Search results

Today we celebrate what would be the 71st birthday of the late Octavia Butler, a pioneer in the world of science fiction, with "The Book of Martha," a short story from Bloodchild.

In this story, Butler works through her lack of belief in the possibility of a universally appealing utopia with humor and careful consideration. God summons Martha Bes to effectively ameliorate the conditions of humanity. As a result of the exchange, Martha settles on an original plan to satisfy God's seemingly impossible challenge.

PS: Enter to win a free copy of Bloodchild here, and take 50% off Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents through Saturday June 23, 11:59 PM.

While reading through Kurt Vonnegut’s papers in the Lilly Library, at Indiana University, as they worked on the first comprehensive edition of his short fiction, Vonnegut’s friend Dan Wakefield and Jerome Klinkowitz, a scholar of Vonnegut’s work, came across five previously unpublished stories. 

In anticipation of publishing Kurt Vonnegut’s Complete Stories (available for order today!), we’ve been rolling out some of those tales that never found their way into print. The Atlantic got “The Drone King,” which they published along with an incredible animated version of the story. Another, “Requiem for Zeitgeist” will be published tomorrow on the website of The Nation.

And here’s "And on Your Left," a never before published Vonnegut story exclusively for the Seven Stories blog. It tells the tale of hard scientists forced into a life of show biz, and how they conspire to get back to their work. We hope you enjoy!

Things to Do When You're Goth in the Country, Chavisa Woods's incredible new book of short stories, is out this week. Among those taking notice are Lambda Literary's Sara Rauch, who describes the book as "nuanced and provocative, heartfelt and funny and wise."

Ever wondered how exactly the Ancient Egyptians preserved their dead? So have we. Problem is that those storied embalmers never wrote down their secret. But with the help of some ancient texts and modern experiments, we have a rough idea. Tamara Bower, author of The Mummy Makers of Egypt, breaks it down.

Read a masterful short story from Barry Gifford's new book, The Cuban Club.

It's the book that predicted Trump, altered the course of speculative fiction, and helped to inspire Beyoncé's Lemonade. It's also a masterpiece in its own right. I'm talking about Octavia Butler's Parable of the Sower, which was published twenty-five years ago this week. To commemorate the date, you can read the first three chapters of the book here. And if you don't want to give your money to Amazon, you can buy the book direct from Seven Stories, at 25% off, with free shipping within the U.S. Enjoy!

Introducing a new feature on the Seven Stories blog: an indie bookstore round-up, in which staff and other members of our community write a few words on their other favorite independent bookstores. This week, Ben Hillin writes about Topos, in Ridgewood, Queens.

You may know Franz Kafka's "The Trial," a tale of nightmarish bureaucracy, but do you know Anton Chekhov's? Written in 1881, when Chekhov was only twenty-one, it contains the germ of much that would later come to be considered Chekhovian: petty cruelty, country life, and the inability of one generation to come to terms with the other. And because it's Chekhov's birthday today, we're publishing his short story, "The Trial," exclusively here in the blog. We hope you enjoy, if enjoy is indeed the word. 

Happy birthday to Nelson Algren, one of Seven Stories's founding authors and patron saints. Algren was the first ever National Book Award winner, the one-time lover of Simone de Beauvoir, and an inspiration to artists as diverse as Kurt Vonnegut and Donald Barthelme, Studs Turkel and Lou Reed. But Algren was much more than his accolades and could ever show, as the following excerpt from his Noncomformity: Writing on Writing will attest. Beginning with an epigraph from F. Scott Fitzgerald in his 'crack-up' years, Algren's essay is, in some ways, the opposite of inspiring. It is a look into the depths of the writer's motivation (hint: vindictiveness), and a hymn to all those who "live underground." Perhaps enjoy is not the world—but we hope you'll find yourself moved and provoked by this lyrical and brilliant piece of writing on writing.

We sat down with Ivana Bodrožic, author of The Hotel Tito, to discuss why there is no such thing as "displaced children," subconscious literary influences, and her next book from Seven Stories, a political thriller called Pits that will arrive in 2020. Pardon the shakiness of the footage and the vertical video—we're working on our cinematography skills!

Seven Stories is celebrating the last few weeks of 2018 with our biggest sale of the year! From now until January 1st, 2019, enjoy 50% almost all our titles, along with free shipping to anywhere in the U.S.

We sat down with J. Malcolm Garcia to discuss his book The Fruit of All My Grief and his method of writing about folks in the U.S. whose stories the headlines tend to leave behind.

When we talk about Black History Month, we talk about the rich, diverse histories of Black politics, cultures, and causes in the United States and abroad. To center these stories for the month of February should serve as a launch point for a full year of investigation into Black histories, and a reminder that the struggle for Black liberation and anti-racist movement building is work that cannot be limited to just 29 days. Celebrate Black History Month every month.

Introducing Three Cheers, a new series in which Seven Stories authors dish on three books that have inspired them over the course of their writing careers. In this installment, Barry Gifford, author of Wild at Heart and, most recently, The Cuban Club, dusts off some lesser known works of fiction for his three picks. 

Check out the latest installment of Three Cheers, a series in which Seven Stories authors dish on three books or authors that have inspired them over the course of their lives. In this issue, Innosanto Nagara, author of A is for Activist and many others, showcases a diverse range of influences, from the Polish absurdist Jerzy Kosinski to a dissident poet/playwright much closer to home. 

You heard that right—77% off all e-books from Seven Stories through May 15, 5PM EST. Check out some of our collections, including Fiction from around the World, Radical Women, Activist Diaries, and our For Young People series if you're looking for inspiration!

Paul Krassner, co-founder with Abbie Hoffman of the Yippies, author, editor, and all around merry prankster, died yesterday at 87. Seven Stories publisher Dan Simon shares a few words on why Paul was, as Kurt Vonnegut once put it, "one of our most important national treasures." You can donate in Paul's memory here.