Guest Post: Triumph Over Tragedy by Sarah from Bookworm Blues

This past election season proved something to me. No matter how much people can disagree on opinions or argue their point, the one thing that seems to bring us all together is the love of a good book. That’s the thing about literature: it brings people together. No matter if you appreciate some beautiful prose, a rich world, or a layered plot (or all the above), you’ll find someone out there who enjoys that same book just as much as you do. Opinions on everything else be damned, the love of a good book seems to bridge all divides.

One of the amazing things about the Speculative Fiction community is how well we tend to pull together in times of strife. Not only readers, but authors as well. Anthologies have been put together with funds donated toward the relief of many tragedies in the past few years, and it’s amazing to watch all of these projects succeed and help so many.

Triumph Over Tragedy is a wonderful anthology dreamed up and put together by Ryan Kaelin, who has donated an immense amount of time and effort to make this thing happen. Not only is Triumph Over Tragedy happening, it’s exceeded our wildest dreams. We have so many wonderful authors contributing stories to the anthology that it’s hard not to be excited about it. Not only that, but 100% (yes, every red cent) goes to Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. Imagine how excited we are to not only present a book that can unite readers and stoke the flame of their passion for the genre, but also help so many deserving people at the same time.

As of today, the list of authors with stories in Triumph Over Tragedy are:

• Robert Silverberg (Hugo & Nebula Award winner)
• Marion Zimmer Bradley (Locus Award winner) (donated by the MZB Literary Trust)
• Timothy Zahn (NYT Bestseller & Hugo Award winner)
• Michael Stackpole (NYT Bestseller)
• Elizabeth Bear
• Michael J. Sullivan
• Mark Lawrence
• Bradley P. Beaulieu
• Philip Athans
• Adrian Tchaikovsky
• Tobias Buckell
• Stephen D. Sullivan
• Rick Novy
• Jean Rabe

Ÿ Tim Marquitz
• Maxwell Alexander Drake
• SM Blooding
• Erik Scott de Bie
• Alex Bledsoe
• Elisabeth Waters
• R.T. Kaelin
• Ari Marmell
• Matt Bone
• Sarah Hans
• Rob Rogers
• Jaym Gates
• C.S. Marks
• C.J. Henderson
• Marian Allen
• Bryan Young
• Donald Bingle
• Janine Spendlove
• T.L. Gray
• Miya Kressin
• Matthew Wayne Selznick
• Steven Saus
• Addie King
• Rob Knipe
• Vicki Johnson-Steger
• Tracy Chowdhury
• Doris Stever

While we were originally aiming for a December 20^th publication date, we have some exciting things potentially being added to the book (yes, I’m being deliberately vague here), which might delay the publication to the first part of January. However, I can assure you the wait is worth it.

For a measly $7 you get an anthology packed full of stories by incredible authors, and you get to help someone who dearly needs it at the same time. It’s a win for everyone involved. Those of us who have worked hard editing the anthology are excited about the quality of stories it contains (as well as the impressive list of authors), and we are sure it will please SF fans. Personally, I am thrilled to be part of a project that can not only unite readers through a love of literature, but also help people who so desperately need it at the same time.

All thanks to R.T. Kaelin, and his intense desire to make a lasting difference.

Please check out the project’s website for more information.

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Good reading, low price, and helping those in need at the same time? Seems like a great idea. Thanks Sarah for sharing this with us, and helping make this project a possibility.

You can find Sarah on her website Bookworm Blues, her Twitter @BookwormBlues, and she recently provided a guest post for us on the topic of Urban Fantasy.