WINNER OF THE NOBEL PRIZE IN LITERATURE The celebrated first memoir from arguably the most influential singer-songwriter in the country, Bob Dylan. “I’d come from a long ways off and had started a long ways down. But now destiny was about to manifest itself. I felt like it was looking right at me and nobody else.” So writes Bob Dylan in Chronicles: Volume One, his remarkable book exploring critical junctures in his life and career. Through Dylan’s eyes and open mind, we see Greenwich Village, circa 1961, when he first arrives in Manhattan. Dylan’s New York is a magical city of possibilities—smoky, nightlong parties; literary awakenings; transient loves and unbreakable friendships. Elegiac observations are punctuated by jabs of memories, penetrating and tough. With the book’s side trips to New Orleans, Woodstock, Minnesota, and points west, Chronicles: Volume One is an intimate and intensely personal recollection of extraordinary times. By turns revealing, poetical, passionate, and witty, Chronicles: Volume One is a mesmerizing window on Bob Dylan’s thoughts and influences. Dylan’s voice is distinctively American: generous of spirit, engaged, fanciful, and rhythmic. Utilizing his unparalleled gifts of storytelling and the exquisite expressiveness that are the hallmarks of his music, Bob Dylan turns Chronicles: Volume One into a poignant reflection on life, and the people and places that helped shape the man and the art.

In January 1929, in a grimy, working-class neighborhood on the south bank of the Thames, Eileen Gwynneth Yvonne Redfern was born. From her inauspicious beginning as the unwelcome third occupant of Old Ma Tanners one-room apartment on Coin Street to an eighteen-year-old on the brink of university life, author Gwen Southgate weaves a fascinating story of a vanished time and a way of life on Londons old south bank. In this memoir, telling tales of the 1930s and 1940s, Gwen provides a glimpse into a broader tapestry portraying the sweep of life in Britain as seen through the eyes of a young girl. Among its many colorful and lively characters are the big-hearted, chain-smoking Aunt-mum; yarn-spinning, practical joker Grampa Benson; and Gwens feisty, much-married mother. After a wartime evacuation from London opens wider horizons, Gwen shares how she managed to survive in a world where the mere stealing of a spoonful of rice pudding could lead to dire consequences and even the enjoyment of a Sunday walk was condemned as sinful. Coin Street Chronicles paints a vivid and captivating portrait of Britain and her people before, during, and after World War II.

This is a collection of short stories that I have written in the past couple of months. They vary from humorous to serious. Some may be believable and some on the far end of the spectrum.

For author Robert Batten, his Irish-Celtic, Western European heritage molded his past and helped shape the present. It continues to mold his future. Robert Batten comes from a line of interesting individuals who have stories in need of telling. The G Street Chronicles: Our Amazing Journey is a true story told through the eyes and words of a small boy, now grown. It is a story of three brothers and those by-gone days of earlier times in America. Batten takes you on a story-book journey of childhood and family secrets, pending poverty, faith in God, and visiting angels. Batten and his ancestors have been through it all. From depression to near dynasty, these heartwarming tales are a fantastic reminder that sometimes the truth is better than fiction. Join in on the struggles, life lessons, and successes in those early days of finding the American dream.

“Nikki Turner has truly brought the female hustlers to light. Fellas betta watch out, because the Girls in the Game are taking over!” –LaJill Hunt, author of Drama Queen and No More Drama A collection of explosive stories handpicked by the undisputed “queen of hip-hop fiction,” Girls in the Game presents an all-women crew of urban-lit divas. The game here is survival, and every ghetto-hardened gangsta in these tales does what she’s gotta do to make it on–or off–the mean streets. Call them what you will, but until you’ve faced their reality you’ll never know what you would do if you were in their pumps. Just remember: It’s a dirty game, and women are usually the best players. “The game ain’t to be told but sold. If that’s so, the women in Girls in the Game should be millionaires!” –KaShamba Williams, author of Mind Games “She’s baaaaaaaack! Nikki Turner has returned, bringing with her the new divas of urban fiction. These ladies raise the bar as they chronicle the streets like never before. Get ready for a literary treat.” –Tracy Brown, author of White Lines