It is the morning of the reaping that will kick off the tenth annual Hunger Games. In the Capitol, eighteen-year-old Coriolanus Snow is preparing for his one shot at glory as a mentor in the Games. The once-mighty house of Snow has fallen on hard times, its fate hanging on the slender chance that Coriolanus will be able to outcharm, outwit, and outmaneuver his fellow students to mentor the winning tribute. The odds are against him. He's been given...

"A retired bestselling author hosts a one-of-a-kind competition, with high risks and high rewards-giving the winner a chance to change lives. Lucy Hart has come a long way since feeling the cold neglect of her parents, whose attention always centered around her chronically ill sister's needs. Now a twenty-six-year-old teacher's aide, Lucy is able to share her love of books with bright, young students, and one in particular, a seven-year-old orphan...

While attending a month-long writing retreat at the estate of a feminist horror writer who issues a life-changing challenge, Alex, determined to win this seemingly impossible contest, ignores the strange happenings around her until the disappearance of a fellow writer leads her on a desperate search for the truth. Alex has all but given up on her dreams of becoming a published author when she receives the opportunity to attend an exclusive, month-long...

"Twelve teens who have prepared their entire lives for an ancient life-or-death game must finally come to terms with its arrival, forming tenuous alliances and kiling each other for the chance to be the last one standing and the winner of the ultimate prize: the ability to save a select group of people from the end of the world"--

"In a small coastal town just a stone's throw from Tokyo, a prestigious piano competition is underway. Over the course of two feverish weeks, three students will experience some of the most joyous--and painful--moments of their lives. Though they don't know it yet, each will profoundly and unpredictably change the others, forever"--

"Virginia is for lovers--and Storyton Hall is its best vacation spot for lovers of books. The big event this summer at Jane Steward's resort is A Bookish Cook-Off. It's a blend of the literary and the culinary--but someone's headed for the mortuary... Six chefs are preparing to compete in an outdoor tent at Storyton Hall for prizes that will boost their careers--but is there someone who can't stand the heat? It looks that way when one of the contestants...

When she is hired to write lyrics for a contestant in the talent competition for the Miss Teen Queen America pageant, freelance writer Jaine Austen is plunged into a glittering nightmare of vicious stage moms, exacting judges and trash-talking teens after a catfight turns deadly.

"The explosive, hotly-anticipated debut novel from the New York Times-bestselling author of Friday Black, about two top women gladiators fighting for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far-removed from America's own. Loretta Thurwar and Hamara "Hurricane Staxxx" Stacker are the stars of Chain-Gang All-Stars, the cornerstone of CAPE, or Criminal Action Penal Entertainment, a highly-popular, highly-controversial, profit-raising...

Eden, Kentucky, is just another dying, bad-luck town, known only for the legend of E. Starling, the reclusive nineteenth-century author and illustrator who wrote "The Underland" -- and disappeared. Before she vanished, Starling House appeared. But everyone agrees that it's best to let the uncanny house and its last lonely heir, Arthur Starling go to rot... Opal is a lot of things--orphan, high school dropout, full-time cynic and part-time cashier--but...

Presents a collection of eight classic short stories.