The latest book in the Rehoboth Beach Reads series, “Beach Secrets,” is now available. The anthology, published by Lewes-based Cat & Mouse Press, contains the winning stories from the 2021 Rehoboth Beach Reads Short Story Contest. “Beach Secrets” contains 24 short stories, all set in and around Rehoboth Beach.

The book is available at Browseabout Books for $15.95. This is the ninth book in the series.

A Zoom-based launch party will be held Saturday, Nov. 20, at 2 p.m. The event will feature authors of the stories and entertainment that includes secrets and surprises. The event is free and open to the public, but reservations are required. Email nancy@catandmousepress.com for more information.

“Beach Secrets” includes a variety of stories. Readers will meet philandering fiancés, teenage tinkerers and romantic rock stars; discover cryptic letters, historical legends and family secrets; and encounter a World War II submarine, an avenging wife and a lucky chicken. There are even a couple of crossword puzzles to solve.

Writers compete to get their stories into the annual Rehoboth Beach Reads anthology, and a panel of six judges makes the selections.

This year’s stories include: “A Well-Watered Mind,” Kim DeCicco; “At the Water’s Edge,” Carly Tagen-Dye; “Beach Misses,” Lonn Braender; “Billy’s Night Out,” Elizabeth Ellers; “Bug Spray and a Ponytail,” Tony Houck; “Chance Encounters,” Sarah Barnett; “The Companion,” Nancy North Walker; “The Cruciverbalist,” Katherine Melvin; “Driftwood Days,” Steve Saulsbury; “Grease Monkey Baby,” Nina Phillips; “Independence Day,” Renée Rockland; “Loose Lips,” Peter Keeble; “Lucky the Chicken,” David Cooper; “The Merrifield Affair,” Linda Budzinski; “Out of the Blue,” Justin Stoeckel; “Posturing,” Fran Grote; “Rock Star,” Jeanie P. Blair; “Say Yes,” Renée Rockland; “Secret Message,” Carl Frey; “Secrets in the Attic,” MaryAlice Meli; “Snapshots in Time,” Ellen Krawczak; “The Summer Jar,” Donald Challenge; “Undercover Daughter,” Doug Harrell; and Where Do I Begin?” Phil Giunta.

Cat & Mouse Press was established to produce books and other materials that are fun, entertaining, and of particular interest to residents and visitors to the Delmarva region. The company publishes a free weekly newsletter for writers, “Writing is a Shore Thing” (www.writingisashorething.com). For more information, visit the company’s website at www.catandmousepress.com or its Facebook page, at www.facebook.com/catandmousepress.