What if the fae were still here, living among us? Perhaps living in secret, doing their best to pass for human? Or perhaps their existence is acknowledged, but they're still struggling to fit in. How have they survived? Are they outcasts clinging to the edges of society, or do their powers ensure success in the mortal realm? Here are fourteen fabulous tales—ranging from humor to dark fantasy—that explore how the creatures of fae are fitting into the modern world. From a mortal who offers to do internet marketing for Oberon...to a woman bent on reclaiming her baby from the Queen of the fae...to a dryad grove menaced by urban expansion...to a Selkie in need of a new home and career...these are original looks at how the world of the imagination can survive and perhaps even thrive in the everyday mortal lands.

What happens when a computer glitch sends eighty-nine copies of the same scientist (and no one else) to settle a new planet? Or a privateer gets stranded on a slow ship he tried to hijack that’s still years away from its destination and has no food? BRAVE NEW WORLDS presents fifteen original stories that follow humanity’s long dream of traveling to the stars, from heart-wrenching departures from Earth, through the unknown dangers of the long flight through the cold vastness of space, to the immigrants’ final arrival on an alien world. Perhaps your father has signed you up for life on a gen ship before you’ve even graduated high school. Or maybe you’ve arrived at a gloriously green new planet...only to have it shoot you out of the sky when you try to land. Or worse yet, your attempts to terraform your new home have all failed. What do you do then? Join Jamie Boyd, Gini Koch, Mike Jack Stoumbos, Stephen Leigh, A.M. Giddings, Auston Habershaw, Sarah Lyn Eaton, Ian Tregillis, Jack Nicholls, Willa Blythe, Chaz Brenchley, Ari Officer, Eric Choi, Jacey Bedford, and Juliet Kemp in the latest anthology from Zombies Need Brains, BRAVE NEW WORLDS, as they explore the infinite challenges of humanity’s race to the stars!

Is anything more terrifying than a dragon? Bat-winged nightmares swooping down from the sky to breathe fire and ice on the wretched humans below; kidnapping princesses, hoarding treasure, swallowing cows. Or not. In Dragonesque, the latest fantastic anthology from Zombies Need Brains, you finally get to experience all that awfulness from the dragon’s point of view. And what if it isn’t necessarily that awful? What if the princess wants to be kidnapped, or the dragon is tired of being made fun of week after week at the Renaissance Faire? Or maybe a dragonet just really, really wants to be a unicorn? Perhaps they’re happiest collecting art, or enjoy being tattooed? Or maybe some dragons like putting out fires more than starting them...unless they absolutely have to? Dragonesque features sixteen original stories from such fiery authors as Esther M. Friesner, Madeline Dau, Niall Spain, Russell Hugh McConnell, Grace Eliza, Mike Jack Stoumbos, Paul D. Smith, Jean Marie Ward, Gerald Brandt, Gini Koch & Bebe Bayliss, Larry Ivkovich, Barbara Campbell, Journey Sloane, Em McDermott, Auston Habershaw, and David B. Coe. See the world as the dragons see it, from the delightfully delicious to the tastefully transactional. Welcome to Dragonesque.

A missing intergalactic artifact valuable enough to inspire murder. A cartoon gag gone bad that leads to a gruesome death. Greek deities unraveling a divine mystery in New York City. A human detective navigating the temptations of Faerie in pursuit of a magical killer. Call them sleuths, call them gumshoes, call them shamuses or dicks or beagles—these private investigators prowl the back alleys of imagination, explaining the unexplainable, seeking answers and justice for two hundred dollars a day plus expenses. In Noir, speculative fiction authors Hal Bodner, Jessie Kwak, Esther M. Friesner, Travis Wade Beaty, John Zakour, Alex Bledsoe, Erik Grove, Andrija Popovic, Julie E. Czerneda, Aprilynne Pike, D.B. Jackson, Justin Jordan, Steven Harper, R.S. Belcher, and Eve Golden-Woods spin tales of intrigue and danger, introducing you to worlds where information is currency and life is cheap. So put on your fedora, raise your trench coat collar against the evening chill, and come explore the shadows. But remember, in this seedy business, you can trust no one...sometimes not even yourself.

Would you kill for your art? Would it kill for you? A painter who kills with blood-tinged pigment. A tattoo artist with a dark past who treats with demons. A sculptor on Venus who carves his life’s history into ice at the cost of his sanity. A ceramic vase that might avenge the life of a murder victim. A haunted song that drives listeners to kill. Art surrounds us. It entertains and nurtures. And for some it can do far more. It can protect a family over generations or bridge the boundary between the realms of the living and the dead. It can be a curse or a boon, a path to riches or to damnation. In Artifice and Craft, speculative fiction authors Lyndsay E. Gilbert, Laura E. Price, Adam Stemple, Brian K. Lowe, James R. Tuck, Briana Una McGuckin, Jordan Davidson, James Maxey, Madeline Dau, Joel Armstrong, C.E. Murphy, Mark Painter, Alex Bledsoe, Alethea Kontis, Gerri Leen, and Jelena Dunato craft tales of art and artistry that are shaded with the supernatural, tuned to the fantastic, and glazed with the unexpected. So listen, watch, admire. But don’t touch, and don’t turn your back. Because these works of art are far more than they seem.

What if future criminals played games of skill for their freedom? Would spellcasters dare use magic to skew chance in their favor? What if aliens judged us based on the games we play? Can a dying woman literally cheat Death? Games are about more than winning and losing. They’re about risk and reward, strategy and blind fortune, our need to win and our fear of being outplayed. And when magic and science infuse a game, the stakes can be of cosmic importance. Each move could decide life or death. Are you ready to play? In this anthology, seventeen of today’s leading fantasy and science fiction authors explore the role games play in worlds both seen and unseen. Join Aliette de Bodard, Jennifer R Povey, Ed Greenwood, Cory Swanson, David Hankins, Cat Rambo, Wulf Moon, Jo Miles, James Alan Gardner, Karen Aria Lin, Mike Rimar, Eric Choi, Tris Lawrence, Mark Silcox, Melissa Yi, Michael Picco, and Sean Williams as they share with us games played for unimaginable stakes. The board is set, the cards are dealt—now it’s GAME ON!

Successful spies change history. Failures are never heard from again. From simple data theft or sabotage to protecting state secrets and last-ditch gambles that alter the tides of war, it's the spy—professional or amateur—who gets the job done! Whether it's for King and country or private vendetta, it is often the lone agent, through stealth, skill, and sometimes a little luck, who makes the difference. If only it were that easy. In Last-Ditch you'll find sixteen original stories of men, women, aliens, and even creatures who face seemingly insurmountable odds to achieve their goals. So come join in on a little heart-pounding espionage, as Jason M. Hough, Tanya Huff, L.E. Modesitt, Jr., D. Thomas Minton, Nemma Wollenfang, Hayden Trenholm, Edward Willett, Blake Jessop, Steve Perry, Ember Randall, Derryl Murphy, Chadwick Ginther, Russell Hugh McConnell, Gary Kloster, E.C. Ambrose, and Donald McCarthy put it all on the line to take you behind the scenes and behind enemy lines.

Welcome to the second year’s-worth of stories from the online magazine ZNB Presents published by the small press Zombies Need Brains. In these pages, you will find original science fiction and fantasy stories of awe and wonder, darkness and light, ranging through all of the subgenres, including urban fantasy, alternate history, space opera, future fairy tales, and more. They come from the most talented authors in the field today—new voices as well as trusted and familiar names. Join us as we explore visions of the past, present, and future, as we encounter strange new creatures, both in our own backyard, in the depths of space, and our own imagination. Here you will: --Search for a cryptid in the mean streets of the city that tricks you into walking into its mouth --Scavenge in a world where AI has passed the singularity --Relive the scents of a recently lost world at a near-future carnival --Fleece the rich in a South African suborbirail --Hunt vampires in the crypts beneath the Kremlin with a saint by your side --Bargain with the sentient plants in a precarious alliance on a colonized world --Uncover the alternate assassin of Abraham Lincoln --Concoct potions as an apprentice with just a touch too much flare --Become an AI struggling to complete its mission after crashlanding on an alien world And so much more! Twenty-four stories written by Daniel Roman, Ty Lazar, L.P. Melling, Nathan W. Toronto, Caias Ward, Jonathan Robbins Leon, Marie Vibbert, Rob Cornell, Mike Jack Stoumbos, J.L. George, Brian Hugenbruch, Andrew Gudgel, Alicia Cay, Elektra Hammond, Derrick Boden, Alma Alexander, Melinda Brasher, Louis Evans, Niall Spain, Brian Crenshaw, S.C. Butler, Sam Robb, Liam Hogan, and Christine Lucas, each with its own illustration by artists Kat D’Andrea, Ariel Guzman, or Greg Uchrin. Welcome to the multifaceted worlds of ZNB Presents. Find us on Patreon at: http://www.patreon.com/zombiesneedbrains

Who Needs a Friend, When You Have a Familiar? Animals have been our companions since the dawn of time, but in science fiction and fantasy, often that bond is taken one magical—or technological—step further. In Familiars we asked authors to put their own unique spin on this idea, resulting in this collection of fifteen stories that explore the range of familiar bonds—from cats to caterpillars, squids to squirrels, and everything in between. With settings from fantasy to science fiction, and stories ranging from humor to horror, there's something to appeal to everyone! Featuring stories by Brian Hugenbruch, Lawrence Harding, Jean Marie Ward, Jordan Bricco, Alexander G.R. Gideon, Gini Koch & Bebe Bayliss, Russell Hugh McConnell, Kari Sperring, Alicia Cay, Jim C. Hines, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, Shanna Germain, Jacey Bedford, A. Katherine Black, and Jason Palmatier. The buddy system is back, baby!

Here Comes the Sun! Rising temperatures, melting glaciers, violent storms, and excessive heat. The future seems bleak...but there are signs of hope. In Solar Flare, we ask you to step into a world where we have managed to mitigate or even reverse the disastrous effects of climate change and our own destruction of our world. Race down the depleted waterway of the Mississippi in a solar-, wind-, and water-powered boat. Sail through the skies in a floating hydroponic dirigible. Skim along a solar-powered road in order to expose a corporation’s secret. Hover weightless in space in a last-ditch effort to repair an umbrella-like solar collector. Or cower in a shelter as fire rages outside...only to emerge and discover the rebirth such fire can bring. Experience all of this and more in these seventeen solarpunk stories brought to you by today’s hottest authors, including David Keener, Anthony W. Eichenlaub, Sarena Ulibarri, Jason Palmatier, Lauren C. Teffeau, S.C. Butler, Devan Barlow, Chaz Brenchley, Liam Hogan, Nicole Givens Kurtz, Christopher R. Muscato, Rhondi Salsitz, Ember Randall, Gail Z. Martin & Larry N. Martin, Sharon Lee & Steve Miller, Kristine Smith, and Anthony Lowe. Time to turn the tide and dream of a better future.