Many of you will scratch your heads over this post, wondering why Five Rivers is promoting another publisher’s project. It’s quite simple: Five Rivers believes in supporting the arts in Canada, and if that means we give over some of our space from time to time to discuss what we think is a worthy project, well, that’s just what we’ll do.

In this case we’re supporting ChiZine Publications and what promises to be a fabulous collection of short horror, edited by none other than Ellen Datlow. Press release follows:

Ellen Datlow Teams with ChiZine Publications for Kickstarter-funded Anthology

TORONTO, Ontario (December 10, 2012) — Ellen Datlow has announced the beginning of a Kickstarter campaign to fund a new horror anthology. Titled Fearful Symmetries, it will be published by ChiZine Publications in early 2014.

Given the rapidly changing publishing market, Datlow decided to turn to Kickstarter as an experiment to see if it could fund the project. The campaign will go toward the editing, layout, and production of the book, as well as offering professional rates to the authors. Datlow selected ChiZine Publications based on the quality of their books and distribution.

“This project is close to my heart,” says Datlow, “which is why I’ve decided to appeal to the public through Kickstarter. And while I have a stable of writers whose work I love, I want to give a chance to new talent that I may not be aware of. I want them to write the stories they’ve always wanted to and perhaps couldn’t because there was no venue for them.”

Unlike a lot of her anthologies, Fearful Symmetries will not have a theme. Datlow intends to solicit work from well-known horror writers, as well as those selected during an open reading period, something Datlow does not do often. If the campaign is a success, Fearful Symmetries will be released as a trade paperback and eBook, and is expected to be 125,000 words long.

The Kickstarter campaign can be found atwww.fearfulsymmetries.com.