Ross to edit Peepal Tree's Black British speculative fiction anthology

Peepal Tree Press has commissioned a speculative fiction anthology authored by Black British writers and edited by author Leone Ross. 

World rights for the collection were acquired by Kadija Sesay, series editor for the Inscribe imprint at the press and founder and publisher of Sable LitMag, and Sable LitFest. The anthology will be published on 15th September 2022. 

Glimpse is a collection of "groundbreaking and revolutionary" short stories from 19 established and emerging writers, some of which have been gathered through Inscribe, the Manchester-based publisher's writer development programme. Previous anthologies  launched through the programme include Red, Closure and Filigree. Ross, who is helming Glimpse, will be the first woman to edit one of the anthologies.

Authors who have contributed to the anthology include Irenoson Okojie, Patience Agbabi and Nii Ayikwei Parkes, who was also the editor of Filigree. New writers include Akila Richards, Ioney Smallhorne and Cedar Monteith, who are alumni of the Inscribe programme. 

The collection will include a foreword by Dr Reynaldo Anderson, associate professor of communication studies at Harris-Stowe State University in St Louis, Missouri, and executive director and co-founder of the Black Speculative Arts Movement, an international network of artists, intellectuals, creatives, and activists. The publisher says the collection will be the first of its kind. 

"This anthology creates a dichotomy between the comfortable and the mysterious, providing a glimpse into hidden worlds and human nature; tantalizing in its mystique and refreshing in its insight into the minds of these exceptional Black British writers," the synopsis explains. "It provides us with the opportunity to see what was previously unknown and to learn from what we see; to grow from what begins as a partial view but quickly transforms into the larger perspective. Secrets are uncovered; creatures are found; bodies buckle, whisper, float. In these stories we glimpse the dark and the light. The very epitome of imagination, Glimpse combines the universality of human nature with unexplored worlds."

Ross' first novel, All the Blood Is Red (Angela Royal Publishing), was longlisted for the Orange Prize and her 2017 short story collection, Come Let Us Sing Anyway (Peepal Tree Press) was nominated for the Edge Hill Short Story Prize, the Jhalak Prize and the Saboteur Awards. She has taught creative writing for 20 years, at University College Dublin, Cardiff University and Roehampton University in London, and has worked as journalist. Her third novel, This One Sky Day, was pre-empted and published by Faber  in April 2021.