Selected Short Stories

Philip K. Dick

Illustrated by 24 different artists

Introduced by Jonathan Lethem

Preface by Philip K. Dick

Selected Short Stories won the Literature category at BBD&P Awards 2022

Twenty-four artists take on the best of Philip K. Dick’s short fiction in Selected Short Stories. With a unique die-cut slipcase, printed page edges and an introduction by Jonathan Lethem.

US$150.00
US$150.00
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‘One of the most original practitioners writing any kind of fiction.’
  1. Sunday Times

This special collection of short stories has been curated to celebrate the incredible scope of Philip K. Dick’s imagination and wit. Twenty-four artists were commissioned to create the spectacular illustrations, while the volume itself is full of quirky details: the vibrant sprayed page edges feature a pair of startling eyes, and the unique die-cut slipcase features a hidden image on the interior bursting with colour. Award-winning novelist and Philip K. Dick fan Jonathan Lethem has provided a fascinating introduction, while the edition also includes an insightful preface by the author himself. Selected Short Stories brings together the very best in modern book design with a host of diverse artists, all to explore the fantastic – and the fantastically strange – universe of Philip K. Dick.

Selected Short Stories won the Literature category at the British Book Production and Design Awards 2022.

Bound in blocked cloth with a design by La Boca

Set in Mentor with Futura as display

648 pages

Second colour in prelims

24 full-page colour illustrations

Printed endpapers

Two ribbon markers

Digitally printed page edges

Blocked and die cut slipcase with printed inside
designed by La Boca.

10˝ x 6¾˝

‘Dick quietly produced serious fiction in a popular form and there can be no greater praise.’
  1. Michael Moorcock

Philip K. Dick wrote over 120 short stories in his lifetime, and the very best of them are collected here. In classic science-fiction stories like ‘The Crystal Crypt’ and ‘The Defenders’ he dissects war, paranoia, and the red planet. ‘Minority Report’ and ‘We Can Remember It for You Wholesale’ – filmed as Total Recall in 1990 – explore some of his favourite preoccupations, such as free will and predestination. And this being Dick there are stranger offerings to be enjoyed too, such as the unnerving tragicomedy ‘Oh to be a Blobel!’ and the creeping horror of ‘The Hanging Stranger’. In his warm and insightful introduction, novelist Jonathan Lethem examines how Dick’s stories built a universe that was both paranoid and joyful, lovingly constructed from the building blocks of science fiction.

Selected Short Stories showcases the work of 24 remarkable artists. The art styles are as diverse as the stories themselves: Anna Millais’s illustration for ‘The Crystal Crypt’ makes powerful use of dramatic angles and the sooty red skies of Mars; for ‘Colony’, Raisa Álava has created a psychedelic explosion of colour and detail, while Folio Society favourite Dave McKean has provided an eerie yet beautiful image of the ‘precogs’ from ‘Minority Report’. Brought together in an eye-catching binding, this edition also features a special die-cut slipcase with an interior illustration that playfully captures Dick’s unique mixture of awe and cynicism. Selected Short Stories is as much a work of art as it is a mind-expanding collection from one of the 20th century’s most ground-breaking writers.

The Defenders
The Infinites
The Crystal Crypt
Paycheck
Colony
Second Variety
The Commuter
Adjustment Team
Impostor
The Hanging Stranger
The Golden Man
Exhibit Piece

Sales Pitch
Foster, You’re Dead
Autofac
The Minority Report
The Unreconstructed M
War Game
Oh, To Be a Blobel!
A Game of Unchance
We Can Remember It for You Wholesale
Return Match
The Electric Ant
Chains of Air, Web of Aether

Philip K. Dick was born in Chicago in 1928. At around the age of 12, Dick read his first science-fiction magazine, which led to a lifelong engagement with the genre. After a brief stint at the University of Berkeley in 1949, he worked in a record store, Art Music Company. He wrote full-time from 1951, when he sold his first short story, and went on to produce 44 novels and five collections of short stories. Dick struggled to achieve mainstream success – his non-science-fiction novels being returned by his agent in 1963 – but received enormous acclaim in the science-fiction world for his works exploring metaphysics, theology and politics. His best-known novels include The Man in the High Castle (1962; Folio Society, 2015), which won the Hugo Award in 1963; Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1968; Folio Society, 2017); and  Ubik (1969; Folio Society, 2019). Folio's collections of his short stories include The Complete Short Stories (Folio Society, 2021) and Selected Short Stories (Folio Society, 2022). Married five times, Dick died in 1982.

Jonathan Lethem is the New York Times best-selling author of 14 novels, including Motherless Brooklyn (1999), winner of the National Book Critics Circle award, The Fortress of Solitude (2003) and, most recently, The Arrest (2020). He has also published two novellas, Omega, a graphic novel, collections of essays and numerous anthologies. A recipient of a MacArthur Fellowship, Lethem has been published in The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times, among other publications.

‘The Defenders’ illustrated by Chris Malbon 
Chris Malbon is a commercial and editorial illustrator based in Bristol, UK. He is comfortable working with pens and paint as well as digitally. 

‘The Infinites’ illustrated by Georgia Hill 
Georgia Hill is an Australian multidisciplinary artist specialising in type-based artworks that combine bold black and white textures and lettering within experimental compositions.  

‘The Crystal Crypt’ illustrated by Anna Millais 
Anna Millais is an illustrator and bibliophile based in London, UK. She works mainly in pencil and ink and works predominantly by hand, finishing with digital techniques. 

‘Paycheck’ illustrated by Jeremy Wilson 
Jeremy Wilson lives and works in Richmond, USA. He seeks to perfect his images through design and negative space. 

‘Colony’ illustrated by Raisa Álava 
Raisa Álava is based in Bilbao, Spain, and works in drawing, engraving, silkscreen, illustration and ceramics.  

‘Second Variety’ illustrated by Chris Thornley 
Raid71, also known by his alter ego Chris Thornley, works as a graphic designer and illustrator. His retro illustration style uses detailed line work.

‘The Commuter’ illustrated by Hilary Clarcq 
Hilary Clarcq is based in Colorado, USA. An illustrator and gallery artist, she creates oil paintings that are often surreal and dreamlike.  

‘Adjustment Team’ illustrated by Viktor Hachmang 
Victor Hachmang is a Dutch designer, illustrator and comics artist who has published a number of experimental comic books and graphic novels.  

‘Impostor’ illustrated by Simon Prades 
Simon Prades is an illustrator living in Saarbrücken, Germany. He works with both analogue and digital techniques. 

‘The Hanging Stranger’ illustrated by George Wylesol 
George Wylesol is an illustrator, designer, writer and educator currently living in Baltimore, USA, and teaching illustration at Towson University and MICA.  

‘The Golden Man’ illustrated by Gerrel A. K. Saunders 
Gerrel A. K. Saunders is an illustrator and designer from the twin islands of Trinidad and Tobago.  

‘Exhibit Piece’ illustrated by Tavis Coburn 
Tavis Coburn’s unique style is inspired by 1940s comic-book art, the Russian avant-garde movement and printed materials from the 1950s and 1960s.  

‘Sales Pitch’ illustrated by Charles Chaisson 
Charles Chaisson is an illustrator living in Brooklyn, NY, USA. Charles uses mixed media, incorporating pencil drawing, acrylic paint and digital painting.  

‘Foster, You’re Dead’ illustrated by Alice Tye 
Alice Tye is a London-based illustrator and painter working in oil paints. She also uses digital techniques. 

‘Autofac’ illustrated by Damien Jeon 
Damien Jeon is a Seoul-based illustrator whose work combines both analogue and digital techniques. 

‘The Minority Report’ illustrated by Dave McKean
Dave McKean is an illustrator, author, photographer and designer who has worked in theatre, galleries, music and the film industry.  

‘The Unreconstructed M’ illustrated by Anna Mill 
Anna Mill is a London based artist, designer and author whose architectural background informs her illustration work. 

‘War Game’ illustrated by Audrey Benjaminsen 
Audrey Benjaminsen is a multimedia illustrator and instructor based in Michigan, USA. She works in a mixture of traditional and digital techniques.

‘Oh, To Be a Blobel!’ illustrated by Kristian Hammerstad 
Kristian Hammerstad is an illustrator based in Oslo, Norway. He works on drawn projects and also makes comics. 

‘A Game of Unchance’ illustrated by Ashley Mackenzie 
Ashley Mackenzie is a Canadian artist and illustrator based in Alberta, Canada. She primarily works digitally and loves the challenge of creating engaging conceptual illustrations. 

‘We Can Remember It for You Wholesale’ illustrated by Katherine Lam 
Katherine Lam is an illustrator based in New York, USA. She loves the illustration of environment and likes to play with shadows in her work. 

‘Return Match’ illustrated by Yehrin Tong 
Yehrin Tong is a London based illustrator. Her work is a detailed and hypnotic exploration into mathematical, abstract pattern and optical illusions.  

‘The Electric Ant’ illustrated by Greg Ruth 
Greg Ruth works in a number of mediums including ink, graphite paint and digital forms. He currently lives and works in Western Massachusetts, USA. 

‘Chains of Air, Web of Aether’ illustrated by Corey Brickley 
Corey Brickley is a freelance illustrator and designer living and working in Philadelphia, USA. He uses 3D, texture and Wacom-based painting to create surreal and graphic juxtapositions. 

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