Showing results by publisher "HarperCollins Publishers Limited" in Literature & Fiction

Collected here are the six best stories chosen by the judging panel of the Guardian 4th Estate BAME short story prize 2018. In them you’ll encounter a range of lives and situations: an armless swimmer representing Cultural Revolution China in the Paralympic Games; an encounter between a girl and a misanthropic B&B owner in the wake of the Grenfell tower fire; a schoolgirl helping her grandmother in a Chinese take-away in Hull; the residents of a street united by a piano; a historic town in China invaded by a powerful stench; and a teenage girl struggling with her gender in a small town.

Rachel is in shock. She was sure that her boyfriend was about to propose - not break up with her! Even worse, it turns out he’s been cheating on her.... Grace can’t bear the thought of spending another Christmas with her lazy, unappreciative husband. Surely it’s time to shake things up a bit? Amber knows she should be happy that her best friend, Jack, is getting married, but there’s a little part of her that can’t help think ‘it was always meant to be me’! With Christmas fast approaching, surely there’s no better time to be single - yet will the three friends manage to keep their promise and ban all men until the New Year?

Amber is happy. She loves her husband, David, and their dog, Sadie; she even loves her job as a junior editor on a local newspaper. But when the body of a young woman is found in a stretch of river near her home, Amber’s world begins to implode. The headaches that she has been struggling with seem to intensify, and Amber begins to doubt her husband. Why doesn’t he want to probe deeper into the story, and why does she seem to have such a shaky hold on her own thoughts and memories?

John has a perfect life until the day his daughter goes missing. Maisie cares for her patients but hides her own traumatic past. Miller should be an innocent child but is obsessed with something he can’t have. They all have something in common, though none of them know it - and the truth won’t stay hidden for long....

Juliette always thought she’d have more time. But as her 40th birthday approaches she is dealt the deadliest of blows - she has just weeks to live. As the terrible news sinks in, Juliette’s only concern is for her 15-year-old daughter, Rosie. Who will take care of her precious child? Who will love her daughter with the same fierce love? The answer lies in a secret Juliette hoped never to reveal....

When a new family moves onto Edgar Road, Alfie and George can’t wait to welcome them - especially when they discover they have a cat, too! Alfie imagines they’ll be the perfect neighbours, but when one little misunderstanding gets blown out of proportion, the street is suddenly at war! As the snow starts to fall, Alfie and George have their work cut out for them to bring the street back together. But can one doorstep cat and his mischievous kitten use their festive spirit to reunite everyone in time for Christmas?

The Troubles turned Northern Ireland into a ghost factory: as the manufacturing industry withered, the death business boomed. In trying to come to terms with his father’s sudden death and the attack on his harmless best friend, Titch, Jacky is forced to face the bullies who still menace a city scarred by conflict. After he himself is attacked, he flees to London to build a new life. But even in the midst of a burgeoning love affair he hears the ghosts of his past echoing, pulling him back to Belfast, crying out for retribution and justice.

On a trip of a lifetime to India, Bea is given an unexpected 50th birthday present - an hour with a celebrated clairvoyant. Unlucky in love, Bea learns that her true soul mate is still out there - and that he’s someone she knew in a past life. Returning home, Bea revisits the men in her life and can’t resist looking up a few old lovers - the Good, the Bad and the...well, the others. As Bea connects with the ones that got away, she suspects that her little black book has remained shut for a reason. But one man out there has her in his sights.

Erica has always wanted to be exactly like her neighbour, Faye: beautiful, thin, and a mother. But Faye’s life isn’t as perfect as it seems - she has a terrible secret, and slowly but surely, it is threatening to destroy her and everything she holds dear. When Faye’s daughter Tamsin goes missing after school, the police turn to Erica. But is Erica the only one who has been enviously watching Faye? Or is there another threat hiding in the shadows?

Meet the married Dads, the divorced Dads, the widowed Dads and the gay Dads; the gamblers, the firemen, the bankers, the nurses, the soldiers and the milkmen. They’re trying to guide their sons through the foothills of childhood into the bewildering uplands of adulthood. But it’s hard to know if they’re doing it right. Or what their sons’ mothers think... Wise and funny, touching and true, What We’re Teaching Our Sons is for anyone who has ever wondered how to be a grown-up.

Fern is too busy making sure other people feel good about themselves to give much thought to her own happiness. But somehow, without her noticing, life has run away from her. Suddenly, Fern realises her vintage clothes business is struggling, and the casual relationship she’d always thought she was happy in doesn’t look so appealing. But sometimes, karma really does come through. And when Fern goes out of her way to help 85-year-old Dinah, little does she realise their new friendship will change her life. Dinah may have troubles in her past, but she’s lived and loved to the full.

When a mysterious note arrives for six months pregnant Dr Eliana Hughes, she begins to doubt every aspect of her life - from her mixed feelings about motherhood to her marriage to Martin, who has become distant in recent months. As the person behind the note escalates their campaign to out Eli’s husband as a cheat, she finds herself unable to trust even her own instincts, and as pressure builds, she makes a mistake that jeopardises her entire future. Elsewhere, someone is watching.

The first ever collection of poems by the acclaimed author of the Aubrey/Maturin series of Napoleonic naval adventures. As we have stood with Jack and Stephen on the deck of the Surprise and other ships, listeners around the world have been transported to a place and time at once familiar and exotic, routine and dramatic. At all times, Patrick O’Brian’s deep knowledge of the period and profound empathy with the landscape of the sea has ensured there is always a firm hand on the tiller.

When Jess and Rupert parted ways, it was the end of a great love story that might have been. Now, 10 years later, the very different paths they have taken in life will bring them back together for a chance meeting. But with so much left unsaid about the break-up neither ever recovered from and with each keeping their own devastating secrets, will they finally be able to make the fractured pieces of their love for one another whole again?

Georgie Hart loves Christmastime at Carrington’s Department store. Running the luxury handbag department, Georgie adores helping customers in the hunt for the perfect gift for the perfect someone. And this year is no exception - now she has the hunky Tom, Mr Carrington himself, to spend the special day with. But when Tom springs a surprise, Georgie’s plans are thrown into chaos. Carrington’s is getting a fresh lease of life in a hot new reality TV show, featuring formidable retail guru Kelly Cooper.