Just The Axe, Ma'am #11
A Monthly Curated Newsletter of New and Notable Sword & Sorcery
JASON RAY CARNEY’S ACCLAIMED ROGUE STORIES RELEASED AS A FREE DOWNLOAD.
Jason Ray Carney has rightly earned a Black River Special Achievement award from the Robert E. Howard Foundation, for being the Editor of The Dark Man: The Journal of Robert E. Howard and Pulp Studies, organizer of SpiralCon and the Trigon Awards, promoted Robert E. Howard through a TED Talk and “Reading Sword-and-Sorcery to Make the Present Less Real.” an article in the LA Review of Books
Plus, all his work as publisher and editor for Spiral Tower Press and its new Keen Blades imprint,and the magazines it puts out for new and developing writers. Whetstone for Sword & Sorcery, Witch House for Cosmic Horror, Way Station for Space Opera.
But Carney is a talented author in his own right, and his Rogue stories have been praised, with author Christopher Rowe spotlighting the stories on his Sword & Sorcery Reviews blog, calling them:
”Carney’s creation is part of a tradition established from the beginnings of sword and sorcery, a protagonist designed to be tested against a strange world of fantastic settings and horrific, usually magical, enemies. The Rogue is not unique in being an (apparently) immortal wanderer—stories by Karl Edward Wagner and David C. Smith come to mind—but he is unique in the leavening of compassion evident in both his character and in the writing qua writing of his adventures.”
Several stories were initially included in Carney’s collection Rakefire and Other Stories from Pulp Hero Press. With the publisher moving out of fiction entirely, Carney has regained the rights and is releasing the Rogue stories for free with bonus art from Gilead, Carlos Castilho, and Gray Moth. Carney includes his essay “Reading Sword-and-Sorcery to Make the Present Less Real” as a bonus at the end.
You can download the book here.
HOWARD DAYS FESTIVAL IN CROSS PLAINS, TX CELEBRATED. 2023 ROBERT E. HOWARD FOUNDATION AWARDS GIVEN OUT.
Beginning in 1986, ten fans made a pilgrimage to Cross Plains, Texas, where Robert E. Howard lived and died to see the house. Over the years, the annual pilgrimage grew in popularity with others until 1998 when members of Cross Plains’s Project Pride and the Robert E. Howard Foundation (with assistance from the Robert E. Howard United Press Association) turned it into an annual festival held normally on the second weekend of June, closest to June 11, the day Howard died at a tragically young age in 1936.
The festival has become a celebration of his life and works, and with this year, several notable events happened. The return of the original writing desk Robert E. Howard used to type out his tales, now fully restored.
Mark Finn has thoughts about the Festival and why it matters, which is worth reading here.
Plus, the Robert E. Howard Foundation hands out awards as it does each year, representing the best in Robert E. Howard-focused (though occasionally broader) scholarship, as well as derivative and original works of fiction and art they determine best represent the spirit of Howard’s work.
For 2024, representing the best in 2023, the awards are:
The Atlantean – Outstanding Achievement, Book (non-anthology/collection)
The Weird Tales Boys, by Stephen Jones (PS Publishing)
The Valusian – Outstanding Achievement, Book
Hither Came Conan, edited by Bob Byrne & Jason M. Waltz, (Rogue Blades Foundation)
The Hyrkanian – Outstanding Achievement, Essay
“The Personal and Literary Influence of Jack London’s The Star Rover on Robert E. Howard”, by Will Oliver (The Dark Man 11/22/23)
The Venarium – Emerging Scholar
Laura A. Shubert for Master’s Thesis The Shadow King of Fantasy: Robert E. Howard
The Black Lotus – Outstanding Achievement, Web-Based (TIE)
Ståle Gismervik for The World of Robert E. Howard website and associated articles, interviews, and resources hosted there
Gary Romeo for The L. Sprague de Camp Fan website and associated reviews and articles
The Costigan – Literary Achievement
Conan The Barbarian, by Jim Zub, Roberto De La Torre, Dean White & Richard Starkings (Titan)
The Rankin – Artistic Achievement
Roberto De la Torre and José Villarrubia, Conan the Barbarian (Titan Comics, 2023).
The Black River – Special Achievement
Josh Adkins, Jon Larson, and Luke E. Dodd of the Cromcast podcast for creating and running a podcast on discussing Robert E. Howard, Sword and Sorcery, and Fantasy for 10 years and recording and publishing online events at several Howard Days events.
IN OTHER NEWS & UPDATES
+ The crowdfunding for Beating Hearts and Battle Axes, the romance-themed Sword & Sorcery anthology from Brackenbury Books, publishers of New Edge Sword & Sorcery Magazine, is now live on Backerkit.
The anthology will feature stories from Bryn Hammond, S. L Huang, Brent Lambert, T. A. Markitan, David C. Smith, and Valerie Valdes.
It has already been successfully funded and has some stretch goals, including sextuple art and an international shipping discount. Help them achieve these goals!
Check it out on Backerkit
+ This went viral earlier this month, and it is well worth reading if you have not already;
Alec Worley asks the hard question of where the genre comes from, where it is going, and what challenges it will face going forward.
+ John C. Hocking now has the two-book omnibus volume out of Conan and the Emerald Lotus and Conan and the Living Plague.
We talked about Emerald Lotus back in October 2023 as the book that developed a cult readership due to it capturing the spirit of Howard, and now it is released with its decades-in-the-making sequel.
+ Last Month, we previewed the cover of Matthew John’s new collection, To Walk on Worlds, collecting his Sword & Sorcery short fiction from Tales from The Magician’s Skull, Weirdbook and more.
It is now available as both an ebook and as a paperback!
You can order it here.
+ Speaking of Matt John, over at the Rogues in the House Presents blog, he wrote the following entry: Swords & Sorcery Against The Pox of Plagiarism in regards to the usage of AI art within the genre. To give you a quote:
”Visual art is integral to this genre. Fantasy art is important from a holistic stand-point, too, and I can’t say I love a lot of the current trends I’m seeing–but human-made art remains vital in the realm of story telling and selling. For S&S, it’s the butter to the bread, the peanut butter to the chocolate, or some other food analogy. Sadly, though, this union is under assault and too many are contributing to this siege.”
I agree with him completely, and I’d add that there are far better options for indie publishers or self-pub authors considering using AI.
This is a buyer's market for art right now, and it is quite affordable. Indeed, I was reminded that amazing artists offer their work to be licensed within the Dungeon Synth communities, which would be perfect for a dark fantasy or Sword & Sorcery book.
Even if someone is being forced to pinch pennies, a large category of stunning historical and mythology-inspired art is now in the public domain.
Talented artists like Gilead and Carlos Castiho offer Sword and sorcery clip art free for your use.
Why would you pass any of that up to instead use some AI Glop trying and failing to imitate Boris Vallejo?
+ Tanith Lee received the posthumous Infinity Award through the Science Fiction Writers’ Association. You can watch the commemoration of her beginning here at the 2024 Nebula Awards ceremony.
+ Profane Altars: Weird Sword & Sorcery, which we wrote about last month as horror authors paying tribute with their takes on Sword & Sorcery, is now available for order from publisher Weirdpunk Books.
You can order it here.
+ Jason Ray Carney announced the 3rd Annual Spiral Con. The first two, held in 2022 and 2023, were in-person affairs. However, this year, the decision was made to hold it as a free virtual convention. As of this writing, the special guest will be C. L. Werner.
Virtual Con Panels are currently being assembled. In the meantime, visit their website for updates in the coming weeks.
Here is a report of the in-person convention held in 2023.
COMICS & GRAPHIC NOVELS
+ This upcoming comic from Cullen Bunn and Christopher Mitter has been described as:
“Folk horror with Sword & Sorcery fantasy for a story that's half Spirited Away, half The Green Knight.”
But I prefer how Bunn described it in his own words:
”If you liked Labyrinth or The Neverending Story, you’ll like this book, especially if you just wanted the heroes of those books to pick up a sword and start hacking. “
You can read more about the upcoming comic from ONI Press here.
Grimdark Magazine has a sneak preview of the new Titan Books translation of Elric the Necromancer, one of the ongoing French adaptations of Michael Moorcock’s classic Saga by Jean-Luc Cano and Julien Blondel.
+ Bobby Derie looks at Les Ombres de Thulé (2023) by Patrick Mallet, Lionel Marty, & Axel Conzalbo and Crom (2022) by Raule, Jaunfra MB, & Alejandro TM at his blog Deeper Cuts in a Lovecraftian Vein.
Both reviews are for French bandes dessinée examining the themes and concepts behind the works of Robert E. Howard, if not his characters.
INTERVIEWS
+ An interview with the Beastmaster himself, Marc Singer, conducted by the inimitable
for his excellent Random Roles feature at The A.V. Club, which covers Singer’s career ranging from the V miniseries, a small role on Columbo, Man-Bat for Batman: The Animated Series, and yes, as The Beast Master.+ As part of the promotional blitz for the release of Conan and The City of the Dead, the official Conan The Barbarian channel sat down with author John C. Hocking to talk about how his first novel Conan and the Emerald Lotus came to be, why it sequel Conan and The Living Plague was decades in the making and much more in this hour-long interview.
+. Part Two of the Interview on the Madeline James Writes channel, where Oliver Brackenbury and Jay Wolf discuss Romantasy, its connections to Sword & Sorcery, worldbuilding, and more.
Part One can be experienced here.
+ Nicholas Perez, a Tanith Lee aficionado whose first story, “The Boy Who Became a Planet,” appeared in the anthology To Root Somewhere Beautiful, sits down with Bookish Brew to explain what Sword & Sorcery is and what the revival is all about.
+ Spiral Tower Press publisher/editor Jason Ray Carney sits with Matt Holder to discuss his novella Hurled Headlong Flaming, the use of Plato’s Dialogues as a dramatic device, and the serious academic and provocateur sides of Michel Foucault.
MUSIC
+ Your eyes are not deceiving you. Conan and the Stone of Kelior is an opera with appropriate all-new lyrics sung over familiar pieces of music like Shostakovich. It’s only played in Toronto and only in 2022… for now.
Find out more about Mightier Productions here.
+ Critical Hit Parader is one of our favourite Substacks due to
’s in-depth looks at the links between classic sword & sorcery and the rock & roll of the era right up to today. We received a shout-out in this one as they look at more modern acts of interest like ANCIIENTS, DragonBreed, and the likes of Mork Borg and its metal influences.PODCASTS ON PARADE
+ Now that The Cromcast has won the Black River Special Achievement Award from the Robert E. Howard Foundation, the hosts proceed with part 2 of their look at Poul Anderson’s classic novel of Norse legend and tragedy: The Broken Sword.
+ After nearly three months, the Rogues examine the 1998 adaptation of Michael Crichton’s Eaters of the Dead, a retelling of the Beowulf saga, better known to filmgoers as The 13th Warrior.
+ Oliver Brackenbury, along with his writing endeavours, publishing and editing New Edge Sword & Sorcery, is also a podcaster with So I’m Writing A Novel. Meanwhile, Matt John, along with his writing endeavours, publishing works through Rogues in the House Presents, and yes, being a host of a podcast with Rogues in the House.
The two have collaborated on a special podcast episode where they interview each other about their past and present projects.
REVIEWS
+ Over at Black Gate, author S. E Lindberg does a paired review of Lord of a Shattered Land by Howard Andrew Jones and The Doom of Odin by Scott Oden, noting both are influenced by history and historical fiction with Euro-Mediterranean settings and anti-Roman perspectives.
You can read the review here.
Bobby Derie strikes again with a review of the arthouse French film. She is Conann, directed by Bertrand Mandico. Derie points out the film for all its radical reworkings on the 1982 Conan the Barbarian movie with all new tropes it still very much takes influence from various key stories and comics from the genre like Bloodstar, the Richard Corben adaptation of Robert E. Howard’s “The Valley of the Worm.”
THIS MONTH IN SWORD & SORCERY MAGAZINES
HEROIC FANTASY QUARTERLY:
This month, HFQ released The Best of Heroic Fantasy Quarterly IV to its Kickstarter backers, which you can see above. They are preparing for their open call for submissions, beginning in July. See below in Submissions.
For free, you can still read the current issue #60, celebrating 15 years of the webzine, featuring stories from Howard Andrew Jones, James Enge, and Gregory Mele.
You can read the issue #60 here.
If you are interested in their Patreon, click here.
MYSTIC MIND: This is a more general SFF mag, but for this issue, there is a Sword & Sorcery story from Jay Requard titled “Among The Poppies.”
Access the issue and support the Patreon at this link.
NEW EDGE SWORD & SORCERY: NESS released an interior art preview of a story from their upcoming issues. “A Serpent from the Ash” by June Orchid Parker features the return of her warrior Astharta, previously seen in New Edge Sword & Sorcery #2’s “How Many Deaths Til Vengeance?”
The hope is that both issues 3 & 4 will be shipped in September 2024.
In the meantime, issues are being offered as extras for backers of the Beating Hearts & Battle Axes crowd-funder going on right now,
OLD MOON QUARTERLY: Above is the cover of their year one anthology, containing the complete contents of issues 1 through 4.
As the preface explains, while the stories were strong, they, as publishers, “the formatting, the back cover design, the interior layout, even the font choice: all of them were, shall we say, less-than-professional” and wanted to give the year a much better presentation learned from experience for readers to encounter the stories.
The Year One anthology was made available to all who backed their Kickstarter.
They have also stated on social media that they are looking for beta readers “for a medieval dark fantasy novella we will be releasing later this year.”
SWORDS & SORCERY MAGAZINE:
Editor Curtis Ellett premieres the June issue with “Stories for Summer,” Consisting of the three following:
“Knight of the Couple,” by Andrei-Ion Ghircoia
“The Greatest Warrior,” by Teel James Glenn
“Love’s Red Blossom,” by Luana Saitta
All three are free to read online, but if you enjoy the magazine, consider joining the Patreon here.
TALES FROM THE MAGICIAN’S SKULL:
Issue 12, the last issue under Goodman Games, is being shipped.
The Kickstarter set up by the magazine’s new owners, Outland Entertainment, is not active yet; this will be for issues 13 and onwards.
Click here to be notified when it goes live.
TRIAPA:
Issue #10 was released June 3rd, and the following authors contributed a 2-page amateur zine.
Nicholas Perez, Dreams of the Sunkissed, Issue 1
Black Cavalier Designs, 12 Leagues To Averoigne Vol 1, Issue 10
Carl Ellis, Tales from the Valley VII
Ethan Sabatella, Senchas Scen, Issue 10
Sage, Ambush
Rom Parsons, Brazen Blades, Issue 2
David J. Lynch, Ink and Hatchet: Musings on Larger than Life Fiction (May 2024, Issue 9)
Matt Holder, Pandemonizine, Vol 2 (May 2024) Issue 9
Jason Donaldson, The House Half Under a Hill, June 2024
Aaron Cummins, Views from the Pig Sty 2.1
TRIAPA is an Amateur Press Association founded by Spiral Tower Press, the people behind the Amateur Zines Way Station, Whetstone and Witch House.
If you want to submit a zine for TRIAPA, please send a 2-page zine (maximum) to spiraltowerpress@gmail.com. They invite and encourage all fans of sword and sorcery, cosmic horror, and space opera to submit.
Find out more and check out all previous editions here.
WHETSTONE:
Whetstone: The Amateur Magazine of Pulp Sword & Sorcery will be on hiatus until 2025.
The archive of all eight issues can be accessed here.
In the meantime, check out Waystation, the amateur space opera magazine they are putting out in its place. The first issue has just been released, and one can see a number of stories from members of the Sword & Sorcery community.
You can read it for free here.
The Spiral Tower crew is concentrating on their next project, the next issue of Witch House, the amateur magazine of Cosmic Horror.
They are open to submissions of 1500 - 2500 words until July 21; you can read their submission guidelines here.
SUBMISSIONS
The following markets are dedicated to or specified to accept Sword & Sorcery.
+ BFS Horizons, put out by The British Fantasy Society, is always open. 500 - 5000 Words. Remuneration £20. Submission Guidelines.
+ Heroic Fantasy Quarterly has announced they will accept submissions throughout July 2024.
Read about their pay rate and submission requirements here.
+ Indie Bites, a non-profit fantasy anthology series put out by Silversun Books, is available on Kindle Unlimited and is looking for stories for its upcoming Spirits & Spellcasters-themed issue. Deadline: 30 September 2024. Accepts up to 7500 Words. Honorarium £5. Submission Guidelines.
+ Seize The Press, ”Writers, please send us more fantasy! Particularly dark sword & sorcery, historical horror, grimdark, but anything you think falls under dark fantasy and all the weird stuff you can't truly pin down.”
3 pence GBP per word, max 7500 words. Submission Guidelines.
+ Swords & Sorcery is always open. Takes 1500 - 7500 words. Payment: $10 USD. Submission Guidelines.
That’s It! Thank you for reading; for all you Americans and Canadians, have a great holiday, and please share this with anyone you think would be interested! See you next month! — KB
I appreciate the Critical Hit Parader shout-out, Kevin, and I feel the same about your Just the Axe, Ma'am newsletter. Every time it hits my inbox, I know my browser tabs are about to multiply with all the great content you tastefully curate!
Thanks for the shout-out, Kevin!