WMG Publishing is an international publishing house, despite our location in the United States. So, as we here in the U.S. prepare to celebrate Independence Day, I want to take a moment to say happy Canada Day to our friends, colleagues, and neighbors to the north.

For those of you less familiar with the holiday, as I was, here’s the Wikipedia definition:

“Canada Day is the national day of Canada. A federal statutory holiday, it celebrates the anniversary of the July 1, 1867, enactment of the Constitution Act, 1867 (then called the British North America Act, 1867), which united the three separate colonies of Canada, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick into a single Dominion within the British Empire called Canada.”

Happily, these two holidays are also well synced with WMG’s publishing schedule for our latest volumes of Fiction River and Fiction River Presents.

Our latest volume of Fiction River, you see, was edited by our Canadian colleague Mark Leslie and is the product of a publishing partnership with Kobo. It highlights not only the creativity we celebrate here at WMG but also our freedom to form international partnerships with foreign companies like Kobo to enhance the reading experience of our worldwide subscribers.

And our latest volume of Fiction River Presents celebrates freedom in another way. The freedom of speech, the freedom to vote, our inalienable rights to state our opinions without repercussion.

Because this volume of Fiction River Presents is called Readers’ Choice for what will shortly be obvious reasons.

Here’s the synopses of each book:

Fiction River: Editor’s Choice, edited by Mark Leslie

Editing an anthology can prove tricky business. Wonderful stories sometimes find themselves on the rejection pile simply because they do not fit in the editor’s vision of that anthology. So, editor Mark Leslie decided to save some of those amazing stories for this latest volume of Fiction River: Editor’s Choice. These tales run the gamut from YA fantasy to cozy crime to slipstream to horror. And they represent the incredible diversity of styles, voices, and genre that inspired Adventures Fantastic to call Fiction River “one of the best and most exciting publications in the field today.”

Table of Contents
“The Four Thirty-Five” by Annie Reed
“Bertie’s Choice” by Jamie McNabb
“Mirror Skillz” by Dave Raines
“Holding the Door” by Elliotte Rusty Harold
“Trees” by Diana Benedict
“The Blood is on the Wall” by Felicia Fredlund
“The Glass Girl” by Leah Cutter
“Breaking Kayfabe” by Kelly Washington
“Lemonade and Larceny” by Lauryn Christopher
“First Day, Every Day” by M. L. Buchman
“Touch” by Michael Kowal
“The Rock of Ages” by Ron Collins
“He Saw” by Dan C. Duval
“Bad Dates Bite” by Kerrie L. Hughes
“No Further” by Laura Ware

Fiction River Presents: Readers’ Choice, edited by Allyson Longueira

Fiction River readers make the call in this latest volume of Fiction River Presents. From a reluctant warrior fighting a battle in her own backyard, to a man coming to terms with the racial inequality of his youth, to a romance blooming out of adversity, Readers’ Choice offers up favorite stories from the first four years of Fiction River. Spanning genre lines from historical mystery to science fiction to Regency romance, this volume proves why Adventures Fantastic says: “[Fiction River] is one of the best and most exciting publications in the field today.”

Table of Contents
“Combat Medic” by Kris Nelscott
“Sisters in Suffrage” by Debbie Mumford
“Stolen in Passing” by Dory Crowe
“The White Game” by Ron Collins
“The F Factor” by Chrissy Wissler
“The Chair” by JC Andrijeski
“The Flare” by Laura Ware
“Suppose They Gave a Ragnarok and Nobody Came?” by Lee Allred
“Jelly’s Heroes” by Louisa Swann
“A Countess for Christmas” by Anthea Lawson

Readers’ Choice is special for another reason. It’s the result of one of our stretch goals from the 2016 Fiction River Subscription Drive Kickstarter.

So, if you’re not already a subscriber, click on the cover to buy one or both of these fantastic volumes. And if you already are a subscriber, we thank you for your support and celebrate your excellent choice!

Allyson Longueira is publisher of WMG Publishing. She is an award-winning writer, editor and designer.