What a fantastic ride we’ve had so far, hitting our funding target in just three days, and then almost 50% of that again! We’ve got some big stretch goals to reach for still, and some exciting announcements about the book to come.

Today I have for you a little round up of the online activities some of our brilliant contributors have shared so far about their stories in The Art of Being Human. I always love these behind-the-scenes peeks into the writer’s mind, and as an editor, it absolutely fascinates me to see how a theme can spark an idea…

Joyce Chng shares a very personal insight into the genesis of her story “The World Has Gone Silent” – https://awolfstale.wordpress.com/2022/08/10/the-year-of-tears-and-the-fight-for-hope/ 

Helen Vivienne Fletcher (and her gorgeous pupper!) shares a video talking about her story “The Library” – https://www.facebook.com/Helenvivienne/videos/506745707791990/

Ephiny Gale not only digs into a bit of the inspiration about her story “Neuro”, but shares a sneak peek! – https://ephinygale.com/2022/08/14/neuro-in-the-art-of-being-human-kickstarter-live/

Juliet Marillier shares a snippet of her story “Greatheart” and talks about the power of music and stories to heal and teach – https://www.julietmarillier.com/2022/08/14/bagpipes-a-monster-and-the-power-of-storytelling/

Kirstyn McDermott draws on the impact of capitalism on our capacity for creativity in discussing her story “Seeding Trouble” (and offers another sneak peek!) – https://kirstynmcdermott.com/2022/08/11/the-art-of-being-human-seeding-trouble/

Steve Quinn talks about how wealth inequality helped inspire his story, “The Maiden, the Statistician, and the Architect” – https://www.steve-quinn.net/2022/08/14/the-art-of-being-human-anthology-kickstarter/

Tansy Rayner Roberts has been sprinkling little nuggets of joy all over the internet about her story “Welcome to the Death Trade” – check out her Facebook and Insta feeds!

You can read more about the book and the crowdfunding pre-order campaign over at Kickstarter – thanks for being part of the journey!

It has been two long years in the making, but we are beyond excited to begin our pre-order campaign for The Art of Being Human!

The purpose of this campaign is to offer early access to The Art of Being Human anthology to all backers, and to provide the ONLY opportunity to purchase the book in print.

Ready to back? Click here!

Want to know more? Read on!

What is the book about?

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 came out of hiatus 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.

If the time since COVID began to dominate our global society has taught us anything, it is that connection is crucial to our wellbeing. While so many of the stories that make up this amazing anthology have a core element of grief to them, they also speak to hope, connection, community, and yes, ART, and how important these threads are to the very centre of humanity. 

Who does the book feature?

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.

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

kickstarter.com/projects/fablecroft/the-art-of-being-human-a-speculative-fiction-anthology