''Unfettered'' is a

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and drama ...

anthology edited by

Shawn Speakman Shawn may refer to: * Shawn (given name) * Shawn (surname) See also * Sean * Shaun ] ] This name is the anglicized version of the Irish Sean ] { hawn- an honest person, people search out shawn for advice} ...

, featuring 23 short stories contributed by various best-selling

authors An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

in the fantasy

genre Genre () is any form or type of communication in any mode (written, spoken, digital, artistic, etc.) with socially-agreed-upon conventions developed over time. In popular usage, it normally describes a category of literature, music, or other ...

. The book was released on 21 June 2013 by

Grim Oak Press Grim may refer to: People * Grim (surname) * Myron Grim Natwick (1890–1990), American artist, animator and film director best known for drawing Betty Boop Mythical or fictional characters * Grim, Old Norse ''Grímr'', from the Norse saga '' Gr ...

. The artwork for the book was done by

Todd Lockwood Todd Wills Lockwood, (born July 9, 1957 in Boulder, Colorado, United States) is an American artist specializing in fantasy and science fiction illustration. He is best known for his work on the role-playing game ''Dungeons & Dragons'', and for hi ...

. On 4 May 2015, Speakman announced the release of ''Unfettered II'', with short stories from at least 15 best-selling fantasy and science-fiction authors. The book was published on 21 November 21 2016, with the proceeds to be used to alleviate the medical debts of other authors and artists. A third volume, ''Unfettered III'', was released on 19 March 2019.

: "Foreword" by

Patrick Rothfuss Patrick James Rothfuss (born June 6, 1973) is an American author. He is best known for his duology ''The Kingkiller Chronicle'', which has won him several awards, including the 2007 Quill Award for his debut novel, '' The Name of the Wind''. Its ...

: "On Becoming Unfettered" (Introduction) by Shawn Speakman # "

Imaginary Friends Imaginary friends (also known as pretend friends, invisible friends or made-up friends) are a psychological and social phenomenon where a friendship or other interpersonal relationship takes place in the imagination rather than physical reality. ...

" by

Terry Brooks Terence Dean Brooks (born January 8, 1944) is an American writer of fantasy fiction. He writes mainly epic fantasy, and has also written two film novelizations. He has written 23 ''New York Times'' bestsellers during his writing career, and has ...

(a precursor to the '' Word & Void'' trilogy) # "How Old Holly Came To Be" by Patrick Rothfuss (a ''

Four Corners The Four Corners is a region of the Southwestern United States consisting of the southwestern corner of Colorado, southeastern corner of Utah, northeastern corner of Arizona, and northwestern corner of New Mexico. The Four Corners area ...

'' tale) # "River of Souls" by

Robert Jordan James Oliver Rigney Jr. (October 17, 1948 – September 16, 2007), better known by his pen name Robert Jordan," Robert Jordan" was the name of the protagonist in the 1940 Hemingway novel ''For Whom the Bell Tolls'', though this is not how the n ...

and

Brandon Sanderson Brandon Winn Sanderson (born December 19, 1975) is an American author of high fantasy and science fiction. He is best known for the Cosmere fictional universe, in which most of his fantasy novels, most notably the '' Mistborn'' series and '' Th ...

(a ''

Wheel of Time The wheel of time or wheel of history (also known as ''Kalachakra'') is a concept found in several religious traditions and philosophies, notably religions of Indian origin such as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism, which regard time as c ...

'' tale) # "The Old Scale Game" by

Tad Williams Robert Paul "Tad" Williams (born March 14, 1957) is an American fantasy and science fiction writer. He is the author of the multivolume '' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn'' series, ''Otherland'' series, and '' Shadowmarch'' series as well as the stand ...

# "Game of Chance" by

Carrie Vaughn Carrie Vaughn (born January 28, 1973) is an American writer, the author of the urban fantasy ''Kitty Norville'' series. She has published more than 60 short stories in science fiction and fantasy magazines as well as short story anthologies an ...

# "Martyr of the Roses" by

Jacqueline Carey Jacqueline A. Carey (born October 9, 1964)"Jacqueline Carey – Summary Bib ...

(a precursor to the '' Kushiel'' series) # "Dogs" by Daniel Abraham # "Mudboy" by

Peter V. Brett Peter V. Brett (born February 8, 1973) is an American fantasy novelist. He is the author of the ''Demon Cycle'', whose first volume was published in the UK by HarperCollins's Voyager imprint in 2008 as ''The Painted Man'' and in the US by Del Re ...

(a ''Demon Cycle'' tale) # "The Sound of Broken Absolutes" by

Peter Orullian Peter Orullian is an American fantasy author and musician. He currently resides in Seattle, Washington. Biography Orullian graduated from the University of Utah with a BA Honors in English in 1991. He has since published short stories in vari ...

(a ''Vault of Heaven'' tale) # "The Coach With Big Teeth" by

R.A. Salvatore Robert Anthony Salvatore (born January 20, 1959) is an American author best known for '' The Legend of Drizzt'', a series of fantasy novels set in the Forgotten Realms and starring the popular character Drizzt Do'Urden. He has also written ''Th ...

# "Keeper of Memory" by Todd Lockwood (a ''Summer Dragon'' tale) # "Heaven in a Wild Flower" by

Blake Charlton Blake Charlton (born 1979) is an American science fiction author. He is the author of the ''Spellwright'' series published by Tor Books and currently a cardiology fellow at the University of California, San Francisco. As a boy, Charlton had sever ...

# "The Chapel Perilous" by

Kevin Hearne Kevin Hearne is an American urban fantasy novelist born and raised in Arizona. Hearne is the author of nine novels published by Del Rey in the fantasy book series '' The Iron Druid Chronicles'', plus the 2015 ''Star Wars'' novel '' Heir to th ...

(an '' Iron Druid'' tale) # "Select Mode" by Mark Lawrence (a ''Broken Empire'' tale) # "All the Girls Love Michael Stein" by

David Anthony Durham David Anthony Durham (born March 23, 1969) is an American novelist, author of historical fiction and fantasy. Durham's first novel, ''Gabriel's Story'', centered on African American settlers in the American West. ''Walk Through Darkness'' fo ...

# "Strange Rain" by

Jennifer Bosworth Jennifer or Jenifer may refer to: People *Jennifer (given name) * Jenifer (singer), French pop singer * Jennifer Warnes, American singer who formerly used the stage name Jennifer * Daniel of St. Thomas Jenifer * Daniel Jenifer Film and televis ...

(a ''Struck epilogue'' tale) # "Nocturne" by

Robert V. S. Redick The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

# "Unbowed" by

Eldon Thompson Eldon Thompson (born May 6, 1974) is an American author and screenwriter known for his epic fantasy series ''The Legend of Asahiel'', published by HarperCollins (Eos/HarperVoyager). Early life and education Thompson was born in Dallas, Texas ...

(a ''

Legend of Asahiel Eldon Thompson (born May 6, 1974) is an American author and screenwriter known for his epic fantasy series ''The Legend of Asahiel'', published by HarperCollins (Eos/HarperVoyager). Early life and education Thompson was born in Dallas, Texas ...

'' tale) # "In Favour With Their Stars" by

Naomi Novik Naomi Novik (born April 30, 1973) is an American author of speculative fiction. She is known for the ''Temeraire'' series (2006–2016), an alternate history of the Napoleonic Wars involving dragons, and her ''Scholomance'' fantasy series (20 ...

(a '' Temeraire'' tale) # "The Jester" by Michael J. Sullivan (a ''

Riyria Chronicles ''The Riyria Chronicles'' is a series of high fantasy novels by Michael J. Sullivan, published since 2013 by Orbit Books. The series consists of five books, in order of publication: ''The Crown Tower'', ''The Rose and the Thorn'', ''The Death o ...

'' tale) # "The Duel" by

Lev Grossman Lev Grossman (born June 26, 1969) is an American novelist and journalist who wrote ''The Magicians Trilogy'': '' The Magicians'' (2009), ''The Magician King'' (2011), and '' The Magician's Land'' (2014). He was the book critic and lead technology ...

(a ''Magicians'' tale) # "Walker and the Shade of Allanon" by Terry Brooks (a ''

Shannara ''Shannara'' is a series of high fantasy novels written by Terry Brooks, beginning with '' The Sword of Shannara'' in 1977 and concluding with ''The Last Druid'' which was released in October 2020; there is also a prequel, '' First King of Sha ...

'' tale) # "The Unfettered Knight" by Shawn Speakman (an ''Annwn Cycle'' tale) # "The Twilight Dragon" by Shawn Speakman (UK edition only)

Background

The book is an effort to alleviate the editor, Shawn Speakman's medical bills. Speakman was diagnosed with

Hodgkin's lymphoma Hodgkin lymphoma (HL) is a type of lymphoma, in which cancer originates from a specific type of white blood cell called lymphocytes, where multinucleated Reed–Sternberg cells (RS cells) are present in the patient's lymph nodes. The condition w ...

in 2011 and the resulting

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemothe ...

left him $200,000 in debt. On the suggestion of ''Shannara'' author Terry Brooks, Speakman reached out to several authors for short stories which are published in the book. The proceeds from the sales of the advanced reading copy of the book would go towards author

Dave Wolverton John David Wolverton (May 28, 1957 – January 14, 2022), better known by his pen names Dave Wolverton and David Farland, was an American author, editor, and instructor of online writing workshops and groups. He wrote in several genres but was ...

, whose son became comatose in a

longboarding Longboarding is typically defined as a variation of skateboarding that involves a larger board and softer urethane wheels. Longboards vary in shape and size. Compared to skateboards, longboards are more stable at speed and have more traction, du ...

accident.

Publication history

The book was initially published in five editions by Speakman's own publisher, ''Grim Oak Press''. The hardcover books included an advanced reader edition, a limited leather-bound and slip-cased hardcover edition (signed and numbered), a limited cloth hardcover (signed) edition and a trade hardcover edition. An ebook edition of the book was also released on

Kindle Kindle may refer to: Companies and products * Amazon Kindle, an e-reader line by Amazon.com ** Kindle Direct Publishing, an e-book publishing platform by Amazon ** Kindle Store, an online e-book e-commerce store by Amazon * Kindle Banking Systems, ...

, Nook and

Kobo Kobo may refer to: Places * Kobo (woreda), a district in Ethiopia ** Kobo, Ethiopia, a town * Kōbo Dam, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan * Mount Kōbō, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan People First name * Kōbō Abe (1924–1993), pseudonym of Japan ...

. The book was digitally published in the United Kingdom, Australia,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

and other territories by

Orbit Books Orbit Books is an international publisher that specialises in science fiction and fantasy books. It is a division of Lagardère Publishing. History It was founded in 1974 as part of the Macdonald Futura publishing company. In 1992, its parent ...

on 20 February 2014. It included an extra tale, ''The Twilight Dragon'', specially written by Shawn Speakman for the UK edition. The rights to the

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

edition were bought by

Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service) Audible is an American online audiobook and podcast service that allows users to purchase and stream audiobooks and other forms of spoken word content. This content can be purchased individually or unde ...

. A single page excerpt of each story in the book was released on

Tor Tor, TOR or ToR may refer to: Places * Tor, Pallars, a village in Spain * Tor, former name of Sloviansk, Ukraine, a city * Mount Tor, Tasmania, Australia, an extinct volcano * Tor Bay, Devon, England * Tor River, Western New Guinea, Indonesia S ...

's website on 1 July 2013. A five-story sampler of the anthology was also available to those at the 2013

Phoenix Comicon Phoenix Fan Fusion (formerly Phoenix Comicon and Phoenix Comic Fest) is a speculative fiction entertainment and comic book convention held annually in Phoenix, Arizona. It was founded as the Phoenix Cactus Comicon in June 2002, and originally ...

. Peter Orullian and

Primo Pulanco Primo may refer to: People * DJ Premier (born 1966), hip-hop producer, sometimes goes by nickname Primo * Primo Carnera (1906–1967), Italian boxer, World Heavyweight champion 1933–1934 * Primo Cassarino (born 1956), enforcer for the Gambino ...

released a

power metal Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contra ...

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

, also named ''Unfettered'', based on the stories in the anthology under the 'Lour Nail'

label A label (as distinct from signage) is a piece of paper, plastic film, cloth, metal, or other material affixed to a container or product, on which is written or printed information or symbols about the product or item. Information printed d ...

Subsequent volumes

On 4 May 2015, Speakman announced the release of ''Unfettered II'', with short stories from at least 15 best-selling fantasy and science-fiction authors. The book was published on 21 November 21 2016, with the proceeds to be used to alleviate the medical debts of other authors and artists. A third volume, ''Unfettered III'', was released on 19 March 2019.

References

External links

* {{Portal, Novels 2013 anthologies Fantasy anthologies American anthologies

Contents

Background

Publication history

Subsequent volumes

References

External links