Homework: Planks & Plunder

Ahoy, mateys! Editor Sarah assigns your homework.

Howdy, gang! Sarah here, with some suggested reading/media material for those of you planning to submit a story for the pirates anthology that'll be released on…Talk Like A Pirate Day. Entirely coincidental, I assure you.

What are we looking for in Planks & Plunder? The original idea came from a love of Tim Powers’s On Stranger Tides and an enjoyment of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies (the first one, at least…the quality dropped precipitously as the franchise progressed). It was the golden age of piracy, with buccaneers, naval battles, lost treasure and adventure on the high seas, with an element of magic or the supernatural thrown in.

Then we realized that in addition to fantasy, there were plenty of pirate adventures in some well-known science fiction properties, as well, such as The Expanse and Cowboy Bebop.

Your story can be one of fantasy or of science fiction, or any setting, really, as long as it features characters who are engaging in or trying to prevent piracy. The important thing is a character who has a crisis or struggle and must make a decision or attempt to extricate himself (or herself! or itself!) from the situation. Pirate-themed, of course. And to help you get into the right mindset, check out the entries below!

If you have any suggestions of your own, feel free to drop them in the comments.

• On Stranger Tides by Tim Powers

• Red Seas Under Red Skies by Scott Lynch

• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

• Anything Peter Pan-related

• Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag

• The Pirates of the Caribbean movies

• Firefly

• Cowboy Bebop

• The Expanse

• The Aubrey-Maturin series by Patrick O’Brian

• Under the Black Flag by David Cordingly

• The Voyages of Sinbad cycle from Arabian folktales

• The Sea Hawk by Rafael Sabatini

• The Black Swan by Rafael Sabatini

• Captain Blood by Rafael Sabatini

• Dark Water Daughter by H.M. Long

• The Aeronaut’s Windlass by Jim Butcher

• Treasure Planet (2002 version)

• Enjoy the insightful Q&A video below, which I personally found to be informative and comprehensive for a session less than 20 minutes long.

So enjoy a few or all of these, and then tell your own tale, me hearties! And we’ll see you across the horizon!

Planks & Plunder
Edited by Sarah Clithero

Ghost ships, cursed treasures in ancient tombs guarded by legendary creatures, and haunted lost islands. Pirates and the people who fight them, with magical or supernatural themes. Not limited to fantasy. Arrgh!

Opens: 06/21/25
Closes: 08/10/25
Contracts: 08/23/25
Publication: 09/19/25

See all our open calls here!