Telling Tales collects stories from award-winning and highly acclaimed alumni of the prestigious Clarion West Writers Workshop in Seattle, Washington. These sixteen stories display a range of styles that exemplify the talents of writers who have passed through the program over the past 30 years. They diverse stories move from the streets of Lahaina to Pirateland, and include IQ-enhanced mice, genetic transformations, seafaring animals, Russian high-tech junk patrols, and a museum dedicated to water. The anthology includes stories from Kathleen Goonan, Louise Marley, Margo Lanagan, Susan Palwick, Mary Rosenblum, Ian McHugh, Daniel Abraham, Benjamin Rosenbaum, David Levine, Andy Duncan, Christopher Rowe, Rachel Swirsky, David Marusek, Nisi Shawl, Kij Johnson, and Ysabeau Wilce. Each is accompanied by an afterword from an instructor from their respective year: Greg Bear, Pat Murphy, Howard Waldrop, Samuel R. Delany, Gardner Dozois, Maureen McHugh, Lucy Sussex, Connie Willis, Geoff Ryman, Elizabeth Hand, Terry Bisson, Andy Duncan, Pat Cadigan, Nancy Kress, Ursula LeGuin, and Paul Park.