WINNER OF THE VIRGINIA PRIZE FOR FICTION Living in post-revolutionary Tehran, Layla refuses to bow to the ayatollahs’ rules, resisting her mother’s relentless attempts to find her a suitable husband. Instead, she embarks on an illicit affair with her art teacher, Keyvan, and they tentatively imagine a future together. But the sudden death of her uncle, an outspoken journalist, raises many unanswered questions and when Layla’s cousin, who is visiting from America, is arrested by the morality police, the komiteh, Layla’s plans for the future begin to unravel. “I was totally captivated by this novel. Layla is torn between her heart and the restrictions of her culture. She obeys her heart though not without a price. This wonderfully poetic story keeps you hooked right to the very end.” - Stephanie Hale, author and broadcaster “a bittersweet tale of betrayed trust and ruptured innocence... the feel for colour and language is vibrant” - featured in The Guardian first novel selection “Vividly written, fresh and eloquent, a girl’s poignant tale of love and menace in contemporary Iran.” - Fay Weldon “I loved this book. It gives you real insight into the world of educated middle-class Iranians in the early 21st century. We are so used to the Iranians we meet in the UK that we do not realise how hard it is to live under their political regime at home. A joy to read.” - www.openingthebook.com Louise Soraya Black Born in England in 1977 to an English mother and Iranian father. Her father worked for UNICEF so she spent 17 years living overseas, in countries including Iran, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Indonesia. In spite of all this travel, she had strong roots: the family spent their summers in England and winter holidays in Iran. She began an English degree at University College London, but after a year switched to Law. She spent 8 years in corporate law but was unfulfilled so began writing in her spare time. She felt it was important to write about Iran because Iran is portrayed in the media as a bleak and oppressive place. She wanted to show Iran as a beautiful country, where the food is delicious, and Iranians are warm and hospitable. And while the media tends to paint a portrait of Iranian women as submissive and voiceless, this was not at all her experience so she created resilient and brave female characters in her novel. She had just about given up hope of finding a publisher for this novel, when she found out that Pomegranate Sky had won the Virginia Prize, a new literary prize for unpublished women writers. She was astonished and overjoyed, particularly when the novel received excellent reviews. After the birth of her son, she didn't return to law and instead, decided to focus on her writing. She has just completed her second novel.

With more than eighty recipes and stunning photography, writer and radio host Stella Fong marries cherished local ingredients with world flavors. Sourced from waterways, mountains, plains and local farmers' markets, Montana's resources shine in a diverse array of savory and sweet applications. Dishes like Pheasant Stir-Fry with Black Bean Sauce and Elk Kielbasa with Pomegranate bring international flair to familiar game. Rhubarb Raspberry Polenta Cake and Pavlova Roulade with Sour Cherry Sauce and Toasted Almonds give new life to market and garden staples. And stories of local culinary trailblazers pay tribute to the Treasure State's abundance. The host of Yellowstone Public Radio's Flavors Under the Big Sky: Celebrating the Bounty of the Region offers a fresh take on Big Sky Country's finest fare.

Most of the constellations, the patterns of stars found in the night sky, are connected with the ancient myths which people developed to give meaning to what they saw in the sky, based on the experience of their culture. The ideas of modern astronomy play a similar role for us today. They are stories which help us understand the phenomena we discover when we look deeper into the sky than is possible with eyes alone. In this book, the ancient sky stories and those of modern astronomy are woven together in a unique way. Coverage includes twenty-four important constellations as well as the sun and the moon and the sky as a whole. For each of these, one of the old stories is tied together with the astronomical understanding of a key feature in that part of the sky, allowing one story to serve as a reminder for the other.

From the Publisher: This volume is the first-ever collection of poems in English by 49 prominent Greek-American poets from throughout the United States. The poems cover a variety of topics and styles.

For the inhabitants of the damp little Irish town of Ballinacroagh, the repertoire of gastronomic delights has never extended farther than the limp meals of the local inn's carvery. But things are about to change when the beautiful Aminpour sisters -- Marjan, Bahar and Layla -- arrive, determined to share the magic of their kitchen with the friendly locals. Opening Babylon Café, right in the heart of town, they begin serving up traditional Persian dishes and soon the townsfolk is lured to the new premises by the tantalizing aroma of fresh herb kuku, lamb abgusht and elephant ear fritters, washed down with gallons of jasmine tea from the old samovar. Not everyone welcomes the three women with open arms, though. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, as they say, and the women of Ballinacroagh want their men back ... Filled with recipes, mouth-watering fragrances and mysterious spices, Pomegranate Soup is a heart-warming tale of romance, friendship and exotic food.

Long before Troy, the legend of Achilles was forged... The Pomegranate Ring is a historical novel set in late Bronze Age Greece. Peleus, king of Thessaly and father of Achilles, broods on his lost youth and the search for the Golden Fleece. His wife, Thetis, plans to change Achilles’ fate, as the oracles say he is doomed. Agamemnon, king of Mycenae, threatens Peleus, wanting a unified Greece. Meanwhile, on Lesbos, the young Lyria’s father is murdered. With her friend Orpheus, they flee and arrive at the court of Peleus and strike up a friendship with the boy Achilles, who is unhappy with his destiny. Not a natural athlete, he does not see himself as Greece’s saviour. At the same time, Agamemnon sends the beautiful but ruthless Helen to spy on Peleus. Achilles is sent to Epiros to train with Phoenix. Lyria soon follows and a love affair begins. But Achilles is unsure of her egalitarian ideas of love and she leaves heartbroken. Peleus knows he must face Agamemnon. The Delphic oracle has been desecrated and Greece is on the edge of war. Thetis is banished and wanders the beach crying for her son... Will Achilles accept his fate? Can Peleus reconcile his glorious past with his uncertain future? Will Helen succeed with her own plans, and will Orpheus resist her advances? Providing an inventive twist on classical Greek myth, The Pomegranate Ring will appeal to all those with a love of Ancient Greece and the legends of Achilles.

POETS UNLEASHED - AN ANTHOLOGY is a compilation of just a few of the beautifully written poems of Ron Cross, Patricia Joe Schuman, Dennis Moore, Gisele Marasca, Al Michael, Thomas Lee Rhymes, Kim Shaver, Kathleen Redling and Mariano Rivera. As you read the poems in this book you will visualize the picture that each poet paints. You will feel the romantic tug on your heartstrings as you read the love poems, while other poems will invoke sadness, passion, hope and laughter. But, most of all, you will choose your favorite and the words will touch you deeply. The uniqueness of this book is that no poet stands above the others. Each poet has something to say and says it in his or her own words and style. Everyone who reads this book will find that special poem, the poets not only write for themselves but for us, the reader. These poems are given to us as a very special gift. To answer the question from Thomas "Where does the soul of a poet go?" It is here, in this book. Its presence is felt in each and every poem. Cindy Cross

"The touching story of a queer Black recovering opioid addict recently out of prison, who fights to stay clean and regain custody of her two children while her old life beckons"--

To start with Hazrath Banda Nawaz’s 'Tasavvuf Aur Sulook,' recreations and instructions are common to all Deccan writers. The love poems of the king, Mohammed Quliqutb Shah, are excellent examples of the versatility of Deccan literature. “Fourteen pomegranate seeds” comprises the translation of the short stories of the Deccan writers starting from the 19th century.While translating the stories, an attempt has been made to separate wheat and chaff. Rashidul Khairi teaches the intentions of religious teachings. Iwaz Sayeed deals with the grave situation of abandoned parents, and Wajida Tabassum speaks about the atrocities against women. Jeelani Bano speaks about the hard times for those below the poverty line. The Qamar Jamali character stands for human thirst and his inability to quench it.In the introduction to this book, the writer's personal experiences have been added. They never meant to get the goat of the people by hurting or criticizing them, but to express anguish over the interested but indifferent behavior of Urdu-loving people. Every care has been taken to provide the reader with the intentions of the writers.

An extraordinary chronicle of war and an occult story of love between a father and his son from one of Iraq’s most celebrated contemporary writers “Whenever he told lies, the birds would fly away. It had been that way since he was a child. Whenever he told a lie, something strange would happen.” So begins Bachtyar Ali’s The Last Pomegranate, a phantasmagoric warren of fact, fabrication, and mystical allegory, set in the aftermath of Saddam Hussein’s rule and Iraq’s Kurdish conflict. Muzafar-i Subhdam, a peshmerga fighter, has spent the last twenty-one years imprisoned in a desert yearning for his son, Saryas, who was only a few days old when Muzafar was captured. Upon his release, Muzafar begins a frantic search, only to learn that Saryas was one of three identical boys who became enmeshed in each other’s lives as war mutilated the region. An inlet to the recesses of a terrifying historical moment, and a philosophical journey of formidable depths, The Last Pomegranate interrogates the origins and reverberations of atrocity. It also probes, with a graceful intelligence, unforgettable acts of mercy.