Get a taste of Apex Magazine, one of the leading online zines of science fiction, fantasy, and horror fiction. This is our 2015 sampler issue featuring Ursula Vernon, Sarah Pinsker, Samuel Marzioli, and Mari Ness.

The 2015 Apex Magazine Sampler contains the following stories: "Pocosin" by Ursula Vernon "Remembery Day" by Sarah Pinsker "Multo" by Samuel Marzioli "Inhabiting Your Skin" by Mari Ness "She Gave Her Heart, He Took Her Marrow" by Sam Fleming "It is Healing, It is Never Whole" by Sunny Moraine

A comprehensive, timely, and entertaining account of the political, cultural, and economic dynamics of more than thirty discrete countries of the Western Hemisphere, this book is updated each year, providing students with the most recent information possible. The information is presented in an objective, balanced, non-ideological context, allowing the readers to formulate their own opinions. In addition to examining individual countries, the book views Latin America as a mosaic region as a whole and emphasizes its growing influence on the world stage. Besides providing accurate and timely information on the historical and political forces that have shaped each nation, it also examines the leading cultural figures and forces, from eighteenth-century writers to twentieth-century composers and singing stars to twenty-first-century filmmakers and actors. Finally, it describes the social and economic challenges that continue to afflict this exciting and emerging region.

"The Apex Book of SF series has proven to be an excellent way to sample the diversity of world SFF and to broaden our understanding of the genre's potentials." --Ken Liu, winner of the Hugo Award and author of The Grace of Kings These stories run the gamut from science fiction, to fantasy, to horror. Some are translations (from German, Chinese, French, Spanish, and Swedish), and some were written in English. The authors herein come from Asia and Europe, Africa and Latin America. Their stories are all wondrous and wonderful, and showcase the vitality and diversity that can be found in the field. They are a conversation, by voices that should be heart. And once again, editor Lavie Tidhar and Apex Publications are tremendously grateful for the opportunity to bring them to our readers. Table of Contents: Introduction -- Lavie Tidhar Courtship in the Country of Machine-Gods -- Benjanun Sriduangkaew (Thailand) A Hundred Ghosts Parade Tonight -- Xia Jia (China) Act of Faith -- Fadzilshah Johanabos (Malaysia) The Foreigner -- Uko Bendi Udo (Nigeria) The City of Silence -- Ma Boyong (China) Planetfall -- Athena Andreadis (Greece) Jungle Fever -- Zulaikha Nurain Mudzor (Malaysia) To Follow the Waves -- Amal El-Mohtar (Lebanon/Canada) Ahuizotl -- Nelly Geraldine García-Rosas (Mexico) The Rare Earth -- Biram Mboob (Gambia) Spider's Nest -- Myra Çakan (Germany) Waiting with Mortals -- Crystal Koo (Philippines) Three Little Children -- Ange (France) Brita's Holiday Village -- Karin Tidbeck (Sweden) Regressions -- Swapna Kishore (India) Dancing on the Red Planet -- Berit Ellingsen (Korea/Norway) Cover art by Sophia Tuska.

A nominee for the prestigious Locus Award and a Bookwatch Reviewers' Choice Reminiscent of Margaret Atwood, Mary Doria Russell and Ursula K. LeGuin, The Winter Boyexplores important political and social issues within a dynamic, character-driven otherworld, wrapped up in masterful storytelling. The Valley of the Alleshi is the center of all civilization, the core and foundation of centuries of peace. A cloistered society of widows, the Alleshi, has forged peace by mentoring young men who will one day become the leaders of the land. Each boy is paired with a single Allesha for a season of intimacy and learning, using time-honored methods that include storytelling, reason and sex. However, unknown to all but a hidden few, the peace is fracturing from pressures within and beyond, hacking at the very essence of their civilization. Amidst this gathering political maelstrom, Rishana, a young new idealistic Allesha, takes her First Boy, Ryl, for a winter season of training. But Ryl is a “problem boy,” who fights Rishana every step of the way. At the same time, Rishana uncovers a web of conspiracies that could not only destroy Ryl, but threaten to tear their entire society apart. And a winter that should have been a gentle, quiet season becomes one of conflict, anger and danger. "...a great book... in the 'must read' category for anyone who enjoys a cultural fantasy...” –Charline Ratcliff, Seattle Post-Intelligencer “...A literary triumph” – Dr. Babus Ahmed "...with the kind of mysterious tone and a sense of a complete world apart that is the hallmark of the best.... The Winter Boy... exists in... a mythic, spiritual realm. Even ordinary lines resonate with this sense of the unseen." – Peter Damien Bellis, author of "The Conjure Man"“ “An amazing, tour-de-force literary work completely unlike anything I have ever read.... People will be studying and talking about The Winter Boy for years to come."– Wendy Delmater Thies, Abyss and Apex Magazine A free Study Guide for The Winter Boy, for book clubs, teachers and other book discussion groups is available from the publisher Pixel Hall Press.

This volume contains an Open Access chapter. The present volume of Comparative Social Research offers a broad set of comparative studies of elites, stretching from the Arab Spring in Tunisia and Egypt to women's political leadership in Brazil and Germany, via attainment of elite positions among minorities in France and the US.

The #1 New York Times Bestseller “An engaging look at the often head-scratching, frequently infuriating mating behaviors that shape our love lives.” —Refinery 29 A hilarious, thoughtful, and in-depth exploration of the pleasures and perils of modern romance from Aziz Ansari, the star of Master of None and one of this generation’s sharpest comedic voices At some point, every one of us embarks on a journey to find love. We meet people, date, get into and out of relationships, all with the hope of finding someone with whom we share a deep connection. This seems standard now, but it’s wildly different from what people did even just decades ago. Single people today have more romantic options than at any point in human history. With technology, our abilities to connect with and sort through these options are staggering. So why are so many people frustrated? Some of our problems are unique to our time. “Why did this guy just text me an emoji of a pizza?” “Should I go out with this girl even though she listed Combos as one of her favorite snack foods? Combos?!” “My girlfriend just got a message from some dude named Nathan. Who’s Nathan? Did he just send her a photo of his penis? Should I check just to be sure?” But the transformation of our romantic lives can’t be explained by technology alone. In a short period of time, the whole culture of finding love has changed dramatically. A few decades ago, people would find a decent person who lived in their neighborhood. Their families would meet and, after deciding neither party seemed like a murderer, they would get married and soon have a kid, all by the time they were twenty-four. Today, people marry later than ever and spend years of their lives on a quest to find the perfect person, a soul mate. For years, Aziz Ansari has been aiming his comic insight at modern romance, but for Modern Romance, the book, he decided he needed to take things to another level. He teamed up with NYU sociologist Eric Klinenberg and designed a massive research project, including hundreds of interviews and focus groups conducted everywhere from Tokyo to Buenos Aires to Wichita. They analyzed behavioral data and surveys and created their own online research forum on Reddit, which drew thousands of messages. They enlisted the world’s leading social scientists, including Andrew Cherlin, Eli Finkel, Helen Fisher, Sheena Iyengar, Barry Schwartz, Sherry Turkle, and Robb Willer. The result is unlike any social science or humor book we’ve seen before. In Modern Romance, Ansari combines his irreverent humor with cutting-edge social science to give us an unforgettable tour of our new romantic world.