Ursula K. Le Guin

When the inhabitants of a peaceful world are conquered by the bloodthirsty yumens, their existence is irrevocably altered. Forced into servitude, the Athsheans find themselves at the mercy of their brutal masters. Desperation causes the Athsheans, led by Selver, to retaliate against their captors, abandoning their strictures against violence. But in defending their lives, they have endangered the very foundations of their society. For every blow...

When Jane, a cat with wings, leaves the safety of her farm to explore the world, she falls into the hands of a man who keeps her prisoner and exploits her for money.

Wishing to visit their mother, the winged cats leave their new country home to return to the city, where they discover a winged kitten in a building on the verge of being demolished.

Anthony Doerr and series editor, Heidi Pitlor, select twenty stories that represent the best examples of the form published in 2018.