The Interview
Travis interviews editor Jared Shurin about his latest anthology, The Best of British Fantasy 2019. The anthology series is dedicated to featuring the finest fantastical, speculative, mythic, magical and weird fiction to come from the United Kingdom each year.
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About Jared Shurin
Jared Shurin has edited or co-edited over two dozen anthologies of original fiction, including The Djinn Falls in Love, The Lowest Heaven, The Book of the Dead, and The Outcast Hours. He is the co-founder and editor of the award-winning pop culture website Pornokitsch and the not-for-profit publishing house Jurassic London. He has been a finalist for the World Fantasy, Shirley Jackson, Locus and Hugo Awards, and he has twice won the British Fantasy Award.
The Cover Reveal
The cover art for the 2019 installment in the Best of British Fantasy anthology series is by the wonderful Jonathan Edwards. From editor Jared Shurin:
Jonathan and I have worked together in the past, and I was so excited to buddy up with him again. He has the unique ability to combine the whimsical and the epic.
For BOBF, I wanted something that was unquestionably British: ‘the London skyline, but overwhelmed by fantasy’. And, being the professional he is, Jonathan took that appallingly broad brief and turned it into the surreal, apocalyptic vision you can see here. It feels devastating and weird, like a J.G. Ballard novel, but somehow without being the least bit gloomy.
For the second year in a row, BOBF has—what I think—is a deliciously unlikely cover. Everyone expects books in this genre to be dark and dour, and I think it is important to show that fantasy can be colourful, joyous, and a little bit strange.
Cover by Jonathan Edwards
The book will feature a beautiful full-color jacket as well:
Full Jacket Art by Jonathan Edwards
About the Artist
Jonathan is an illustrator, comic artist and character designer. He started his career working for Deadline magazine in the nineties and hasn’t stopped since. He lives with his partner, Louise (AKA Felt Mistress), in a house built entirely from books, records and pop culture ephemera.
