A new anthology in honour of David Gemmell

[Ian Whates]

All original stories written in honour of David Gemmell.

The lineup of contributors is still being finalised, but I can confirm Joe Abercrombie, James Barclay (a story chronicling the origin of The Raven), Tanith Lee, Adrian Tchaikovsky (a story in his Shadows of the Apt milieu), Juliet E McKenna, Stan Nicholls, Jonathan Green, Storm Constantine, Gaie Sebold...

Would this be of interest to anyone...?

Cover art is by Dominic Harman
Title graphics by Andy Bigwood​

 

[biodroid]

Ooooooooohhh yeeeeeeaaaah!!!!!! Ian did you contribute a story? When is this released?

 

[Conor]

Most definitely!
But, are these new stories taking place in Gemmel's worlds he has created?
I hope you can keep us posted and would love to check it out when its released.
Of course I cant help noticing Druss' axe looks like a version of the Batman symbol on the cover!

 

[Ian Whates]

No, Conor, not in Gemmell's universes -- I think any attempt to do that would risk falling flat and would ultimately show just how good Gemmell really was! How could anyone hope to add to what he did, and the last thing anyone wanted was for this book to in any way detract from his fabulous legacy. So, the writers are all creating in their own worlds but have been asked to keep Gemmell's spirit in mind.

The anthology is being produced in conjunction with the David Gemmell Awards and, it's hoped, will help raise some funds in support of the awards. The David Gemmell Legend Awards

Legends will be launched at this year's Gemmell Award Ceremony, on the opening night (Thursday October 31st) of World Fantasycon in Brighton.

Funnily enough, biodroid, I have written a story for this, though whether it makes the final cut is still to be decided. I've sent it out to three readers, stripped of any identifiers as to the author. Two have loved it, one saying, "This is exactly the sort of story the anthology should feature," but one was less convinced, saying, "If this gets in it will be a good story for the anthology but not a great one." So, we'll see...

 

[D-E-M-Emrys]

THIS is the best thing since sliced bread.

 

[Menion]

Is it going to be released as a Hardback and Paperback or just Paperback? Lovely book for my Gemmell collection. I hope it is since the 25th anniversary edition of Legend was only a paperback and that was a shame.

 

[Ian Whates]

For those interested, I have written a blog post which explains how the anthology came about... Oh, and it also reveals the full Table of Contents.

David Gemmell and Legends ‹ Ian Whates

Sorry, Menion, I've only just spotted your post, but the link will answer your question... How does a limited edition hardback signed by all the authors sound?

 

[Menion]

Limited edition? Signed? sounds awesome. Are these only available at the convention or for sale elsewhere?

 

[Ian Whates]

No, Menion, the book will also be available to order elsewhere (for as long as stocks last). It's just been listed on the SpaceWitch site at a special pre-launch discount:
Legends by various authors | SpaceWitch.com

 

[Ian Whates]

Those nice people over at Fantasy Book Critic have posted an interview with me in which I discuss editing the book and how the project came about:

Fantasy Book Critic: Interview with Ian Whates (Interviewed by Mihir Wanchoo)

 

[Menion]

Cheers for that. Space witch? never heard of them. I'll be preordering though.

 

[Johnny71181]

Will definitely be buying this!

 

[Johnny71181]

I see space witch is a uk site. Will it also be sold in the US?

 

[Ian Whates]

I see space witch is a uk site. Will it also be sold in the US?

The paperback will be freely available in the US and elsewhere, Johnny. The signed hardback, I'm afraid, will only be available from the UK.

 

[Menion]

Bought mine. Can't believe it's so cheap considering its limited dition and signed.

 

[ragtagblues]

This I will be looking forward t. And regardless of a lot of people's opinions, I am most looking forward to Juliet McKenna's contribution.

Can't wait.

 

[Ian Whates]

Delighted with the finished dust jacket for the Legends anthology. Artwork by Dominic Harman, layout by Andy Bigwood.

 

[Menion]

Just how limited is this limited edition? 500ish? more, less?

 

[Ian Whates]

Just how limited is this limited edition? 500ish? more, less?

150 copies, Menion... And it's going fast in pre-sales.

 

[Menion]

I loved this Anthology, it introduced me to a few authors I had never tried before, Joe Abercrombie's and James Barclay's stories in particular shined.

Are there any plans for a second one? or was it a one off?