Retreat is a lexicon, or inventory of language, to describe the action of withdrawal from civic life. By creating a spatial approach to the language of “escape”, the publication attempts to widen the definitions of familiar terms such as safety, surveillance, and self-reliance. The lexicon draws attention to current global events, such as the thread of epidemic disease, climate catastrophe, the militarization of public space and the impact of mass surveillance on daily life, specifically the emotional and social impact of the presence of unknown and potentially life threatening elements. The editorial approach for the lexicon is to investigate the notion and practices of retreat, its strategies and imaginaries, through others’ words as they inform contemporary spatial paradigms. A wide variety of source types (from blogs to Wikipedia to academic texts) and media (photographs, films,books, objects) and forms of literary genres are mobilized to create a portrait of retreat that describes not only militarized zones but dreams and anxieties of individuals across the globe, helping us better understand how humans might negotiate civil and human rights and freedoms within civic society at large.

Fairy Tree, tall and grand, open a path to Fairyland. The year is 1826, and the four Belle siblings arrive at their new home in Tambling Village. Acton, the youngest member of the Belle family, immediately befriends a bright, red robin, leading him to discover a hidden key. That night, when the clock strikes thirteen, Acton is called to Fairyland. For in finding the key, Acton has become the Chosen One and must steal the Glimmerglass Crown, for the cruel Fairy Queen. When Cora, Elle and Bram realise their brother has been taken, they set out on a quest to rescue him. But Fairyland is full of dangers...and to overcome the Queen, and her deadly curse, they will need courage, cunning and a great deal of hope. An enthralling tale of magic, riddles, and curses, from the bestselling author of The Cogheart Adventures.

Hu Fang's Dear Navigator is a collection of ten short stories that reflect on contemporary society, politics, and the human condition. The author takes us on a journey across time and space to hidden realities where we meet culture workers, astronauts, airplanes, Zen masters, and hunger artists. The title story "Dear Navigator" is a collection of letters written during a 520-day simulated space mission to Mars--to test if humans can endure travel from Earth to Mars and back again. "Whale Song" tells the story of XP, a lonely male escort, as he goes on a surreal journey to self-realization, and "The Shame of Participation" tells a tale of two thieving artists who legally steal objects from those living in a city in desperation. When the reality turns into fiction, and the science fiction becomes reality, Hu draws on the experience of everyday life, the past, and the unknown future to create stories of otherworldly melancholy and humor. Hu Fang is a fiction writer and cofounder of Vitamin Creative Space, Guangzhou, and The Pavilion, Beijing. He lives and works in Guangzhou and Beijing. Previously published titles include Troubled Laughter (2012), Garden of Mirrored Flowers (2010), and Pavilion to the Heart's Insight (2008). His stories have been published in e-flux journal, Manifesta Journal, and various publications including Ming Wong: Life of Imitation, Drone Fiction, Odyssey: Architecture and Literature, and Gwangju Folly. Copublished with The Pavilion

The latest saga in the New York Times bestselling world of Osten Ard concludes in the fourth and final Last King of Osten Ard novel. The Hayholt is besieged by the Norns. Once the home of their immortal brethren, the Sithi, now capital of the kingdom of men, the fabled castle is under attack. And as the world is distracted by this strike against humankind, the Norns’ deathless witch-queen Utuk’ku turns towards the mysterious fateful valley called Tanakirú—the Vale of Mists. Meanwhile, Queen Miriamele hurries to save the Hayholt and capture the treacherous noble Pasevalles, but arrives to discover the traitor has escaped. And inside Tanakirú, Vale of Mists, the bond between Prince Morgan and Nezeru, a renegade Norn, has become something deeper and stranger than either of them could have anticipated. They journey ever deeper to the heart of the valley’s mystery, encountering wonder and horror, and come face to face at last with the ancient secret that has kindled the Norn Queen’s war—a secret that will destroy immortals and humans alike.