Grimdark Magazine 10th anniversary issue tops Amazon charts, Unavowed anthology funded in under an hour

There are some exciting things afoot in the science fiction and fantasy book world, specifically in the anthology space, where a few exciting projects are getting a ton of support from the reader community. On October 1st, long-running genre zine Grimdark Magazine released its 40th issue, which is also its 10th anniversary edition issue. Grimdark Magazine is always a solid read, but this issue is something extra special because the list of authors who contributed stories, essays, or other work to it is mind-blowingly insane.

Don't take my word for it. Grimdark Magazine Issue #40 features works of short fiction from Mark Lawrence, Wendy Nikel, Angela Slatter, Ben Galley, Aaron Dries, Christopher Buehlman, Andrea Stewart, Cat Rambo, Anna Smith Spark, and the first part of a brand newGentleman Bastards short story from Scott Lynch (the second part will follow in the January 2025 issue). On the essay and interview side of things, we've got authors like Krystle Matar, Shauna Lawless, Graham McNeill, Richard Swan, Essa Hansen, and Aaron S. Jones, along with reviews of some huge new fantasy books like The Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne and The Devils by Joe Abercrombie. Oh, and Grimdark Magazine editor Beth Tabler also interviews J. Michael Straczynski, the creator of Babylon 5 and the driving force behind the publication of Harlan Ellison's posthumous final anthology The Last Dangerous Visions.

So yeah, when I say this thing is stacked, I mean it. And readers have responded: as of this morning, the 10th anniversary issue of Grimdark Magazine hit #1 on the Amazon new release chart for science fiction and fantasy anthologies. It has since been knocked down to #3, but is still making a pretty incredible showing for itself to be sitting alongside stiff competition like a new short story collection from Temeraire author Naomi Novik on the charts. I wouldn't be surprised to see it climb back up again.

Grimdark Magazine Issue #40 is available now on Amazon and at the Grimdark Magazine site. At only $3.99 for the ebook, it's an absolute steal. It's also available on Kindle Unlimited.

Grim Oak Press Unavowed anthology raises $50k in under an hour on Kickstarter

The Grimdark Magazine special isn't the only indie anthology project making waves right now. Yesterday, a Kickstarter went live for Unavowed, a new anthology from Shawn Speakman's Grim Oak Press. Speakman rounded up 22 indie and self-published science fiction and fantasy authors for this anthology, and the table of contents is pretty much a who's-who of notable names. It's no surprise that Unavowed reached its funding goal, but the speed of it was still staggering. The Kickstarter crossed its $50,000 goal in less than an hour. As of this writing, it's sitting at over $105,000 after its first day. (And I've had to adjust that number three times while writing this article, because people keep backing it!)

Speakman founded Grim Oak Press back in 2011, and it's developed a reputation for high-quality anthologies with incredible contributor lists. Unavowed looks to carry on that tradition. It's got a new story from Michael J. Sullivan set after his Riyria Revelations series! A tale from R.R. Virdi set in the world of The First Binding! Stories from Ryan Cahill (The Bound and the Broken), Michael R. Miller (Songs of Chaos), M.L. Wang (The Sword of Kaigen), and Kevin Hearne (The Iron Druid Chronicles). And that's just for a start. Here's the full table of contents for Unavowed:

• The Touch of the Eternal by J. A. Andrews
• The Last Ride of Kanashimi by Zack Argyle
• Rival of Ghosts by Dyrk Ashton
• The Old Lie by Ryan Cahill
• My Soul Has Teeth by Sarah Chorn
• The Wanderer by A. C. Cobble
• Lord of Vengeance by Michael R. Fletcher
• The Last Sentinel by Rob J. Hayes
• Sinner's Grave by Kevin Hearne
• Curse These Metal Hands by Ben Galley
• Hild the Humble by Michael R. Miller
• A Mother's Love by Andy Peloquin
• The Power of Perception by J. Zachary Pike
• Fragile Gods by J. D. L. Rosell
• The Unavowed Light-Weaver by Shawn Speakman
• A Darker Talent by M. L. Spencer
• Sails at Dusk by Patrick Swenson
• The Storm by Michael J. Sullivan
• The Darkdancer by Ramon Terrell
• The Parable of the Silk Weaver by R. R. Virdi
• How the Dragons Became Extinct by M. L. Wang
• The Brotherhood of Shadows by Jeff Wheeler

The Unavowed Kickstarter is still running, so if this is an anthology you want to get in on you can back it here. An exciting day in the indie sci-fi and fantasy space, indeed!

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