Literary Works

Sybil Ellis was a 17-year-old orphan with very few options: If she didn't want to be a governess or a companion - and she didn't - she had to marry. So she married Dr. Philip Maynard, who was old enough to be her grandfather and treated her like a daughter. In fact, he treated her like Judith, the daughter he had lost, even to calling her by that name and having all of his new servants do likewise.

Akila uses her wits and her shape-changing abilities to save her brother, Briam, when their home is besieged. But that leaves them both on the run, with Akila trying to keep them safe while Briam finds more trouble to get into. When he is chosen as year-king in the city of Diadem, Akila struggles to save his life, finding help in the most unexpected places.

When his girlfriend takes a job in Thailand, Mischa Berlinski goes along for the ride, working for one of Thailand's English-language newspapers. One evening a fellow expatriate tips him off to a story. A charismatic American anthropologist has been found dead, a suicide, in the Thai prison where she was serving a 50-year sentence for murder. Motivated first by simple curiosity, then by deeper and more mysterious feelings, Mischa searches relentlessly to discover the details of her crime.

Anna Rossi walked away from Alec Flynn to keep her family and friends safe. But she can't protect her heart from him, no matter how hard she tries.... Time has done nothing to quell Anna's need for Alec. She knows that she did the right thing by walking away; the constant media attention that Alec's been getting for testifying against Maxim Stein and Force Enterprises is evidence enough of that.

In 1875, 18-year-old would-be poet Jack Brennan runs away from home to avoid being pushed into the priesthood. Life soon looks rosy for Jack when he lands the teaching job he's always dreamed of and meets the love of his life, Eliza Hewlett. But his world is shattered when Mary Ellen, his landlord's daughter, falsely accuses him of fathering the child she is expecting. Jack and Eliza decide to escape to America. As they are about to sail, Jack is arrested and dragged from the ship, leaving Eliza alone en route to New York with only a few shillings in her pocket.

Director of the cult 1980s film Chashme Baddoor and critically acclaimed movies such as Sparsh and Saaz; seasoned Marathi theatre personality; winner of three National Film Awards and two Filmfare Awards; recipient of the Padma Bhushan – Sai Paranjpye has many feathers in the patchwork quilt...

The Millions “Most Anticipated” Books of 2023 Never-before-seen unpublished works by award-winning American literary icon Ntozake Shange, featuring essays, plays, and poems from the archives of the seminal Black feminist writer who stands alongside giants like Toni Morrison and Alice Walker...

A landmark collection: the first anthology of short fiction by Afghan women that are "powerful, profound, and deeply moving" (Elif Shafak, author of The Island of Missing Trees, a Reese's Book Club pick) "My pen is the wing of a bird; it will tell you those thoughts we are not allowed to think...

Many children have multiple sets of grandparents with various names. The little girl in this delightful, poetic story has two grandfathers she loves!

Have you heard of “Take your child to work day?” Well, Mel, a bright, smart, and caring little five-year-old girl, went to work with her dad. She had no idea that she would fall in love with a horse named Sam. He was used to children. He was part of a special program to help them with emotional and behavioral problems. When Mel met Sam, they immediately discovered they were kindred spirits. They formed a special bond, a bond so special that they were literally able to talk to each other! Sam helped her learn to behave, trust, talk about her feelings and be responsible.

Not everyone has perfect teeth. That was certainly true for MaeLee. She wore a mask to school because there was a bad bug that was making people sick. Because of that, MaeLee didn't have to worry about showing her crooked teeth. One day, her mask came off on the playground, and a bully made fun of her, right in front of the whole class. She went home sad. Her mom and monkey buddies came to the rescue? What do you think happened? How will MaeLee and her monkey buddies smile like an Egyptian?

Milton Mask is an ordinary surgical mask that covers the faces of hospital workers day in and day out. One day, he hears some awfully bad news-people are catching a bug that makes them extremely sick. He decides to leave the storage room to check it out. What will Milton Mask do? How will he save the day?

Two best friends Stefan and Aidyn decide to draw each other during art. When Aidyn picks up a black crayon to color his friend Stefan’s face, he gets angry. To him, the color black is what it literally looks like. Did Stefan misunderstand what Aidyn was trying to say, by coloring his face black? Did Aidyn choose the right color? Ms. Stella has something special for the boys to help them with their dilemma. What is it?

Rayna, a bi-racial little girl loved dolls! She had many of them, but there was a particular one she wanted. It could do so many things. Accompanied by her Nanna, Rayna went to the store to find her special doll, but they couldn’t find the one that Rayna desired; the store only had two skin tones to choose from, and neither of them matched Rayna’s skin color. They went to many other stores afterward but were not successful. What did they do? Did they find the right color doll? Did Nanna have to buy two skin color dolls? You will find out shortly!

One child, multiple grandparents. This poetic story is about a little girl with two grandmothers, both named Nanna. She has written a letter for them to cherish throughout their days.

Rachel Cusk’s second novel is a ruthless, surprising story of work, gender, and control. Ralph Loman is working in an unsatisfying job at a free London newspaper when Francine Snaith, a temporary secretary for a corporate finance firm, unexpectedly crosses his path at a party. Her beauty...

A young man named Joseph Arillo sits in the parking lot and paints the pavement with flowers. And Andy Hollis steps in it. As the new art teacher at Santa Ana High School, he’s too curious about Joseph’s Flowers and unravels both of their lives in his pursuit for answers. He learns that it’s all part of a rite of passage, an absurd test started by Joseph Arillo’s father, the suspiciously world-renowned artist named only Tom. Which also connects to the drama teacher at Santa Ana High, Katie Bustos. Whose daughter, Desiree, may or may not be dating Joseph. Who is putting himself in danger from a local gang, the lot’s mysterious history, and the police.

Eli Tremaine has had one great regret in his life. When she walks into his shop one day looking for a grave stone for her daughter, their long buried but unresolved past asserts itself amidst her grief and failing marriage. Eli, a stone mason, is sure of only one thing, a fundamental truth he has learned working stone: You can spend days or weeks whittling a block down toward the essence of what you want from it and lose it all at the crucial moment by giving in to the temptation of the quick and easy stroke.

Summer vacation on the island was supposed to be a restorative time for Kate, who'd lost her close friend Elizabeth in a sudden accident. But when she inherits a trunk of Elizabeth's journals, they reveal a woman far different than the cheerful wife and mother Kate had known. The complicated portrait of Elizabeth--her upbringing, her marriage, and journey to motherhood--makes Kate question not just their friendship, but her most fundamental beliefs about loyalty and deception at a time when she is uncertain in her own marriage.

To whom does a story belong? Who is its author? What is an author? Does it matter? These questions and more populate the subversive and audacious Patchwork, a comical tragedy that highlights the connective tissue that joins stories to themselves as well as to the grand history of storytelling itself.