Above: Cover stock photo edited for color saturation and corrections, and lighting..
We’ve probably all heard of Smaug, the dragon under the Lonely Mountain, in Tolkien’s The Hobbit, or Daenerys Targaryen’s dragons Drogan, Viserion and Rhaegal, in George R.R. Martin’s The Song of Ice and Fire series. Dragon stories exist in many cultures and are not always the same.
This anthology of twelve short stories features both known and newcomer authors, and features dragon stories that incorporate characteristics and folklore from cultures across the globe. Explore stories with dragons that fly and breathe fire, swim and even a couple that ask the question what if dragons existed in a sci-fi future environment!
Presented with a foreword by Peter Jackson, celebrated director and producer, this anthology features authors such as Naimi Novik, Laurence Yep and Sarah Dass.
Novik, known for her Temeraire series (which also features dragons!) and Scholomance series, draws on her Polish heritage in her fantasy lore.
Laurence Yep is a successful author of several works incorporating Asian folklore such as his acclaimed series Golden Mountain Chronicles, and his anthology American Dragons.
Born in Trinidad, Sarah Dass debuted with her novel Where the Rhythm Takes You in 2021. She has since branched out fantasy with her novels It Waits in the Forest in 2023 and It Lurks in the Night in 2025, both for Rick Riordan Presents books.*
*Details of copy, author, etc. written for assignment.
Cover imagery inspired by having dragon depictions with the presence of the city and community that it created it, with a focus on non-western European cultural representations
Stock photo;, color corrected, saturated, lighting adjusted,
“Presenter” credit backed by translucent custom-drawn shape for clarity against background.
Stock photo; color corrected, saturated, lighting adjusted and background extended to fill the space. Edited to remove and replace hand holding book.
Dragon illustration drawn by hand, border created with shapes drawn for corner frame accents and combined with shapes for frame.
Stock photo; color corrected, saturated, lighting adjusted, Smudging tool to add texture to sky.
Multiple stock photos of birds and dragon images used to isolate silhouettes of birds and dragon in flight, and arranged on top of base photo.