We’re thrilled to share the cover of Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices—an anthology that brings fresh life to the stories of King Arthur, Camelot, and the Knights of the Round Table. The anthology, edited by Swapna Krishna and Jenn Northington, publishes July 13th with Vintage Books.
Featuring stories by a bestselling, cross-genre assortment of the most exciting writers working today, an anthology of gender-bent, race-bent, LGBTQIA+, and inclusive retellings from the vast lore surrounding King Arthur, Camelot, and the Knights of the Round Table.
Here you’ll find the Lady of the Lake reimagined as an albino Ugandan sorceress and the Lady of Shalott as a wealthy, isolated woman in futuristic Mexico City; you’ll see Excalibur rediscovered as a baseball bat that grants a washed-up minor leaguer a fresh shot at glory and as a lost ceremonial drum that returns to a young First Nations boy the power and the dignity of his people. There are stories set in Gilded Age Chicago, ’80s New York, twenty-first century Singapore, and space; there are lesbian lady knights, Arthur and Merlin reborn in the modern era for a second chance at saving the world and falling in love—even a coffee shop AU.
Brave, bold, and groundbreaking, the stories in Sword Stone Table will bring fresh life to beloved myths and give long-time fans a chance to finally see themselves in their favorite legends.
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Sword Stone Table
From co-editor Jenn Northington: “It’s hard to believe, after years of work, that this collection is so real that it actually has a cover—a gorgeous, atmospheric, moody cover! Because these are gorgeous, occasionally extremely moody, always atmospheric stories, and I can’t wait for people to read them.”
Co-editor Swapna Krishna adds: “We’re so excited to share this anthology with everyone, from people who enjoy the King Arthur legends as much as we do to those who aren’t as familiar with the myths. This cover is everything we could have hoped for and more, and really hints at the amazing, intricate stories you’ll find within its pages.”
Contributor List:
- Ausma Zehanat Khan
- Roshni Chokshi
- Daniel M. Lavery
- Nisi Shawl
- Sarah MacLean
- Sive Doyle
- Maria Dahvana Headley
- Waubgeshig Rice
- Anthony Rapp
- S. Zainab Williams
- Alex Segura
- Jessica Plummer
- Preeti Chhibber
- Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- Ken Liu
- Alexander Chee
Applicable AO3 tags:
- Rewriting Canon
- Feels
- Interplanetary Hijinks
- Kissing
- Payback
- Pining
- Family Drama
- Lost Love
- Also there’s feminism
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Swapna Krishna is a space, technology, and pop culture writer and journalist. Her work has been published at Engadget, The Verge, Polygon, StarTrek.com, StarWars.com, The A.V. Club, and more. You can find her on Twitter at @skrishna.
Jenn Northington is a former bookseller and a current reviewer, podcaster, and editor with Riot New Media Group. She’s a lifelong book nerd and can be found primarily on Instagram at @iamjennIRL.
