The Wishing Pool and Other Stories

—Includes “Incident at Bear Creek Lodge,” winner of the World Fantasy Award —Selected for the Locus Magazine 2023 Recommended Reading List —“Rumpus Room” selected as finalist for a 2023 Bram Stoker Award for Long Fiction

"[A] master class in horror fiction and sci-fi written by one of the very best in the genre." —Joe Hill, NPR's Weekend Edition

"The Wishing Pool . . . is a major treat, full of major scares. Due excels at twist endings but also brilliantly creates an atmosphere of creeping dread in which you know something terrible is coming . . . Due shows just how much territory she can cover in one short book and just how versatile terrifying tales can be." —Washington Post

"Holy hell: These fourteen stories from author and film historian Due might scare even the most dauntless horror fans to death . . . A patchwork of stories that somehow manages to be both graceful and alarming, putting fresh eyes to the unspeakable." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

AMERICAN BOOK AWARD–WINNING AUTHOR TANANARIVE DUE's second collection of stories includes offerings of horror, science fiction, and suspense—all genres she wields masterfully. From the mysterious, magical town of Gracetown to the aftermath of a pandemic to the reaches of the far future, Due's stories all share a sense of dread and fear balanced with heart and hope.

In some of these stories, the monster is racism itself; others address the monster within, each set against the supernatural or surreal. All are written with Due's trademark attention to detail and deeply drawn characters. The story "Incident at Bear Creek Lodge" is a World Fantasy Award finalist, and this paperback reissue includes two new stories.