Ruth Sanderson_San Soleil“San Soleil” by Ruth Sanderson

 Persephone’s Kiss:
Love, death, longing… and the underworld!
An illustrated anthology of poetry, lyrical short fiction &  comics.

The Two Trees by Leigh DragoonFrom “The Two Trees” by Leigh Dragoon

I’m editing Persephone’s Kiss, an anthology about romance, loss… and what happens afterward, including ghosts, unquiet dead and assorted elements of world myth.

Contributors include New York Times Best-Selling authors and winners of the Caldecott Medal, World Fantasy Award, Hugo Award, Nebula Award, Edgar Allen Poe Award, Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror, and International Horror Guild Award; nominees for the Bram Stoker, National Book Award and many others. The book is to be designed by illustrator Thomas Canty, with each piece illustrated by a cast of well-known and emerging artists.

Tales and poems span fresh re-tellings and original fables, including comics inspired by a Japanese folktale and The Two Trees by William Butler Yeatts; an eerie version of The Little Mermaid;underworld musings on the trials of the Goddess Isis and a Buddhist hell; a battle between heaven and hell depicted nightly on ever-changing wallpaper, and the last survivor in a series of murdered wives exacting her revenge.

Please note: submissions are currently by invitation only.

For more information, please contact: shirl[dot]sazynski[at]gmail[dot]com

Contributors:

Terri Windling_Brother and Sister“Brother and Sister” by Terri Windling
  • Jane Yolen (The Last Dragon; Caldecott Medal, previous Grandmaster: World Fantasy Association, Nebula Award, author of 325+ books)
  • Peter S. Beagle (The Last Unicorn)
  • Tanith Lee (Nebula Award, British Fantasy Award, World Fantasy Award)
  • Jeffrey Ford (Crackpot Palace; The Well-Built City trilogy; World Fantasy Award, Theodore Sturgeon Award, Nebula Award)
  • Delia Sherman (Freedom Maze; Porcelain Dove; Norton Award, Mythpoeic Award, Prometheus Award)
  • Ellen Kushner (Swordspoint, The Privilege of the Sword, World Fantasy Award; Mythopoeic Award)
  • Gemma Files (Hexslinger novels; International Horror Guild Award; Bram Stoker Award nominee)
  • Ari Berk (The Runes of Elfland; Death Watch)
  • Mirabai (translated by Janine Canan; classical Indian poet)
  • Mike Allen (Clockwork Phoenix; Nebula Award nominee)
  • Leah Bobet (Above; Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror award)
  • Francesca Forrest (Rhysling Award nominee)
  • Dvorah Simon (Mercy; Nautilus Silver Award)
  • Amanda Cockrell (What We Keep is Not Always What Will Stay; Book of the Year award)
  • Rebecca Buchanan
  • Dan Campbell 
  • Alexandra Seidel  (All Our Dark Lovers [forthcoming]; Rhysling nominee)
  • Brittany Warman
  • Mari Ness
  • Katherine Soniat (The Swing Girl; A.O. Young Award)
  • Lauren Teffeau
  • Marly Youmans (A Death at the White Camellia Orphanage; National Book Award panel)
  • Ted Mendolsson (The Wrong Sword)
  • Sam Schreiber (assistant editor, Cavalier Literary Couture)
  • Michele Bannister
  • Laura McCullough (What Men Want; Book of the Year finalist)

Artists:

I sing of his bones_Sara Richard“I Sing of His Bones” by Sara Richard


Gallery:

  • Thomas Canty Thomas Canty Cover Sketch
  • Shirl Sazynski Shirl Sazynski
  • Paula Arwen Friedlander Paula Arwen Friedlander
  • Karen Luk Karen Luk
  • Vanessa Gillings Vanessa Gillings "The Crane Wife"
  • Vanessa Gillings Vanessa Gillings "The Crane Wife"
  • Sara Richards Sara Richards
  • Holly S. Wood Holly S. Wood