From the Pulitzer Finalist and universally beloved author of the New York Times best sellers Swamplandia! and Vampires in the Lemon Grove, a stunning new collection of short fiction that showcases Karen Russell’s extraordinary, irresistible gifts of language and imagination. Karen Russell’s comedic genius and mesmerizing talent for creating outlandish predicaments that uncannily mirror our inner in lives is on full display in these eight exuberant, arrestingly vivid, unforgettable stories. In“Bog Girl”, a revelatory story about first love, a young man falls in love with a two thousand year old girl that he’s extracted from a mass of peat in a Northern European bog. In “The Prospectors,” two opportunistic young women fleeing the depression strike out for new territory, and find themselves fighting for their lives. In the brilliant, hilarious title story, a new mother desperate to ensure her infant’s safety strikes a diabolical deal, agreeing to breastfeed the devil in exchange for his protection. The landscape in which these stories unfold is a feral, slippery, purgatorial space, bracketed by the void—yet within it Russell captures the exquisite beauty and tenderness of ordinary life. Orange World is a miracle of storytelling from a true modern master.

Telling Stories to Change the World is a powerful collection of essays about community-based and interest-based projects where storytelling is used as a strategy for speaking out for justice. Contributors from locations across the globe—including Uganda, Darfur, China, Afghanistan, South Africa, New Orleans, and Chicago—describe grassroots projects in which communities use narrative as a way of exploring what a more just society might look like and what civic engagement means. These compelling accounts of resistance, hope, and vision showcase the power of the storytelling form to generate critique and collective action. Together, these projects demonstrate the contemporary power of stories to stimulate engagement, active citizenship, the pride of identity, and the humility of human connectedness.

Relates the stories behind the photographs of 9/11, discusses the controversy over whether the images are exploitative or redemptive, and shows how photographs help us witness, grieve, and understand the unimaginable.

Following on the heels of Lisa Cron's breakout first book, Wired for Story, this writing guide reveals how to use cognitive storytelling strategies to build a scene-by-scene blueprint for a riveting story. It’s every novelist’s greatest fear: pouring their blood, sweat, and tears into writing hundreds of pages only to realize that their story has no sense of urgency, no internal logic, and so is a page one rewrite. The prevailing wisdom in the writing community is that there are just two ways around this problem: pantsing (winging it) and plotting (focusing on the external plot). Story coach Lisa Cron has spent her career discovering why these methods don’t work and coming up with a powerful alternative, based on the science behind what our brains are wired to crave in every story we read (and it’s not what you think). In Story Genius Cron takes you, step-by-step, through the creation of a novel from the first glimmer of an idea, to a complete multilayered blueprint—including fully realized scenes—that evolves into a first draft with the authority, richness, and command of a riveting sixth or seventh draft.

We need new stories. The ancient traditions and narratives under which we still operate have run their course and are no longer useful. In fact, they are damaging our lives, our planet, and the non-human species that are going extinct under our watch. These stories, which create suffering, harm the earth, and endorse continued inequality, must be destroyed and replaced. In Change Our Stories, Change Our World, Karen Shragg examines and dismantles six of these old, harmful stories, and offers new stories which will lead us to a more sustainable place from which we can launch a better future.

This fictional biography of Batman launches the exciting start of the Stories Change the World series from Brad Meltzer and Chris Eliopoulos, the team behind the New York Times bestselling Ordinary People Change the World books This picture book is the perfect way to introduce young readers to Bruce Wayne and his rise to becoming Batman. After losing his parents at a young age, Bruce Wayne dedicates his life to cleaning up the streets of Gotham. Even without traditional superpowers, his perseverance and commitment to justice carry him through battles against villains. The Stories Change the World series retells beloved, iconic fictional tales of heroism, providing a lively and fun first version of the myth and why it's inspirational, and serving as a fantastic stepping stone to get young readers interested in nonfiction biographies. Included in each book are: • A timeline of key moments in the story's history • Images of important film, TV, and cartoon versions of the story • Comic-book-style illustrations that are in the superhero's life story • Childhood moments that influenced the hero • Facts that make great conversation-starters • A character trait that makes the character heroic and that readers can aspire to You’ll want to collect each book in this dynamic series!