Welcome to the first year’s worth of stories from the new online magazine ZNB Presents published by the small press Zombies Need Brains. In these pages, you will find original science fiction and fantasy stories of awe and wonder, darkness and light, ranging through all of the subgenres, including urban fantasy, alternate history, space opera, fairy tales, and more. They come from the most talented authors in the field today—new voices as well as trusted and familiar names. Join us as we explore visions of the past, present, and future, as we encounter strange new creatures, both in our own backyard, in the depths of space, and our own imagination. Here you will: --Enter an abandoned colony on a hostile world --Come face-to-face with a horrific Stampede on an alien planet --Search for a murderous golem made of salt --Fight in the brutal pits of an apocalyptic America --Fight in the brutal pits of an apocalyptic America --Fight in the brutal pits of an apocalyptic America --Find betrayal and redemption in a world full of clowns --Hunt for those who are killing your fellow gunslingers --Rebel with the Little Match Girl in a search for something beyond her story And so much more! Twenty-four stories written by Brian Hugenbruch, Jason Palmatier, Diana A. Hart, Evan Marcroft, Cislyn Smith, Hazel King, Barbara Ashford, Ryan T. McFadden, Maria Z. Medina, Adria Bailton, Marie Brennan, Crystal Sarakas, Marc Fleury, Anaea Lay, Desmond Astaire, A. Katherine Black, P.A. Cornell, Alma Alexander, Antony Paschos, Jack Gallegos, Brian Crenshaw, Chloie Piveral, Evergreen Lee, and L.D. Colter, each with its own illustration by artists Kat D’Andrea, Ariel Guzman, or Gulzara Tokhtamysheva. Welcome to the multi-faceted worlds of ZNB Presents. Find us on Patreon at: http://www.patreon.com/zombiesneedbrains

Welcome to the second year’s-worth of stories from the online magazine ZNB Presents published by the small press Zombies Need Brains. In these pages, you will find original science fiction and fantasy stories of awe and wonder, darkness and light, ranging through all of the subgenres, including urban fantasy, alternate history, space opera, future fairy tales, and more. They come from the most talented authors in the field today—new voices as well as trusted and familiar names. Join us as we explore visions of the past, present, and future, as we encounter strange new creatures, both in our own backyard, in the depths of space, and our own imagination. Here you will: --Search for a cryptid in the mean streets of the city that tricks you into walking into its mouth --Scavenge in a world where AI has passed the singularity --Relive the scents of a recently lost world at a near-future carnival --Fleece the rich in a South African suborbirail --Hunt vampires in the crypts beneath the Kremlin with a saint by your side --Bargain with the sentient plants in a precarious alliance on a colonized world --Uncover the alternate assassin of Abraham Lincoln --Concoct potions as an apprentice with just a touch too much flare --Become an AI struggling to complete its mission after crashlanding on an alien world And so much more! Twenty-four stories written by Daniel Roman, Ty Lazar, L.P. Melling, Nathan W. Toronto, Caias Ward, Jonathan Robbins Leon, Marie Vibbert, Rob Cornell, Mike Jack Stoumbos, J.L. George, Brian Hugenbruch, Andrew Gudgel, Alicia Cay, Elektra Hammond, Derrick Boden, Alma Alexander, Melinda Brasher, Louis Evans, Niall Spain, Brian Crenshaw, S.C. Butler, Sam Robb, Liam Hogan, and Christine Lucas, each with its own illustration by artists Kat D’Andrea, Ariel Guzman, or Greg Uchrin. Welcome to the multifaceted worlds of ZNB Presents. Find us on Patreon at: http://www.patreon.com/zombiesneedbrains

The old gods are still with us. The world is constantly changing, evolving, growing. In order to stay relevant, deities must change with the times as well. In this anthology, fifteen science fiction and fantasy authors tackle how gods and goddesses have adapted to the surge in technology and the mercurial beliefs of humanity. So sit back and watch Hera try her hand at marriage counseling, while Macuilxochitl conquers the world of online gaming. Buy a ticket to Anubis’ magic act or roam the back tents at the local carnival and catch Doc Saturday’s medicine show. Take a sip of wine at Dionysus’ winery or grab some potato pancakes at Baba Yaga’s café. Whatever your taste, here you will find interesting twists on how deities have found their way in our modern world from Crystal Sarakas, Juliet E. McKenna, Tanya Huff, Edward Willett, Daniel Roman, Jennifer Dunne, Jean Marie Ward, Mike Marcus, A.L. Tompkins, Daryl Marcus, Alma Alexander, Kari Sperring, A.J. Cunder, Irene Radford, and N.R. Lambert. And remember to beware. You never know who...or what...you will meet next. And don’t miss THE MODERN FAE’S GUIDE TO SURVIVING HUMANITY!

This book tells the story of a professional problem-solving group that for more than 25 years has empowered its members by providing practical and emotional support. The objective of "Group," as Ellen Daniell and six other members call their bimonthly gatherings, is cooperation in a competitive world. And the objective of "Every Other Thursday" is to encourage those who feel isolated or stressed in a work or academic setting to consider the benefits of such a group--a group in which everyone is on your side.Each of the high-achieving individuals in Group (including members of the National Academy of Sciences, a senior scientist at a prestigious research institute, and university professors and administrators) has found the support of the others to be an essential part of her own success. Daniell provides detailed examples of how members help one another navigate career setbacks or other difficulties. She shows that group support, discussion, and application of common experience bring to light practical solutions and broader perspectives. In an inspirational conclusion, the author offers advice and practical guidelines for those who would like to establish a group of their own.

Boston, 1767: Revolution is brewing and intrigue swirls around firebrands. But for a thieftaker who makes his living by conjuring spells that help him solve crimes, politics is for others until he is asked to recover a necklace worn by the murdered daughter of a prominent family.

A military attack drone turned shepherd. A train on the London Underground evolving into something new and wondrous. A troupe of robotic actors struggling to find meaning when the audience has disappeared. Explore the myriad ideas of what happens when out-of-date and abandoned technologies are given a second life—one that takes them in a new direction, far outside their intended programming and beyond their original purpose. MY BATTERY IS LOW AND IT IS GETTING DARK features fourteen stories of quiet hope, heartbreak, creation, and death from fantasy and science fiction authors Dana Berube, Merc Fenn Wolfmoor, Jacey Bedford, Anthony Lowe, Chris Kocher, Brian Hugenbruch, William Leisner, José Pablo Iriarte, Alethea Kontis, Kari Sperring, Edward Willett, John G. Hartness, Alexander Gideon, and Stephen Leigh. You may never look at your smart speaker the same way again.

Nicolaus Copernicus gave the world perhaps the most important scientific insight of the modern age, the theory that the earth and the other planets revolve around the sun. He was also the first to proclaim that the earth rotates on its axis once every twenty-four hours. His theory was truly radical: during his lifetime nearly everyone believed that a perfectly still earth rested in the middle of the cosmos, where all the heavenly bodies revolved around it. One of the transcendent geniuses of the early Renaissance, Copernicus was also a flawed and conflicted person. A cleric who lived during the tumultuous years of the early Reformation, he may have been sympathetic to the teachings of the Lutherans. Although he had taken a vow of celibacy, he kept at least one mistress. Supremely confident intellectually, he hesitated to disseminate his work among other scholars. It fact, he kept his astronomical work a secret, revealing it to only a few intimates, and the manuscript containing his revolutionary theory, which he refined for at least twenty years, remained "hidden among my things." It is unlikely that Copernicus' masterwork would ever have been published if not for a young mathematics professor named Georg Joachim Rheticus. He had heard of Copernicus' ideas, and with his imagination on fire he journeyed hundreds of miles to a land where, as a Lutheran, he was forbidden to travel. Rheticus' meeting with Copernicus in a small cathedral town in northern Poland proved to be one of the most important encounters in history. Copernicus' Secretrecreates the life and world of the scientific genius whose work revolutionized astronomy and altered our understanding of our place in the world. It tells the surprising, little-known story behind the dawn of the scientific age.