Brought to life by a host of talented creators, this graphic novel anthology dissects what it means to be a woman in today’s hyper-masculine world. VOICES THAT COUNT is a collection of short comics that celebrates women. Printed in English for the first time, this Spanish collection highlights and uplifts women’s voices, collecting their stories of life, love, and empowerment. Interacting with everything from the realities of gender imbalance in the workplace—through a gender-flipped lens—to toxic beauty standards taking a toll on the body image of young girls, VOICES THAT COUNT gives women a space to recount their struggles and triumphs. In the words of artist Ada Diez, “This comic shows the importance of an unconditionally supportive family environment, the necessity of the right educational groundwork as a feminist principle, and the key to fight for your dreams—understanding the importance of an individual’s independence, forgetting what’s been established by gender rules.” This inspiring and thought-provoking volume collects nine stories from some of Spain’s best and brightest female authors and illustrators. “Julio”, por Julia Otero (Julia en la Onda) y Ada Diez (Hits With Tits) “24 horas”, por Lola García (La Vanguardia) y Agustina Guerrero (La Volátil) “El bicho”, por Diana López Varela (No es país para coños) y Akira Pantsu (Planeta Manga) “Auctoritas”, por Estefanía Molina (La Sexta Noche, Al rojo vivo) y Ana Oncina (Los f*cking 30) “Soledad”, por Eva Amaral (Pájaros en la cabeza) y María Hesse (Frida Kahlo, Bowie, El placer) “Más mujer”, por Leticia Dolera (Morder la manzana) y Raquel Riba Rossy (Lola Vendetta) “Pasos de tortuga”, de Sandra Sabatés (El intermedio) y Sandra Cardona (Bouillon) “Por una falda de plátanos”, de Almudena Grandes (Los besos en el pan) y Sara Herranz (La persona incorrecta) “Mzungu”, de Patricia Campos (Tierra, mar y aire) y Sara Soler (En la oscuridad)

An eerie psychological thriller, rippling with the Gothic undertones of Rebecca, from a startling new Australian talent. The Farm enthrals from the very first page.The radio sputters out and the cows disappear . . . It is suddenly deeply quiet, with the bird calls and crunch of rolling tyres the only sounds. I twist slowly to look out the back window; the gate has long since disappeared.When 37-year-old Leila suffers a health tragedy, she doesn't recover as quickly as she expected. Her partner, James, suggests a year away from the city - they'll stay on his family farm, where the wide, open spaces and clean country air will help her come to terms with her grief.But the property is remote and the house oppressive. Leila is disturbed by strange noises, fleeting visions and intrusive dreams. James worries that her medication is causing hallucinations.As Leila's isolation grows amid the haunted landscape, so does her suspicion that she isn't the first woman James has relocated to the farm. Is what she's experiencing real? Or is it all in her head?Compulsive and claustrophobic, The Farm is a Gothic ghost story ripe for book club discussion. It asks confronting questions about women's bodies, what is expected of them, and who is really in control. And in Jessica Mansour-Nahra, Australia has a stunning and remarkable new talent.'Eerie and claustrophobic, no one wants to get stuck on The Farm! The setting was so deliciously vivid, the characters nuanced and complex, and the storyline nothing short of bone-chilling. I was absolutely hooked' ALI LOWE'A captivating gothic thriller, fertile in its domestic horrors and the hidden traumas of motherhood. Thanks to this book, I am never visiting a farm again' SIANG LU'A gripping and enthralling psychological thriller that dares to ask some urgent, important, and, at times, unsettling questions. I devoured this story in just one day, but I'll be thinking about it for a long time to come. Ripe for book club discussion, this is one of the best debuts I've read in years - Jessica Mansour-Nahra is a writer to watch' KELLY RIMMER'It's hard to believe this is a debut novel - it's a masterclass in creating narrative tension. I will be pressing it into the hands of everyone I know' TESS WOODS'Atmospheric and quietly unnerving, The Farm is a haunting debut . . . With clear, evocative prose and a strong command of tone, this is a compelling read that will appeal to fans of slow-burn suspense and character-driven contemporary fiction, such as works by Jane Harper' BOOKS+PUBLISHING

A compelling courtroom drama, Dice is an incredibly timely exploration of how sexual violence is viewed in our society. Four teenage boys invent a sex game based on rolling dice and doing what the numbers say. They are charged with multiple sexual offences against three teenage girls. Twelve random jurors are brought together in a trial to work out what actually happened. Only they can say whether crimes have been committed and who should be punished. How does the jury find? Dice is a stunning courtroom drama told from the perspective of a diverse group of ordinary people - the jury. How will twelve women and men, aged from eighteen to seventy-two with hugely disparate backgrounds, beliefs and experience, decide whether consent was given or crimes were committed? How can they possibly arrive at a unanimous verdict? How will justice be properly served? In this dazzlingly accomplished and gripping debut novel, chapters are told through the point of view of each juror as the trial unfolds. The reader too becomes a jury member as the evidence is presented and information is withheld, fragmented and re-told by different witnesses. Each person must decide where the truth lies. Will the verdict deliver justice, or just reflect the prejudices and differences in the jury?

The Hobbit meets Moneyball in this definitive book on Dungeons & Dragons—from its origins and rise to cultural prominence to the continued effects on popular culture today. Even if you’ve never played Dungeons & Dragons, you probably know someone who has: The game has had a profound influence on our culture. Released in 1974—decades before the Internet and social media—Dungeons & Dragons is one of the original ultimate nerd subcultures, and is still revered by more than thirty million fans. Now, the authoritative history and magic of the game is revealed by an award-winning journalist and life-long dungeon master. From its origins on the battlefields of ancient Europe, through the hysteria that linked it to satanic rituals and teen suicides, and to its apotheosis as father of the modern video game industry, Of Dice and Men recounts the development of a game played by some of the most fascinating people in the world. Chronicling the surprising history of D&D’s origins (one largely unknown even to hardcore players) while examining the game’s profound impact, Ewalt weaves laser-sharp subculture analysis with his own present-day gaming experiences. An enticing blend of history, journalism, narrative, and memoir, Of Dice and Men sheds light on America’s most popular (and widely misunderstood) form of collaborative entertainment.

The cult classic that can still change your life...Let the dice decide! This is the philosophy that changes the life of bored psychiatrist Luke Rhinehart - and in some ways changes the world as well. Because once you hand over your life to the dice, anything can happen. Entertaining, humorous, scary, shocking, subversive, The Dice Man is one of the cult bestsellers of our time.

This is not life, this is law… Tessa Ensler loves her job. She’s worked her up to being a top criminal defense barrister against all the odds, and fights to defend those pleading not guilty. Tessa believes in the law, believes in the system. Her quick-witted cross-examinations and intelligence in the courtroom see her clocking up win after win - including securing freedom for men accuse of rape and sexual assault. Innocence until proven guilty is, after all, the bedrock of a civilized society. But when Tessa is raped by a coworker, she struggles to find the strength to bring him to justice in the face of the barriers and opposition within that same system. Determined to have her day in court, Tessa is forced to confront the stark reality that the law was not written for victims, and that she is the one on trial. She fights on, even as her evidence is manipulated to make her look like a liar, even while she is retraumatized in the stand. Based on the Olivier and Tony Award-winning play, Suzie Miller’s Prima Facie is an unforgettable story of what happens when a victim is asked to navigate a system that is not set up to accommodate the lived experience of sexual assault survivors.

Legendary storyteller Stephen King goes deep into the well of his imagination in this spellbinding novel about a seventeen-year-old boy who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for their world or ours. Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a hit-and-run accident when he was ten, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. Then, when Charlie is seventeen, he meets Howard Bowditch, a recluse with a big dog in a big house at the top of a big hill. In the backyard is a locked shed from which strange sounds emerge, as if some creature is trying to escape. When Mr. Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie the house, a massive amount of gold, a cassette tape telling a story that is impossible to believe, and a responsibility far too massive for a boy to shoulder. Because within the shed is a portal to another world—one whose denizens are in peril and whose monstrous leaders may destroy their own world, and ours. In this parallel universe, where two moons race across the sky, and the grand towers of a sprawling palace pierce the clouds, there are exiled princesses and princes who suffer horrific punishments; there are dungeons; there are games in which men and women must fight each other to the death for the amusement of the “Fair One.” And there is a magic sundial that can turn back time. A story as old as myth, and as startling and iconic as the rest of King’s work, Fairy Tale is about an ordinary guy forced into the hero’s role by circumstance, and it is both spectacularly suspenseful and satisfying.

Domestic noir with a chick-lit a story of laughter, sisterhood, and women daring to do things differently. Perfect for fans of Jane Caro's The Mother and Liane Moriarty's Big Little Lies.Welcome to Shellwater Bay ... where the sea is calm, the scenery perfect ... and three women are quietly planning a revolution.Joany appears to have the perfect life, but behind closed doors, she's hiding a dangerous secret. Heather thought her marriage was rock-solid until her husband demands a divorce. Steph is raising kids with a man who thinks 'helping out' means calling his mother. Bonded at their gym by sweat and fury, the three women start asking the hard About the relationships they're in, the rules they've obeyed, and the silent bargains they've made to keep the peace. But peace has its price. And when the simmering rage starts to bubble over, these new friends decide a crime or two is in order ...With sharp wit, heartfelt empathy and unflinching honesty, The Angry Wives Club is a story of women doing things differently - breaking cycles, reclaiming power, and discovering what happens when female friendship becomes the most radical act of all.

Malie grew up hearing tales of selkies; shape-shifting women who shed their sealskins to seduce fisherman on the Orkney shores. That's the story of how her parents met and it must be true because one day her mother slipped into the sea and was never seen again. Raised by her father, Malie has always done what she's been told, and now she's married and expecting her first baby. Life on land is predictable and safe, and her future is all mapped out for her. But just like the seals in the sea, there's a wildness in Malie's soul - one that cannot be tamed and deeply yearns for the sea. Dealing with themes of motherhood, grief, violence and female oppression, The Woman In the Seal Skin is a wonderfully haunting and atmospheric tale of a woman living in a cloistered community on a wild Scottish island, who one day meets her wildness within.

A devastating love story. A bewitching twist on history. A blood-drenched hunt for purpose, power, and redemption. In 1785, Professor Sebastian Grave receives the news he fears most: the terrible Beast of Gévaudan has returned, and the French countryside runs red in its wake. Sebastian knows the Beast. A monster-slayer with centuries of experience, he joined the hunt for the creature twenty years ago and watched it slaughter its way through a long and bloody winter. Even with the help of his indwelling demon, Sarmodel – who takes payment in living hearts – it nearly cost him his life to bring the monster down. Now, two decades later, Sebastian has been recalled to the hunt by Antoine Avenel d’Ocerne, an estranged lover who shares a dark history with the Beast and a terrible secret with Sebastian. Drawn by both the chance to finish the Beast for good and the promise of a reconciliation with Antoine, Sebastian cannot refuse. But Gévaudan is not as he remembers it, and Sebastian’s unfinished business is everywhere he looks. Years of misery have driven the people to desperation, and France teeters on the edge of revolution. Sebastian’s arcane activities – not to mention his demonic counterpart – have also attracted the inquisitorial eye of the French clergy. And the Beast is poised to close his jaws around them all and plunge the continent into war. Debut author Cameron Sullivan tears the heart out of history with this darkly entertaining retelling of the hunt for the Beast of Gévaudan. Lifting the veil on the hidden world behind our own, it reimagines the story of Europe, from Imperial Rome to Saint Jehanne d’Arc, the madness of Gilles de Rais and the first flickers of the French Revolution.

'On the afternoon that Esther Wilding drove homeward along the coast, a year after her sister had walked into the sea and disappeared, the light was painfully golden.' The last time Esther Wilding's beloved older sister Aura was seen, she was walking along the shore towards the sea. In the wake of Aura's disappearance, Esther's family struggles to live with their loss. To seek the truth about her sister's death, Esther reluctantly travels from lutruwita, Tasmania to Copenhagen, and then to the Faroe Islands, following the trail of the stories Aura left behind: seven fairy tales about selkies, swans and women, alongside cryptic verses Aura wrote and had secretly tattooed on her body. The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding is a sweeping, deeply beautiful and profoundly moving novel about the far-reaches of sisterly love, the power of wearing your heart on your skin, and the ways life can transform when we find the courage to feel the fullness of both grief and joy.

Debut author Shen Tao introduces readers to the lush, deadly world of The Poet Empress, a sweeping, epic and intimate fantasy perfect for fans of The Serpent & the Wings of Night, The Song of Achilles and She Who Became the Sun.In the waning years of the Azalea Dynasty, the emperor is dying, the land consumed by famine, and poetry magic lost to all except the powerful.Wei Yin is desperate. After the fifth death of a sibling, with her family and village on the brink of starvation, she will do anything to save those she loves.Even offer herself as concubine to the cruel heir of the beautiful and brutal Azalea House.But in a twist of fate, the palace stands on the knife-edge of civil war with Wei trapped in its center…at the side of a violent prince.To survive, Wei must harden her heart, rely on her wit, and become dangerous herself. Even if it means becoming a poet in a world where women are forbidden to read—and composing the most powerful spell of all. A ballad of death...and love.The Poet Empress is an epic fantasy that explores darker themes, subjects, and scenes that may not be suitable for all readers. Please see the author's content note at the beginning of the book.

From bestselling author Meagan Church comes a haunting exploration of identity, motherhood, and the suffocating grip of societal expectations that will leave you questioning the lives we build―and the lies we live.  They called it hysteria. She called it survival. Lulu Mayfield has spent the last five years molding herself into the perfect 1950s housewife. Despite the tragic memories that haunt her and the weight of exhausting expectations, she keeps her husband happy, her household running, and her gelatin salads the talk of the neighborhood. But after she gives birth to her second child, Lulu's carefully crafted life begins to unravel. When a new neighbor, Bitsy, moves in, Lulu suspects that something darker lurks behind the woman's constant smile. As her fixation on Bitsy deepens, Lulu is drawn into a web of unsettling truths that threaten to expose the cracks in her own life. The more she uncovers about Bitsy, the more she questions everything she thought she knew―and soon, others begin questioning her sanity. But is Lulu truly losing her mind? Or is she on the verge of discovering a reality too terrifying to accept? In the vein of The Bell Jar and The Hours, The Mad Wife weaves domestic drama with psychological suspense, so poignant and immersive, you won't want to put it down.

From international bestselling author Courtney Peppernell comes The Last Poem, a heartfelt exploration of grief that follows celebrated poet Wren Paisley as she escapes to a new town where no one knows the life she is running from as she hopes to grieve the unexpected loss of her fiancee, find healing, and maybe even learn to love again.Bestselling poet B.W. Paisley is grief-stricken and lost when her sun-kissed life is turned upside down by the unexpected loss of her fiancee, Lucy, in a fatal car crash that left a young bystander paralyzed. Unable to escape the media frenzy that swarms the brownstone they once shared, she drives across the country until she hits Everston, Colorado, a town she's never visited but feels unexplainably pulled to. Everston is charming, the people are kind, and, most importantly, no one knows who she is. Deciding to start anew, she changes her name, cuts her hair, and takes up residence in a crumbling old Victorian house, determined to renovate both the house and herself from the ground up.It feels fortuitous – and a little dangerous – when she learns that the local library holds a weekly grief support group that reads, of all things, poetry. Hesitantly, she joins and slowly begins to build community with the other members, including Henry, a librarian mourning the loss of his brother, Emerson; a young woman recovering from a traumatic accident; and Olivia, a grieving reporter who gives her butterflies. Finally, she can breathe again.But not for long. As she grows closer to new friends and a possible new love, her past comes barreling back into focus. How long can she keep her old life in the rearview? Will she be able to build a new life in Everston, or will it all come crashing down when the truth finally comes to light?

Before his 1959 breakthrough, Naked Lunch, an unknown William S. Burroughs wrote Junky, his first novel. It is a candid eye-witness account of times and places that are now long gone, an unvarnished field report from the American post-war underground. Unafraid to portray himself in 1953 as a confirmed member of two socially-despised under classes (a narcotics addict and a homosexual), Burroughs was writing as a trained anthropologist when he unapologetically described a way of life - in New York, New Orleans, and Mexico City - that by the 1940's was already demonized by the artificial anti-drug hysteria of an opportunistic bureaucracy and a cynical, prostrate media. For this fiftieth-anniversary edition, eminent Burroughs scholar Oliver Harris has painstakingly recreated the author's original text, word by word, from archival typescripts and places the book's contents against a lively historical background in a comprehensive introduction. Here as well, for the first time, are Burroughs' own unpublished introduction and an entire omitted chapter, along with many "lost" passages, as well as auxiliary texts by Allen Ginsberg and others.

What do you get if you mix Harry Potter with Fourth Wing, Zodiac Academy, a dash of Arthurian legend, and lots and lots of vampires? Bloodwing Academy. I didn't sign up for this. A half-fae in a school of highblood vampires? That's a recipe for torment. I'm Medra Pendragon—last of the dragon riders, or so they tell me. Funny thing is, there are no dragons left. Not a single one. But somehow, that hasn't stopped the vampires from deciding I'm worth capturing. Now I'm stuck at Bloodwing Academy, where the highbloods run everything and blightborn like me? We're just blood in their veins, pawns in their games. But that's not even the worst part. Enter Blake Drakharrow. Cold, arrogant, and way too gorgeous for his own good. He's been tormenting me since the moment we met, and now, thanks to some ancient ritual, we're betrothed. He acts like he owns me, but I'm not going down without a fight. Bloodwing isn't just a school—it's a battlefield. Highbloods fight for power, and if you're weak? You're dead. Between deadly competitions, lies that could get me executed, and a dragon-shaped secret looming over my head, all I have to do is survive. Easy, right? Except I'm starting to think the real danger isn't the academy—it's what I'm becoming in this twisted game of power. And Blake? He might just be the one who pushes me over the edge. They think they can control me. They think they can use me. But they have no idea what they've awakened. Bestselling epic fantasy author Briar Boleyn returns with a new series perfect for fans of hate to love romance, heart-pounding action, and dark magic. On Wings of Blood is a dark academia fantasy romance featuring a bully villain with Draco Malfoy energy who (eventually) gets the girl, all the tension and banter, and a tantalizingly dangerous blend of court and school intrigue all set in an intricately crafted world with unique vampire and dragon lore. Bloodwing Academy may have crossover characters from the world of Blood of a Fae, but can be read completely independently. If you're a fan of original mythology, unique world-building, and character-driven romantasy books such as Crowns of Nyaxia, From Blood and Ash, and A Court of Thorns and Roses, you won't want to miss out on this riveting new saga.

The poetic style and sweeping grandeur of The King of Elfland's Daughter has made it one of the most beloved fantasy novels of our time, a masterpiece that influenced some of the greatest contemporary fantasists. The heartbreaking story of a marriage between a mortal man and an elf princess is a masterful tapestry of the fairy tale following the "happily ever after."

From New York Times bestselling author Akwaeke Emezi comes a steamy paranormal romance set in the Black South—a bold new foray that takes us on a journey of magic and fantasy, from the whispering creeks outside the city of Salvation to the very depths of Hell itself. Tenderhearted Galilee was raised by the Kincaids, a formidable clan of Black women sequestered deep in the weeping willows and dark rushing creeks of their land. Galilee has always known that she’s different—that there is an old and unknowable secret around her very existence. It has been a hollow ache inside her since her childhood, something she assumes she will always have to live with. Until she meets Lucifer Helel. He’s fronting as the head of security for her wealthy friend Oriaku’s family, protecting a mysterious, ancient artifact, but from the moment she lays eyes on him, Gali knows he’s not human. From her first incendiary touch, Lucifer knows something even Gali herself doesn’t—that she isn’t human either.  Leviathan. As Lucifer’s most trusted prince of Hell, Levi is ruthless and determined to eliminate the intolerable danger that is Galilee before she brings death and disaster to those he loves. While unseen battles rage between Hell, Heaven, and earth, Lucifer and Galilee’s attraction threatens to bring all the structures of their existence crashing down around them. Soon, loyalties will be shattered and reformed as Kincaid secrets clash with the princes of Hell, driving even the most powerful to their knees. Galilee Kincaid must decide if she will step into herself and embrace the consequences of power in this astonishing, seductive, and wildly original fantasy.