to take photos and write haiku poems in his notebook. He dreams of climbing a mountain one day.But in one important way, Mark is not like other kids at all. Mark is sick. The kind of sick that means hospitals. And treatments. The kind of sick some people never get better...

Stormcloud has all the bad habits of an ex-rodeo pony rolled into one. He nips and bites, bucks and rears, kicks out and rides through the bit. Worse still, he tunes in to a nervous rider's worst fears.Keira's uncle, Kevin, has rescued Stormy from the sale barn, paying rock bottom price for a worn out, world weary horse that no one wants. He brings him to Black Pearl Ranch, saying, 'If you can make something of him and sell him on to a decent owner, you can keep the profit.'...

From the award-winning author of the Spy Dog series comes a wildly funny tale in HarperCollins’ Awesome Animals series – the funniest fiction, starring the wildest of wildlife from leading authors.The Hole-in-the-Tree gang are not happy when they find another group of raccoons raiding their favourite food stores. The town isn’t big enough for the both of them but can Quickpaw Cassidy and friends come up with a plan to drive the raiders out? A brilliant adventure packed with laugh-o...

From the award-winning author of the Spy Dog series comes a wildly funny tale in HarperCollins’ Awesome Animals series – the funniest fiction, starring the wildest of wildlife from leading authors.The Hole-in-the-Tree gang, led by Quickpaw Cassidy and The Sunshine Cub, is the most daring group of raccoons in town. But when these cheeky chancers carry out the biggest, boldest heist of their lives, they push the neighbourhood too far.The heat is on and the gang goes on the ru...

Mum and Dad are going away to a farming conference, so Auntie has come down from the city to look after Robyn and Paul. No one is looking forward to it. Auntie doesn't like dirty farms, and Robyn and Paul think Auntie is boring. But this time round, Auntie's visit is very exciting - for all sorts of reasons! A fun story for young, confident readers.

Beware the twists in these tales .A fish sandwich.A tingle on the arm.A boring birthday present.LOOK AGAIN!The fish has a secret.The tingle is transforming.The birthday present is a time machine.These stories will make your head spin and keep you thinking long after you finish reading.