The Slantwise Histories: What’s New in Alix E. Harrow’s Collection?

Alix E. Harrow’s next book offers something for readers who already know her short fiction and those discovering it for the first time. The Slantwise Histories: Collected Stories includes five new stories alongside previously published work, with the publisher identifying preferred versions of returning pieces.

For anyone wondering whether this is an entirely new collection or a gathering of familiar favorites, the answer is a mixture of both. Here’s what to know before picking it up.

When Does The Slantwise Histories Come Out?

The U.S. edition arrives October 20, 2026, from Tordotcom. The publisher lists it at 304 pages. The UK hardback follows on October 22, 2026, from Tor.

Those are separate regional publication dates, so check the edition when ordering.

What Is New in the Collection?

The clearest addition is five all-new stories, confirmed in the current U.S. publisher description.

The returning fiction also deserves attention: the publisher describes the included versions as the author’s preferred text. That makes this more than a convenient place to gather scattered publications. However, that wording does not establish how extensively each piece has changed. Readers should not assume every returning story has been substantially rewritten.

The publisher’s description does not name all five new stories. A list of familiar titles therefore should not be mistaken for a complete contents page—or a list of the new additions.

Which Previously Published Stories Are Included?

The announced returning stories include:

• “A Witch’s Guide to Escape: A Practical Compendium of Portal Fantasies”
• “The Long Way Up”
• “Roadside Attraction”
• “Mr. Death”
• “The Ransom of Miss Coraline Connelly”
• “The Sycamore and the Sybil”
• “Do Not Look Back, My Lion”
• “The Whisper in the Weld”
• “Dustbaby”
• “The Six Deaths of the Saint”
• “The Knight and the Butcherbird”

For readers who already own the last two stories separately, their inclusion is useful information before buying. The appeal of this edition will depend partly on how much of Harrow’s shorter work you have already read.

What Are These Stories About?

The UK publisher’s synopsis describes a collection that moves between ancient battlefields and American roadside attractions. Its settings include an underworld, mountains inhabited by werewolves, and a community shaped by a steel mill.

The connecting interest is people pushed to the edges of history: workers, women, soldiers and mothers, with particular attention to resistance and escape.

That premise is what makes the collection interesting to me. Fantasy can make a familiar struggle look strange enough for us to notice it again. A story about who gets remembered and who gets to leave can give a magical setting a very human point of entry.

That is a reason to be curious about the book, rather than a verdict on stories I have not reviewed here.

Who Should Consider Reading It?

Returning readers have a straightforward decision: weigh the five new pieces and preferred texts against the stories already on your shelf.

For newcomers, a collection offers a different way to try an author. You can read a single story, sit with it, and return for another without committing to a novel immediately. That can be especially appealing between longer fantasy books.

My recommendation is to start with the publisher’s available excerpt. It is a more useful guide to whether the voice suits you than a comparison with another author or a promise that every fan of a particular novel will love this book.

The main draw is the combination: new fiction for established readers and a single volume gathering previously scattered work. Whether that makes it an immediate purchase depends on which side of that audience you fall into.

Disclosure: Books of Brilliance may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through affiliate links.

Interested in the collection? Preorder The Slantwise Histories on Amazon.

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