S&S Roundup #59

The Latest in Contemporary Sword & Sorcery

Running a little late this week with the Roundup. There was a little gap in my schedule that I can’t seem to account for… (grin). As always, feel free to add more links and projects in the comments because I know I missed a lot! Now let’s get going!

A Few New Projects and Releases

+ Pre-order now: Skovolis: City of Thrones - A Kaimer Sword & Sorecery Collection by Frederick Tor (April 25, 2025) “Classic Sword &Sorcery tales with an extreme edge written by Frederick Tor exclusively for Rogue Blades Entertainment.” Update: Paperback just went live!

+ Also Upcoming: Swords & Sorceries: Tales of Heroic Fantasy Volume 10 will be published early May, and will contain the following stories:

• MASKS FOR THE MADNESS Harry Elliott

• SAFE AS BANKS Geoffrey Hart

• DEATH ABANDONED Virgo Kevonté

• CAVERN OF STONES Phil Emery

• BAD MOON RISING Robert Mammone

• THE SALT OF TILANTOKKA Gregory D. Mele

• SHANGLOR A Stranger Tale Jay Litwicki

• A CONFUSION OF RENEGADES Adrian Cole

+ A new short story is up at Rogues in the House Presents: "Kiss of Embers" by Thomas Grayfson. (You can also catch another of Grayfson’s tales at Swords & Heroes: “The Carrion Knight.” He also has a story in Crimson Quill Quarterly Volume 5.)

+ The Known World of Aterra: The Prisoner of Ruhak Tower by Grayson Sullivan (March 2025, 96 pages) “Trellen of Ulliea is a cursed man... and cursed men are dangerous.”

Sampling of some adjacent genres…

+ Magnatar, Issue 2: The Fantasy, Sci-fi & RPG Magazine (March 2025, 50 pages) “A must-read for fantasy and sci-fi fans!” Check out Issue 1 (Dec 2024) here.

+ Nightmares of Buzzard Hill by Cory Andrews (Western horror short fiction, 191 pages) “Some land on the wide open frontier was never meant for mankind. Land where evil spirits have roamed for centuries and monsters lay at rest, waiting for souls to swallow…”

+ The Lives of Velnin: The Black Citadel by Brian Heming (YA fantasy, 75 pages) “A fast-paced epic fantasy of swords, love, magic, and battles.”

Some News, Reviews, and Views

+ Baen Books announces 2025 winner of the Jim Baen Memorial Short Story Award (on FB) and it’s…. Gustavo Bondoni for his story “Space Monkeys.” Congratulations, Gustavo! To find out more about this year’s winner, visit his website.

+ L. D. Whitney highlights Greg Mele’s ‘Aztecian’ fantasy world and stories in “Remember Me in Azatlán: the mythos of Greg Mele” at Rogues in the House Presents. (Note: one of Greg’s stories will appear in Swords & Heroes this summer and another is coming out in Swords & Sorceries Volume 10 in May.)

+ New from DMR Books: “The release of Swords of Steel IV is right around the corner. Now it's time to unveil the cover art, courtesy of Bebeto Daroz!” Speaking of artwork, here's an article at DMR about Brom: Evolution of a Legend by Deuce Richardson.

+ Parallel Universe Publications gives tribute to author Charles Black (Michael Duggan), now six years since he passed. Compiled by David A. Riley, this was originally published in Phantasmagoria Magazine, courtesy of Trevor Kennedy.

+ Crimson Quill Quarterly's Author Spotlight Interview (on FB) features Ismail Soldan whose story “Between the Devil's Maw and Serpent's Fang” can be read in the fifth volume of CQQ.

+ Fantasy Initiative brings sword and sorcery to streetwear. From MatterNews.org.

+ Sensor Sweep for March 24: “Male Readers, Obsidian Moon, Vast Grimm, Hell Divers II” at Castalia House. Also check out the Science Fiction and Fantasy New Releases (March 22).

+ Dale Russell reviews Savage Realms Monthly: December 2022 on Goodreads.

+ Check out this thorough review from Eternal Crusader of Issue 1 (Autumn 2024) of The Atlantean on FB. Also, head over FunMyComic.com to back The Atlantean #2 - Spring 2025. (8 days to go)

Conan and the Pulps

+ Review from Vincent Darlage – Conan: Cult of the Obsidian Moon by James Lovegrove. Also, catch Gary Romeo’s review of the same title here. Oh, and an overview of: The Evolution of Modern Fantasy: From Antiquarianism to the Ballantine Adult Fantasy Series by Jamie Williamson (a 2015 academic book).

+ Men's Adventure Quarterly #11 from Robert Deis and Bill Cunningham and reviewed at Paperback Warrior. These issues are available from Amazon here.

+ Sword & Sorcery: The First Paperbacks at Dark Worlds Quarterly. G. W. Thomas also has an article on Portals to Other Worlds.

+ This isn’t exactly pulpy, but I just heard about this - Sverd i fjell (Swords in the rock) in Norway. Check it out… Step Into Norway’s Viking Age History In Stavanger: “From towering monuments that honour ancient warriors to cutting-edge virtual reality experiences, Norway’s Stavanger is an ideal place to immerse yourself in Viking Age history.” (article from Forbes, pic from stavenger.)

Podcasts, Videos, and Crowdfunding

• Monsters, Madness and Magic Podcast - EP#316: The Fall of the Silver City - An Interview with Avery Berg. Don’t miss EP#315: Swords of Jupiter - An Interview with Jo Gamel and D.M. Ritzlin.

• Paperback Warrior Podcast - Latest conversation is March 24 with Jackie L. Hatfield, Jr. “the direct descendant of ‘Devil Anse’ Hatfield, one of the most iconic participants in the infamous and violent Hatfield McCoy feud.”

• Strange Shadows - SS3 023 The Colossus of Ylourgne Part 2. The conclusion of a look at Smith's classic tale of necromantic vengeance, the Colossus of Ylourgne.

• Baen Free Radio Hour - March 21: David Weber and Jane Linskold, on Friends Indeed; and One Jump Ahead by Mark L. Van Name (part 3).

• Rogues in the House - “Sword and Planet, Finally” (Feb 12).

• The Cromcast - S21 E4: The Last of the Mohicans & The Revenant (Dec 21, 2024)

• Dungeons & Damsels - “Dungeons & Broadcasts” (Part 1 of 2, Feb 27)

And on YouTube…

• Erik Waag’s S&S Channel - Most recent: Book Haul 16 - Weird Covers.

• Rogue Blade Presents “24 in 42” - latest episode with Mark Finn.

• Blasters & Blades Podcast - Episode 544: Who did it right when converting comics to the screen?

• Michael K. Vaughan’s latest: My Choice for the Best of Robert E. Howard.

• Skallagrim’s latest: The 10 Most Unusual Things I've Owned.

• All Fiction is Fantasy: The Shadow People - Appendix N's most Bizarre Book

• Jon Zaremba talks about his story “Kathekon” appearing in Savage Realms Monthly (Feb 2025). He also mentions Matt Hilton's story: “Black Rain, Grey Snow, and Red Death.”

Some Crowdfunding Projects

• At Fund My Comics…

  + A Saga of Sunsets - “A gritty fantasy Viking adventure filled with orcs, flying longships, magic & family.” A.C. Pritchard, art by Luke Stone. (ends April 29)

  + Also at Fund My Comics: The Atlantean #2 - Spring 2025. (8 days to go)

• Castle Zagyg Galleries of the Arch Mage - RPG from Troll Lord Games

• Reaver Sword & Sorcery Role-Playing Game from Joseph Salvador (5 days)

• SwordRealm Graphic Novel Saga Issue #1 “SwordRealm graphic novel and glassware set in the savage world of Hephaelion.” (15 days to go)

• Reign of Dragons: Illustrated Hardcover Anthology - “A deluxe dragon themed anthology by some of the industry's favorite fantasy authors and artists.”

• Children of the Gods: A Dragon Fantasy Epic - “On an island at the edge of the world, lies the mysterious source of dragon eggs. Now, the secret is out. So begins the Age of Fire.” (nearly $20,000 raised)

• Realm Travelers - A Fantasy/Adventure Anthology: “Explore different worlds in the 6 thrilling stories full of action, drama, mystery, and horror!” (launching soon)

• Plus, my next project launching soon (not S&S, but heh) - Space Opera Stories: “Four Heart-Pounding Volumes of Pulp, Plasma, and Planetary Chaos.” (Click the ‘notify me on launch’ button to stay in the loop, thanks!)

For Writers & Scribblers

• These markets seem to be always open: Swords & Sorcery Magazine // Savage Realms Monthly // BFS Horizons // Schlock! // Swords & Heroes // Peasant Magazine // Iron Age Media // Do you know of any others?

• Antho Calls from Three Ravens Publishing.

  + Escape Plan: Earth (Due Date: April 1, 2025)

  + It Came From the Trailer Park: Vol 5 (Due Date: July 1, 2025)

• Raconteur Press - Open Calls for 2025 Anthologies.

• Raven Tale Publishing is open for ‘Creature Feature’ novellas.

• Jungle Scandals open call ends April 16, edited by J. Manfred Weichsel.

• FB page: Open Submission Calls for variety of genres. (Must join the group.)

• Chill Subs website has a number of magazines accepting stories.

• General list of Sci-Fi And Fantasy Magazines and Journals for short stories.

• Also, check out this growing database of speculative fiction periodicals.

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That’s about it! If you find these roundups helpful, please check out some selections from Tule Fog Press and support this project if you wish with a purchase or two! Also, scheck out what’s coming up in Swords & Heroes - S&S One Story at a Time: (BTW, our submission window opens back up in June, thanks!)

• Story #28 - July 29 - “Seven Souls” by Mike Graham

• Story #27 - July 15 - “Another Name for Darkness” by Jason M Waltz

• Story #26 - July 1 - “An Insufficiency of Light” by Jason M Waltz

• Story #25 - June 17 - “The Skull of Siyaj Kek” by Greg Mele

• Story #24 - June 3 - “Demon Eye” by Greg Fewer

• Story #23 - May 20 - “A Nameless Waste of the Unquiet Dead” by Michael T. Burke

• Story #22 - May 6 - “The Black Mongoose” by Jasiah Witkofsky

• (Extended Easter Break)

• Story #21 - Mar 18 - “I Will Not Give My Glory to Another” by R. E. Diaz

• Story #20 - Mar 4 - “The Spirit Path” by Logan D. Whitney

• Story #19 - Feb 18 - “The Sorcerer Weaves Magic in His Sleep” by David Carter

• Story #18 - Feb 4 - “The Carrion Knight” by Thomas Grayfson

• Story #17 - Jan 21 - “Oblivion’s Key” by Gustavo Bondoni

• Story #16 - Jan 7 - “The Necroman” by Adam Parker

Until next time, keep swinging!