Fantasy is a genre into which I have only recently dipped a toe. That dipping has been due to George Phillies, President of The National Fantasy Fan Federation (N3F). In the summer of 2022 he asked if he could use a couple of my Writing Tips articles in one of the federation’s newsletters that go out to members. I agreed. Then he asked to use another, and I again agreed. (See my post here.) Then I told him to go ahead and use any others he wanted. The partnership seems amenable.
But the best was yet to come.
George’s request prompted me to peruse the federation’s website where I saw a link to their short story contest for 2022. I dug back through some old writings. A story I had written years ago was still in my mind. I found it, touched it up, and submitted it. Later, I wrote other stories and thought one would also fit their contest, so I sent it in. Entries were being accepted through December 31st, so the hard part of waiting for the results began.
And a couple days ago, I got that result!
Book of Memories won third prize.
The B’raith was a finalist.
Such satisfaction to know that others found my work pleasurable and worthy. My thanks to them all. (The stories were assessed without the assessor knowing the author’s name.)
Watch this page on their site for the announcement of the winners for 2022 (finalists aren’t listed there, though). And members will get the stories in their email or mail.
If you’re not a member, send a message on the Contact page to sign up or request a copy. I respect their setup and so cannot send out the publication to anyone directly.
Meanwhile, I will continue writing more fantasy stories. Frankly, I find them rather freeing, letting my imagination soar. I have also noticed that I have a hard time ending them on a negative note. Even the most horrific incidents I can imagine are overcome with things ending happily for the most part.
About N3F
If you’re a fan and/or author of science fiction and fantasy, the National Fan Fantasy Federation is an organization you’ll want to check out.
The organization was formed in 1941, long before the internet. Their mission is bringing together fans of “science fiction and fantasy, broadly defined.” They eschew politics and focus on the fiction, tough to do these days and rather rare. It’s also refreshing.
Over the years, the group has embraced the new technology, having a noticeable presence online with their website, some e-mail only publications such as the above-named newsletter, and social media groups such as this one.
They have members-only groups that include a Writer’s workshop, an Artist’s Bureau, the WelCommittee (the original one), fanzines, and a Games Bureau. If you’re an author, you can also request a critique.
Publications:
- The National Fantasy Fan, the club newsletter, containing “club business, information about club activities and areas of interest, free space for member ads, member art, poetry, letters of comment, member-written articles and reviews, and other fannish material.” Emailed as a PDF attachment or paper copy sent through mail (at considerably greater expense).
- Tightbeam (email-only zine) – art, long and short reviews of books and fanzines, and letters of comment.
- Ionisphere (email-only zine) – the journal of the N3F Fan-Pro Coordinating Activity Bureau, promotes “a closer relationship between science fiction and fantasy fans and the writers and editors and artists who create this form of literature.” Also publishes long interviews with famous fans and writers. Currently bimonthly.
- N’APA (email-only zine) – amateur press association, bimonthly.
- Origin (email-only zine) – no description on site.
- The N3F Review of Books (email-only zine) – no description on site.
- Eldritch Science (email-only zine) – fiction, poetry, and art magazine, publishes longer works of fiction (7500 words to complete novels), poems, and related artwork.
- Films Fantastic (email-only zine) – no description on site.
- Mangaverse. (email-only zine) – manga, anime, comic books, and aspects of Japanese culture.
- Occasional books or shorter pamphlets
Hope you found this helpful and have been inspired to check them out.
Disclaimer: I get no compensation for links in this post or on my site to other sites and/or products.
“But hey,” you might say, “they’re not published.”
As a followup to the flash fiction (<1,000 words) story Walter that was posted a couple weeks ago on a site called The Writers Club, I sent them Wind Down the Chimney, my first ever horror genre short story (>7k words). Happy to say that it was just posted but sadly without centering where I had and without the italicized and bolded text. Never fear. I have posted here a PDF copy in its correct form instead.
A.C. Cargill, Author 