Early this year, I heard about an interesting call from Manawaker Studio, for an anthology called “Project Briar Rose.” Here’s a description from their website:
Project Briar Rose is an anthology focused on sci-fi stories about specific character traits. The book will be a sci-fi retelling of the first half of Briar Rose (Sleeping Beauty), as it was told by the Grimm Bros.
In Galilean Space, a Spincity administrator is bringing a new Android online. It is his plan that this android, codenamed Briar Rose and in a mechanical body resembling a young woman, will succeed him one day in running the city. He invites the most accomplished AI experts from 12 of the spincity’s 13 districts to a dinner party in celebration of Briar Rose; leaving out the expert from the 13th district because she is an unpleasant person. At the dinner, the experts, all women, each approach the android in turn, and program her with a personality trait that she will need to be a good person, and eventually also a good administrator of the city. As they do this, they each tell a story about a person who succeeded, thrived, or overcame adversity due to possessing this trait. When they are finished, the 13th expert shows up uninvited, imbues the android with one unpleasant trait, and tells a story in which such a trait would be needed.
Intrigued, I sent off three reprint stories against three of the traits.
My story, The Intragalactic Shakespeare Festival, will represent the trait, “savvy” – and I am thrilled! This story was first published in the Art From Art anthology.
KEYAN BOWES 