Surprising, Wonderful, Uncollected
An interview with Dayle A. Dermatis, mastermind behind the Uncollected Anthology series
Originally published in a previous issue of the Uncollected Anthology Newsletter.
My name is DeAnna Knippling, and I was recently invited to join the Uncollected Anthology as one of the regular writers. I immediately said “yes,” because the idea of writing urban and contemporary fantasy stories on the most random topics sounded like my kind of challenge—and I wanted to work more with the other authors in the series. Totally selfish.
Then I realized that I didn’t have a clue about what was going on. And just before I confessed to my ignorance, I realized that none of my readers (or the other writers’ new readers) would know what was going on, either.
So I asked Dayle A. Dermatis, mastermind behind the project, if I could ask her a few questions…
1. I understand that you’re one of the founding members of the Uncollected Anthology (UA). Where did the idea for UA come from? How did the founding members know each other?
I’m both a founding member of UA and the “mastermind” behind the project.
For many years I’ve been attending a workshop on the Oregon Coast where authors write stories for themed anthologies, and those stories are then discussed by all the editors, with the editor of a particular anthology having the final vote whether to include a story. The purpose is to show how an anthology is built and what thought goes into it, and how a story can be spectacular and still not fit in the end.
At the workshop in 2014, I thought about how much I loved writing for themed anthologies, and how much I loved some of the authors at the workshop, and how I didn’t always love the themes or genres—so wouldn’t it be fun to come up with themes I wanted to write about? But, I couldn’t figure out how to get past one hurdle: I didn’t want to be an accountant. I didn’t want to put together an anthology and have to figure out how to pay authors.
The following year at the workshop, I was still pondering this, when it hit me: uncollected. If we each published our stories ourselves, there’d be no need for someone handling payments. (Allegedly I grabbed the arm of the fantastic author Phaedra Weldon, one of the original members, and hissed, “That’s it! Uncollected!” much to her confusion.)
At a social gathering that evening, I went around to the authors I loved and asked them if they were interested. Every single one said yes, with much delight.
We had our first meeting towards the end of the workshop, at which point I realized how amazing the other authors were. Each one brought something different the table. Each one brought up things I hadn’t considered, such as contracts and cover templates. I realized we were a collective, as each of us slipped into different roles.
2. What kinds of stories does the UA publish? I know there’s a topic for every anthology, but how are those picked? How is all this organized?
Originally UA published urban fantasy, but as time went on, we started having lengthy conversations about the definition of urban fantasy, and whether all the stories we wrote really fit that definition. I believe it was last year that we rebranded as “Redefining the boundaries of urban and contemporary fantasy.”
We have quarterly meetings to discuss business, including themes. We usually pick themes at least a year in advance. Each one of us brings ideas to the table, and as a group we pick the ones that we want to do for foreseeable future. Our Spring issue is usually urban fantasy romance or something along those lines; the rest are usually random unless we decide to do a theme tied to another holiday or season, such as Winter Witches.
3. What’s the most memorable UA anthology, in your opinion? Is there a story behind it?
I’m not sure I have a most memorable anthology. Certainly our first, Magical Motorcycles, holds a special place in my heart because it was the first one. I love reading the stories in every issue, though, because it’s a joy to see how each author has interpreted the theme. I think all of us have written stories that might never have happened without the challenge of each theme.
4. Given that readers of UA should expect the unexpected, what do you think is the joy of putting together, and reading, a particular UA? What makes it more awesome than a regular anthology?
One of the things we learn early in the Oregon Coast anthology workshop is to avoid “low-hanging fruit.” In other words, toss out your first few ideas because it’s likely someone else will have thought of them. You want to write something only you can write, and have it be different and unique while still hitting the theme.
I’d like to think that the UA authors have this concept well in hand. There are no predictable stories. Just really awesome, kick-ass stories. If you like a theme, you’ll like at least some of the stories in the issue. If you like one of the authors, I’m betting you’ll like some of the other authors and will go check out their other work.
Also, with each issue we have a guest author, just to shake things up a bit. (Several of those guest authors have become full-time members.)
5. What’s the current issue, and what’s next?!?
The most recent issue is #15, Heart’s Desires, with guest author Mindy Klasky. The next issue, Fairy Tales, with guest author Kim May, will be out August 1, 2018.
[Editor’s note: Click here for the latest issue, and here for our archives!]
Some additional things I’d like to mention:
Mark LeFebvre (formerly) of Kobo Books interviewed us for the Kobo Writing Life podcast. It gives more members’ perspectives on UA and its evolution. We laughed a lot—and I hope listeners will too!
We have a newsletter so you’ll never forget when the next issue comes out.
We started UA before bundling stories was an option. One of the biggest complaints we received was that each story had to be purchased individually. Well, thanks to new technology, we were able to give readers what they asked for! Each issue is available as a collection. That’s right—we’ve collected the uncollected!
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You can find the Uncollected Anthology at our website, UncollectedAnthology.com, as well as on all major ebook retailer sites (just search for “Uncollected Anthology”) or follow the links on the website.
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Hailed as “one of the best writers working today” by bestselling author Dean Wesley Smith, Dayle A. Dermatis is the author or coauthor of many novels and more than a hundred short stories in multiple genres, including urban fantasy novel Ghosted. She is a founding member of the Uncollected Anthology project, and her short fiction has been lauded in year’s best anthologies in erotica, mystery, and horror. She lives in a book- and cat-filled historic English-style cottage in the wild greenscapes of the Pacific Northwest.
To find out where she’s wandered off to (and to get free fiction!), check out DayleDermatis.com and sign up for her newsletter.
DeAnna Knippling has a browser history full of murder, gore, and Victorian street maps. She has been published in Black Static, Three-Lobed Burning Eye, Aliterate, Crossed Genres, Cast Macabre, The Fog Horn, Penumbra, Big Pulp, Horror Without Victims, and more. You can find her in Colorado with her husband and daughter, on her website at www.WonderlandPress.com, or on Facebook.
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Note: In case you’re not familiar with the difference between a bundle and an anthology…read on!
A “bundle” is a group of stories, novels, or even short story collections that are grouped together to sell for one price. Like a grab-bag, it’s a great way to sample a lot of fiction for a low price. Sometimes bundles are called “box sets” or “collections,” especially when they collect several works by the same author.
Anthologies, on the other hand, are usually only short stories or novellas (no novels) that are under the watchful eye of an editor, who has a lot more control in selecting and editing the stories and is responsible to make sure the authors all get paid! In a bundle, the company in charge of the bundling handles a lot of the technical details (and payouts) for the authors, which makes it a lot less of a hassle all around.
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