Featuring 33 stories under 1000 words by the winners of the Flash in the Attic Flash Fiction Contest. The very brief stories in this volume, by turns playful, provocative, poignant, fantastical, fearless, and wildly imaginative, prove just how much can be accomplished in 1000 words or fewer.As it turns out, 1000 words is plenty of room to make a scene, get people in trouble, get them out of it, or parse language one letter at a time, as Sharon Goldberg does in "Rear-End Collisions," which took second place. 1000 words is also enough room for the dead to visit the living on a subway car bound for Brooklyn, for fathers to lose the hearts of their daughters, and for the sun to threaten the future of the earth and the intricate bonds of family. Neal Allen's winning story, "The Mayan Calendar," proves that 1000 words is also enough to span the history of civilization.

Family Stories from the Attic is an anthology of essays, creative nonfiction, and poetry inspired by family letters, objects, and archives. Nearly two dozen contributors from the United States and Australia tell stories of immigration and migration, loss, discovery, secrets, questions, love, and the search for meaning and identity. Editors Christi Craig and Lisa Rivero bring together both experienced and new authors who will prompt writers and non-writers alike to think about their own family treasures and histories in new ways.

"Flash Frights" is a chilling collection of 50 concise and spine-tingling horror stories that will send shivers down your spine. Dive into a world of terror and suspense as each tale unfolds, offering quick but potent doses of fear and excitement. From ghostly apparitions to sinister creatures, this anthology promises to keep readers on the edge of their seats, delivering a relentless onslaught of scares and thrills in bite-sized portions. Perfect for those seeking a quick adrenaline rush and a taste of the macabre, "Flash Frights" guarantees a hair-raising reading experience that will haunt your nightmares.

A mysterious book, unusual abilities, and a school that isn't quite what it seems - Celia Fincastle is about to step into a whole different world, and she has no idea what awaits her. She's got new friends and some big expectations for her future, but someone doesn't want her to stay. Celia must figure out who's behind the plot and stop it - fast - because there's more at stake than she realizes...

"The Vulgar Tongue tells the full story of English language slang, from its origins in early British beggar books to its spread in American and Australian culture in the eighteenth century"--

This exuberant debut, praised by Gabrielle Zevin as a "time-bending gem," asks: how do we navigate life, love and choice in a world of never-ending options? When Lauren returns home to her flat in London late one night, she is greeted at the door by her husband, Michael. There’s only one problem—she’s not married. She’s never seen this man before in her life. But according to her friends, her much-improved decor, and the photos on her phone, they’ve been together for years. As Lauren tries to puzzle out how she could be married to someone she can’t remember meeting, Michael goes to the attic to change a lightbulb and abruptly disappears. In his place, a new man emerges, and a new, slightly altered life re-forms around her. Realizing that her attic is creating an infinite supply of husbands, Lauren confronts the question: If swapping lives is as easy as changing a lightbulb, how do you know you’ve taken the right path? When do you stop trying to do better and start actually living?

With a new sister on the way, Roosevelt Banks has to give up his bedroom and move into the attic, which must be haunted because of all the squeaks and groans coming from the spooky place at the top of the stairs. After his plan to move into a fort in the woods fails, and a ghost-busting exercise goes terribly wrong, Roosevelt—with the help of Tommy, Josh, and Eddie Spaghetti—has to find the courage to defeat the biggest, spookiest ghouls ever and turn the Attic of Doom into a Room with a View.

After their home burns down, fourteen-year-old Nick, his younger brother, and their father move into a ramshackle Victorian house they've inherited. When Nick opens the door to his attic room, he's hit in the head by a toaster. That's just the beginning of his weird experiences with the old junk stored up there. After getting rid of the odd antiques in a garage sale, Nick befriends some local kids-Mitch, Caitlin, and Vincent-and they discover that all of the objects have extraordinary properties. What's more, Nick figures out that the attic is a strange magnetic vortex, which attracts all sorts of trouble. It's as if the attic itself has an intelligence . . . and a purpose. Ultimately Nick learns that the genius Nikola Tesla placed the items-his last inventions-in the attic as part of a larger plan that he mathematically predicted. Nick and his new friends must retrieve everything that was sold at the garage sale and keep it safe. But the task is fraught with peril-in addition to the dangers inherent in Tesla's mysterious and powerful creations, a secret society of physicists, the Accelerati, is determined to stop Nick and alter destiny to achieve its own devious ends. It's a lot for a guy to handle, especially when he'd much rather fly under the radar as the new kid in town. Fans of intrigue, action, humor, and nonstop surprises are guaranteed a read unlike any other in Tesla's Attic, Book One of the Accelerati Trilogy.

Bash Nadir was a promising young guitarist in Austin, Texas who dreamt of having a successful career in the music business. His dreams were shattered when he lost his arm in a motorcycle accident. Working as the sound engineer for a rock band, the Zeniths, Bash and the band move into an old house in the country where no one expects the strange and dark events awaiting them, events that will lead Bash to revelation, redemption, and the love of his life.

"24 year old ed Becker purchases a house for himself and his expecting wife; a two-flat apartment building, which would allow them to live in one apartment and rent the other. What Ed doesn't know, is that there are already tenants residing in this building that he cannot evict ... Skeptical and street-smart, Ed has a difficult time coming to the realization that this apartment is home to the paranormal. As tensions begin to build between his spouse and himself, he attributes the stress to the new lifestyle they had accumulated, as both property owners and new parents. Coupled with the efforts of working long hours and restoring a dilapidated home, Ed ignores the unusual happenings that have no viable explanation. And what happens when something that wants to be noticed goes unacknowledged? Things escalate ... Read this hauntingly true story, of one of the earliest televised exorcisms in the nation, brought to the forefront by NBC. Interviewed and reported by nationally known news correspondent, Carole Simpson, and conducted by nationally known psychic Joseph DeLouise and exorcist, Rev. William Derl-Davis. Go behind the scenes of the known history of this truly haunted home--one that shattered the dreams of a young couple, and the family that can never leave it."--Page 4 of cover