The On Spec anthology Kickstarter has fully funded!

Submitted by Douglas Smith on Thu, 2026/08/06 - 1:40pm

Cover of upcoming On Spec anthologyI wrote back in January that On Spec, one of the best and longest running speculative fiction magazines in the world and a Canadian institution for 35 years, had published its final issue in December.

I can tell you that the On Spec name will definitely live on for at least one more publication.

The Kickstarter for the first ever On Spec anthology of all new stories fully funded in May, and Ed Willett's Regina-based Shadowpaw Press,  has announced the anthology will publish in late 2026. 

Check out the cool cover by award-winning Canadian spec fic artist, James Beveridge, a frequent cover artist for On Spec, creating many of my favourites over its run. Jim also did the cover for my new collection, Borderlanz.

As a five-time contributor to On Spec, I was invited to be an "anchor author" for the Kickstarter and contributed a brand new story for the antho.

The final table of contents features authors from across Canada. The stories range from post-apocalyptic to humorous far-future SF to  literary  to traditional fantasy to horror to unclassifiable. The only theme to this anthology is: when Canadians write fantastical stories, this is what they write.

The Table of Contents (order not final):

  • The Usual Journey, by Candas Jane Dorsey
  • Web We Weave, by Fiona Moore
  • The Light Within All Things, by J. Y. Zhang
  • Scorch, by Noah Chinn
  • Written in the Bones, by Rebecca Bennett
  • The Necromancer's Garden, by Claire Scherzinger
  • What Befalls the Beast, by Liz Westbrook-Trenholm
  • The Gloaming, by Marcelle Dubé
  • Ghostlane, by Rhea Rose
  • Fell Seraph at the Black Cathedral of Trappist-1, by R.H. Wesley
  • The Heavy Light of the Drowned, by Peter Darbyshire
  • Where Barnacles Whisper, by D.S. Burton
  • The Wyvern in the Tower, by Sharon Plumb Hamilton
  • A Natural History of the Victorian Schoolboy, by Sarah Totton
  • The Three-Dice Game, by Darry Dinnell
  • Biggar, by Dave Margoshes
  • Ruby in the Barn, by Mark Morton
  • Growth Medium, by O. L. Drake
  • Door To Door To Door, by Dave Cherniak
  • George and Ginger Take a Vacation, by Hayden Trenholm
  • Cans of Worm, by Michèle Laframboise
  • Prodigy, by Douglas Smith
  • Gloaming Skies, by U.M. Agoawike
  • Rubicon, by Catherine MacLeod
  • The Buzzing Of Flies, by Colleen Anderson
  • Catherine’s Wheel, by Mike Rimar
  • The Absolutely Final Appearance of the Legendary Dead Boys, by Cliff Burns
  • Who’s Still Out There?, by Brandon Alexander Rossi

The anthology can be pre-ordered now from Amazon. Don't worry. More links to come for other retailers.