Showing results for "Alison Larkin" in Anthologies & Short Stories

"Kissing you is like new paint and old pain. It is like coffee and car alarms and a dim stairway and a stain and it's like smoke.' ('Placing a Call') How does love change us? And how do we change ourselves for love - or for lack of it? Ten stories by acclaimed author Deborah Levy explore these delicate, impossible questions. In Vienna, an icy woman seduces a broken man; in London gardens, birds sing in computer start-up sounds; in ad-land, a sleek copywriter becomes a kind of shaman.

Step into the shadows of the human soul with this haunting collection of Edgar Allan Poe’s most unforgettable tales of madness, obsession, and the supernatural, read in a modern, easy-to-listen-to style by Jen Ponton (30 Rock and The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt). From the creeping guilt of The Tell-Tale Heart to the grotesque horror of Berenice, each story pulses with dread, decay, and the desperate need to be heard.

Multi award-winning narrator Carrington MacDuffie brings her signature depth and wit to this delightful collection of Edith Wharton’s New York Stories: Volume II.

Katherine Woodville's sister never gave her a choice. A happy girl of modest means, Kate hardly expected to become a maker of kings. But when her sister impulsively marries King Edward IV in secret, Katherine's life is no longer hers to control....

At the heart of each of these great classic stories is an adoptee with an indomitable spirit who becomes the heroine (or hero) of her own life. "The bravery it takes for an unwanted orphan to forge their own path in life was as great when these stories were written as it is today," says narrator Alison Larkin, who draws on her own adoption experience to bring these stories to authentic new life.

These are not stories of helpless females shut up in high towers waiting around for a handsome man to rescue them while they sleep for years or brush their golden hair a lot. These heroines have far more to distinguish them than the fact that they (sometimes) end up married to a prince.

Beneath the brilliance that was behind The Age of Innocence and Ethan Frome was a dark side. A dark side which produced magnificent tales of the unseen influences in our lives, such as "Mr. Jones", "The Eyes", "Kerfol", "The Ladie's Maid's Bell", and "The Looking Glass".

Beautifully narrated by Golden Voice narrator Vikas Adams, these two tales of outsiders, one from the distant past and the other from the far-off future, explore love and beauty in the context of fear and threats and reflect upon one another in surprising ways. Jamali Kamali is a book-length poem about two men who lived in 16th century India. For hundreds of years, the story that these men were lovers has been passed down through the generations. Jamali Kamali is a fictional account of their love, longing, separation, and death.

The Jane Austen Literacy Foundation's first short-story writing competition was launched in April 2020 as the COVID pandemic took grip. Based on the theme "Inspiration", the foundation received a phenomenal response to the competition with entries from around the world. Three finalist stories were chosen by the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation judging panel and published online for a public vote to choose the winner.

Jane Austen Literacy Foundation judges selected 10 stories, which were read by a panel including Justin Young (Lead Writer, Sanditon Seasons 2 & 3), Susannah Harker (Jane Bennet, BBC Television Pride & Prejudice 1995), Natalie Jenner (International bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society and The Bloomsbury Girls), and Helena Kelly (Writer, academic and author of Jane Austen – The Secret Radical) to choose the final three short stories.

Based on the theme ‘The Art of Listening’, the fifth year of the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation short story writing competition attracted a record number of entries. Three finalist stories were chosen by the special Jane Austen Literacy Foundation judging panel including Caroline Jane Knight (Jane Austen’s fifth great niece and the Founder of the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation), Susannah Harker (Jane Bennet, BBC Television Pride & Prejudice 1995) and Natalie Jenner (International bestselling author of The Jane Austen Society) and published online for a public vote to choose the winner.

Expert Sherlockians Laurie King and Leslie Klinger put forth the question: What happens when great writers/creators who are not known as Sherlock Holmes devotees admit to being inspired by Conan Doyle stories? While some are highly regarded mystery writers, others are best known for their work in the fields of fantasy or science fiction. All of these talented authors, however, share a great admiration for Arthur Conan Doyle and his greatest creations, Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.

Based on the theme "The Power of Reading", the sixth year of the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation short story writing competition attracted a higher standard of entries than ever before–any of the top 12 stories could have been a winner!

Based on the theme "Connection", the second year of the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation short story writing competition received a phenomenal response. The winning story, "Mother & Daughter: A Last Walk" by Stephanie Percival, beautifully captures a moment of connection that touched our audience. "His Back" by Isidora Cortes-Monroy and "The Imaginary Friend" by Lucy Beresford were equally loved and complete this set of three very different but enjoyable stories.

Based on the theme "Inspired by Jane Austen", the third year of the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation short-story writing competition attracted a high standard of entries, which were read by a special panel of judges including Susannah Harker (Jane Bennet, BBC Television Pride & Prejudice 1995), Natalie Jenner (International best-selling author of The Jane Austen Society and The Bloomsbury Girls) and Helena Kelly (writer, academic, and author of Jane Austen–The Secret Radical), to choose the final three short stories.