Ruby Slippers Golden Tears

Fairy tales reimagined—in stories by “a distinguished company of writers” including Neil Gaiman, Joyce Carol Oates, and Tanith Lee (Kirkus Reviews). For many of us, the fairy tale was our first exposure to the written word and the power of storytelling. These wondrous works of magic and morality enthralled us, enchanted us, sometimes terrified us, and remain in our hearts and memories still. Once again, World Fantasy Award–winning editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling have compiled an extraordinary collection of reimagined tales conceived by some of today’s most acclaimed contemporary purveyors of literary fantasy, science fiction, and horror, including Neil Gaiman, Gahan Wilson, Joyce Carol Oates, Tanith Lee, Nancy Kress, Gene Wolfe, and others. Remarkable things lurk in these dark and magical woods. Here Beauty confronts a serial-killer Beast, Hansel and Gretel’s witch resides not in a gingerbread house but in a luxurious resort, and Rumpelstiltskin is truly the devil demanding his due, rightfully or otherwise. The hilarious “Roach in Loafers” ingeniously combines the classic “Elves and the Shoemaker” tale with “Puss in Boots” and adds an insectile twist, while in a modern fable that blends The Wizard of Oz and Hans Christian Andersen, Dorothy is set adrift in Hollywoodland, ruby slippers and all. These are not the fairy stories you remember from childhood.

Fairy tales retold—with a twist—from “some of our best storytellers” including Neil Gaiman, Gahan Wilson, Tanith Lee, and others (The Washington Post). In this “no holds barred . . . nightmarish . . . provocative” collection, bestselling and award-winning fantasy masters put a dark, disturbing, and erotic spin on your favorite bedtime stories—and give you something entirely new to trouble your dreams (The New York Times Book Review). A boy is haunted through adulthood by a soul-eating creature that lies forever in wait under Neil Gaiman’s “Troll Bridge”; a melancholy amphibian shares his most private fantasies with a therapist in Gahan Wilson’s “The Frog Prince”; in Tanith Lee’s “Snow-Drop,” a lonely artist invites seven circus performers into her home to satisfy an obsession; in Steve Rasnic Tem’s “Little Poucet,” a band of lost brothers find refuge and terror with a hungry family in the woods; and Wendy Wheeler delves into the deviant psyche of the predatory male in “Little Red.” Also featuring Nancy Kress, Charles de Lint, Melanie Tem, Patricia A. McKillip, Jack Dann, and others, all paying a revisit to our favorite fairy tales in ways you’ve never dared to imagine.

20 fairy tales hauntingly reimagined by some of today’s finest sci-fi and fantasy authors, including Joyce Carol Oates, Neil Gaiman, Tanith Lee, and more. Once upon a time, all our cherished dreams began with the words once upon a time. This is the phrase that opened our favorite tales of princes and spells and magical adventures. World Fantasy Award–winning editors Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling understand the power of beloved stories—and in Black Heart, Ivory Bones, their sixth anthology of reimagined fairy tales, they have gathered together stories and poetry from some of the most acclaimed writers of our time, including Neil Gaiman, Tanith Lee, Charles de Lint, and Joyce Carol Oates. But be forewarned: These fairy tales are not for children. A prideful Texas dancer is cursed by a pair of lustrous red boots . . . Goldilocks tells all about her brutal and wildly dysfunctional foster family, the Bears . . . An archaeologist in Victorian England is enchanted by a newly exhumed Sleeping Beauty . . . A prince of tabloid journalism is smitten by a trailer-park Rapunzel . . . A clockwork amusement park troll becomes sentient and sets out to foment an automaton revolution. These are but a few examples of the marvels that await within these pages—tales that range from the humorous to the sensuous to the haunting and horrifying, each one a treasure with a distinctly adult edge.

Offers contemporary retellings of traditional fairy tales, including Gregory Frost's "Sparks," "The Dog Rose" by Sten Westgard, and other works by Jane Yolen, Joyce Carol Oates, Nancy Kress, and John Crowley.

The four previous volumes in Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling's anthology series of fairly tales retold with a distinctively modern edge have been hailded by reviewers as "brilliant," "provocative," and "disturbing." In this triumphant new collection of original fiction, twenty-one of today's leading writers spin the cherished fables of childhood into glittering gold -- offering magical tales for adults, as seductive as they are sophisticated. A jealous prince plots the destruction of his hated brother's wedding by inventing a "magic" suit of clothing visible only to the pure at heart . . . A young girl's strange fairy tale obsession results in a brutal murder . . . An embittered mother cares for her dying son who is trapped in a thicket that guards a sleeping beauty . . . In a bleak and desolate industrial wasteland, a group of violent outcasts lays the tattered myths of one Millenium to rest, and gives terrifying birth to those of the next. Erotic, compelling, witty, and altogether extraordinary, these stories lay bare our innermost demons and desires--imaginatively transforming our youthful fantasies into things darker, slyer, and more delightfully subversive.

Presents eighteen retellings of classic fairy tales in contemporary and adult formats, including the writings of such authors as Peter Straub and Roger Zelazny

The marvels of tomorrows past and tomorrows yet to come abound in this delightful volume. With two dozen imaginative and moving tales, this collection included the work of the finest writers in the field, among them: Poul Anderson, Terry Bisson, Pat Cadigan, Greg Egan, Michael F. Flynn, Joe Haldeman, James Patrick Kelly, John Kessel, Nancy Kress, Ursula K. Le Guin, Ian R. MacLeod, David Marusek, Paul J. McAuley, Maureen F. McHugh, Robert Reed, Mary Rosenblum, Geoff Ryman, William Sanders, Dan Simmons, Brian Stableford, Allen Steele, Michael Swanwick. A helpful list of honorable mentions and Gardner Dozois's insightful summation of the year in science fiction round out the volume, making it indispensable for anyone interested in science fiction today. "Once again, Dozois serves up a pleasurable mix of established luminaries as well as the newer stars of the SF realm...All of the 24 short stories or novellas are rewarding, which is really the most outstanding feature of this collection."--Publishers Weekly

Altmann and de Vos are back with more great ideas for exploring contemporary reworkings of classic folk and fairy tales that appeal to teen readers. If you loved New Tales for Old (Libraries Unlimited, 1999), this new work will be sure to please. Following the same format, each story includes tale type numbers, motifs, and lists of reworkings arranged by genre, and suggestions for classroom extensions. INSIDE: Beauty and the Beast, Jack and the Beanstalk, Tam Lin, Thomas the Rhymer, and five fairy tales by Hans Christian Andersen.