Journey with twenty-one speculative fiction authors through the fractured borders of human migration to examine the dreams, struggles, and triumphs of those who choose—or are forced—to leave home and familiar places. Migration. A transformation of time, place, and being . . . WHO ARE THE SHADES WITHIN US? We are called drifters, nomads. We are expatriates, evacuees, and pilgrims. We are colonists, aliens, explorers; strangers, visitors—intruders, conquerors—exiles, asylum seekers, and . . . outsiders. An American father shields his son from Irish discrimination. A Chinese foreign student wrestles to safeguard her family at the expense of her soul. A college graduate is displaced by technology. A Nigerian high school student chooses between revenge and redemption. A bureaucrat parses the mystery of Taiwanese time travellers. A defeated alien struggles to assimilate into human culture. A Czechoslovakian actress confronts the German WWII invasion. A child crosses an invisible border wall. And many more. Stories that transcend borders, generations, and cultures. Each is a glimpse into our human need in face of change: to hold fast to home, to tradition, to family; and yet to reach out, to strive for a better life. Featuring Original Stories by Vanessa Cardui, Elsie Chapman, Kate Heartfield, S.L. Huang, Tyler Keevil, Matthew Kressel, Rich Larson,Tonya Liburd, Karin Lowachee, Seanan McGuire, Brent Nichols, Julie Nováková, Heather Osborne, Sarah Raughley, Alex Shvartsman, Amanda Sun, Jeremy Szal, Hayden Trenholm, Liz Westbrook-Trenholm, Christie Yant & Alvaro Zinos-Amaro With An Introduction by Eric Choi & Gillian Clinton Edited by Susan Forest & Lucas K. Law Anthologies in this series (Strangers Among Us, The Sum of Us, Where the Stars Rise, Shades Within Us) have been recommended by Publishers Weekly, Booklist (American Library Association), Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, School Library Journal, Locus, Foreword Reviews, and Quill & Quire. Praise for Shades Within Us ". . . addresses issues surrounding migration and borders at a very poignant moment in history . . . despite being speculative, many of these stories read like they were ripped from present-day headlines . . . this collection do a great job of asking readers not only to reflect on their own lives but also to consider the lives of others." —Booklist (American Library Association) "With each story, the authors expand their settings and reality into a universe of broader potential to make sense of the tensions that plague the twenty-first century. Even as they represent foreign existences, the problems remain the same—family, love, belonging, identity, survival . . . take a fresh approach to their subjects and conjure terrifying futures brought on by climate change, greed, and corruption of power. Political and daring, this collection adds to the future imagined by Philip K. Dick, George Orwell, Margaret Atwood, and Aldous Huxley." —Foreword Reviews ". . . Shades Within Us is a timely collection that invites us to ask whether we still do (or still should) live in a space of national borders and national definitions of identity. It invites us to use our speculative imagination to think through new ways of understanding selfhood in relation to the borders, boxes, and categories that are placed around us." —Speculating Canada (Derek Newman-Stille)

There's a delicate balance between mental health and mental illness… 2017 Aurora Awards (Canadian SF&F) Winner  2017 Alberta Book Publishing Award Winner (Speculative Fiction Book of the Year) 2016 Foreword INDIES Finalist (Anthologies) 2017 Aurora Awards Winner (Best Short Fiction) and 3 other Best Short Fiction finalists 2017 Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic (Short Story category): one short story finalist The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2017 (edited by John Joseph Adams and Charles Yu): one honorable mention The Year's Best Science Fiction: Thirty-Fourth Annual Collection (edited by Gardner Dozois): seven honorable mentions Wilde Stories 2017: The Year's Best Gay Speculative Fiction (edited by Steve Berman): one story selected Who are STRANGERS AMONG US? We are your fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, friends and lovers. We staff your stores, cross your streets, and study in your schools, invisible among you. We are your outcasts and underdogs, and often, your unsung heroes. Nineteen science fiction and fantasy authors tackle the division between mental health and mental illness. We find troubles with Irish fay, a North Korean cosmonaut's fear of flying, an aging maid dealing with politics of revenge, a mute boy and an army of darkness, a sister reaching out at the edge of a black hole, the dog and the sleepwalker, and many more. Authors: Kelley Armstrong, Suzanne Church, A.M. Dellamonica, Gemma Files, James Alan Gardner, Bev Geddes, Erika Holt, Tyler Keevil, Rich Larson, Derwin Mak, Mahtab Narsimhan, Sherry Peters, Ursula Pflug, Robert Runté, Lorina Stephens, Amanda Sun, Hayden Trenholm, Edward Willett, A.C. Wise Introduction by Julie E. Czerneda Edited by Susan Forest and Lucas K. Law Praise for Strangers Among Us "Strangers Among Us . . . is important, shining a much-needed spotlight on issues that get far too little attention. A wonderful anthology, one of the major SF&F books of the year. Bravo!" —Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of Quantum Night "The stories in Strangers Among Us are as varied in tone and approach as their authors. The power of the collection derives from this variety; while each story can be read in isolation, the assemblage of outsiders feels, on a whole, exultant. There is, indeed, strength in numbers, when each individual is accorded space and respect." --Quill & Quire "Mental illness is an exciting theme for an anthology, leaving plenty of room for variety." —Library Journal ". . . stories do a masterful job of knitting legitimate and painful mental illnesses to characters who still retain agency and power." —Kirkus Reviews. ". . . a number of entertaining stories to be found within its pages." —Locus (Gardner Dozois) "The writers of these stories address such varied subjects as agoraphobia, depression, schizophrenia, autism, anxiety, and addiction . . . readers who have mental illnesses may find themselves somewhere in these pages and as a result may no longer feel so alone or isolated." —Library School Journal "This is a unique collection that should attract readers of all genres." —Foreword Reviews

The greatest gift to us is caring. What would the world be like without someone to care for or to care with? Would love survive if we don't care? From the world of twenty-three science fiction and fantasy authors comes a world that can be funny, heartwarming, strange, or sad. Or not what we expect. Nominated – 2018 (Canadian SF&F) Aurora Award Shortlist (anthology/Best Related Work) 2018 Alberta Book Publishing Award Shortlist (Best Speculative Fiction) Finalist One story selected for Best of British Science Fiction 2017 (ed. by Donna Scott) One story selected for Best Indie Speculative Fiction, Vol. 1 (Bards & Sages Publishing) Five stories on Tangent Online Recommended Reading List 2017 One story nominated – 2018 (Canadian SF&F) Aurora Award Short Fiction Finalist One story – 2018 WSFA Small Press Award Finalist One story nominated – 2018 Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic Short Fiction Shortlist Three stories – 2018 Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic Short Fiction Longlist How can a henchman keep up with a mischievous retired supervillain? Can a dog help a hockey player score again? Will an odd couple with a zany sense of adventure and diminished capabilities survive an earthquake? Where does a stray cat go to find love every night? What secret does a pious monk have with a cargo of sleeping human? Will terrorism in space take out a young apprentice and a blind welder? What does an oracle tell a lover about her final days? Can a "heart of gold" prevent a soldier from crossing the enemy line with the governor's children? These, and many more. Featuring Original Stories by Colleen Anderson, Charlotte Ashley, Brenda Cooper, Ian Creasey, A.M. Dellamonica, Bev Geddes, Claire Humphrey, Sandra Kasturi, Tyler Keevil, Juliet Marillier, Matt Moore, Heather Osborne, Nisi Shawl, Alex Shvartsman, Karina Sumner-Smith, Kate Story, Amanda Sun, Hayden Trenholm, James Van Pelt, Liz Westbrook-Trenholm, Edward Willett, Christie Yant & Caroline M. Yoachim With Introduction by Dominik Parisien Edited by Susan Forest and Lucas K. Law Anthologies in this series (Strangers Among Us, The Sum of Us, Where the Stars Rise) have been recommended by Publishers Weekly, Booklist (American Library Association), Kirkus Reviews, Library Journal, School Library Journal, Locus, Foreword Reviews, and Quill & Quire. REVIEWS for THE SUM OF US “A strong collection . . . make it worth reading.” –Publishers Weekly “Definitely consider buying a copy, if not for yourself, then for someone who is serving as a caretaker. At the very least, it should make us all appreciate caretakers for all they do.” –Lightspeed Magazine “Thought provoking page-turners.” –Tangent “These stories take a broad exploration of what care can mean . . .” —Speculating Canada (Derek Newman-Stille)