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Grimoire: A Grim Oak Press Anthology For Emerald City Comic Con 2025
A wonderful collection of ten short stories by an amazing list of contributors—all of whom will be in attendance at Emerald City Comic Con 2025!
In 2024 Grim Oak Press exhibited at Dragonsteel Nexus, Brandon Sanderson's convention in Salt Lake City, UT, where the award-winning publisher released Grimoire, an anthology containing short stories by attending authors. Robin Hobb, Fonda Lee, Michael J. Sullivan, Jason Denzel and others shared tales of magic, dragons, and superheroes.
Due to reader demand, the second Grimoire will publish at Emerald City Comic Con 2025 in Seattle, WA, creating a new anthology of stories sure to delight. Read a deadly chess game between a demon and a mage observed by Terry Brooks. Fall in love with a lovelorn girl and her automaton dolls with Cassandra Clare. Discover how a mother keeps safe her son and those around her through the eyes of Robin Hobb. Learn how a war hammer-wielding woman, a stuffed rabbit, and a bipedal hog save a village from itself in a graphic short story by Nate Taylor. Leave Earth for the strangest of intergalactic swap-meets alongside Matt Dinniman. Travel with Merlin and an unruly fairy through Seattle as they hunt a wayward witch witnessed by Shawn Speakman. And more stories.
Here is the line-up of contributing authors:
Cassandra Clare- Some Fortunate Day*
Matt Dinniman- Bad Karma at the Interstellar Swap Meet*
Seanan McGuire- Streams of Silver, Streams of Gold
Julia Vee & Ken Bebelle- Gold Talon
Annalee Newitz- The Translator*
Nate Taylor- Side Quest
Robin Hobb- Gears
Terry Brooks- Mage and Demon
Kat Ogden- The Pine Tree Line
Shawn Speakman- The Green Lake Witch
(The * denotes stories previously published but not in print elsewhere.)
The second Grimoire is sure to enthrall readers just as the first did, with exciting stories of mayhem and magic, boldness and bravery. All told by masters of their craft enabling us the opportunity to be enchanted by opening its cover.
In 2024 Grim Oak Press exhibited at Dragonsteel Nexus, Brandon Sanderson's convention in Salt Lake City, UT, where the award-winning publisher released Grimoire, an anthology containing short stories by attending authors. Robin Hobb, Fonda Lee, Michael J. Sullivan, Jason Denzel and others shared tales of magic, dragons, and superheroes.
Due to reader demand, the second Grimoire will publish at Emerald City Comic Con 2025 in Seattle, WA, creating a new anthology of stories sure to delight. Read a deadly chess game between a demon and a mage observed by Terry Brooks. Fall in love with a lovelorn girl and her automaton dolls with Cassandra Clare. Discover how a mother keeps safe her son and those around her through the eyes of Robin Hobb. Learn how a war hammer-wielding woman, a stuffed rabbit, and a bipedal hog save a village from itself in a graphic short story by Nate Taylor. Leave Earth for the strangest of intergalactic swap-meets alongside Matt Dinniman. Travel with Merlin and an unruly fairy through Seattle as they hunt a wayward witch witnessed by Shawn Speakman. And more stories.
Here is the line-up of contributing authors:
Cassandra Clare- Some Fortunate Day*
Matt Dinniman- Bad Karma at the Interstellar Swap Meet*
Seanan McGuire- Streams of Silver, Streams of Gold
Julia Vee & Ken Bebelle- Gold Talon
Annalee Newitz- The Translator*
Nate Taylor- Side Quest
Robin Hobb- Gears
Terry Brooks- Mage and Demon
Kat Ogden- The Pine Tree Line
Shawn Speakman- The Green Lake Witch
(The * denotes stories previously published but not in print elsewhere.)
The second Grimoire is sure to enthrall readers just as the first did, with exciting stories of mayhem and magic, boldness and bravery. All told by masters of their craft enabling us the opportunity to be enchanted by opening its cover.
Hardcover
Published March 1, 2025
1 person is currently reading
33 people want to read
About the author
Shawn Speakman
33 books730 followersShawn Speakman grew up in the beautiful wilds of Washington State near a volcano and surrounded by old-growth forests filled with magic. After moving to Seattle to attend the University of Washington, he befriended New York Times best-selling fantasy author Terry Brooks and became his webmaster, leading to an enchanted life surrounded by words.
He was a manager at one of the largest Barnes & Noble Booksellers in the country for many years and now owns the online bookstore The Signed Page, manages the websites for several authors, and is a freelance writer for Random House.
He also contributed the annotations for The Annotated Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, published in 2012.
Shawn is a cancer survivor, knows angel fire east, and lives in Seattle, Washington.
He was a manager at one of the largest Barnes & Noble Booksellers in the country for many years and now owns the online bookstore The Signed Page, manages the websites for several authors, and is a freelance writer for Random House.
He also contributed the annotations for The Annotated Sword of Shannara by Terry Brooks, published in 2012.
Shawn is a cancer survivor, knows angel fire east, and lives in Seattle, Washington.
Ratings & Reviews
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Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 19, 2025
🥇 The Green Lake Witch
🥈 The Pine Tree Line
🥉 Bad Karma At The Interstellar Swap Meet
An interesting anthology. However, I felt some stories were really short and needed more. Others were predictable or just strange and not in the good way. The BEST 🏆 stories in the anthology in my opinion are The Green Lake Witch, The Pine Tree Line, Bad Karma At The Interstellar Swap Meet and Mage and Demon.
Some Fortunate Future Day
⏱️⏱️⏱️/5
An interesting story with a time element but the ending was predictable.
Rose falls in love with a Lieutenant Johan. Her father is an inventor who builds a Time Machine (watch). Love is not reciprocated so Rose rests the time. There is also a pair of dolls who can’t show emotion and talk but they cannot cry.
Bad Karma At The Interstellar Swap Meet
🖼️🖼️🖼️🖼️/5
A story that I truly had no idea where it was going but glad I was along for the ride.
A man, borrowed money, his mother, items sold and a beautiful ending that captures the beauty of a soul.
Streams of Silver, Streams of Gold
🐲🐲🐲/5
A truly special story with a heartstring ending.
A man raises a dragon who eventually needs to go back into the river.
Gold Talon
🗡️🗡️🗡️/5
A woman with a trusty blade and a ton of bodies.
Mafia vs mafia violence with hierarchy system and interesting magic system. Plus there is an awesome blade. The fight scenes were amazing, part of the story remained me of DIE HARD but the pacing in places felt slow.
The Translator
🤖🤖🤖🤖/5
A translator, AI, fear of losing a job, and life improvement through a bunch of tasks.
Side Quest
🪑🪑/5
A guy with a bunny and a pig helps a villager fight a monster chair that turns into a giant monster house with roots. The artwork is beautiful but I felt the story was short. I needed more.
Gears
🚲🚲/5
A family, morning, mayhem and an old bicycle. The ending was kinda wild. I might be reaching but felt like the bicycle was possessed, saved the kid. Not my type of story. Schwinn!!!
Mage and Demon
♟️♟️♟️♟️/5
An excellent tale of chess, a mage and a demon caught in an ever ending struggle in a place where one can only leave if one dies.
The Pine Tree Line
🩸🩸🩸🩸/5
A strange creature saves a woman and her daughter from terrible men. The start was slightly slow but otherwise a perfect tale.
The Green Lake Witch
🧙♀️🧙♀️🧙♀️🧙♀️🧙♀️/5
A truly exquisite tale of a wizard, fairy and a witch. The best in the whole anthology. 🏆
Notably quote:
"I offer you the most powerful magic. the magic of your personal story. And having others then listen to that magic. The best magic is in stories. Stories are the best way to convey what is needed and how to confront what comes. A story can change an opinion. A story can invigorate those who have lost hope. A story can break chains. And a story can move nations."
🥈 The Pine Tree Line
🥉 Bad Karma At The Interstellar Swap Meet
An interesting anthology. However, I felt some stories were really short and needed more. Others were predictable or just strange and not in the good way. The BEST 🏆 stories in the anthology in my opinion are The Green Lake Witch, The Pine Tree Line, Bad Karma At The Interstellar Swap Meet and Mage and Demon.
Some Fortunate Future Day
⏱️⏱️⏱️/5
An interesting story with a time element but the ending was predictable.
Rose falls in love with a Lieutenant Johan. Her father is an inventor who builds a Time Machine (watch). Love is not reciprocated so Rose rests the time. There is also a pair of dolls who can’t show emotion and talk but they cannot cry.
Bad Karma At The Interstellar Swap Meet
🖼️🖼️🖼️🖼️/5
A story that I truly had no idea where it was going but glad I was along for the ride.
A man, borrowed money, his mother, items sold and a beautiful ending that captures the beauty of a soul.
Streams of Silver, Streams of Gold
🐲🐲🐲/5
A truly special story with a heartstring ending.
A man raises a dragon who eventually needs to go back into the river.
Gold Talon
🗡️🗡️🗡️/5
A woman with a trusty blade and a ton of bodies.
Mafia vs mafia violence with hierarchy system and interesting magic system. Plus there is an awesome blade. The fight scenes were amazing, part of the story remained me of DIE HARD but the pacing in places felt slow.
The Translator
🤖🤖🤖🤖/5
A translator, AI, fear of losing a job, and life improvement through a bunch of tasks.
Side Quest
🪑🪑/5
A guy with a bunny and a pig helps a villager fight a monster chair that turns into a giant monster house with roots. The artwork is beautiful but I felt the story was short. I needed more.
Gears
🚲🚲/5
A family, morning, mayhem and an old bicycle. The ending was kinda wild. I might be reaching but felt like the bicycle was possessed, saved the kid. Not my type of story. Schwinn!!!
Mage and Demon
♟️♟️♟️♟️/5
An excellent tale of chess, a mage and a demon caught in an ever ending struggle in a place where one can only leave if one dies.
The Pine Tree Line
🩸🩸🩸🩸/5
A strange creature saves a woman and her daughter from terrible men. The start was slightly slow but otherwise a perfect tale.
The Green Lake Witch
🧙♀️🧙♀️🧙♀️🧙♀️🧙♀️/5
A truly exquisite tale of a wizard, fairy and a witch. The best in the whole anthology. 🏆
Notably quote:
"I offer you the most powerful magic. the magic of your personal story. And having others then listen to that magic. The best magic is in stories. Stories are the best way to convey what is needed and how to confront what comes. A story can change an opinion. A story can invigorate those who have lost hope. A story can break chains. And a story can move nations."
November 17, 2025
5/5 stars
Streams of Silver, Streams of Gold
Bad Karma at the Interstellar Swap Meet
The Translator
4.5/5 stars
Gold Talon
Some Fortunate Future Day
Gears
4/5 stars
The Pine Tree Line
Mage and Demon
The Green Lake Witch
Side Quest
Streams of Silver, Streams of Gold
Bad Karma at the Interstellar Swap Meet
The Translator
4.5/5 stars
Gold Talon
Some Fortunate Future Day
Gears
4/5 stars
The Pine Tree Line
Mage and Demon
The Green Lake Witch
Side Quest
August 24, 2025
I liked it
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews