Strahan's fifth anthology contains 29 wide-ranging tales. Neil Gaiman's "The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains" is a deceptively simple folktale-styled story of the price one may pay for gold. "The Sultan of the Clouds" by Geoffrey Landis untangles a complex knot of childish power. Sarah Rees Brennan's "The Spy Who Never Grew Up" gives a beloved childhood icon a sinister update; Diana Peterfreund's "The Care and Feeding of Your Baby Killer Unicorn" turns unicorn lore on its head; and Rachel Swirsky's "The Lady Who Plucked Red Flowers Beneath the Queen's Window" puts a fantasy spin on the temporal culture shock of immortality. This year the fantasy tales outdo the SF in depth of storytelling and characterization, though all the inclusions are strong, with few ideas left by the wayside.

Contains thirty-three short stories chosen by the editor as the best in science fiction for 2010, including selections by Damien Broderick, Steven Popkes, Rachel Swirsky, and others, and features a summation of the year's events, as well as a list of honorable mentions.

The red LCD display quickly counts down. There is no time to waste. The polluting, resource-degrading plant is set to explode. Eco-heroine Inez Wick has only minutes to escape. As she traverses the dark recesses of the dirty plant, she flashes back to a younger self, sixteen. Her father had just died in an oil rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, and she had just broken up with her boyfriend. She remembers oily ocean water and flames, her footprints in the sand filling with black water. Flames were chasing her. They were jumping from one oily footprint to the next, up the beach after her. Snapping back to the present, she must get out of the plant. The exploits of Inez Wick could not end, just now. Too many others needed to pay.

Book Magic (2nd ed.) is indispensable for every writer who dreams of publication. Easy to read and practical, it provides all the information and tools you need to understand the publishing industry and increase your chances of getting commercially published or ably manage your own self-publication. Books are magic! They turn unknown writers into authors and, perhaps, even into household names. But publishing is a complex world, full of insider rules and financial constraints that, if not respected, cause good book ideas to vanish into thin air and writers to question their calling. Discover how to weave some spells that boost your chances of getting published; explore the wizardry surrounding agents, query letters, and book proposals; and look into a crystal ball at trends in the North American market and in self- and electronic publishing. Find out how the Canadian and American publishing scenes differ and how approachable medium and small publishers really are. Most importantly, learn the best publishing option for your project. Second edition is in paperback only.

Book Magic is indispensable for every writer who dreams of publication. Easy to read and practical, it provides all the information and tools you need to understand the publishing industry and increase your chances of getting commercially published or ably manage your own self-publication. Books are magic! They turn unknown writers into authors and, perhaps, even into household names. But publishing is a complex world, full of insider rules and financial constraints that, if not respected, cause good book ideas to vanish into thin air and writers to question their calling. Discover how to weave some spells that boost your chances of getting published; explore the wizardry surrounding agents, query letters, and book proposals; and look into a crystal ball at trends in the North American market and in self- and electronic publishing. Find out how the Canadian and American publishing scenes differ and how approachable medium and small publishers really are. Most importantly, learn the best publishing option for your project. The third edition of the bestselling Book Magic details all you need to know about e-publishing in "Electronic Sorcery" and shows you how to get published in this new medium, whether you want to do it yourself or go with a commercial e-publisher.

Speculative Imperialisms: Monstrosity and Masquerade in Postracial Times explores the(settler) colonial ideologies underpinning the monstrous imaginings of contemporary popular culture in the Britain and the US. Through a close examination of District 9, Avatar, Doctor Who, Planet of the Apes, and steampunk culture, Susana Loza illuminates the durability of (settler) colonialism and how it operates through two linked yet distinct forms of racial mimicry: monsterization and minstrelsy. Speculative Imperialisms contemplates the fundamental, albeit changing, role that such racial simulations play in a putatively postracial and post-colonial era. It brings together the work on gender masquerade, racial minstrelsy, and postcolonial mimicry and puts it in dialogue with film, media, and cultural studies. This project draws upon the theoretical insights of Stuart Hall, Homi K. Bhabha, Edward Said, Philip Deloria, Michael Rogin, Eric Lott, Charles Mills, Falguni Sheth, Lorenzo Veracini, Adilifu Nama, Isiah Lavender III, Gwendolyn Foster, Marianna Torgovnick, Ann Laura Stoler, Anne McClintock, Eric Greene, Richard Dyer, and Ed Guerrero.