From bestselling author Maddie Martinez comes a deliciously dark sapphic retelling of The Phantom of the Opera drenched in Polish folklore–perfect for fans of Ava Reid, Catherynne M. Valente, and S.T. Gibson. A tale of obsession and desire… The city of Larzég glitters as bright as its famous Nectar Performance House, where violinist Kasia has worked her fingers to the bone to chase one dream: becoming Perła, the theater’s prestigious concertmaster. When the current Perła mysteriously dies during a performance, Kasia refuses to be distracted by whispers of a phantom in the theater’s wings. All she sees is her chance to replace the fallen star—until the orchestra director refuses her an audition because of her Azjarian heritage. Devastated, Kasia is desperate enough to strike a bargain with the phantom of the theater—revealed to be Death herself. Behind her dark veil, Lady Death is prepared to help Kasia in her quest to become Perła, if Kasia becomes her companion. But one cannot be companion to Lady Death without bearing her mark, and soon Kasia discovers that her music is entrancing, capable of bending the audience to her will. This alluring new gift thrusts Kasia into the spotlight, but also into the city’s highest circles of power, where influential men seek to control her, Lady Death’s demands grow increasingly dangerous, and Kasia finds herself falling further into the thrall of a master who promises her everything… as long as Death can call Kasia hers.

Naomi Novik's Scholomance series meets Plain Bad Heroines in this sapphic dark academia fantasy by instant national and international bestselling author Emily Tesh, winner of the Hugo and World Fantasy Awards. "Look at you, eating magic like you're one of us." Doctor Walden is the Director of Magic at Chetwood Academy and one of the most powerful magicians in England. Her days consist of meetings, teaching A-Level Invocation to four talented, chaotic sixth formers, more meetings, and securing the school's boundaries from demonic incursions. Walden is good at her job―no, Walden is great at her job. But demons are masters of manipulation. It’s her responsibility to keep her school with its six hundred students and centuries-old legacy safe. And it’s possible the entity Walden most needs to keep her school safe from―is herself.

From the nationally bestselling author of The Luminous Dead and The Death of Jane Lawrence, a transfixing, intensely atmospheric fever dream of medieval horror. Aymar Castle has been under siege for six months. Food is running low and there has been no sign of rescue. But just as the survivors consider deliberately thinning their number, the castle stores are replenished. The sick are healed. And the divine figures of the Constant Lady and her Saints have arrived, despite the barricaded gates, offering succor in return for adoration. Soon, the entire castle is under the sway of their saviors, partaking in intoxicating feasts of terrible origin. The war hero Ser Voyne gives her allegiance to the Constant Lady. Phosyne, a disorganized, paranoid nun-turned-sorceress, races to unravel the mystery of these new visitors and exonerate her experiments as their source. And in the bowels of the castle, a serving girl, Treila, is torn between her thirst for a secret vengeance against Voyne and the desperate need to escape from the horrors that are unfolding within Aymar’s walls. As the castle descends into bacchanalian madness—forgetting the massed army beyond its walls in favor of hedonistic ecstasy—these three women are the only ones to still see their situation for what it is. But they are not immune from the temptations of the castle’s new masters… or each other; and their shifting alliances and entangled pasts bring violence to the surface. To save the castle, and themselves, will take a reimagining of who they are, and a reorganization of the very world itself.

My friend is missing. When he disappeared, he’d been working on a magazine about the paranormal—his first real job as an editor. With almost no budget, he’d resorted to digging through back issues and unused research material, looking for inspiration. As he did, a terrifying truth began to emerge about a certain place in the Kinki region. I have collected the relevant articles, interviews, and other materials in this book. And once you have understood everything, I would like to ask for your cooperation. I hope you will get in touch.

Literature as a game. Gaming as literature. How are writers and artists interacting with video games, gaming, and notions of play? Spanning fiction, creative non-fiction, poetry, comics, and multimedia works from an international array of emerging and established voices, Free to Play: A Video Games Anthology is both a love letter to, and a bold exploration of what video games and gaming culture are and can be. Contents No Man is an Island – Ellie Black The Short, Sweet Life of Commander Brian – Gabriela Lee Side-Scroller – Ken Liu The Last Bonfire – Myle Yan Tay & Natalie M. E. Tan All The Times I Was Dragonborn – Nuraliah Norasid Less Than Three Stars – Jack Xi All the Skin(s) You Left Behind – Sarah Mak & Nic Chan Press “Y” to Reboot – Noor Tannir He Is You, She’s For You – Hana Luisa Binte Yaacob Dawn of Clarendera – Meihan Boey memory leak – Zhen A Seat at Venba’s Table – Varsha Sivaram God of War – Maya Escobar Boys and Girls Across Dead Worlds – Alex K. Masse Don’t Start Without Me – Kenneth Lam The Writer as Gamer – Alvin Pang It’s Dangerous to Go Alone – Anthony Falleroni snake on a train – judith huang Your Inventory is Filling Up Again – Wen-yi Lee Shadow Stone – Erica Eng Fast Travel – Adriana X. Jacobs

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars: same year at Yale, same debut year in publishing. But Athena's a cross-genre literary darling, and June didn't even get a paperback release. Nobody wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena's death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena's just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers to the British and French war efforts during World War I. So what if June edits Athena's novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song--complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn't this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That's what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree. But June can't get away from Athena's shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June's (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves. With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface takes on questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation not only in the publishing industry but the persistent erasure of Asian-American voices and history by Western white society. R. F. Kuang's novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.

Co-Winner of the 2021 Epigram Books Fiction Prize Winner of the 2022 Singapore Book Award for Best Literary Work In 1890s Singapore, the formidable Miss Leda Cassidy arrives as paid companion to Sarah Jane Bendemeer, whose family suffers under the thrall of Southeast Asia's most terrifying hantu. But there's more to Miss Cassidy than meets the eye, and she's faced down worse in her life than a banana-tree ghoul. However, she may have met her match in the indefatigable businessman, Mr Kay Wing Tong, whose large and constantly-growing family clearly requires female supervision—especially of the particular kind Miss Cassidy can provide. Ill omens and strange happenings surround Mr Kay and his colourful family, and Miss Cassidy must find a way to defend the ones she has learned to love.

After a devastating heartbreak, a teen girl decides to spend her summer helping her eccentric great aunt manage her quaint Vermont inn--but this fixer-upper is hiding a magical secret--in this cozy and irresistable new fantasy from the New York Times bestselling author of The Spellshop. Sixteen-year-old Calisa is desperate for a change of scenery after her lying ex ruins her perfect Brooklyn summer. When her parents suggest she head to rural Vermont to help her great-aunt run her cozy bed and breakfast for a few months, she jumps at the chance. But when Calisa arrives at the B&B, she's shocked to find a rundown inn with only a handful of guests. And to make matters worse, upon meeting with her great-aunt it quickly becomes clear that Calisa was not invited. Auntie Zee is determined to keep anyone from messing with her beloved inn…even if it is clear she needs the help. To earn her keep, Calisa sets to work fixing up the inn, enlisting extra help from the groundskeeper's (handsome) son. But the longer she stays, the more it becomes evident that there is something strange about the B&B—and its residents. Something almost…otherworldly. The inn is keeping a magical secret—but to protect the place she's come to love, Calisa must unravel the truth of it, and her aunt, before it's too late.

A group of friends on a hiking trip happen upon a seemingly abandoned underground bunker. As they explore, they are trapped by an earthquake in its bowels. The next day, they discover water seeping into the bunker. They calculate that they have a week to escape, or they will drown. As the panicked group search desperately for a way out, they discover a way they can escape, but only by leaving one their number behind with little hope of survival. Then, one of their group is murdered.... And they won't be the last. The Ark will satisfy horror, mystery, and suspense fans with a thrillingly unraveled murder plot and escape arc, and a rug-pulling twist in its final moments.

Authors June Hayward and Athena Liu were supposed to be twin rising stars: same year at Yale, same debut year in publishing. But Athena's a cross-genre literary darling, and June didn't even get a paperback release. Nobody wants stories about basic white girls, June thinks. So when June witnesses Athena's death in a freak accident, she acts on impulse: she steals Athena's just-finished masterpiece, an experimental novel about the unsung contributions of Chinese laborers to the British and French war efforts during World War I. So what if June edits Athena's novel and sends it to her agent as her own work? So what if she lets her new publisher rebrand her as Juniper Song--complete with an ambiguously ethnic author photo? Doesn't this piece of history deserve to be told, whoever the teller? That's what June claims, and the New York Times bestseller list seems to agree. But June can't get away from Athena's shadow, and emerging evidence threatens to bring June's (stolen) success down around her. As June races to protect her secret, she discovers exactly how far she will go to keep what she thinks she deserves. With its totally immersive first-person voice, Yellowface takes on questions of diversity, racism, and cultural appropriation not only in the publishing industry but the persistent erasure of Asian-American voices and history by Western white society. R. F. Kuang's novel is timely, razor-sharp, and eminently readable.

From the bestselling author of Strange Houses and Strange Pictures comes a mesmerizing novel of eleven strange buildings and one terrible secret. A lonely hut in the woods. A murder house. A hidden chamber. A mysterious shrine. A home in flames. A nightmarish prison. . . . Each of the buildings in this book tells a chilling story. Each one is part of a puzzle. Look closely . . . and you'll see that everything is connected. All leading to a revelation so horrifying you won't want to believe it. Millions have become addicted to solving Uketsu's dark mysteries. Strange Buildings is the strangest, and darkest, of them all.