Here’s a Kickstarter project you may well want to back. Crossed Genres is floating Long Hidden: Speculative Fiction From the Margins of History, to be edited by Rose Fox and Daniel José Older. The blurb for the book includes the following:

Most written chronicles of history, and most speculative stories, put rulers, conquerors, and invaders front and center. People with less power, money, or status—enslaved people, indigenous people, people of color, queer people, laborers, women, people with disabilities, the very young and very old, and religious minorities, among others—are relegated to the margins.

The stories, then, will feature the marginalized people. They are also intended to be good history, but with a speculative tinge. There is already a superb line-up of authors promising stories, and in addition there will be an open submissions period. Those signed up include Aliette de Bodard, Ken Liu, Nnedi Okorafor and Nisi Shawl. And there are some really good high level rewards and stretch goals too. The Crossed Genres folks really know how to run a Kickstarter campaign (and they are almost a third of their way to the primary goal after just one day).

Also I love the idea of the book. The bad news for the rest of the universe is that I love it so much I’ve come up with a story idea. Of course it will be crap. And I know that Roz Kaveney and Jack Wolf are looking at writing something for it as well, so even if my effort is readable it will be well out-shone. But the thing about stories is that once they are in your head you have to write them. The characters won’t shut up until you do.