It's Space Wizard's fifth anniversary, and we have some great titles for you! From reincarnated wizards to post-apocalyptic Florida, rocket racing, martial arts, space rabbits, and giant crabs, we've got a bit of everything!
Space Wizard Science Fantasy is a queer science fiction and fantasy indie publishing company started in 2016 to publish William C. Tracy's books. In 2021, the publishing company opened its doors to more authors. Space Wizard prides (pun intended) itself on making sure our authors get great exposure and marketing for their books. Space Wizard aims to stay debt-free on initial releases, as well as giving great royalty rates, wholesale prices for authors, up-to-date covers, and effective marketing for all of its books.
2026 is both our 5th and 10th anniversary!
Our intent has always been to showcase quality science fiction and fantasy stories with queer characters, because they don't get enough exposure in the publishing world. If you've backed our previous campaigns, you know the quality of work we publish. We have some great new books coming to you!
- In 2022, the Space Wizard Science Fantasy Year 1 campaign raised nearly $18,000 for 12 books. - In 2023, Year 2 raised over $18,000 for 12 more books with great covers, illustrations, and hardbacks! - In 2024, Year 3 raised over $17,000 for 14 books and two new TTRPG systems! - Also in 2024, we released Lesbians in Space: Where No Man Has Gone Before, with almost $11,000 for an anthology of 21 stories, including 4 by Hugo award nominated and winning authors! - In 2025, we ran Space Wizard Year 4 Part 1 in June, raising over $10,000. In September, we ran the sequel to Lesbians in Space, The Sapphics Strike Back! It raised almost $12,000, and in November, we ran Space Wizard Year 4 Part 2, which raised another $7,600!
Space Wizard Year Five Part 1
The fifth year of Space Wizard has some incredible new works, with 8 more queer science fiction and fantasy books, releasing from July to December 2026!
Read through our amazing new stories in the "Books" section below!
In this campaign, you can get any of the new books, or any of our back catalog, in eBook or paperback format (signed by the authors)! Want to know what's coming next? The schedule is below, or you can visit the Space Wizard Coming Soon Page for full descriptions of all the books.
As a reader, you can get hardcovers, signed books, trilogies, diverse stories, and even a subscription to Space Wizard! You just have to sit back, read, and enjoy! There are also some cool buttons, pins, and keychains. Finally, we've introduced our new Tea with Books, with an ever-expanding number of choices!
This campaign will pay for great covers for the upcoming books, as well as editing, publishing fees, and other cool things like illustrations!
Releasing from July to December 2026, we've got four standalone books, and another three series and sequels coming your way!
July 2026:Lucianus, by C.J. Beshara (in-progress cover below)- Lucianus is one of the most destructive wizards of all time. For his crimes, he was executed.
To his shock he awakens, in a body not his own, summoned by powerful magic with no clue as to why. He's soon discovered by Auran, a knife-wielding traveler suspicious of his strange and sudden presence. Displaced from his own era and at a loss for what to do, Lucianus begs Auran's help in finding his feet. Auran reluctantly agrees, and so together they strike out across the changed lands Lucianus once called home, looking for an explanation.
The purpose of Lucianus' summoning soon becomes clear: he's been tasked with murder, as befits his violent reputation as a battlewizard. Yet what should be a straightforward objective turns complicated, for the spell that binds him to life will end once the task is complete. His body is borrowed. His time is short. He must reach the appointed place and complete his task...but that means a return to death, and there's nothing he wants less. He'd rather enjoy this borrowed life for himself. And Auran, though he proves a competent guide, seems to have his own purposes, purposes that may go against what Lucianus' summoner wants.
The scars of his past rise against him, a decades-old drama closes in, and still his fate is sealed. Lucianus will die a second time. What happens until then is up to him.
Early August 2026: Aliens in New Florida, by Carmen Loup, author of the Audacity Omnibus (and in the same universe). Two years ago in a post-apocalyptic Florida, Mick’s village was raided, and she’s been searching for her lost girlfriend ever since. Her only clue is a note stuck to her machete: Meet me at The Kingdom. But The Kingdom isn’t easy to find, especially in a decrepit old solar-powered van.
On her journey, she meets Rawr, local cryptid, who not only knows where The Kingdom is, but will pay Mick to take them there to honor the dying wish of an old friend. An old friend who claims to be an omniscient alien and cheerfully tells Mick the exact circumstances of her own impending death.
Along the way, they get sacrificed by an alien cult; nearly collected by a homicidal diorama artisan; trapped in a liminal Waffle House; lost in the ruins of a theme park water ride; and chased by Putnam, mafia godmother and alien hunter.
All this cannot keep them from falling a little in love, but Rawr's a walking biohazard, and Mick’s closer than ever to reuniting with her lost lover. But when Mick discovers the truth behind the raid, her worldview is blasted into the cosmos and she must fight her own fate to save Rawr.
Late August 2026: Gunmaker, by Chris Gerrib: Martika Clybourne is the new legal consultant for the 433 Platinum Mining LLC on Gavin Station, a torus happily spinning inside the asteroid Eros. What was meant to be an easy job is turned upside-down when she’s called to investigate an officer killed by bullet wounds on a station with no projectile weapons.
Her investigation turns up more corruption and shady business than she thought possible for such a small colony. But when the operations manager Shah dies of natural causes, two sides form: the officers and company enforcers against the station workers. Martika quickly realizes Shah was the only person holding this spinning station of unrest together, and it may be up to her to keep it from turning to chaos.
Come for the civil unrest and stay for the rebellion, in Gunmaker, by Chris Gerrib!
September 2026: Romance and the Gentle Art of Rocket Racing, by Rena Rocford, author of the recently released Mothball Magic: Gerry has the unenviable task of marrying off her once-lover Sora to her half-brother, Reggie. Who is also the king of their colony. Oh, and also no one can know Reggie is her half-brother because of a gaggle of political and secret agendas that would cause Gerry to lose her entire inheritance. In addition, King Reginald is one misstep away from a medical emergency because of his many genetic illnesses. Also a secret.
So what’s a girl to do but to serve as ambassador and wedding coordinator for her secret half-brother, secretly invalid king to procure the galaxy-renown butterfly silks of Estria to make the wedding go off without a hitch? But then disaster strikes Estria just as the negotiations start with a staggeringly attractive representative of the Katagani silk conglomerate, Kalia. Gerry is stuck with only Sora, Kalia, and her skills in rocket racing to make sure the wedding goes as planned and her brother stays in power! It's The Scarlet Pimpernel in space! Brush off your manners in Romance and the Gentle Art of Rocket Racing by Rena Rocford!
October 2026: Pressure Magic (in-progress cover below) - book 3 of William C. Tracy's Shifting Lands fantasy series. While Chimor is under siege, they will learn.
Silluka has escaped the battle at Chimor with her brother, her girlfriend, and the ever-present Lugopo. But when they crash-land on an island in the middle of the burning ocean, they quickly discover the existence of worldbeasts. The island is, in fact, a giant sea otter floating on her back.
There is one house on the sea otter’s belly, belonging to Maisah, the flamesmith. Maisah is one of the immortals, individuals so powerful they make Silluka’s skills laughable. Fortunately, Maisah is willing to teach the group, between the objects of power they craft for other immortals—objects that could affect entire nations. Silluka and her crew must learn enough to return to Chimor, grow strong enough to make a difference against the invaders and the downfall of the gods.
But there is a time limit. As the power of Silluka’s gods wanes, other species’ gods grow in power. Chimor has never fallen, and Silluka and her friends may be the only ones who can keep their gods from becoming only a memory.
November 2026: Promise of Manifest, by Alex Kingsley - Find out what happens in the conclusion of The Bastion Cycle, following Empress of Dust (the 2025 Small Spec Book award winner for Science Fiction)and Relic of Haven!
After tragedy struck the Ivies, the remaining members went their separate ways. While some piece together what’s left of their lives, Harvard is out for revenge. But he can’t take on Bastion’s biggest corporations alone. He needs both human and crab allies when he strikes out into the dusts for what may be the final time.
The corps are locked in a race not only to found the next city, but to pioneer the next stage of human survival on Earth. Is there any cost too great to save a species? If everything is fated to become crab, is it wrong to hurry that process along?
Harvard and his friends find themselves at the core of an existential struggle for not only the future of Bastion but the future of life on Earth — and it’s beginning to look like some of them won’t make it out alive.
December 2026: Queen and Obsidian, by J.S. Fields, the start of a trilogy of science fiction space opera stories. It begins with Queen: Nobody leaves Queen. On the tidally locked, women-only planet, a vulva and an authority problem are the only immigration requirements. Emigration is banned.
Ember spends her days cruising Queen’s endless sand dunes, hunting sand pirates and wallowing in memories of her dead wife. After an ambush, Ember is dragged to the pirate camp and learns her wife’s biggest secret—before her death, she’d joined the pirates, built an illegal spaceship, and plotted to leave the planet.
Ember’s sister, Nadia, hatches a desperate rescue that leads her to the very edge of the habitable zone. There, Nadia stumbles across other secrets kept—a flourishing, impossible ecosystem and a New Earth mining installation. Queen’s hidden resource, highly sought-after and limited, should have made its inhabitants rich. Instead, Queen’s scientists live in decaying houses, battle the elements, and struggle to eke out a living.
Ember, Nadia, and the sand pirates must take back the planet and expose the corrupt New Earth mining. Taming giant beetles, wrestling stinkhorn fungi, and enlisting Queen’s rabbit population in a high-stakes aerial battle are just part of the hijinks that will determine Queen’s fate as a galactic player, as well as the futures of all its conscripted inhabitants.
Coming a few weeks after is Obsidian (in-progress cover below), the second book, which follows the events of the first book!
Space Wizard is proud to present our first graphic novel! Hand drawn by Carmen Loup, The Audacity graphic novel covers the events of book one in full color hilarity! If you're a fan of The Audacity Omnibus, and Aliens in New Florida, you don't want to miss this one. See Xan in his fancy racing hat! NOTE: This graphic novel is only available as an addon. If you ONLY want the graphic novel, select the "Keeping an eye on things!" pledge level for $1 and add the graphic novel.
At Space Wizard, we also publish Collector's Hardbacks, if you want a whole series in one cover (usually with an extra short story or two...). NOTE: THESE STORIES ARE AVAILABLE AS ADDONS! IF YOU ONLY WANT A HARDBACK, SELECT THE "Keeping an eye on things!" PLEDGE LEVEL FOR $1 AND ADD YOUR HARDBACK! We also have LOTS of add-ons for bundles of individual authors as ebooks, which you can add in the same way!
NEW: The Quirk & Moth Omnibus by Robin C.M. Duncan. A hard science fiction series about a quirky detective and his foulmouthed teenage ward, solving mysteries and foiling plots in the near future! This contains the books The Mandroid Murders, The Carborundum Conundrum, and The Rigel Redemption, as well as the short stories The Bibliothek Betrayal and never-before-published The Hygeia Hijack!
To pledge for just this volume, select the "keeping an eye on things!" pledge level for $1 and add The Quirk & Moth Omnibus as an addon (1100 page option).
NEW: Space Wizard Novellas Volume 1! This is a collection of all the novellas published by Space Wizard from 2022 to 2025. Explore a wide range of queer science fiction and fantasy stories, in shorter format!
To pledge for just this volume, select the "keeping an eye on things!" pledge level for $1 and add Space Wizard Novellas Volume 1 as an addon (650 page option).
The Audacity Omnibus by Carmen Loup is a humorous sci-fi trilogy, about a human abducted from Earth, a draft dodger, and a goddess of chaos. If you like Douglas Adams, you'll like this! ONLY available in omnibus format! Contains The Audacity, The Audacity 2: Time Warp, The Audacity 3: Be Kind, Rewind, plus the short story Bite.
To pledge for just this volume, select the "keeping an eye on things!" pledge level for $1 and add The Audacity as an addon (650 page option).
The Biomass Conflux by William C. Tracy. A hard sci-fi series about a generational fleet trying to build a colony on a planet entirely covered by sentient fungus. However, the colonists are not aware the fungus is sentient, at first. Plus, the fungus has its own point of view in the story! Contains Of Mycelium and Men, To a Fungus Unknown, and The Spores of Wrath, plus the novella Down Among the Mushrooms!
To pledge for just this volume, select the "keeping an eye on things!" pledge level for $1 and add The Biomass Conflux as an addon (650 page option).
The Dissolution Cycle - (NEW COVER!) and Tales of the Dissolutionverse are science fantasy space operas by William C. Tracy, using music-based magic. The Dissolution Cycle contains an epic trilogy, where a young man must learn to use magic while dealing with voids of energy threatening the homeworlds. Tales of the Dissolutionverse contains 10 short stories and novellas from the same universe with music-based magic as The Dissolution Cycle, from action and adventure, politics and intrigue, a Sherlock Holmesian murder mystery, a Jules Verne-style adventure, and slices of life from around the ten homeworlds!
To pledge for just these volumes, select the "keeping an eye on things!" pledge level for $1 and add The Dissolution Cycle (1100 page option) or Tales of the Dissolutionverse (650 page option) as an addon.
Ardulum: Origins is J.S. Fields' space opera. It concerns Emn, a powerful engineered being who might just be a god, and Neek, an outcast who has rejected her religion. The story develops over a full trilogy, revealing more of the charted systems, cellulose-based technology, and gods who may not be as divine as expected. The omnibus contains all that, plus all the new short stories in the re-released books, plus all of the content of Tales from Ardulum together in one beautifully bound book!
To pledge for just this volume, select the "keeping an eye on things!" pledge level for $1 and add Ardulum: Origins as an addon (1100 page option).
Welcome to The Book Bazaar, a celebration of all things indie and small press! We're collaborating to help make each creator's dreams come true with their publishing project. The more you back, the more goodies you earn. 🌟 Back five projects, get an exclusive reward. We're offering an exclusive The Book Bazaar reward to anyone who goes all out and backs five or more projects.
Here's a selection of great projects in the collection to start you off!
So what is currently available from Space Wizard? All the books you see below, and you can get any of these in this campaign too! We have a lot of books! Don't know what to pick? Browse the Space Wizard booklist to help make your choice. Try this way to whittle things down:
Pick Fantasy or Science Fiction in Book Genre.
Or, if you don't care, pick Book Type and choose between Novella, Stand Alone, or Series.
If you don't have strong feelings on that either, pick what LGBTQIA+ representation you want to see between M/M, F/F, Bi/Pan, Ace, Trans, Nonbinary, or Poly!
You can then filter further by one of the other categories, or pick a single Book Series you're interested in.
Space Wizard Science Fantasy is a labor of love, seeking to uplift those voices who are not heard as clearly as they should be. We also seek to pay people their worth, and this campaign will help make that happen. The base funding goal will be used to pay for book cover costs, as well as copy editing and copyright costs.
At $6,500 We will pay for a new cover for the Quirk&Moth collection of three books and 3 short stories and all backers get an eBook copy. Over 1000 pages! At $7,500 We will pay for a new cover for the Space Wizard novella collection of five novellas and all backers get an eBook copy! Over 650 pages! At $9,000 J.S. Fields will write a new short story and everyone gets a digital copy, distributed through Bookfunnel! At $11,000 We will pay for the audiobook of Lofty Mountains, and all backers will receive a free copy!
Do you love books? We do too. That's why Space Wizard strives to make exciting adventures across time and space. If there's juuuust one more book you want, you can add it on when you pledge in eBook or paperback format.
Want to show your love? What's better than a pin, button, or keychain with Space Wizard on it! Maybe some stickers and decals for your laptops, cars, bottles, windows, or wherever you want?
We have some fantastic swag from Geek Girl Stuff!
Simply choose your addon(s) when you pledge, in the pledge manager. If you picked a digital reward, you'll be asked for your address when choosing a physical addon.
So what authors are included in the fifth year of Space Wizard? You've seen them in their interviews (and if you haven't, give them a watch), but check out the full list of names below!
C.J. Beshara (they/them) is a nonbinary fantasy and science fiction writer living in New England. They can be found on Bluesky @cjbeshara.bsky.social, on Instagram @cjbeshara, and on their website cjbeshara.com.
Carmen Loup (they/them) is a non-binary humorologist, illustrator of “Tarot in Space,” and author of The Audacity space opera novel and comic series. They’ve been writing seriously since 2007 and funnily since 2015. Loup’s work is inspired by Douglas Adams, Kurt Vonnegut, Ram Dass, and Alan Watts.
They own Cosmic Corner, a spiritual supply and education center in Savannah, GA where they teach Yoga, Meditation, and Tarot classes. Book an online Tarot or Akashic Records reading, or one-on-one Tarot training with them at their website: https://www.carmenloup.com/.
Chris Gerrib has wanted to be a writer since he was a child riding his bicycle to the library in the small Central Illinois town where he grew up. Since then, he spent a tour in the US Navy, got an MBA, and now has a day job with a multi-national software company as a Project Manager. For fun, he plays golf, travels and is a voracious reader. He lives in the Chicago suburbs and is active in his local Rotary Club.
Like most mad scientists, Rena Rocford (she/her) has made an art form of living seamlessly among the normals. Today the bills, tomorrow the world. With a long history of shady labs and government projects, Rena now creates nerdy art and enjoys rolling polyhedrons at imaginary monsters with her family and friends. Her previous publishing exploits include a YA fantasy, Acne, Asthma, And Other Signs You Might Be Half Dragon, that spent weeks in Amazon’s top 100. Rena’s next book, Mothball Magic was unleashed in 2026.
William C. Tracy (he/him) Owner and editor for Space Wizard Science Fantasy! His largest work is the Dissolutionverse: a space opera with music-based magic including nine books and a TTRPG. He’s also published Fruits of the Gods, an epic fantasy with seasonal fruit magic; How to Operate Your Body, a nonfiction book about body mechanics and correct posture; and The Biomass Conflux, a sci-fi trilogy with colony ships and a planet covered by a sentient fungus. He’s currently working on a progression fantasy series about martial arts and moving islands. William is an NC native, has a master’s in mechanical engineering, has trained in Wado-Ryu karate since 2003, and keeps bees.
Alex Kingsley (they/them) is a writer, comedian, and game designer. They are a cofounder of Strong Branch Productions, where they write and direct the Audioverse-Finalist sci-fi comedy podcast The Stench of Adventure. They’ve been a voice actor for various other podcasts, including Whisperling and Spirit Box Radio. Works include Empress of Dust, Creatures of Ruin RPG, The Strange Garden and Other Weird Tales, Unplanned Obsolescence. Find them at https://alexjkingsley.wordpress.com/
J.S.Fields (they/them) (@Galactoglucoman) is a scientist who has spent too much time around organic solvents. They enjoy roller derby, woodturning, making chain mail by hand, and cultivating fungi in the backs of minivans. You can find their books at www.jsfieldsbooks.com. To read more in the Ardulum universe, and more of J.S.’s work, join their Patreon at http://www.patreon.com/jsfields
Finally, we have some incredibly talented artists also contributing to the campaign! Carmen Loup not only wrote Aliens in New Florida, they also drew the cover!
Serene Chia is creating the cover for Pressure Magic! Hanna "Spoon" Wilson is creating the cover for Lucianus! MoorBooks is our excellent cover designer for the rest of the books!
Thanks also go to our esteemed copy editors! Until last year, Heather Tracy has been the only one copy editing all the books releasing from Space Wizard. We've added our good friend Courtney Brooks to the copy editing pool, to help get through all those books a little faster! And since we now have some more copy editing resources, you'll see we have two different copy editing backer levels!
My shipping fees are from my experience in the last five campaigns. Note the above numbers are estimates. Shipping will be added when you fill out your survey form, and is based on your location. Generally, US shipping for one book will be about $7, three books will be about $9, and five books is around $11. See below for International shipping.
Subscription Box:
To keep shipping costs manageable, the next 6 months worth of Space Wizard books will be sent all at one time, around December 2026. This brings shipping costs for all the books down to around $15. If you want to get each book as it's released, just pick the "multiple shipment option" addon for the US (see below).
International Shipping:
Yep. It's expensive. The cost starts around $30 for one book, shipping to Canada, and $50 international. The price will go up for extra books by weight. For example, another 2 books will add around $5-10 in shipping. Backers will be responsible for all VAT, import taxes, and tariffs. This sometimes amounts to another $20-$30. This is the cheapest I've been able to find shipping for, especially if you are getting multiple books. I'd recommend getting the eBooks, and then you can get as many as you want!
If you do want to order physical books, especially for the subscription box options, I've set the shipping to send you the books after they are all released, however, you'll get them as late as December 2026, after the latest publish date, depending on which ones you choose.
Multiple Shipment Option! I will send out each book to you as it arrives (US only), but this is an extra shipping charge. To get the physical books as they release, pick the "multiple shipment option" in the addons either in the campaign or when you fill out the survey afterward. Then each book will be sent individually, and the total shipping will be around $45. This covers shipping you around 7 boxes over the course of the next 6 months, each one containing a new adventure!
Where's all the money going? Risks and challenges.
These projects will be published, at a base level, even if the campaign is not funded. This campaign is to help realize the full potential of this indie publishing company to start out each book without any debt so the authors can see immediate returns on their hard work.
Books will be published, around one a month, so as a backer, you can expect to see an electronic copy of the book a few weeks before it's released. If you backed the physical version as well it will be delivered around the release date (if you picked the multiple shipment option) or otherwise once all books you've backed are released. The Year 5 subscription will be delivered in one shipment around December 2026.
There are always risks and challenges with determining a budget for a campaign such as this, but I am a Professional Engineer by training, have spent the last 20 years in cost and benefit analysis, and now do data analysis for a living (along with publishing). I have accurately assessed costs for large projects in my work environment so I have a good understanding of how and where money is spent, and I have applied that knowledge to my previous campaigns. See below for how the money from the campaign is used:
Even if you don't pledge, thanks for taking the time to read this through! We strive to deliver quality queer stories to you with a professional feel. We hope Space Wizard will continue to expand, making plenty of stories where everyone can see themselves.
We have eight great authors and books this campaign is helping to fund, and chances are you've heard at least one of those names. Please spread the word, and I hope to see you all back in October (or maybe before!) with more books!
- William C. Tracy
Book Bazaar Summer Bonanza
Welcome to Book Bazaar Summer Edition, a celebration of all things indie and small press! We're collaborating to help make each creator's dreams come true with their publishing project. The more you back, the more goodies you earn. Here's how you can earn more:
Back more, earn more! ⭐Claim your Book Bazaar Summer Edition 2026 sticker sheet today by backing 5 or more projects. Each sticker sheet has all the book covers included! Plus, check out individual creators for special collaborations between projects. 👀
What is The Book Bazaar?
During this event, authors/indie presses run their own crowdfunding campaigns, with hopes of funding their publishing project. All campaigns run at the same time, and each campaign cross-promotes one another. Each campaign runs on an all-or-nothing basis, which means if they don’t meet their minimum goal, they can’t create their projects. 🙁 That’s why we’re hoping to count on you, the lovely reader, to help uplift these publishers and really make this Bazaar something special!
The more projects you back, the more rewards you’ll get. Some Bazaar projects are paired with another project, and by backing both Bazaar projects, you’ll get EXTRA free rewards! Back all Bazaar projects to maximize your rewards!
