Anthologies and Other Books
NEW RELEASE
POETICA # 20
For a complete guide to the Poetica
anthologies, see below.
NEW RELEASE
GALAXY # 19
For a complete guide to the Galaxy
anthologies, see below.
For a complete guide to the Poetica anthologies, including new submission guidelines, please click on the image
For a complete guide to the Galaxy
anthologies, including new submission guidelines, please click on the image
JOURNEY
into mystical lands full of faeries and warrior women, ancient powers and strange creatures…
TRAVEL
to the stars and encounter fully-fledged alien cultures and fabulous other worlds…
Fantasy and Science Fiction from some of the best new writers in the world…
Flash fiction
Tales with a twist
Regional magical realism Sparkling romance
Emotional real-life stories
Heart-rending tales full of lovable characters
Westerns
Horror
Brilliant comic writing
Detective drama
Mysteries
Thrillers
Memoirs
from some of the world’s best new writers…
Glamour: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Romance Anthology 2019
If you picked up this book expecting it to be full of the standard ‘romance’ tale revolving around two people as they develop romantic love for each other and work to build a relationship, then you might be surprised. While these stories are often directly related to that core theme of developing a romantic relationship, and many have the emotionally satisfying and optimistic ending common to the genre, there are also many examples within of new and fresh approaches to the whole topic of romance — some comic, some tragic, some to do with love at first sight, others to do with romance towards the end of life. It’s a special collection of delightfully written and well-crafted fiction, featuring the work of Gabriella Balcom, Jim Bates, Gary Bonn, Elizabeth Brown, Steve Carr, A.S. Charly, RLM Cooper, Francis Currier, Dawn DeBraal, Kelli J. Gavin, Marlon Hayes, Heather Hood, Mark Kodama, A.J. Lawdring, Catherine Lee, Catherine A. MacKenzie, Giuseppina Marino Leyland, Madeleine McDonald, Silvana McGuire, Andrew Paradiso, Kari Pohar, Richard Prime, Trisha Ridinger McKee, C.L. Steele, and L.T. Waterson.
Lantern: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Christian Stories Anthology 2019
A Christian story is in one sense similar to the vast majority of stories in general, in that it plunges the reader into a vacuum, an abyss of suspense, mystery, moral questions and meaning, only to lead them through the labyrinth to emerge fresh into the light. What makes it peculiarly Christian, then, must be something else — probably the hint that that familiar arc from light to darkness and back to light isn’t just a fictive construction but a reflection of an absolute pattern that lies at the heart of all worlds.
Not all these tales reflect that pattern in obvious ways; some hardly do so at all. But as a collection, they act like a collective mirror, showing you, the reader, the human face that —possibly—looks back at you from the core of everything.
Featuring the work of Carmen Baca, Gabriella Balcom, Gary Bonn, Steve Carr, Liz Cavanaugh, Denise D’Souza, Samantha Hamilton, Heather Hood, Hugh Honea, Eamon O’Leary, A.J. Lawdring, James Lipson, L. T. Waterson and J. W. Wilkinson.
Portal: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Children's Anthology 2019
C. S. Lewis once wrote: ‘Where the children’s story is simply the right form for what the author has to say, then of course readers who want to hear that, will read the story or re-read it, at any age… I am almost inclined to set it up as a canon that a children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s story. The good ones last.’ (Of Other Worlds: Essays and Stories) This holds very true for the stories (and poems) in this marvellous collection — they have found their right form, and can be read with enjoyment from anyone aged 8 upwards.
Featuring the work of Jim Bates, Brandy Bonifas, Steve Carr, A. S. Charly, Dawn DeBraal, Kelli J. Gavin, J. W. Garrett, Joan Herr, Kerri Jesmer, Denise Johnson, Nerisha Kemraj, Shawn M. Klimek, A. J. Lawdring, Sandra Nguyen, Sam M. Phillips, Richard Prime, Michal Reiben, C. L. Steele, Susanne Thomas, L. T. Waterson and C. L. Williams.
Paradox: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Crime/Mystery/Thriller Anthology 2019
It’s possible to get quite philosophical about the growth of the detective or mystery thriller in modern culture, paralleling as it does the rise of the perception of rational deduction as the key to salvation. The detective becomes the archetype of the Wise Old Figure, the one who sees through the chaotic fog of events and whose wisdom pierces the mystery to its core. In this volume, you’ll see many variations of that, and much more: you’ll be amused by the viewpoint of a criminal henchman, weaving his way through the world of secret agents and worldwide conspiracies, enthralled by the careful piecing together of clues in deserts and cities around the globe, and thrilled by atmospheric tales of dark doings and their detection, by authors new and established.
Featuring the work of Diane Arrelle, Carmen Baca, Scott Bell, Wes Blalock, David Bowmore, Steve Carr, RLM Cooper, Ben Fine, Kelli J. Gavin, Sharon Frame Gay, Marlon S. Hayes, Frank Kozusko, A.J. Lawdring, Umair Mirxa, Sam M. Phillips, Richard Rebel, Andrew Scobie, Susanne Thomas and L. T. Waterson.
Maelstrom: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Literary Anthology 2019
The word ‘literary’ is defined as ‘concerning the writing, study, or content of literature, especially of the kind valued for quality of form’. That’s important. When dealing with literary fiction, we are looking for something beyond the tropes, templates, recurring images and themes of genre fiction — we’re looking for connections we wouldn’t normally expect, dimensions we hadn’t thought of ourselves, and resonances which strike us as unique and beautiful. This is what this book is full of: from the poetic to the sardonic, from the beautiful to the tragic, we have here a collection that holds up the mirror to human nature and the world in which it finds itself. It’s unlikely that you will put this book down unchanged.
Featuring the work of Mehreen Ahmed, Warren Alexander, Diane Arrelle, Gary Bonn, Helen Bosworth, David Bowmore, Steve Carr, RLM Cooper, Dawn DeBraal, Ximena Escobar, María J. Estrada, David Estringel, Kelli J. Gavin, Sharon Frame Gay, Jill Kiesow, Shawn M. Klimek, Mark Kodama, Catherine A. MacKenzie, Giuseppina Marino Leyland, Silvana McGuire, Elizabeth Montague, Eamon O’Leary, J. H. O’Rourke, A. L. Paradiso, Seth Pilevsky, Richard Rebel, Copper Rose, Andrew Scobie, Jay Shepherd, Z.D.W. Smith, C. L. Steele, H. P. Thornton, Peter Toeg, Matias Travieso-Diaz, and Pam Van Allen.
Gleam: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Second Flash Fiction Anthology 2019
Flash fiction is often a small, vivid illustration or incident which fades into a larger, wider, unspoken background. The power lies in the unsaid, the inferred, the after-thrill which comes as the ephemeral piece ends, leaving you, the reader, transfixed and transformed.
Enjoy this set of sixty experiences, brought to you by new and established authors from around the world.
Featuring the work of R. L. Adare, Diane Arrelle, Peter Astle, Carmen Baca, Gabriella Balcom, Jim Bates, Gary Bonn, Lael Braday, Bonnie B. Bradlee, Belinda Brady, Elizabeth Brown, David Bowmore, Steve Carr, A.S. Charly, RLM Cooper, Dawn DeBraal, Denise D’Souza, Ximena Escobar, J.W. Garrett, Kelli J Gavin, Sharon Frame Gay, Jill Girardi, Phil Gladden, Marlon S. Hayes, Robert Hazel, Jesse Highsmith, Heather Hood, Justin Jones, Archit Joshi, Nelson Kamkuimo, Jill Kiesow, Shawn M. Klimek, Mark Kodama, A.J. Lawdring, Emma K. Leadley, James Lipson, Vickie J. Litten, Catherine A. MacKenzie, Giuseppina Marino Leyland, Christopher McCurry, Umair Mirxa, Elizabeth Montague, Sandra Nguyen, Charlotte O’Farrell, A.L. Paradiso, Natalie Partridge, Kari Pohar, Supriya Rakesh, Richard Rebel, Michal Reibenbach, Rich Rurshell, Andrew Scobie, CL Steele, Susanne Thomas, Justin Tuijl, Pam Van Allen, L.T. Waterson, Ger White, G. Allen Wilbanks and C.L. Williams.
Poetica: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Poetry Anthology 2019
It’s unfortunate that most of us are introduced to poetry at school, where it is seen (unfortunately even by some teachers) as a chore, a tedious labour. But poetry, like wine, is all about a concentrated distillation of flavour, a condensed experience of something, a skilled presentation of beauty that goes beyond the ordinary and can approach the divine. Defined by the dictionary as ‘a literary work in which the expression of feelings and ideas is given intensity by the use of distinctive style and rhythm’, the word in its early use sometimes referred to creative literature as a whole. Like wine tasters, we must learn to develop our palates so that we can appreciate the intensity and beauty of words and what they can evoke for us — and in this collection, you will find plenty of opportunity to do so, as we are invited into miniature worlds of grace, grittiness and grandeur, there to share wisdom and wit, elegance and exquisiteness, power and passion.
Viajes con Fantasmas
The long-awaited sequel to Las Mujeres Misteriosas, finds Rosita, her husband, and son Christino (Tino) living far from the southwest and their home and family—and the vengeful reach of la Llorona. But the twisted evil spirit that is their nemesis will not leave them in peace: la Llorona resumes her quest for revenge with a cruel deed which forces mother and son to return to New Mexico.
The struggle for the immortal souls of Tino and his family is now more complex as la Llorona commands nefarious ghosts, including Robert “Arkansaw” Black and Mary McGrath AKA the Lilly of Copper Avenue, to ensnare Tino and corrupt his innocence. Although Tino is quick-witted and morally strong, he is no match against the amoral, ancient evil — but powerful allies arise to protect him.
In this unique world based on the special folklore of New Mexico, benevolent ghosts battle with venomous dark spirits in a life and death, winner-take-all contest that could result in a whole family going to Hell.
Tempest: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Science Fiction and Fantasy Anthology 2019
You’ll find dragons and other mysterious beasts aplenty in this book, along with spaceships and ray guns and witches and robots and futures good and bad. You’ll sometimes be shocked and chilled; at other times, you’ll be amused and touched. Step into universes which both extend our own and which lead far beyond the beaded curtain of the stars into worlds we have never known.
Blaze: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Flash Fiction Anthology 2019
Writers are spellbinders, wizards, witches, working their magic with words, entrancing and enchanting us. Not for nothing does the word ‘spell’ mean a sequence of letters and a form of words used as a magical charm or incantation. In these tales, the sorcery has been restricted so that its glamour has to work in the space of fifty, five hundred or a thousand words: and work it does, as you will see. From disturbing darkness to light-hearted laughter, the authors within weave their wizardry, making you weep and laugh, feel and think, shiver and gasp, always wanting to turn the page.
Pezzi Pazzi | Crazy Pieces
Charming, sensitive, beautiful, Giuseppina Marino Leyland’s exceptional book is a mixed genre collection of creative writing, including short stories and fragments of poetry, with a mini novella as the centrepiece. Quirky and eclectic and infused with an Italian–Australian flavour, you’ll find tales of gypsies, women seeking to know their destinies, relationships good and bad, and wonderfully rich stories reflecting the experience of settling in Australia in the ‘50s, ‘60s and beyond. The theme of Italian–Australian migration and settlement permeates the collection, criss-crossing time and space, the settings shifting from Italy to Australia and then back again. Spilling over from believable tales about rounded, warm characters into wisdom about the human condition itself, the overarching theme of the anthology is ‘crazy life’—the world is crazy and we are all a little crazy in it.
Dust and Glitter: A Short Story Collection by Elizabeth Montague
In 2018, Clarendon House published Elizabeth Montague’s story ‘The Little Girl Who Stole The Wind’ in its children’s stories anthology, Window. The tale went on to garner the most readers’ votes and won its author the opportunity to publish this collection of her own fiction.
That story is included in Dust and Glitter — where we discover what life would really be like in an artificial body, where atheists write to God and receive replies, where a lifelong scar marks you for having taken a life, where clowns and demons abide, and much more. From intensely real psychological drama to the edge of imagination, from gut-wrenching urban crises to edgy adventures in space, in this collection of short stories Elizabeth Montague demonstrates her prodigious range and style as an author.
The Magic of Deben Market by David Bowmore
"It's rare to find a short story collection of such power as this: adjectives such as 'haunting', 'poignant', 'vivid' and 'rich' come to mind, but these are clichés which fail to capture the enigmatic and dynamic magic locked inside this book. Bowmore weaves a complex tale of interwoven characters around the imaginary coastal town of Deben Market on Britain's east coast, but he does this with such skill that you'll immediately find yourself wanting to read these stories again and again. In effect, the book is a kind of quasi-novel, layered, soul-stirring, utterly gripping - at times, wistful, at times comic, and at other times breathtakingly suspenseful and supremely thrilling. Do yourself a favour: come to Deben Market. The magic may never leave you."
Gold: The Best from Clarendon House Anthologies Volume One: 2017/2018
Spanning science fiction and fantasy, comedy and literary stories, poetry and magic realism, thrillers and thoughtful tales, Gold is a treasure trove of some of the best short fiction from 2018.
The Tethered Goat: A Collection of Short Stories from Gary Bonn
Laugh; cry; feel; think: Bonn is one of the exceptional writers who can make you do all of those at once, whose writing style makes it difficult at times to breathe because you’re transported and they don’t breathe the same air in that story.
If there is a cutting edge of storytelling, Bonn is ahead of it, sharpening the blade.
Miracle: The Inner Circle Writers’ Group Christian Stories Anthology 2018
Perhaps a Christian story is a way of revealing something about reality which few other kinds of story can do. Whether or not the authors in this book succeeded in their revelations is up to you.
But it can make quite a difference to a life when they do succeed.
Enigma: The Inner Circle Writers’ Group Crime/Mystery/Thriller Anthology 2018
From the traditional old-fashioned country houses in which puzzling crimes have detained important guests, to grim and disturbing urban transgressions, to gripping thrillers with unforeseen twists, prepare to be entertained and enthralled. These skilful writers know how to bamboozle you, commanding your attention before you are aware of it, leaving you guessing all the way.
Rapture: The Inner Circle Writers’ Group Romance Anthology 2018
Prepare for surprises, passion, energy and a smattering of the unusual; prepare for mini-sagas set in foreign climes, short pieces which evoke amorous devotion, and even some alluring poetry, in one of the most entertaining, thoughtful and heart-warming collections produced this year.
Fireburst: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Second Flash Fiction Anthology 2018
Intense, keen, extreme, sincere, deeply felt, wholehearted - you’ll find stories within ranging from the amusing to the overwhelming, from the earnest to the cute, you will scarcely believe what can be done in less than 2,000 words per tale.
Unfettered: A Short Story Collection by R. A. Goli
A bird succubus that comes in a storm; a bed-and-breakfast from Hell; secret histories from before fairy tales and myths; an asylum from beyond your darkest nightmares…
Including the award-winning story ‘A Flicker of Time’, this collection displays the creative talents of the Australian author R. A. Goli - a rising star in the fiction world.
Carrier Wave: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Comedy Anthology 2018
In this anthology you will find a range of approaches to making you laugh, from ‘real-life comic drama’ to humorous misunderstanding, from observational humour to a playful ‘messing about in tropes’. You’ll be impressed by these efforts to catch you off-guard and surprise you.
Cadence: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Poetry Anthology 2018
A whole range is here, from the almost incomprehensible but energetic, to the light-hearted and the profound, to the serene and transcendent. You’ll find poets who are raw in their talent, and others who are well-practised; you’ll discover things that you never dreamed of and have thoughts you could never quite put into words appearing on the page before you. Enjoy the magic.
Vortex: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Literary Anthology 2018
A potent and vibrant portal to other worlds, much larger in scope and depth than its size would suggest. Within, you’ll find passion and poetic prose that will haunt you, experimental fiction that will challenge you, tales that will make you laugh, some that will make you cry, and many that will enthral you from beginning to end.
Window: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Children's Anthology 2018
This book is for readers aged 8 to 80, and contains many adventures of various kinds, ranging from travels with faeries (spelt with an ‘e’) to challenges in the playground, as well as other things you can scarcely imagine. Meet dogs and cats, wizards and dinosaurs, princesses and leprechauns, mermaids and men made of spice - and much more.
Galaxy: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Science Fiction Anthology 2018
From a mix of brand new and well-established short story writers comes this fantastic mix of tales, intense, haunting, compelling, to pluck at your hearts and stretch your vision of both the future and the past.
Storm: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Fantasy Anthology 2018
An immense range of stories, some comic, some traditional ‘sword and sorcery’ type tales, and some philosophical. Let’s see which ones help us to see through the window of reality.
Flashpoint: The Inner Circle Writers' Group Flash Fiction Anthology 2018
There’s tragedy, there’s humour, there’s science fiction and drama, there’s a mixture of just about everything here, from completely new and long-established short story writers.
You will never know what lies waiting for you on the next electrifying page…
Through Another's Eyes: A Short Story Collection by Gary Bonn
From the edges of reality comes this series of tales from a master storyteller, an author who plays tricks with your mind, enchanting and beguiling you, leading you through doorways you never knew were there to ways of looking at things you would never have dreamed of.
