Tuesday, February 21, 2023

Two Sword and Sorcery Kickstarters Worth Your Attention

In the following, you'll find two Kickstarters for two new sword and sorcery projects, in which Cora will have articles, if they fund.

New Edge Sword and Sorcery Magazine banner

The first of these is the Kickstarter for issues 1 and 2 of New Edge Sword & Sorcery Magazine, edited by Oliver Brackenbury. So what is New Edge Sword and Sorcery Magazine? Basically, it's a sword and sorcery magazine that offers all the excitement, adventure and weirdness traditionally associated with the genre without the regressive attitudes that mar some past work in the genre.

Here's how Oliver explains it:

WHAT IS SWORD & SORCERY?

A unique fantasy sub-genre known for short, episodic tales with historical inspiration and horror elements, featuring outsider protagonists with personal motivations, often facing dark and dangerous magic!

WHAT IS NEW EDGE SWORD & SORCERY?

A brand new magazine featuring over 45,000 words per issue of exciting stories paired with original art, essays, in-depth interviews, literary profiles, and book reviews. Made with love for the classics, and an inclusive, boundary-pushing approach to storytelling!

In the summer of 2022 we made a prototype “Issue #0”, an unpaid passion project for all involved. We put it out in the world and…people liked it! People want more! So this Kickstarter will fund the print publication of issues #1 & #2, paying contributors as much as possible this time.

Available in gorgeous electronic, softcover, and highly collectible hardcover formats.

MAGAZINE FORMAT, BOOK-LEVEL QUALITY

Our magazine pages are a spacious 8 1/2 x 11 inches, printed like a book, using quality, cream paper that is thicker and more durable than standard, floppy magazine paper. When taken care of, our perfect-bound softcovers--and especially our sewn-stitched hardcovers!--will be beautiful objects you can enjoy for years to come.

Several of our stretch goals will provide enhancements such as doubling our number of interior illustrations and, for our hardcovers, adding a pair of bookmark ribbons - each a different color - or foil-embossing our cover text and logo.

CONTRIBUTORS

In these issues you will find new, original stories by the legendary Michael Moorcock, Margaret Killjoy, Gemma Files, Bryn Hammond, Kirk A. Johnson, Prashanth Srivatsa, Jon Olfert, Sarah Macklin, David C. Smith, T. K. Rex, Dariel Quiogue, JM Clarke, Jacqueline Kawaja, and a translated story by Spanish language author Jesús Montalvo.

There will also be stimulating non-fiction by Hugo award-winner Cora Buhlert, Jon Olfert, Milton Davis, Brian Murphy, Robin Marx, and Oliver Brackenbury.

Cover art will be Caterina Gerbasi on issue #1 and Gilead on issue #2. For interior illustrations, as stories are written artists will be assigned from a pool that includes: Sapro, Daniel Vega, Saprophial, Remco van Straten, Ursa Doom, David White, Simon Underwood, Hardeep Aujla, Morgan King, Gary McClusky, Damiano Di Marco, Aldo Ojeda, Carlos Castilho, Trevor Ngwenya, Shih Shin Chuah and Sara Frazetta.

If the Kickstarter funds, I will contribute an article about an unsung heroine of the second sword and sorcery boom (and coincidentally the New Wave), editor Cele Goldsmith Lalli, to issue No. 1.

The New Edge Sword and Sorcery Kickstarter is currently at 75% funded and still has eleven days to go, so what are you waiting for? Pledge and support a great new magazine and give me the chance to share a TOC with Michael Moorcock.

And if you want an idea of what you're getting first, issue 0 of New Edge Sword and Sorcery Magazine (with an article by me about C.L. Moore and Jirel of Joiry) is available to download for free and to buy in paperback or hardcover for cheap.

Swords and Heroes Kickstarter banner

The second sword and sorcery related Kickstarter is for the anthology Swords & Heroes, edited by Lyndon Perry.

Again, here's what the anthology is about in Lyndon's own words:

New Stories, Fresh Blades

Be the first to experience Swords & Heroes, an S&S anthology featuring 12 epic tales of heroic adventure, monsters and mayhem, beasts and bravery. Antho is ready to ship!

What can you expect? Tales of undead kings facing off against evil necromancers, cursed warriors reluctantly fulfilling their quests, back-stabbing rogues and unlikely duos battling otherworldly abominations, and so much more.

Want a choice of covers? So be it, by Crom!

That's right! After the campaign, when you fill out your survey, you'll get to pick what cover you want for your e-book, paperback, and/or hardcover. You like the pulp fiction feel of a battle horse and courageous rider? You got it! Or are you partial to the gritty Viking vibe of our shieldmaiden cover? The choice is yours!

Same stories inside, of course. Here's the ToC. Names we think you'll recognize. Established writers and some fresh voices as well. We're also excited to feature a brand new Crimson Warrior tale by Adrian Cole, the award winning author of the War on Rome saga published by DMR Books.

Swords & Heroes contributors

The anthology will also contain a roundtable discussion about the state of the sword and sorcery genre and where it's going. I contributed to that roundtable.

Swords & Heroes has already funded, but it still has three days to go, so if you want even more modern sword and sorcery in your life, get over there and pledge.

 

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