Secret lives, replete with possibilities. Elsewhere exists as a better place, in a better time, for a better life. The trick is how to get there from here. These stories give the answers. Share in the secret lives of books. Fly to Mars, the first stage, perhaps, in the onward journey to elsewhere. Hear the music of the heavenly spheres and be forever changed, providing the bad guys don’t hear it first. Discover Gaia may not be quite what we think she is. Discover the universe is a rather big place. Embrace Utopia for women too, if only … Table of Contents * Introduction * The Secret Lives of Books * Kiddofspeed * Qasida * The Kairos Effect * The slut and the universe What Are the Twelve Planets? The Twelve Planets are twelve boutique collections by some of Australia’s finest short story writers. Varied across genre and style, each collection offers four short stories and a unique glimpse into worlds fashioned by some of our favourite storytellers. Each author has taken the brief of four stories and up to 40 000 words in their own direction. Some are quartet suites of linked stories. Others are tasters of the range and style of the writer. Each release will bring something unexpected to readers. Nightsiders by Sue Isle Love and Romanpunk by Tansy Rayner Roberts Thief of Lives by Lucy Sussex Bad Power by Deborah Biancotti Showtime by Narrelle M Harris Through Splintered Walls by Kaaron Warren Cracklescape by Margo Lanagan Asymmetry by Thoraiya Dyer Caution: Contains Small Parts by Kirstyn McDermott Secret Lives by Rosaleen Love The Female Factory by Lisa L. Hannett and Angela Slatter Cherry Crow Children by Deborah Kalin