Showing results by narrator "Dion Graham" in All Categories

When Bashar pays an unannounced visit to the J. Appleseed Foundation, he encounters the ghosts of his long past. And the trail of clues he follows will put his wife and daughter directly in the crosshairs -- and threaten the very existence of Seattle. These connected stories were originally published in METAtropolis: Green Space. In addition, Jay Lake's "Rock of Ages" was selected for inclusion in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirty-First Annual Collection, edited by Gardner Dozois.

Dak, Sera, and Riq involve themselves in one of the most bizarre spy missions in history…and the outcome of World War II hangs in the balance.

As editor of literary journal McSweeney's, Dave Eggers has been partly responsible for a rejuvenation of short fiction in the USA. At the same time, he has also developed his own unique, funny, and endlessly inventive take on the short story form. In "Quiet", Tom visits Erin - a friend and former co-worker living overseas.

A powerful telling of the first African-American heavyweight champion, this story portrays how a shy, fearful young man learned to fight back and become one of history's more compelling personalities. Children will be awed and inspired by the boxer's energy and drive which is duly reflected through the rhythmic text and excellent narration.

The award-winning father-and-son team once again delivers a stunning collaboration in this poetic celebration of the child as an individual. Jeremy notices that everyone sees him differently: to his sister, he’s a little brother; to his teacher, he’s a writer; to his mother, he’s a dreamer. With hip-hop verse and vibrant artwork that resonates with urban verve, this extraordinary tribute to oneself will resonate with children and adults of all ages and backgrounds

From noted journalist and professor David Dent comes this poignant and fascinating survey of contemporary African-American life. 

In Search of Black America is compilation of eclectic personalities and rare insights. Dent spent five years researching and travelling across the continent interviewing America’s Black middle-class.

When fate brings Jazmine and the X-Man together, the only thing they have in common is a dream to make it big in the music business. Jazmine, a college student, sings in the church choir and yearns for the courage to move away from her overprotective father. The X-Man, who packs a .38 and gets high with his homies, performs his own brand of gangsta rap in the street. Suddenly Black Tie Records discovers them both, and, amazingly enough, they discover each other. These unlikely lovers are a good match, realizing their dreams together....

Pages magazine says this collection represents “the absolute best in short literary fiction.” This installment exhibits a fresh batch of immensely talented writers, all of whom exemplify the level of accomplishment that has kept this acclaimed series running strong since 1985. Comprising 20 stories, this rich and varied collection features everything from a fresh take on the classic Southern gothic to a velvet-smooth work of erotic suspense.

Winner of the Sonja H. Stone Prize in Literature, Preston L. Allen’s Jesus Boy was listed by O, the Oprah Magazine as one of “Ten More Titles to Read Now.” Sixteen-year-old Elwyn Parker is dedicated to God. But when the one he loves marries another man, Elwin gets involved with a much older woman. Soon, his lust will test his devotion - and may alienate him from his congregation. 

Winged Creatures is the startling and intimate story of six survivors of a gun massacre. Hidden under a table, teenagers Anne and Jimmy watched as the gunman indiscriminately murdered Anne's father and others, then himself. Struggling to understand her father's death, Anne experiences a virulent religious conversion. Jimmy ceases to speak, protecting a secret that he and Anne share until it nearly destroys him and his fractured family.

With gripping and unforgettable depictions of battle and detailed character portraits of soldiers and statesmen, No Quarter compellingly re-creates in human scale an event epic in scope and mind-boggling in its cost of life. In using the Battle of the Crater as a lens through which to focus the political and social ramifications of the Civil War - particularly the racial tensions on both sides of the struggle - Richard Slotkin brings to listeners a fresh perspective on perhaps the most consequential period in American history.

This latest plunge in to the psyche of the lone American male by author Lysa Williams brings us three men struggling in the war against dysfunction: a high-school student who rides the NYC subway each night in search of that perfect moment of beauty; a narcoleptic painter, the erotic Vermeer, who falls asleep on contact; and a psychic male prostitute who spends his off hours creating miniature models of the seven wonders of the world.

Amid the sparkle and hum of a New York City winter, Jed and his best friend, Flyer, are filming a documentary of their neighborhood. In the process, Jed confronts painful memories of his older brother, Zeke, a poet who loved jazzman Charlie "Bird" Parker and who died, leaving behind his CDs, a notebook, and a lot of unanswered questions.

Lucas Baird never got much of a break when he was a child, but by his early 20s, his good looks and easy manner allow him to skate through life without having to put in much effort. On the cusp of manhood in years yet still a boy, what Anthony Trollope called a hobbledehoy, charming Luke has enjoyed his extended adolescence of drinking and small-time cons.

Lymon's father is, for the time being, at Parchman Farm - the Mississippi State Penitentiary - and his mother, whom he doesn't remember all that much, has moved North. Fortunately, Lymon is being raised by his loving grandparents. Together, Lymon and his grandpops share a love of music, spending late summer nights playing the guitar. But Lymon's world as he knows it is about to dissolve. He will be sent on a journey to two Northern cities far from the country life he loves - and the version of himself he knows.

Clem can make anybody, even his grumpy older sisters, smile with his jokes. But when his family receives news that his father has died in the infamous Port Chicago disaster, everything begins to fall apart. Clem's mother is forced to work long, tough hours as a maid for a wealthy White family. Soon Clem can barely recognize his home - and himself. Can he live up to his father's legacy?

It’s one single steamy July day at the West 4th Street Court in New York City, otherwise known as the Cage. Hotshot baller ESPN is wooing the scouts, Boo is struggling to guard the weird new guy named Waco, a Spike Lee wannabe has video rolling, and virgin Irene is sizing up six-foot-eight-and-a-half-inch-tall Chester. Nine of young-adult literature’s top writers reveal how it all goes down in this searing novel in short stories that each ingeniously pick up where the last one ends.

Nineteen-year-old refugee Alephonsion Deng, from war-ravaged Sudan, had great expectations when he arrived in America three weeks before two planes crashed into the World Trade Towers. Suburban mom Judy Bernstein assumed the teenaged "Lost Boys of Sudan" needed a little mothering and a change of scenery. Partnered through a mentoring program in San Diego, these two individuals from opposite sides of the world began an eye-opening journey that radically altered each other's vision and life. Disturbed in Their Nests recounts the first year of this heartwarming partnership. 

From the award-winning author and illustrator of Before She Was Harriet comes an original and moving perspective of the Great Migration, as seen through the eyes of the young girl Ruth Ellen, whose family journeys from North Carolina to New York City.

This companion title to Trombone Shorty - Caldecott Honor, Coretta Scott King Award, and Odyssey Honor winner - is a well-tuned, beautiful exploration of a beloved community as Shorty visits the streets of New Orleans to find answers on how to be a leader in his band.