In the city of Yong'an, a fiction writer and amateur cryptozoologist is commissioned to uncover the stories of its fabled beasts. These creatures, with their greenish stomachs or gills or strange birthmarks, live alongside humans in near-inconspicuousness, some with ancient forbears, others engineered as artificial breeds. Guided – and often misguided – by her elusive university professor and his scrappy sidekick-student Zhong Liang, our narrator finds herself on a mission to track down ea...

**LONGLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PRIZE'Wonderful writing.'** SARAH HALL'Dazzlingly good.' DANIELLE McLAUGHLIN'Precise, surreal and emotionally devastating' LUCY CALDWELL'How do you know this is all real and happening? How can you be sure you haven't already died in the earthquake and are just living in the afterlife?'In her highly anticipated English-language debut, Yan Ge explores isolation in nine iridescent, wit...

What is it to pursue a goal, to strive for an ideal, to follow a dream?These are the questions explored by The Balvenie in this unique collection compiled by award-winning novelist Alex Preston. The stories – from some of the brightest and most exciting voices writing today – tell of determination, endeavour and perseverance against the odds. They range across wildly different contexts and cultures, from the epic to the intimate, in fiction and non-fiction, illustrating and illumin...

LONGLISTED FOR THE JHALAK PRIZE'Wonderful writing.' SARAH HALL'Dazzlingly good.' DANIELLE McLAUGHLIN'Precise, surreal and emotionally devastating' LUCY CALDWELL'How do you know this is all real and happening? How can you be sure you haven't already died in the earthquake and are just living in the afterlife?'In her highly anticipated English-language debut, Yan Ge explores isolation in nine iride...