Fifteen short stories from a variety of authors illuminate individual articles of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. All of the stories show how the articles relate to events that are part of the lives of children and teens in places around the world. There is sly humor in some, everyday drama or slowly unfolding horror in others. Each story is strongly grounded in the perspective and experience of an older child or teenager in this inspired collection that invites readers to question how freely they live their own lives, and how freely others are able to live theirs. The stories are set in the United Kingdom, several African nations, Russia, the Middle East, the United States, and elsewhere. They cover topics ranging from bullying to colonialism, refugees to Hurricane Katrina, child slavery to choosing one’s own friends, and more. Brief biographies of the contributors, and the complete Universal Declaration of Human Rights, are included. (Age 11 and older)

Inspired by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), which starts memorably with Article 1: we are all born free and equal, Freedom is an enthralling anthology of short stories by some of the world's top writers.

Most of the stories have been written especially for this anthology by a renowned array of internationally acclaimed writers, including Paulo Coelho, Yann Martel, AL Kennedy, Ali Smith, Amit Chaudhuri, Ariel Dorfman, Helen Dunmore, Marina Lewycka, Walter Mosley, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, James Meek, Kate Atkinson, David Mitchell, Hector Aguilar Camin, Ishmael Beah, Boris Akunin, Alice Pung and Banana Yoshimoto.

Each acclaimed contributor has chosen one of the thirty UDHR rights as the basic inspiration for his or her story, and the result is an anthology that contains a complete mix of thoughtful, serious, funny and thrilling stories that provide some completely unexpected takes on the issue of human rights.

Published in association with Amnesty International, Freedom is an eclectic collection that will prompt readers to engage imaginatively with what human rights mean for all of us.