In 2020, the world was tipped upside down and shaken in ways we could barely have imagined, except perhaps in the post-apocalyptic and dystopic worlds of story. Amidst pandemic illness and death, political machinations and despair, one of the casualties has been, at least in a financial sense, the Arts. Governments across the world have slashed funding, galleries, theatres and entertainment venues have closed amid lockdown restrictions, money is being carefully metered with jobs more uncertain than ever, meaning our creatives across all industries are suffering. And yet, more than ever, we are turning to art to stay sane in lockdown, to keep our spirits up in isolation, and to remind us that despite the hardship, there is beauty in this world.
To that end, FableCroft is coming out of hiatus in 2021 to publish a brand new original anthology, The Art of Being Human. Co-edited by Tehani Croft and Stephanie Lai, this anthology seeks to remind readers of the hope and beauty of the Arts, and the way our engagement with writing, music, film, theatre, artworks in all media, and craft of all kinds are at the core of our humanity.
It is our very great pleasure to announce the table of contents for The Art of Being Human. We had around 350 submissions equalling well over 1.5 million words from at least 30 countries – I’m pretty sure it’s FableCroft’s biggest submission call ever! We are absolutely delighted with the lineup of stories we have selected, but it was a very difficult task. We could easily have accepted dozens more, so high was the quality of submissions. The stories selected range across the speculative fiction genres, and come to you from all over the world. We can’t wait for you to read them.
So, without further ado, the forthcoming lineup!
Table of Contents
“Pieced together” by K G Anderson
“Birdsong” by Joanne Anderton
“The world has gone silent” by Joyce Chng
“The ocean, the lighthouse keeper and the sunset” by Lee Cope
“The library” by Helen Vivienne Fletcher
“The icecutter’s daughter” by Aiki Flinthart
“Neuro” by Ephiny Gale
“Everyday wonder” by Valerie Hunter
“A trail of blue paper flowers” by Nikoline Kaiser
“Spools of silk, shards of stone” by Karin Landelius
“Drawing blood” by Gerri Leen
“Greatheart” by Juliet Marillier
“That feeling when you ask me to dance” by Cara Mast
“Seeding trouble” by Kirstyn McDermott
“Among the faded woods” by Faith Mudge
“Exposure” by Jason Nahrung
“The light in the attic, the bones in the earth” by Spencer Nitkey
“The maiden, the statistician, and the architect” by Steve Quinn
“She is not in heaven” by Rivqa Rafael
“All dressed up for the death trade” by Tansy Rayner Roberts
“The mask makers” by Kristi Ross
“When silence speaks” by Spencer Sekulin
“Everything so slow and quiet” by Kaaron Warren
“The poet’s tale” by Suzanne J Willis
We still have a way to go on finalising the book, but keep an eye on our social media for pre-order options and release date!
FableCroft 