Introducing the Anthology Challenge

This year, I have introduced two challenges to give myself some direction in my writing and publishing: The Anthology Challenge, and The Chapter-Book-Collection Challenge.

The aim of The Anthology Challenge is to complete, to pre-release readiness, 12 collections of short fiction in 2018, for release in 2019. All of these collections will contain previously published work, but most will also contain stories published exclusively, for the first time, in that collection. All of these new stories will be included in one of the annual collections of short work published in 2019, but the older stories will not—and the 2019 collections won’t be published until early 2021.

Rules:

• The new stories for The Anthology Challenge are to be written in addition to the stories to be written and published in 2019.
• The collections are to be compiled, with front and back matter, prior to the end of 2018.
• The collections are to have covers prior to the end of 2018.
• Collections are to be uploaded 3 months prior to their release date.
• Collections are to contain a minimum of 80,000 words of story.
• I can add work from any of my pen-names to any collection.

Schedule and Current Status of Collections:

January—C.M. Simpson: Short Stories from 2017—Fantasy & Urban Fantasy

This collection contains all the fantasy and urban fantasy stories published in 2017—including flash fiction first published in 366 Days of Flash Fiction. At the start of the challenge this collection had not entered the compilation stage and had no cover. At this point, it has been compiled, but requires a cover, formatting, a quick edit, and a cover. It is 91,000 words long and contains the following short stories:

February—C.M. Simpson: Short Stories from 2017—Science Fiction and Horror

This collection contains all the science fiction and horror stories published in 2017—including flash fiction first published in 366 Days of Flash Fiction. At the start of the challenge it had yet to be compiled or have any other work done. It contains the following short stories:

March—Tales from Odyssey

This collection contains short stories, flash fiction and poetry written about Odyssey, a secretive company specialising in intelligence and luxury space cruises. At the start of this challenge it was 79,824 words long, and contained the following short stories:

April—An Anthology of Bloodlines

This collection contains short stories, flash fiction and poetry dealing with inherited talents and traits. At the start of this challenge it was estimated 46,510 words long, and had the following short stories assigned:

May—Pixie-Dust Dreaming

This collection contains short stories, flash fiction and poetry set in the world of Pixie Dust and the Paranormal Operations Squad (P.O.S. for short). At the start of this challenge, it was estimated at 58,157 words long, and had the following short stories assigned:

June—The Story-Match Challenge 2015

This collection contains all the short stories written in July 2015 as part of a challenge I set myself to match Dean Wesley Smith’s personal challenge to write one short story a day for the month of July. Unlike Dean, I did not succeed in the challenge, but the stories that came out of this challenge were well worth the effort - even if some were completed long after the challenge was over. At the start of this challenge, this collection was estimated at 102,655 words long, and no work had been done to create the final collection, save to list the following short stories:

 

 

 

July—The Story-A-Week Catch-Up Challenge 2016

This collection contains all the short stories written between July and December 2016, as part of a challenge to finish off The Story-Match Challenge started the previous year. Again, I miscalculated my university workload and didn’t complete the challenge, and, again, the stories that came out of this challenge were more than worth it. At the start of The Anthology Challenge, this collection was estimated at 91,491 words long, and no work had been done to create the final collection, save to list the following short stories:

 

August—Another Anthology of Dragons

This collection contains all the short stories, flash fiction, and poetry published since An Anthology of Dragons, and then adds a few more. At the start of The Anthology Challenge, this collection was estimated at 43, 311 words long, and no work had been done to create the final collection, save to list the following short stories:

 

September—Tales from When the Trolls Came

This collection contains all the short stories to do with the Troll Hunter, and her dealings with the local elves and trolls, as well as any other stories set in her world. At the start of The Anthology Challenge, this collection was estimated at 21,815words, and had the following short stories assigned:

October—Stories from the Lizardine
This collection contains all the short stories and flash fiction to do with the part of the Odyssey universe dedicated to the lizardine of Aquapearl and their human hybrids. At the start of The Anthology Challenge, this collection was estimated at 31,493 words, and had the following stories assigned:
  

November—Tales from Tallameera

This collection contains all the short stories, flash fiction and poetry to do with the world of Tallameera, on which the Shadow series is set. At the start of The Anthology Challenge, this collection was estimated at 19,902 words, and had the following stories assigned:

December—Another 366 Days of Poetry

This collection is another collection of poetry that consists of a poem for each day of the year. At the start of The Anthology Challenge, it had not been started.