Our Pozible campaign backers had an advance preview of the table of contents for Cranky Ladies of History a few days ago, but now we are delighted to share it with the world! It seems like so long ago this idea came to life, and we still have a ways before the book itself is released, but right now we are SO excited to present to you the line up for the anthology (presented in approximately era-order):
| Author | Provisional Title | Cranky Lady | A little detail… |
| Joyce Chng | “Charmed Life” | Leizu | Chinese empress who discovered silk |
| Amanda Pillar | “Neter Nefer” | Hatshepsut | Egyptian ruler |
| Barbara Robson | “Theodora” | Theodora, wife of the Byzantine Emperor, Justinian the first | Wife of the Byzantine Emperor, Justinian the first |
| Lisa Hannett | “Hallgerðr Höskuldsdóttir / For So Great a Misdeed” | Icelandic woman | |
| Garth Nix | “The Company of Women” | Lady Godiva | Anglo-Saxon noblewoman |
| Juliet Marillier | “Hallowed Ground” | Hildegard of Bingen | German writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath |
| LM Myles | “Little Battles” | Eleanor of Aquitaine | French queen & mother of dynasty |
| Foz Meadows | “Bright Moon” | Khutulun | Central Asian warrior |
| Laura Lam | “The lioness and her prey” | Jeanne de Clisson | French pirate |
| Liz Barr | “Queenside” | Mary Tudor (Mary I of England) | Queen of England |
| Deborah Biancotti | “Look How Cold My Hands Are” | Countess Bathory | countess from the renowned Báthory family of nobility in the Kingdom of Hungary. She has been labelled the most prolific female serial killer in history |
| Dirk Flinthart | “The gift of freedom” | Grace O’Malley | Queen of Umaill, chieftain of the Ó Máille clan sometimes known as “The Sea Queen of Connacht” |
| Faith Mudge | “Glorious” | Elizabeth I | Queen of England |
| Havva Murat | “The Pasha, the girl and the dagger: The story of Nora of Kelmendi” | Nora of Kelmendi | Albanian warrior |
| Kirstyn McDermott | “Mary Mary” | Mary Wollstonecroft | English writer, philosopher, and advocate of women’s rights. |
| Thoraiya Dyer | “Vintana” | Queen Ranavalona I of Madagascar, also known as Ranavalona the Cruel | Queen of Madagascar |
| Stephanie Lai | “The dragon, the terror, the sea” | Cheng Shih | Chinese pirate |
| Jane Yolen | SACAGAWEA | SACAGAWEA | Lemhi Shoshone woman, who accompanied the Lewis and Clark Expedition, acting as an interpreter and guide, in their exploration of the Western United States |
| Kaaron Warren | “Another week in the future” | Miss CH Spence | Scottish-born Australian author, teacher, journalist, politician and leading suffragist. |
| Sylvia Kelso | “Due care and attention” | Lilian Cooper | British-born Australian doctor |
| Sandra McDonald | “Cora Crane and The Trouble with Me” | Cora Crane | American businesswoman, nightclub and bordello owner, writer and journalist. |
| Nisi Shawl | “A Beautiful Stream” | Colette | French novelist and performer |
| Liz Argall | “Oodgeroo is Not Yet Your Name” | Oodgeroo Noonuccal | Australian poet, political activist, artist and educator. |
Isn’t that AMAZING? Tansy and I are so chuffed to have such a marvellous bunch of stories to work on (and yes, we’re just a little bit smug that we have already read them 🙂 ). So, which cranky lady are YOU most keen for?
FableCroft 
Leizu and Colette. This is gonna rock! Best of luck to you.
Thank you!
I’ve always been a fan of the Empress Theodora, but I think I’m more excited to see names I’m unfamiliar with. Cheng Shih, Khutulun, Leizu… and especially Oodgeroo Noonuccal, who I know of from reading her poetry at school but am sure will be a new name to many international and some (too many) Australian readers.
The stories do a wonderful job of sharing tidbits of their lives – I’m so excited about it!
The Chinese empress and the central Asian warrior. I ‘m really bad with names. The link from SF Signal was the first I heard of this anthology & I want it sooooo much. Wish I could have been a supporter.
We look forward to being able to share these AMAZING stories with you!
When I set out to research the Empress Theordora story, I was expecting that it would have fantasy elements and I was thinking I might also make it an allegory for more recent political events. But I discovered Theodora was just so marvellous that it would have been doing her an injustice to veer much from the historical facts. There were so many fantastic stories in her life that it was difficult to choose. It was with some reluctance that I chose her best-known story, but that was really the one best-suited to a short story. I can see why others have written novels about her.
I’m really looking forward to reading the others! Lilian Cooper sounds intriguing, and Countess Bathory is an old favourite.