We recently had the absolute pleasure of sitting down with Jonathan Strahan, multiple award-winning editor and anthologist. The Book of Dragons is the latest anthology from him, out July 7th. In the interview, Jonathan talks about what it’s like being an anthology editor, his favourite dragon stories, his next project, and more!
Hello Jonathan! Thanks for joining us! Could you tell us a little about yourself, for readers who might not be familiar with your work?
It’s my pleasure! Well, I’m an editor and podcaster. I’ve been working in science fiction and fantasy for so long I can barely remember when I started. I’ve edited fifty or sixty anthologies and a whole bunch of other books (a hundred or so, all told), the most recent of which is The Book of Dragons. I also co-host and produce The Coode Street Podcast, which just put out its 100th episode for 2020 and am reviews editor for Locus: The Magazine of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Field.
What inspired you to assemble a short fiction anthology about dragons?
A number of things. I’ve loved the dragons I came across in stories for many years and even assembled a reprint anthology, Wings of Fire, a decade ago that collected some of my own favourite dragon stories. What struck me a while ago was that these are very different times from when Wings of Fire came out. There’s a real thirst for stories from different, diverse backgrounds, for new voices, and it seemed to me readers might respond to a book of stories about dragons that came from as wide a range of voices as I could find, some beloved, some brand new. And so, The Book of Dragons was born.
Could you tell us a bit about the contents of The Book of Dragons? What can readers expect?
There are about thirty stories and a handful of poems in the book, along with some wonderful art by Rovina Cai. There’s everything from mechanical flying dragons to dragons tiny enough to fit on the palm of your hand; from cranky old uncles to ornery fighters. What readers can expect above all, though, is to be entertained. Whether you love comedy or crime, cowboys or romance, the far future or the distant past, there’s something here for you, all told by voices readers already know and some who will be new to them that I think they’ll come to love.
You’ve been editing anthologies for years now. What draws you to short fiction?
I think what draws me to short fiction is the chance to find something exciting, something new, all in a package I can inhale in a single sitting. Short stories at their best are sharp and precise, deep and intense, like taking the most powerful story pill you can find, getting lost in a fever dream, and then moving on before you even know it. So many of my favourite writers have only written short fiction and they’ve all left me with stories I’ll never forget.
What are your favourite and least favourite things about editing?
My favourite thing is the moment when a new story arrives and you get to dive into it, fresh and new and unknown in the world. Or maybe when you get to the end of that story and know it’s wonderful and you’ll be able to help bring it out into the world. Leave favourite? Ugh. Paperwork. There’s a lot of tedious paperwork, but we all have burdens, however small.
What’s next for you?
Well, this is a busy year! I had an anthology come out earlier in 2020, Made to Order, which I’m intensely proud of. It’s a science fiction book about robots and work in our modern world. There’s The Book of Dragons, which has been a passion project. And later in the year is The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Volume 1, which is a new annual series collecting the very best science fiction stories that’s coming from Saga Press. Oh, and I edited The Tindalos Asset by Caitlin Kiernan for Tor.com which is due in October and am working on a whole bunch of a novellas and an anthology of time travel romance stories and putting together some other things too. Busy, as I say!
And finally, what are some of your favourite dragon books you’d like to recommend to our readers?
So many. Probably my very favourite is Lucius Shepard’s magnum opus, The Dragon Graiule, which collects all of the stories featuring his enormous slumbering dragon in a single volume. It’s intense and challenging and quite beautiful. I also adore R.A. McAvoy’s Tea with the Black Dragon, a slim, witty wonderful book about an ageing Chinese dragon, perhaps. And Earthsea, of course! All of Earthsea, but Tehanu especially for me. The recent Charles Vess illustrated The Book of Earthsea is quite stunning and every dragon lover should have it.
There are others, of course, but those are maybe enough for now. Of course, there’s always another dragon around the corner, always another story to discover. It’s why I love reading and editing so much!
