"Originally published in hardcover in the United States by Nan A. Talese, an imprint of Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc., New York, in 2006"--Title page verso

Atwood is one of the world's most esteemed authors, a writer of wide range--novels, stories, essays, criticism. She now brings readers a collection of smart and entertaining fictional essays punctuated with her own wonderful illustrations

Life stories -- Clothing dreams -- Bottle -- Impenetrable forest -- Encouraging the young -- Voice -- No more photos -- Orphan stories -- Gateway -- Bottle II -- Winter's tales -- It's not easy being half-divine -- Salome was a dancer -- Plots for exotics -- Resources of the Ikarians -- Our cat enters heaven -- Chicken Little goes too far -- Thylacine ragout -- The animals reject their names and things return to their origins -- Three novels I won't write soon -- Take charge -- Post-colonial -- Heritage house -- Bring back mom: an invocation -- Horatio's version -- King Log in exile -- Faster -- Eating the birds -- Something has happened -- Nightingale -- Warlords -- The tent -- Time folds -- Tree baby -- But it could still