Stories: All-New Tales

Many loving thanks to Jennifer Brehl and Merrilee Heifetz, dual rudders on a long boat, for steering us safely to shore.

About the Editors

Neil Gaiman is the New York Times bestselling author of the novels Neverwhere, Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, Anansi Boys, The Graveyard Book, and Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett); the Sandman series of graphic novels; and the story collections Smoke and Mirrors and Fragile Things. He is the winner of numerous literary honors, including the Hugo, Bram Stoker, and World Fantasy Awards, and the Newbery Medal. Originally from England, he now lives in America.

www.neilgaiman.com

Award winner Al Sarrantonio is the author of forty previous books, including several highly acclaimed novels. He has edited numerous collections, including the groundbreaking 999: New Stories of Horror and Suspense and Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy. He lives in Newburgh, New York.

www.alsarrantonio.com

Visit www.AuthorTracker.com for exclusive information on your favorite HarperCollins author.

ALSO BY NEIL GAIMAN

FOR ADULTS

The Graveyard Book (with illustrations by Dave McKean)

Anansi Boys

Coraline (with illustrations by Dave McKean)

American Gods

Stardust

Neverwhere

Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett)

FOR ALL AGES

M Is for Magic

Fragile Things

Smoke and Mirrors

Odd and the Frost Giants (illustrated by Brett Helquist)

Crazy Hair (illustrated by Dave McKean)

Blueberry Girl (illustrated by Charles Vess)

The Dangerous Alphabet (illustrated by Chris Grimly)

The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish (illustrated by Dave McKean)

The Wolves in the Walls (illustrated by Dave McKean)

ALSO BY AL SARRANTONIO

NOVELS

The Orangefield Trilogy (Hallow Eve, Horrorween, Halloweenland)

Masters of Mars (Haydn of Mars, Sebastian of Mars, Queen of Mars)

The Five Worlds Trilogy (Exile, Journey, Return)

Moonbane

Skeletons

October

House Haunted

West Texas

Kitt Peak

Cold Night

Summer Cool

The Boy with Penny Eyes

Totentanz

Campbell Wood

STORY COLLECTIONS

Toybox

Hornets and Others

Halloween and Other Seasons

AS EDITOR

999: New Stories of Horror and Suspense

Redshift: Extreme Visions of Speculative Fiction

Flights: Extreme Visions of Fantasy

The National Lampoon Treasury of Humor

The Fireside Treasury of New Humor

The Fireside Treasury of Great Humor

Credits

Jacket design by James L. Iacobelli

Jacket illustration by Tom Gauld

Copyright

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

“Introduction: Just Four Words” by Neil Gaiman. Copyright © 2010 by Neil Gaiman.

“Blood” by Roddy Doyle. Copyright © 2010 by Roddy Doyle.

“Fossil-Figures” by Joyce Carol Oates. Copyright © 2010 by the Ontario Review.

“Wildfire in Manhattan” by Joanne Harris. Copyright © 2010 by Frogspawn, Ltd.

“The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains” by Neil Gaiman. Copyright © 2010 by Neil Gaiman.

“Unbelief” by Michael Marshall Smith. Copyright © 2010 by Michael Marshall Smith.

“The Stars Are Falling” by Joe R. Lansdale. Copyright © 2010 by Joe R. Lansdale.

“Juvenal Nyx” by Walter Mosley. Copyright © 2010 by Walter Mosley.

“The Knife” by Richard Adams. Copyright © 2010 by Richard Adams.

“Weights and Measures” by Jodi Picoult. Copyright © 2010 by Jodi Picoult.

“Goblin Lake” by Michael Swanwick. Copyright © 2010 by Michael Swanwick.

“Mallon the Guru” by Peter Straub. Copyright © 2010 by Peter Straub.

“Catch and Release” by Lawrence Block. Copyright © 2010 by Lawrence Block.

“Polka Dots and Moonbeams” by Jeffrey Ford. Copyright © 2010 by Jeffrey Ford.

“Loser” by Chuck Palahniuk. Copyright © 2010 by Chuck Palahniuk.

“Samantha’s Diary” by Diana Wynne Jones. Copyright © 2010 by Diana Wynne Jones.

“Land of the Lost” by Stewart O’Nan. Copyright © 2010 by Stewart O’Nan.

“Leif in the Wind” by Gene Wolfe. Copyright © 2010 by Gene Wolfe.

“Unwell” by Carolyn Parkhurst. Copyright © 2010 by Carolyn Parkhurst.