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Writing Alt-History? Read the Primary Sources

by Austin Conrad Editor’s note: This piece is part of a rolling series, Writing from History, in which creators share professional insights related to the work of using historical elements in fictional prose. Online media is my preferred starting point when seeking historical inspiration for my game writing—especially my recent fixation on King Arthur. If […]

Sudden: Writing on the Go

by Eugen Bacon Editor’s note: This piece is part of an occasional series titled Writing by Other Means, in which authors share personal experiences and industry intel around different production contexts and writing tools. You have a novel, a novella, a short story in your head—you just need to write it. The muse is humming, […]

SFWA Market Report For October

Welcome to the October edition of the SFWA Market Report. Please note: Inclusion of any venue in this report does not indicate an official endorsement by SFWA. Those markets included on this list pay at least $0.08/word USD in at least one category of fiction. This compilation is not exhaustive of all publication opportunities that pay […]

Introduction – Publishing Taught Me Anthology

by Nisi Shawl, Somto Ihezue, and Zhui Ning Chang We’re in this together. That’s what publishing has taught me over the course of decades. That’s what this project, Publishing Taught Me, continues to teach me and all my friends. You, too. All my friends; all my relations. Publishing is a community endeavor. If we analogize […]

QA and Storytelling in Video Games

by John Ryan Editor’s note: This piece is part of our Playtesting Game Narratives series, curated by SFWA’s Game Writing Committee. When you hear about narrative in video games, positions such as writers and narrative designers might be the first roles you’ll think of. What people don’t think about is one of the most important roles […]

In Memoriam: Janet Morris

Janet Morris (25 May 1946 – 10 August 2024) was a military fantasy writer most known for blending history, ancient mythologies, and science fiction into secondworlds. With a publication career spanning over 35 years, Morris is known for works such as the Silista quartet, and The Sacred Band of Stepsons saga, written with husband Chris […]

Playtesting TTRPG Stories

by Austin Conrad Editor’s note: This piece is part of our Playtesting Game Narratives series, curated by SFWA’s Game Writing Committee. Tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs) are built from basically two elements: game mechanics and narrative. Unlike video games, TTRPGs strongly focus on collaborative narrative between the players and the gamemaster at the table. Playtesting the narrative […]

Playtesting Card Games

by Marie Vibbert Editor’s note: This piece is part of our Playtesting Game Narratives series, curated by SFWA’s Game Writing Committee. Every three months, the Cleveland Game Developers host a Play Test Night for our members.  Last time, I got to play a card game. It drove home the crucial differences between video games and physical […]

Playtesting Narrative Content in Board Games

by Will McDermott Editor’s note: This piece is part of our Playtesting Game Narratives series, curated by SFWA’s Game Writing Committee. Writing narrative content for board games is different from any other writing I’ve ever done. It’s even different than writing for video games or role-playing games. The reason is simple: length. Novel and short story […]

Quark – A SFWA Public Digest 

A quark (/kwɔːrk, kwɑːrk/) is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. In an effort to maintain transparency and foster communications with all members of the SFF community and the public, SFWA would like to introduce Quark, a monthly digest which will give quick updates on what’s been happening within the […]