Most Popular Books by Catherynne Valente

A glorious retelling of the Russian folktale Marya Morevna and Koschei the Deathless, set in a mysterious version of St. Petersburg during the first half of the 20th century.

“The Candide of our #@$\*%?! age.”— Ken Liu, award-winning author Catherynne M. Valente, the bestselling and award-winning creator of Space Opera and The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland returns with The Past Is Red, the enchanting, dark, funny, angry story of a girl who made two terrible mistakes: she told the truth and she dared to love the world. A Hugo Award finalist! An inaugural Ursula K. Le Guin Prize for Fiction finalist! A Locus Award finalist! The future is blue. Endless blue...except for a few small places that float across the hot, drowned world left behind by long-gone fossil fuel-guzzlers. One of those patches is a magical place called Garbagetown. Tetley Abednego is the most beloved girl in Garbagetown, but she’s the only one who knows it. She’s the only one who knows a lot of things: that Garbagetown is the most wonderful place in the world, that it’s full of hope, that you can love someone and 66% hate them all at the same time. But Earth is a terrible mess, hope is a fragile thing, and a lot of people are very angry with her. Then Tetley discovers a new friend, a terrible secret, and more to her world than she ever expected. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

\"Severin Unck''s father is a famous director of Gothic romances in an alternate 1986 in which talking movies are still a daring innovation due to the patent-hoarding Edison family. Rebelling against her father''s films of passion, intrigue, and spirits from beyond, Severin starts making documentaries, traveling through space and investigating the levitator cults of Neptune and the lawless saloons of Mars. For this is not our solar system, but one drawn from classic science fiction, in which all the planets are inhabited and we travel through space on beautiful rockets. Severin is a realist in a fantastic universe\"--Dust jacket flap.

In the Cities of Coin and Spice and In the Night Garden introduced readers to the unique and intoxicating imagination of Catherynne M. Valente. Now she weaves a lyrically erotic spell of a place where the grotesque and the beautiful reside and the passport to our most secret fantasies begins with a stranger’s kiss.… Between life and death, dreaming and waking, at the train stop beyond the end of the world is the city of Palimpsest. To get there is a miracle, a mystery, a gift, and a curse—a voyage permitted only to those who’ve always believed there’s another world than the one that meets the eye. Those fated to make the passage are marked forever by a map of that wondrous city tattooed on their flesh after a single orgasmic night. To this kingdom of ghost trains, lion-priests, living kanji, and cream-filled canals come four travelers: Oleg, a New York locksmith; the beekeeper November; Ludovico, a binder of rare books; and a young Japanese woman named Sei. They’ve each lost something important—a wife, a lover, a sister, a direction in life—and what they will find in Palimpsest is more than they could ever imagine.

The Fairyland Series (Books 1-3): The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making, The Girl Who Fell Beneath Faiyland and Led the Revels There, and The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two \"One of the most extraordinary works of fantasy, for adults or children, published so far this century\"—Time magazine, on the Fairyland series Twelve-year-old September lives in Omaha, and used to have an ordinary life, until her father went to war and her mother went to work. One day, September is met at her kitchen window by a Green Wind (taking the form of a gentleman in a green jacket) who invites her on an adventure, implying that her help is needed in Fairyland. . . . Perfect for fans new to the series, the first three books of Catherynne M. Valente''s Fairyland Series are available together in this bundle. The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making: Upon arriving in Fairyland, September learns the new Marquess is unpredictable and fickle, and also not much older than she is. Only September can retrieve a talisman the Marquess wants from the enchanted woods, and if she doesn''t . . . then the Marquess will make life impossible for the inhabitants of Fairyland. The Girl Who Fell Beneath Fairyland and Led the Revels There: September has longed to return to Fairyland after her first adventure there. And when she finally does, she learns that its inhabitants have been losing their shadows—and their magic—to the world of Fairyland Below. This underworld has a new ruler: Halloween, the Hollow Queen, who is September''s shadow. And Halloween does not intend to give Fairyland''s shadows back. The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two: September misses Fairyland and her friends Ell, the Wyverary, and the boy Saturday. She longs to leave the routines of home and embark on a new adventure. Little does she know that this time, she will be spirited away to the moon, reunited with her friends, and find herself faced with saving Fairyland from a Moon-Yeti with great and mysterious powers.

From the New York Times bestselling author Catherynne Valente comes a ferocious riff on the women in superhero comics. The Refrigerator Monologues is a collection of linked stories from the points of view of the wives and girlfriends of superheroes, female heroes, and anyone who’s ever been “refrigerated”: comic book women who are killed, raped, brainwashed, driven mad, disabled, or had their powers taken so that a male superhero’s storyline will progress. In an entirely new and original superhero universe, Valente subversively explores these ideas and themes in the superhero genre, treating them with the same love, gravity, and humor as her fairy tales. After all, superheroes are our new fairy tales and these six women have their own stories to share.

A retelling of \"Snow White\" set in the \"gritty gun-slinging west.\"

2019 HUGO AWARD FINALIST, BEST NOVEL The Hitchhiker''s Guide to the Galaxy meets the joy and glamour of Eurovision in bestselling author Catherynne M. Valente''s science fiction spectacle, where sentient races compete for glory in a galactic musical contest…and the stakes are as high as the fate of planet Earth. A century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition was invented—something to cheer up everyone who was left and bring the shattered worlds together in the spirit of peace, unity, and understanding. Once every cycle, the great galactic civilizations gather for the Metagalactic Grand Prix—part gladiatorial contest, part beauty pageant, part concert extravaganza, and part continuation of the wars of the past. Species far and wide compete in feats of song, dance and/or whatever facsimile of these can be performed by various creatures who may or may not possess, in the traditional sense, feet, mouths, larynxes, or faces. And if a new species should wish to be counted among the high and the mighty, if a new planet has produced some savage group of animals, machines, or algae that claim to be, against all odds, sentient? Well, then they will have to compete. And if they fail? Sudden extermination for their entire species. This year, though, humankind has discovered the enormous universe. And while they expected to discover a grand drama of diplomacy, gunships, wormholes, and stoic councils of aliens, they have instead found glitter, lipstick, and electric guitars. Mankind will not get to fight for its destiny—they must sing. Decibel Jones and the Absolute Zeroes have been chosen to represent their planet on the greatest stage in the galaxy. And the fate of Earth lies in their ability to rock.

Comfort Me With Apples is a terrifying new thriller from bestseller Catherynne M. Valente, for fans of Gone Girl and Spinning Silver A Shirley Jackson Award finalist! A Locus Award finalist! Sophia was made for him. Her perfect husband. She can feel it in her bones. He is perfect. Their home together in Arcadia Gardens is perfect. Everything is perfect. It''s just that he''s away so much. So often. He works so hard. She misses him. And he misses her. He says he does, so it must be true. He is the perfect husband and everything is perfect. But sometimes Sophia wonders about things. Strange things. Dark things. The look on her husband''s face when he comes back from a long business trip. The questions he will not answer. The locked basement she is never allowed to enter. And whenever she asks the neighbors, they can''t quite meet her gaze.... But everything is perfect. Isn''t it? At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Catherynne M. Valente enchanted readers with her spellbinding In the Night Garden. Now she continues to weave her storytelling magic in the next book of Orphan’s Tales—an epic of the fantastic and the exotic, the monstrous and mysterious, that will transport you far away from the everyday. . . . Her name and origins are unknown, but the endless tales inked upon this orphan’s eyelids weave a spell over all who listen to her read her secret history. And who can resist the stories she tells? From the Lake of the Dead and the City of Marrow to the artists who remain behind in a ghost city of spice, here are stories of hedgehog warriors and winged skeletons, loyal leopards and sparrow calligraphers. Nothing is too fantastic, anything can happen, but you’ll never guess what comes next in these intimately linked adventures of firebirds and djinn, singing manticores, mutilated unicorns, and women made entirely of glass and gears. Graced with the magical illustrations of Michael Kaluta, In the Cities of Coins and Spice is a book of dreams and wonders unlike any you’ve ever encountered. Open it anywhere and you will fall under its spell. For here the story never ends and the magic is only beginning. . . .

From the award-winning, bestselling author of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland comes Catherynne M. Valente''s dark fantasy tale \"L’Esprit de L’Escalier\

A woman who dreams of machines. A paper lantern that falls in love. The most compelling video game you’ve never played and that nobody can ever play twice. This collection of Catherynne M. Valente’s stories and poems with Japanese themes includes the lauded novella “Silently and Very Fast,” the award-nominated “Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time,” and “Ghosts of Gunkanjima”—which originally appeared in a book smaller than your palm, published in a limited edition of twenty-four. Also included are two new stories: the semiautobiographical, metafictional, and utterly magical “Ink, Water, Milk” and the cinematic, demon-haunted “Story No. 6.” -- VIZ Media

Severin Unck''s father is a famous director of Gothic romances in an alternate 1986 in which talking movies are still a daring innovation due to the patent-hoarding Edison family. Rebelling against her father''s films of passion, intrigue, and spirits from beyond, Severin starts making documentaries, traveling through space and investigating the levitator cults of Neptune and the lawless saloons of Mars. For this is not our solar system, but one drawn from classic science fiction in which all the planets are inhabited and we travel through space on beautiful rockets. Severin is a realist in a fantastic universe. But her latest film, which investigates the disappearance of a diving colony on a watery Venus populated by island-sized alien creatures, will be her last. Though her crew limps home to earth and her story is preserved by the colony''s last survivor, Severin will never return.

In the kingdom of Fairyland-Below, preparations are underway for the annual Revels . . . but aboveground, the creatures of Fairyland are in no mood for a party. It has been a long time since young September bid farewell to Fairyland, and she is excited to see it again; but upon her return she is shocked to find that her friends have been losing their shadows, and therefore their magic, to the kingdom of Fairyland-Below... It spells certain disaster and September won''t stand for it. Determined to make amends, she travels down into the underworld where, among creatures of ice and moonlight, she encounters a face she recognizes all too well: Halloween, the Hollow Queen. Only then does September realize what she must do to save Fairyland from slipping into the mundane world forever. Come and join in the Revels with September and her friends. But be warned: in Fairyland-Below, even the best of friends aren''t always what they seem . . . Praise for The Girl Who Circumnavigated Farilyand in a Ship of Her Own Making: ''A glorious balancing act between modernism and the Victorian Fairy Tale, done with heart and wisdom.'' Neil Gaiman. ''An Alice in Wonderland for the 21st century... So effortless, so vivid, so funny. Every page has a phrase or observation to savour and her characters are wondrous creations.'' Sunday Telegraph. ''A charming modern fairytale...with a knowing twinkle in its eye.'' Telegraph. ''A whole esoteric world of whimsy - Alice meets the Wizard of Oz meets the Persephone story with a whiff of Narnia.'' Independent on Sunday. ''Bundles of imagination and wry wit.'' Financial Times.

Fantastist Catherynne M. Valente takes on the folklore of artificial intelligence in this brand new, original novella of technology, identity, and an uncertain mechanized future. Neva is dreaming. But she is not alone. A mysterious machine entity called Elefsis haunts her and the members of her family, back through the generations to her great-great grandmother?a gifted computer programmer who changed the world. Together Neva and Elefsis navigate their history and their future, an uneasy, unwilling symbiote. But what they discover in their dreamworld might change them forever . . .

Intertwines three narratives to tell the tale of the beginning of the end of the world: a younger, angrier Hagia, the blemmye-wife of John and Queen of Pentexore, Vyala, a lion-philosopher entrusted with the care of the deformed and prophetic royal princess, and John Mandeville, who in his many travels discovers the land of Pentexore.

Collection of thirteen stories.

This original short story tells the tale of how a girl named Mallow defeated King Goldmouth with the help of the Red Wind, Mr. Map, and many fairyland friends new and old--from Catherynne M. Valente, author of the children''s fantasy sensation The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making. At the Publisher''s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A Book of Wonders for Grown-Up Readers Every once in a great while a book comes along that reminds us of the magic spell that stories can cast over us–to dazzle, entertain, and enlighten. Welcome to the Arabian Nights for our time–a lush and fantastical epic guaranteed to spirit you away from the very first page . . . Secreted away in a garden, a lonely girl spins stories to warm a curious prince: peculiar feats and unspeakable fates that loop through each other and back again to meet in the tapestry of her voice. Inked on her eyelids, each twisting, tattooed tale is a piece in the puzzle of the girl’s own hidden history. And what tales she tells! Tales of shape-shifting witches and wild horsewomen, heron kings and beast princesses, snake gods, dog monks, and living stars–each story more strange and fantastic than the one that came before. From ill-tempered “mermaid” to fastidious Beast, nothing is ever quite what it seems in these ever-shifting tales–even, and especially, their teller. Adorned with illustrations by the legendary Michael Kaluta, Valente’s enchanting lyrical fantasy offers a breathtaking reinvention of the untold myths and dark fairy tales that shape our dreams. And just when you think you’ve come to the end, you realize the adventure has only begun…. Praise for In the Night Garden “Cathrynne Valente weaves layer upon layer of marvels in her debut novel. In the Night Garden is a treat for all who love puzzle stories and the mystical language of talespinners.”—Carol Berg, author of Daughter of Ancients “Fabulous talespinning in the tradition of story cycles such as The Arabian Nights. Lyrical, wildly imaginative and slyly humorous, Valente''s prose possesses an irrepressible spirit.”—K. J. Bishop, author of The Etched City “Astonishing work! Valente’s endless invention and mythic range are breathtaking. It’s as if she’s gone night-wandering, and plucked a hundred distant cultures out of the air to deliver their stories to us.”—Ellen Kushner, author of Thomas the Rhymer “Refreshingly original in both style and form, In the Night Garden should delight lovers of myth and folklore.”—Juliet Marillier, author of the Sevenwaters trilogy

Jonathan Strahan, the award-winning and much lauded editor of many of genre’s best known anthologies is back with his 10th volume in this fascinating series, featuring the best science fiction and fantasy from 2015. With established names and new talent this diverse and ground-breaking collection will take the reader to the outer-reaches of space and the inner realms of humanity with stories of fantastical worlds and worlds that may still come to pass. Featuring Paolo Bacigalupi • Elizabeth Bear • Greg Bear • Jeffrey Ford • Neil Gaiman • Nalo Hopkinson • Nisi Shawl • Simon Ings • Gwyneth Jones • Caitlin R. Kiernan • Anne Leckie • Kelly Link • Usman T. Malik • Ian McDonald • Vonda McIntrye • Sam J. Miller • Tamsyn Muir • Robert Reed • Alastair Reynolds • Kim Stanley Robinson • Kelly Robson • Geoff Ryman • Nike Sulway • Catherynne Valente • Genevieve Valentine • Kai Ashante Wilson • Alyssa Wong

The author''s first full-length poetry collection.

The Oracles of the ancient world spoke for the gods, they spoke for the future: but they could not speak for themselves. Here, their voices bubble up from the depths, enraged and sardonic, sorrowing and wild, finding themselves on new ground -- scattered across the American continent, marking a path for the seeker to follow, from New England universities to Hawaiian volcanoes, from dilapidated factories to Chinatown kitchens, from the Old East to the New West...

A little girl discovers the meaning of the Wiccan harvest holiday Mabon.

Comics biggest talents come together to form an exciting all woman team of creators and bring you stories to celebrate the 40th aniversary of Joan Jett''s seminal albums! \"BAD REPUTATION and I LOVE ROCK ‘n'' ROLL hit audiences like an atom bomb, defining a sound that became a soundtrack that would span generations. Now, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of these seminal albums, an unparalleled team of women creators bring these songs to life as 20 stories.\"

\"''Der lustigste Science-Fiction-Roman seit ''Per Anhalter durch die Galaxis.''\" The Verge Der Eurovision Song Contest im Weltall: Vor knapp hundert Jahren hat sich die Galaxis entzweit – ein Krieg löschte beinahe sämtliches Leben aus. In der Folge erfand man eine gemeinschaftsbildende Tradition. Etwas Schönes und Unterhaltsames, um den Frieden, die die Liebe und das Leben zu feiern. Und so wurde der metagalaktische Grand Prix geboren, in dem alle empfindungsfähigen Zivilisationen friedlich gegeneinander antreten. Seitdem muss jede neue Spezies, die Mitglied der kosmischen Gemeinschaft werden will, an der Show teilnehmen. Das Ganze ist ein Riesenspaß, das Problem ist nur: Auf dem letzten Platz wartet die völlige Vernichtung – und die Aliens haben ganz eigene Vorstellungen davon, wer für die Erde antreten soll ... Auftritt: Decibel Jones, Glam-Rocker der Extra-Klasse, gewesener Rock''n''Roll-Messias und Fast-immer-noch-Berühmtheit. Zusammen mit seiner Band, den \"Absolute Zeroes\

Brother Hiob, on missionary work in the Himalayan wilderness, discovers a village guarding a miraculous tree whose branches sprout books instead of fruit. These books chronicle the history of the kingdom of Prestor John, and Hiob becomes obsessed with the tales they tell.

Comics biggest talents come together to form an exciting all woman team of creators and bring you stories to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Joan Jett''s seminal albums! \"BAD REPUTATION and I LOVE ROCK ''n'' ROLL hit audiences like an atom bomb, defining a sound that became a soundtrack that would span generations. Now, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of these seminal albums, an unparalleled team of women creators bring these songs to life as 20 stories.\"

Tyttö joka putosi Satumaan alle ja juhli varjojen valtakunnassa is the second book of the Fairyland series by Catherynne Valente. The girl, September, arrives in Fairyland and learns that the inhabitants have been losing their shadows and their magic to the world of Fairyland Below. This underworld is ruled by Halloween, the hollow Queen, who is September''s shadow. The new Queen does not want to return the shadows. This translation successfully recreates the wordplay and anarchic touch of the original work. (Quelle: IBBY Honour List 2016).

More than 60 essays, sharing observations and insights about fairy tales and myths, pop culture, gender and race issues, an amateur''s life on planet Earth and much more.

Kochtcheï l’Immortel est au folklore russe ce que les démons et les sorcières sont à la culture occidentale : un personnage menaçant et maléfique ; mais nul n’a jamais dépeint Kochtcheï comme Catherynne Valente, qui modernise le conte, le bouleverse et resitue l’action à l’époque moderne et ainsi couvre nombre des grands bouleversements de la Russie du XXe siècle. La jeune Maria Morevna, une brillante enfant de la révolution, devient la belle épouse de Kochtcheï avant de causer sa perte. En chemin, elle croisera des lutins stalinistes, accomplira des quêtes magiques, apprendra des secrets, se heurtera à la bureaucratie, à des jeux de désir et de domination. Immortel est un choc entre l’histoire magique et l’histoire réelle, la révolution et la mythologie, l’amour et la mort ; il ressuscite la légende russe sous une forme étonnante.

Here Monsters are hidden ... A lyrical anti-quest through aconscious maze without center, borders, or escape--a dark pilgrim''s progressthrough a landscape of vicious Angels, plague houses, crocodile-prophets, tragicchess-sets, and the mind of an unraveling woman, driven on by the mocking guidewho seeks to destroy as much as save. Enter the world of the Labyrinth,where Doors do not wait to be opened, but hunt you in the night. This isZarathustra in Wonderland, a puzzle which defies solution, a twisted paththrough language and madness... But where will you hide?

Subterranean Press proudly presents a major new collection by one of the brightest stars in the literary firmament. Catherynne M. Valente, the New York Times bestselling author of The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland in a Ship of Her Own Making and other acclaimed novels, now brings readers a treasure trove of stories and poems in The Bread We Eat in Dreams. In the Locus Award-winning novelette \"White Lines on a Green Field,\" an old story plays out against a high school backdrop as Coyote is quarterback and king for a season. A girl named Mallow embarks on an adventure of memorable and magical politicks in \"The Girl Who Ruled Fairyland For a Little While.\" The award-winning, tour de force novella \"Silently and Very Fast\" is an ancient epic set in a far-flung future, the intimate autobiography of an evolving A.I. And in the title story, the history of a New England town and that of an outcast demon are irrevocably linked. The twenty-six pieces collected here explore an extraordinary breadth of styles and genres, as Valente presents readers with something fresh and evocative on every page. From noir to Native American myth, from folklore to the final frontier, each tale showcases Valente''s eloquence and originality.

È appena scesa la sera, a San Pietroburgo, quando un uomo affascinante bussa alla porta di Marja Morevna per chiederla in sposa. È Koščej l’Immortale, zar della Vita. Marja accetta di seguirlo attraverso le steppe della Russia. Nel paese incantato di Koščej, non troverà solo sfarzo, bellezza incontaminata e magia: dovrà superare tre ardue prove per dimostrare alla diffidente Baba Jaga di essere davvero la predestinata ad amare l’Immortale, e poi affrontare una violenta guerra contro il nemico eterno di Koščej, lo zar della Morte. Quando infine, ferita dall’amore e in cerca di tregua, Marja tornerà nella sua amata città, verrà travolta dall’atmosfera cupa dei terribili anni della seconda guerra mondiale. Da una San Pietroburgo stretta nella morsa dell’assedio fino alle gelide steppe dove si celano paesi fatati, la ragazza vivrà una storia d’amore senza eguali, in una terra di confine dove le leggende si confondono con la realtà e la magia antica si scontra con un famelico desiderio di conquista. Quest’incredibile avventura costringerà Marja a scendere a patti con il tormentato destino che la lega indissolubilmente a Koščej l’Immortale, sperimentando il potere del vero amore, il dolore delle perdite fatali, l’ebbrezza momentanea della felicità. Una storia di vita e morte, amore e potere, vecchi ricordi e magia oscura ambientata nella suggestiva Russia del Novecento, in cui i miti e il folclore locali risplendono in tutto il loro fascino. «Le storie, al contrario delle persone, non muoiono per sempre. A volte possono tornare in vita, ma solo grazie a circostanze molto speciali. Devono essere resuscitate dal tocco miracoloso di una classe molto rara di persone, un tipo versatile di genio/studioso/santo che possa donare loro nuova vita. Catherynne Valente è una persona di questo tipo». Lev Grossman «L’Immortale fa con la Russia ciò che Jonathan Strange & il signor Norrell di Susanna Clarke ha fatto con l’Inghilterra». Jason Heller, «The A.V. Club» «Un inebriante mix di magia e tenebra, in cui risuonano Il Maestro e Margherita e Angela Carter. La prosa è perfetta, l’immaginario è spettacolare e la storia è davvero coinvolgente. Questo libro non è soltanto bello, ma è genuinamente straordinario». Laura Kelly, «Big Issue»

All five books in the New York Times-bestselling Fairyland series by Catherynne Valente are now available in a beautiful paperback boxed set.

Un mondo ancor più bizzarro e incantevole di quello di Oz. Un''eroina curiosa, ostinata e coraggiosa quanto Alice. Un romanzo semplicemente memorabile.

Issue 61 of Clarkesworld, a Hugo Award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine. Our fifth anniversary issue features fiction by Ken Liu (\"Staying Behind\"), Erik Amundsen (\"Pony\") and Catherynne M. Valente (Part 1 of \"Silently and Very Fast\"), interviews with Steven Gould and Joan Slonczewski, an article on independent SF films by Mark Cole and an editorial by Neil Clarke.

Issue #63 of Clarkesworld, a Hugo Award-winning science fiction and fantasy magazine. This issue features fiction by Ben Peek (\"Sirius\"), Chris Stabback (\"In Which Faster-Than-Light Travel Solves All of Our Problems\") and Catherynne M. Valente (Part 3/3 of \"Silently and Very Fast\"), an interview with Aliette de Bodard, an article on the off-planet locations on Earth by Brenta Blevins and seasons greetings from the Clarkesworld staff.