It’s an exciting day: we’ve finalized the eBook of Mordschlag Issue #0. Check your BackerKit downloads to claim your copy. If you have any issues, contact James at [email protected].
Also we have an first look of one of our new Dark Fantasy books by James D. Mills. You can listen to the first chapter of A Ghost at Kolonade on his YouTube channel. Follow the pre-launch of our upcoming campaign to get free eBook of his first book, Ashen Rider, and a related Sword & Sorcery short story.
Happy Friday! Since we hit our $15,000 stretch goal, our friends at Battleborn Magazine have made the eBook of their first issue available to EVERY BACKER. This is now available. Check your digital rewards on BackerKit and claim this slick eBook (very polished, very accessible, and great stories).
Also—launching soon is The Arcanist's Dark & Weird Fantasy Novels. We're funding not one—but two new fantasies inspired by myth, history, and (most importantly) Swords & Sorcery that will scratch the chilly, spooky season itch.
Follow the pre-launch to claim:
a free eBook of my first Weird Dark Fantasy novel, Ashen Rider
a free eBook of A Feast for Pan, a Sword & Sorcery short story set before the events of the new book.
a bookmark illustrated by Eden Louisa. my lovely wife and our marketing director (for followers that back a physical tier).
I've been pressing my nose to the grindstone getting these magazines ready for launch. Largely, things are progressing very smoothly, however we've experienced some hiccups and changes of plans, which I'll get into.
Here's the TLDR:
All four TLFM issues are finished and ready for print. All eBooks are available to Backers.
Mordschlag Issue #0 is undergoing the final proofread before being sent off to printers. eBook available by Mid-Late October.
Mordschlag Issue #1 is awaiting illustration commissions and finishing up editorial. eBook aiming for November or December.
Fulfillment for physical products will likely be pushed back to January.
We've switched from a traditional printing provider to a POD provider for this run. Many reasons for this, outlined below.
The Literary Fantasy Magazine (all four issues are done!)
I've just received the proof copies for all four TLFM issues. They are done and ready to print. Pre-BackerKit subscribers, if any of you came here for Mordschlag, will receive your TLFM issues ahead of the pack. Meanwhile, BackerKit paperbacks of TLFM will be shipped with the rest of the rewards.
Check your digital rewards on BackerKit to get the Winter 2026 eBook Email [email protected] if you need help.
Mordschlag (#0 just about done; #1 still in the works)
I have prepared an eARC of Mordschlag #0 for reviewers, which is currently undergoing a proofread by the associate editor. Once the proofread is turned in and implemented, I will prepare the eBook version of #0 and make it available to Mordschlag backers.
I have received the paperback proof of Mordschlag Issue #0 and am addressing the last few outstanding formatting quirks before placing the order with the printer.
#1 needs a bit more work. Primary editorial is just about finished but proofreads still need to be performed. Game design needs to be finalized, which will also be done by the end of October.
I have commissioned several pieces of artwork for Mord #1, which are due in by October 20th. So far, art is going smooth.
If all goes well, we should be printing both issues by November or December, and both issues will be available as eBooks to backers as they are completed.
Estimated Fulfillment for Physical Rewards
Since Mordschlag #1 is taking a bit longer to iron out, I have had to push back our estimated fulfillment date to January (which is also accommodating for the holidays). I plan to print everything in November, which should have a three-week turnaround.
If it's possible to ship sooner, I will.
Change of Printer Plans
I fought hard to get traditional printing for these magazines but ultimately I could not strike a deal that made sense for the scope of this project.
Since June 2026, I've spoken and quoted with three printers and could not strike a balance between cost, quantity, and quality—all three quotes were asking me to choose two when I required all three.
So I've decided to remain with our existing printing service, Bookvault, which has always taken good care of us and our readers. Though the service is print on demand rather than traditional offset printing, I find their papers to be higher quality and their global distribution to be more accessible to international readers. It simply made more sense to use their services for this project.
For these magazines I'm not willing to make any compromises on quality, and since I've acquired a proof of Mordschlag #0 and I'm pleased to report that the quality is excellent—the image heavy pages have 0 visible bleed, which would have been a problem on the papers offered by the traditional printers. Carrying the issue in my pocket, it's proving to be rugged and durable. It's even a bit weighty due to the heavier paper weight, which makes it feel very nice in the hand.
Pictures attached below.
Thank you for all the support. I'm loving working on these magazines and I can't wait for you all to get your hands on them.
I am beyond proud of what we have achieved this last month. Because of the support of 234 backers, we raised $15,515 (a very nice, very round number) to bring our 2026 Fantasy Magazines to life.
Join our community!
If you've been following our journey or helped us along the way, please accept my humble invitation to join our community.
We have a Discord with over 260 members. You can join here!
We have a weekly email letter that delivers free Fantasy short fiction every Friday! Sign up here.
Production Timeline
eBooks for The Literary Fantasy Magazine Spring 2026 and Summer 2026 are available via instant access, as is the eBook for every one of our novels. Further ebooks for Mordschlag, TLFM Autumn and Winter, and The March by M. Frost will be made available as they're finalized in the coming weeks. Battleborn eBooks should be made available soon.
I am aiming to place an order with our printers for Paperbacks in the next month. I will be working over the next month with the goal of getting physical rewards out before the holidays. Keep an eye out for the survey and shipping fee, which should be sent out a few weeks before fulfillment.
I will send out regular updates as developments occur and as books become available.
Special Thanks
First and foremost, thank you to the backers who supported us. The results of this campaign have blown me away and unlocked previously undreamed of opportunities.
There were several folks who were exceptionally supportive during this time and I want to take some time to shout them out.
Thank you to Jonathan Olfert and Graham Wilcox of Old Moon Publishing for collaborating with us on their on-going BackerKit campaign. We worked together to combine our crowds and provide those who backed with an excellent bonus.
Seers in a Broken Season is in its final days of BackerKit: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/old-moon-publishing/seers-in-a-broken-season-a-stone-and-sorcery-novella?ref=bk-discover-partner-project-12169
Thank you to Sean C.W. Korsgaard for generously providing eBooks of Battleborn Magazine #1 to all of our backers, for loudly shouting support for Mordschlag, and for taking the time to show me around GenCon.
Keep an eye out for Battleborn Year Two on Kickstarter!
Thank you to Oliver Brackenbury of Brackenbury Books for the encouragement, advice, and for sharing the project with the New Edge Sword and Sorcery audience.
Follow BB's next campiagn for their second round of S&S novellas: https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/brackenbooks/new-edge-sword-sorcery-novellas-2026/pre-launch?ref=bk-discover-user-profile
Thank you to Paul Wolfe for publicly supporting Mordschlag and printing a Mordschlag ad in issue 1 of Swords Against!
Thank you to Cozzy of the Gung-ho Geeks for conducting an excellent interview and boosting the heck out of Mordschlag.
Thank you to E Rathke for featuring me on the Wolf Podcast and rushing out the episode to help promote the final 48 hours of the campaign.
Thank you to Erik Goodwyn for mentioning us in several videos, converting to the dark side of Howardian Fantasy, and for his support and friendship in our joint authorial efforts.
Thank you to S.E. Lindberg for running our press release on Black Gate and for the consistent enthusiasm, support, and friendship.
Thank you to Jacob Gillam for his friendship, distributing our fliers and promotional copies, and for contributing a heck of a fun essay to Mordschlag #1.
Thank you to Erik Waag for mentioning our campaign on his newsletter and for boosting our signal.
Thank you to Matthew John for inviting me to co-host the Rogues in the House Podcast and coming up with the unofficial power metal theme song for Mordschlag.
Thank you to Bryn Hammond for contributing an excellent tale of Goatskin to Mordschlag #1 and for boosting our signal.
Thank you to Cairn X. Petrick for enthusiasm and boosting our signal.
Thank you to M. Stern for contributing a last minute novelette to Issue #0 of Morschlag and boosting our signal.
Thank you to Jason M. Waltz for the kind reviews, advice, and boosting our signal.
Thank you to our staff, particularly Liam Pisano, Menke HB, and C.R. Aramais for supporting the project and their hard work in our largest submission period to date.
Thank you to my wife, Eden, for working hard on the marketing for this project and for supporting me during the second-most pressing period of this year.
Thank to Lee Patton for keeping our operations running while I've been occupied with crowdfunding.
Thank you to our contributors who invited their friends and family to purchase the magazines.
Okay... I think that's everyone. This all goes to show, it takes a village to get a publishing venture off the ground and we couldn't have done it without the support of the S&S community and our fellow publishers who have been so gracious and companionable since my arrival to the space.
TODAY: Friday, August 21st at 3pm EDT is your last chance to pledge.
More good news for our backers: We reached our stretch goal of $15,000 and partnered with Battleborn Magazine to bring backers a FREE copy of their eBook issue #1 for every backer! If you missed it, we've also enabled the pay over time feature, meaning backers who pledge over $150 automatically qualify for four monthly auto-payments instead of being charged in full up front.
What's Coming Next?
Our next stretch goal of $17,500 will enable us to supply a new short story to issue #0 of Mordschlag. Even more excellent, action-packed S&S for our readers. Can we count on you to help us hit this stretch goal?
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