The
Sword and Sorceress series is a series of
fantasy anthologies edited by
Marion Zimmer Bradley. As she explained in the foreword to the
first volume, she created the anthology to redress the lack of strong female
protagonists in the sub-
genre of
sword and sorcery. At the time, most female
characters in sword and sorcery were little more than stock damsels in distress, or pawns who were distributed at the conclusion of the story as "bad-conduct prizes" (MZB's term) for the male protagonists. Many of the early sword-and-sorcery works featured attitudes toward women that Bradley considered appalling.
Although Bradley had some difficulty filling the first few volumes of the Sword and Sorceress series, as they grew in popularity with readers, she began to receive increasing numbers of excellent submissions. As a result, she had to become more selective, and to shorten her reading periods accordingly. For the eighteenth volume, which she was editing at the time of her death, she made reading by invitation only. After her death, it was decided to take as many as possible of the stories she had tentatively chosen and publish them in three annual volumes, thus extending the series. After volume twenty was published, the publisher decided to extend an invitation for an additional volume under Diana L. Paxson, an editor who had worked with Bradley, with the possibility of additional volumes being published if it became a success.
The Sword and Sorceress series is noteworthy not only for its introduction of strong female protagonists into a sub-genre previously dominated by male characters, but for its financial success. Unlike most anthologies of original fantasy short fiction, they routinely earned out their advances and continued to pay their authors royalties for years afterward, often on foreign sales. In addition, many authors who made their first professional sales in the Sword and Sorceress anthologies subsequently enjoyed successful careers as novelists.
In February 2007, the Marion Zimmer Bradley Literary Works Trust, which holds her copyrights, negotiated a contract with Norilana Books to publish a new volume and proceed to elicit submissions. The book was published in November 2007, and the editor was Elisabeth Waters.
The Anthologies
Sword and Sorceress I
- 1984. ISBN 978-0-88677-359-5 (USA edition)
- 1986. ISBN 978-0-87997-928-7 (USA edition)
- 1988. ISBN 978-0-7472-3105-9 (UK edition)
Sword and Sorceress II
- 1985. ISBN 978-0-88677-041-9 (USA Edition)
- 1986. ISBN 978-0-88677-360-1 (USA Edition)
- 1988. ISBN 978-0-7472-3106-6 (UK Edition)
Sword and Sorceress III
- 1986. ISBN 978-0-88677-141-6 (USA edition)
- 1986. ISBN 978-0-88677-302-1 (USA edition)
- 1988. ISBN 978-0-7472-3107-3 (UK edition)
Sword and Sorceress IV
- 1987. ISBN 978-0-88677-210-9 (USA edition)
- 1989. ISBN 978-0-88677-412-7 (USA edition)
- 1989. ISBN 978-0-7472-3364-0 (UK edition)
Sword and Sorceress V
- 1988. ISBN 978-0-88677-288-8 (USA edition)
- 1989. ISBN 978-0-7472-3389-3 (UK edition)
Sword and Sorceress VI
- 1990. ISBN 978-0-88677-423-3 (USA edition)
Sword and Sorceress VII
- 1990. ISBN 978-0-88677-457-8 (USA edition)
Sword And Sorceress VIII
- 1991. ISBN 978-0-88677-486-8 (USA edition)
Sword and Sorceress IX
- 1992. ISBN 978-0-88677-509-4 (USA edition)
Sword And Sorceress X
- 1993. ISBN 978-0-88677-552-0 (USA edition)
Sword and Sorceress XI
- 1994. ISBN 978-0-88677-614-5 (USA edition)
Sword And Sorceress XII
- 1995. ISBN 978-0-88677-657-2 (USA edition)
Sword And Sorceress XIII
Published in 1996 (ISBN 0-88677-703-8) Short Stories
Sword And Sorceress XIV
Published in 1997 (ISBN 0-88677-741-0)Sword And Sorceress XV
Published in 1998 (ISBN 0-88677-768-2) Sword And Sorceress XVI
Published in 1999. ISBN 978-0-88677-843-9
Sword And Sorceress XVII
Published in 2000. ISBN 978-0-88677-891-0
Sword And Sorceress XVIII
Published in 2001. ISBN 978-0-88677-996-2
Sword And Sorceress XIX
Published in 2002. ISBN 978-0-7564-0049-1
Sword and Sorceress XX
Published in 2003. ISBN 978-0-7564-0142-9
Sword and Sorceress XXI
Published in 2004 (ISBN 0-7564-0195-X). Edited by Diana L. Paxson.Sword and Sorceress XXII
Published in 2007 (ISBN 978-1-934169-90-2). Edited by Elisabeth Waters.References
External links