When Norris, a Black French Canadian, starts his junior year at an Austin, Texas, high school, he views his fellow students as clichés from "a bad 90s teen movie."

Presents a selection of the best works of short fiction of the past year from a variety of acclaimed sources.

The only writer ever to win both the Pulitzer Prize and Pen/Faulkner Award for a single novel (Independence Day) Richard Ford follows the completion of his acclaimed Bascombe trilogy with Canada. After a five-year hiatus, an undisputed American master delivers a haunting and elemental novel about the cataclysm that undoes one teenage boy's family, and the stark and unforgiving landscape in which he attempts to find grace. A powerful and unforgettable...

"In "Until Gwen," Dennis Lehane offers a narrative experiment and a haunting picture of a father and son. Tom Perrotta's "The Smile on Happy Chang's Face" explores a Little League umpire's attempt to cope with his biggest personal regret and the inability to make a decisive call on the field. Thomas McGuane's "Old Friends" examines the intersection of shared history and obligation, while Joyce Carol Oates meditates on the inescapable bonds of family...

An anthology of historical fiction and fantasy short stories features a diverse array of daring heroines making their way in often-hostile lands, using every weapon in their arsenals to face down everything from murderers to marriage proposals.

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War Cantata translated by Keith Turnbull. How far will humanity go in its quest for power? Why do we desire to eliminate each other through war? War Cantata looks at ways the impulse for violence is transmitted from one generation to the next; for example, when a father teaches his son hatred to transform him into a soldier impervious to pity. Without focusing on a particular battle or soldier, this harsh, intense, choral text builds the rhythmic...

Three young Native American sisters and their mother board a bus bound for Los Angeles, leaving home as part of a 1950's government mandate to relocate reserve Indians to urban centers. This assimilationist policy was one focus of Métis playwright Marie Clements's research when she was commissioned to create a new play for the tenth anniversary of the Native Voices series at the Autry National Center, Los Angeles. Clements dramatizes the emotional,...

Drawing from MacLeod's experience working with mentally handicapped adults and children, this play celebrates the personal challenges of both self-destruction and self-affirmation so vital to the process of identity creation. At the play's heart is Jhana, whose character begs the question whether the other characters, in their own ways, are any less handicapped. Cast of 2 women and 2 men.

Cerulean Blue is a comedic play about a struggling blues band invited to participate in a benefit concert for a First Nation community in conflict with governmental authorities. Upon arriving, the band discovers the entire lineup of musical acts has cancelled and they're left trapped behind barricades. Complicating the matter, there is conflict within the band and the sudden appearance of an old girlfriend makes the event even more perilous. This...