For readers: a collection of exciting, powerful science fiction and fantasy stories. For writers: a reminder that rejection isn't the end and to never give up on stories you believe in.
A man who lost his son finds family again piloting a lab-grown dolphin and helping it navigate loss while, hopefully, preventing more; an Irish goddess must contend with the magic of a saint to save her people; and a bullied boy finds common cause with the ghosts of dead horses in the basement of the Hermitage Museum.
These stories and many more await in this anthology of stories. Each one powerfully demonstrates the point of this anthology: that great stories are rejected every day. From Science Fiction Grand Masters and New York Times bestsellers to writers just starting their career, this anthology is packed full of strong stories that waited a long time to find a home. Every story is accompanied by a rejection history from the author themselves, each with different lessons on the nature and meaning of rejection as well as words of encouragement for their fellow authors on those days when the rejections roll in too many at a time.
Along with the seven stories from our anchor authors Samuel R. Delany, Robert J. Sawyer, Kevin J. Anderson & Rebecca Moesta, Gregory Norman Bossert, Jean Marie Ward, William Joseph Roberts, and David Boop, we also have an original essay from Robert Silverberg, and a foreword by Neil Clarke, the editor and publisher of Clarkesworld Magazine.
Finally, there are also thirteen original stories slushed from our open call by Christopher Blake, Laurence Raphael Brothers, Marie Croke, Sam Harris, Andrew Jackson, Stephen Kotowych, Rich Larson, Sam Loiaconi, Amelia Dee Mueller, Sam W. Pisciotta, Erica Ruppert, Paul Dale Smith, and Catherine Wells.
