Shapers of Worlds

Introduction

Introduction

By Edward Willett

Like most writers of science fiction and fantasy, I started out as a reader. In our public library in Weyburn, Saskatchewan, every science fiction and fantasy book bore a bright-yellow sticker on the spine, featuring a stylized atom with a rocketship for a nucleus. I methodically worked my way along the shelves until I’d read most of the books thus marked, which included, not just novels, but short-story collections, some by one author, many by multiple authors; some offering original fiction, others reprints.

Inspired (or possibly corrupted) by my reading, I tried my own hand at writing science fiction when I was eleven years old, producing my first complete short story: “Kastra Glazz, Hypership Test Pilot.” My course was clearly set: I’ve been writing science fiction and fantasy ever since.

But while I could imagine myself as a writer, it never once occurred to me I might one day be editing and publishing a short-story anthology myself. And even had that thought crossed my mind, I would never have dreamed that within such an anthology I might have stories by authors of the caliber collected herein. Had you told me when I was reading Forever War as a teenager, for example, that someday I would not only meet and interview Joe Haldeman but I’d be republishing a Hugo Award-winning story of his, I wouldn’t have believed it. Joe Haldeman and the other authors I read then seemed Olympians to me, forever out of my reach.

Years went by. I had a few short stories of my own published and, eventually, novels. I even made it to a few science fiction conventions, something else that had seemed out of reach as a small-town prairie boy. I started meeting some of the Olympians. Sometimes, I was on panels with them, or I’d go out to dinner with them, or we’d have drinks in the bar. I realized they were not, in fact, unapproachable.

Fast-forward (through a whole bunch of writing and publishing adventures) to the summer of 2018, when the idea came to me to leverage my experience as an erstwhile newspaper reporter and radio and TV host, and the contacts I had made in the genre, to launch a new podcast, focusing on something I love to talk about: the creative process of crafting science fiction and fantasy.

I researched the making of podcasts, decided on a hosting service, set up a website, got the necessary software and equipment, and then reached out to possible guests—and was thrilled by how many fabulous authors said, “Sure, I’ll talk to you.” That willingness spanned the writing-career spectrum from legends of the field and international bestsellers to folks who are just getting started, from writers for adults to writers for young adults and children, from hard SF writers to writers of epic fantasy. The Worldshapers podcast took off with a bang—and, of course, continues.

Fast-forward again. In April 2019, at the annual meeting of SaskBooks, the association of Saskatchewan publishers of which I’m a member by virtue of owning Shadowpaw Press, a guest speaker talked about her success at Kickstarting anthologies.

Hey, I thought. I know some authors . . .

And thus, this book was born. I spun my wheels a bit at first—I’d never tried a Kickstarter and the challenges seemed daunting, and, of course, I had other writing and publishing commitments. But I garnered great advice from my fellow DAW Books author Joshua Palmatier, who has successfully Kickstarted numerous anthologies through his company, Zombies Need Brains, LLC, and more great advice from my fellow Saskatchewan author Arthur Slade, who has successfully Kickstarted a graphic novel, and, of course, it’s not like there’s a shortage of advice online (too much, maybe, since some of it is contradictory). At any rate, in the end, I screwed my courage to the sticking-place, rolled up my metaphorical shirtsleeves, and set to it.

I reached out to my first-year guests (an arbitrary decision to keep the length manageable—but don’t worry; I totally plan to do a Volume II with the fabulous guests from the second year) and asked if they’d be interested in contributing either an original story or a reprint. Many were. (Those who couldn’t, due to other commitments, were still highly supportive of the idea.) Many of the contributors, in turn, were very generous in providing backers’ rewards. I built the campaign. It ran over the month of March 2020.

Wait. Something else happened in March 2020. I can’t quite put my finger on it . . . it’ll come to me . . .

Yes, I managed to launch my first-ever Kickstarter campaign concurrent with the start of the worldwide pandemic’s North American tour. Lockdowns, people out of work, fear of what the future would hold . . . not particularly conducive to shelling out money for a collection of science fiction and fantasy, I feared.

And yet . . . people did. I’d aimed for $13,500 Canadian and ended up at $15,700. The book was a go. The stories came in. And now they’re going out again—to you.

Compiling and editing this anthology has been a complete joy. Every author has been a delight to work with. I hope you’ll find the stories, both originals and reprints, as much a pleasure to read as I have.

This is not a themed anthology in the way many anthologies are, but it does have a theme. It’s right there in the title: Shapers of Worlds.

Like potters shaping bowls from clay, authors shape their stories using a myriad of malleable elements: their own experiences, their hopes and fears and loves and hates, and their knowledge of history and science and human nature, all richly glazed with imagination and fired in the kiln of literary talent.

Each story in this book is set in a unique world shaped by a master of the craft. All of them showcase the skill of their creators.

Welcome, traveller, to the realm of The Worldshapers.

Enter, and enjoy.

Edward Willett

Regina, Saskatchewan

August 2020