The heroes are eager to sail to Troy for war, but the wind is still. To fill their sails and set out, they must sacrifice Agamemnon's daughter Iphigenia-and how does a human girl become the wind? The starkness and psychological insight of Rachel Swirsky's Tor.com story earned it a place among the finalists for the 2010 Nebula Award. Rachel Swirsky's short fiction has appeared in Weird Tales, Fantasy Magazine, and Subterranean Magazine, among others, and has been collected in Year's Best anthologies edited by Rich Horton, Jonathan Strahan, and the VanderMeers. She is also the submissions editor of Podcastle, an audio fantasy magazine.

If You Were a Dinosaur, My Love won the 2013 Nebula Award for Best Short Story, and was nominated for the 2014 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.As a paleontologist lies in a coma, his fiancée tells him how things would be different if he were a Tyrannosaurus rex.

Najnowszy almanach fantastyki Kroki w nieznane prezentuje szesnaście różnorodnych opowiadań autorów z Australii, Argentyny, Rosji, Stanów Zjednoczonych, Ukrainy i Wielkiej Brytanii. Wśród nich nowa krew, niedawne debiutantki (McCarron, Swirsky) oraz autorzy rozwijający skrzydła (Bacigalupi, Kosmatka, Ostapenko). Są też stare wygi, z niemałym dorobkiem, których tekstów nie było nam dane posmakować dotychczas (Brown, Kaługin) lub spotykaliśmy się z ich twórczością okazjonalnie (Kessel, szczególnie Waldrop). Oczywiście są także wielkie nazwiska (Egan, Kress, Silverberg, czy Willis), a oprócz tego pisarze wyjątkowi, za sprawą wyobraźni (Ballantyne), poetyckiego stylu (McDonald), czy prozy o niesamowitym klimacie (Nielsen)…

Najnowszy almanach fantastyki Kroki w nieznane prezentuje szesnaście różnorodnych opowiadań autorów z Australii, Argentyny, Rosji, Stanów Zjednoczonych, Ukrainy i Wielkiej Brytanii. Wśród nich nowa krew, niedawne debiutantki (McCarron, Swirsky) oraz autorzy rozwijający skrzydła (Bacigalupi, Kosmatka, Ostapenko). Są też stare wygi, z niemałym dorobkiem, których tekstów nie było nam dane posmakować dotychczas (Brown, Kaługin) lub spotykaliśmy się z ich twórczością okazjonalnie (Kessel, szczególnie Waldrop). Oczywiście są także wielkie nazwiska (Egan, Kress, Silverberg, czy Willis), a oprócz tego pisarze wyjątkowi, za sprawą wyobraźni (Ballantyne), poetyckiego stylu (McDonald), czy prozy o niesamowitym klimacie (Nielsen)…

The Nebula Awards Showcase volumes have been published annually since 1966, reprinting the winning and nominated stories of the Nebula Awards, voted on by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA).  The editor, selected by SFWA’s anthology Committee (chaired by Mike Resnick), is American science fiction and fantasy writer Mercedes Lackey. This year’s Nebula winners are Ursula Vernon, Alaya Dawn Johnson, Nancy Kress, and Jeff VanderMeer, with Alaya Dawn Johnson winning the Andre Norton Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and Fantasy Book.ReviewPraise for Nebula Awards Showcase 2014:“There is not a story in the bunch that is not engaging to the reader…. This is an excellent book for lovers of science fiction.”—SeattlePI.comPraise for Nebula Awards Showcase 2013:“Featuring writing of the highest quality in the genre, this compilation is certain to appeal to those demanding imaginative fiction.”— Booklist“Essential fare for short story aficionados, even though some of the contents have appeared in other collections.”— Kirkus Reviews

An anthology of stories edited by Jonathan Strahan

The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers beneath the Queen’s Window is an award-winning fantasy novella by Rachel Swirsky. It explores the conjunction of invocation, deep time, and culture shock. It was originally published in Subterranean Magazine, in the summer of 2010, and subsequently republished in The Year’s Best Science Fiction and Fantasy 2011 (from Prime Books) and The Best Science Fiction and Fantasy of the Year, Vol. 5 (from Night Shade Books).Naeva—the Lady of the story’s title—is a sorceress in a matriarchy. After being fatally injured, she is persuaded to allow her spirit to be bound, so that she can be summoned and thus continue to advise her queen. However, after the queen has herself died, Naeva continues to be summoned… first by the queen’s successor, and then by people from civilizations later than hers.The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen’s Window can be read for free by following the official URL.LITERARY AWARDS:• Hugo Award Nominee for Best Novella (2011)• Nebula Award for Best Novella (2011)

The very best short SF fiction of any given year as recommended and nominated by the members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America: the best novella, novelette and short story. Here you will find the cream of the crop of science fiction and fantasy - startling ideas, the intricate construction of new worlds and mind-bending experimental writing. This anthology includes not only the Nebula Award-winning works in each short-form category, but also all the nominees in the novelette and short story categories. Here you will find colourful fantasy, outstanding speculative fiction, steampunk, edgy writing on the fringes of the mainstream and uncompromisingly hard SF in stories set in the distant past, an off-kilter present day, the far future or some times in between.

This fourth volume of the year's best science fiction and fantasy features thirty stories by some of the genre's greatest authors, including Jonathan Carroll, Neil Gaiman, Kij Johnson, Kelly Link, Paul McAuley, RJ Parker, Robert Reed, Rachel Swirsky, Catherynne M. Valente, and many others.Selecting the best fiction from Asimov's, F&SF, Strange Horizons, Subterranean, Tor.com, and other top venues, The Year's Best Science Fiction & Fantasy is your guide to magical realms and worlds beyond tomorrow.

IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT…For decades, the apocalypse and its aftermath have yielded some of the most exciting short stories of all time. From David Brin’s seminal “The Postman” to Hugh Howey’s “Deep Blood Kettle” and Tananarive Due’s prescient “Patient Zero,” the end of the world continues to thrill.This companion volume to the critically acclaimed WASTELANDS offers thirty of the finest examples of post-apocalyptic short fiction, with works by:Ann AguirreMegan ArkenbergPaolo BacigalupiChristopher BarzakLauren BeukesDavid BrinOrson Scott CardJunot DíazCory DoctorowTananarive DueToiya Kristen FinleyMilo James FowlerMaria Dahvana HeadleyHugh HoweyKeffy R. M. KehrliJake KerrNancy KressJoe R. LansdaleGeorge R. R. MartinJack McDevittSeanan McGuireMaureen F. McHughD. Thomas MintonRudy Rucker & Bruce SterlingRamsey ShehadehRobert SilverbergRachel SwirskyGenevieve ValentineJames Van PeltChristie YantAward-winning editor John Joseph Adams has once again assembled a who’s who of short fiction, and the result is nothing short of mind-blowing.