A bold and haunting debut story collection that follows various characters as they navigate the day-to-day perils of Jim Crow racism from Diane Oliver, a missing figure in the canon of twentieth-century African American literature, with an introduction by Tayari Jones A remarkable talent far ahead of her time, Diane Oliver died in 1966 at the age of 22, leaving behind these crisply told and often chilling tales that explore race and racism in 1950s and 60s America. In this first and only collection by a masterful storyteller finally taking her rightful place in the canon, Oliver’s insightful stories reverberate into the present day. There’s the nightmarish “The Closet on the Top Floor” in which Winifred, the first Black student at her newly integrated college, starts to physically disappear; “Mint Juleps not Served Here” where a couple living deep in a forest with their son go to bloody lengths to protect him; “Spiders Cry without Tears,” in which a couple, Meg and Walt, are confronted by prejudices and strains of interracial and extramarital love; and the high tension titular story that follows a nervous older sister the night before her little brother is set to desegregate his school. These are incisive and intimate portraits of African American families in everyday moments of anxiety and crisis that look at how they use agency to navigate their predicaments. As much a social and historical document as it is a taut, engrossing collection, Neighbors is an exceptional literary feat from a crucial once-lost figure of letters.

'This breathtaking collection is a marvel ... One of my literary foremothers.' Tayari Jones 'Astute, brilliantly observed, these timeless stories are remarkable. It's all the more poignant to know the writer died at such a heartbreakingly young age:' Jackie Kay 'Oliver exquisitely projects the biggest narrative of mid-century America - Jim Crow - onto the smallest realities of everyday Black life. These stories are all gems.' Mendez 'Prose of such unexpected grace, with such sharp Gothic swerves, that you hold your breath, completely at Oliver's mercy. What a talent.' Lucy Caldwell And she was becoming frightened too, looking at all those white faces pressed against the windowpanes. One Black family comes under attack as their little boy prepares to start at an all-white school. Friends plan a protest sit-in at the Rose Crest Tea Room, only to be arrested. The first Black student - always the 'Experiment' - retreats into her closet at a newly integrated college. And when a social worker enters a secluded woodland cabin, she meets the fate of all visitors . . . Tragically killed aged twenty-two in 1966, Diane Oliver's masterly stories resonate today with renewed urgency. Steeped in the nightmarish horror of life for the Black community in the Jim Crow-era American South, these chilling tales explore toxic racism and the human toll of activism for 'the cause' with heartbreaking empathy and wisdom. Depicting African American families whole and broken, daily injustices and life-threatening political struggle, Neighbors restores a lost star to the twentieth-century literary canon.

What is it like to be a fly on the wall in our neighbours' houses? With these eight gently humorous stories, Philippa Pearce lifts the lid from the neighbours' houses and shows us the lives within. From the author of Tom's Midnight Garden and A Dog So Small.

We think of neighbors as those that live nearby. But we're all linked to other people, places, and time periods. Sometimes those connections reflect love and joy, sometimes danger and darkness. This collection includes stories about coal mining, vaudeville, the Nazi's exhibition of "degenerate art," the Coney Island ride A Trip to the Moon, tightrope walking, wasps, poisonous plants, space debris falling from the sky, old people falling in love, young people falling in love, Grand Central Station, Munich in 1937, Central Park in 1873, synesthesia, Picasso's Bust of Francoise, the Wright Brothers, affordable housing, and the meaning of life. Neighbors explores relationships we have with other people, with ideas, with history, and with ourselves.

“Extraordinarily fine. Kingsolver has a Chekhovian tenderness toward her characters. . . . The title story is pure poetry.” —Russell Banks, New York Times Book Review With the same wit and sensitivity that have come to characterize her highly praised and beloved novels, acclaimed author Barbara Kingsolver gives us a rich and emotionally resonant collection of twelve stories. Spreading her memorable characters over landscapes ranging from Northern California to the hills of eastern Kentucky and the Caribbean island of St. Lucia, Kingsolver tells stories of hope, momentary joy, and powerful endurance. In every setting, Kingsolver's distinctive voice— at times comic, but often heartrending—rings true as she explores the twin themes of family ties and the life choices one must ultimately make alone. Homeland and Other Stories creates a world of love and possibility that readers will want to take as their own.

Finalist for the 2021 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection Finalist for the Los Angeles Times Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction “A House Is a Body will not simply be talked about as one of the greatest short story collections of the 2020s; it will change the way all stories—short and long—are told, written, and consumed. There is nothing, no emotion, no tiny morsel of memory, no touch, that this book does not take seriously. Yet, A House Is a Body might be the most fun I’ve ever had in a short story collection.” —Kiese Laymon, author of Heavy Dreams collide with reality, modernity with antiquity, and myth with identity in the twelve arresting stories of A House Is a Body. In “Earthly Pleasures,” a young painter living alone in San Francisco begins a secret romance with one of India’s biggest celebrities, and desire and ego are laid bare. In “A Simple Composition,” a husband’s professional crisis leads to his wife’s discovery of a dark, ecstatic joy. And in the title story, an exhausted mother watches, hypnotized by fear, as a California wildfire approaches her home. Immersive and assured, provocative and probing, these are stories written with the edge and precision of a knife blade. Set in the United States and India, they reveal small but intense moments of beauty, pain, and power that contain the world. A House Is a Body introduces a bold and original voice in fiction, from a writer at the start of a stellar career. Don't miss Shruti Swamy's debut novel, The Archer (available September 7, 2021), which has already been longlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel Prize.

Neighbors is a contemplative picture book about the lives of our neighbors—who are all around us and ever-present, yet somehow surprisingly elusive. They're everywhere: next door, above, and even below. More often than not, they are a mystery, a presence suggested by low hums, footfalls, or perhaps a slammed door. This book explores the ways that we think about those we exist among, but who remain strangers until we make the brave—and affirming—decision to connect. • From debut author-illustrator Kasya Denisevich • An exploration of neighbors coexisting together in one very special apartment building • Dynamic black-and-white illustrations blur the line between imagination, dreams, and reality. As Neighbors illustrates so beautifully, that moment of connection is a portal to a world of possibility. This unique book uses both visual storytelling and compelling text to consider how we map the landscape of the vast world around us, starting with the person just on the other side of the apartment wall. • Explores what it means to exist in a world of strangers, friends, and neighbors who are both alike and completely different from each other • Perfect for children ages 3 to 5 years old • Makes a great pick for parents and grandparents, as well as librarians, teachers, and educators • You'll love this book if you love books like Be Kind by Pat Zietlow Miller, The Berenstain Bears Learn About Strangers by Stan and Jan Berenstain, and The Big Umbrella by Amy June Bates.