In this provocative, haunting, and sexy collection of short stories, a group of acclaimed writers from across the globe probes the nature of, and connection between, two of the most powerful, exhilarating, and terrifying forces that define and shape the human experience: sex and death.

Here we see the events that mark the lives of the young and old, of men and women, of those meeting only briefly and others reflecting on shared pasts.

In these intense, often traumatic, and sometimes humorous interactions, we are confronted not just with our urges and anxieties, but with the very limits of mortality and morbidity. Honest, compassionate, and psychologically astute, the stories in Sex and Death are daring in their approaches to the form and relentless in their pursuit of what it is to be human.

Kevin Barry • Lynn Coady • Ceridwen Dovey • Robert Drewe • Damon Galgut • Petina Gappah • Sarah Hall • Peter Hobbs • Yiyun Li • Alexander MacLeod • Ben Marcus • Jon McGregor • Guadalupe Nettel • Courttia Newland • Taiye Selasi • Ali Smith • Wells Tower • Alan Warner • Claire Vaye Watkins • Clare Wigfall