Yes, the crowdfund ends on Sept 26th at 12pm EST. Between the crowdfund exclusives, the shipping discount, and how you won't pay shipping until approximately mid-March 2027, there simply is no better time to seize this set of Sword & Sorcery novellas!

But what's the story behind them? Why do we make these novellas, and make them the way we do?

It should come as no surprise that we here at Brackenbury Books are big fans of classic second-wave Sword & Sorcery paperbacks from the mid-to-late 20th Century. We love their brisk, episodic storytelling wrapped in dynamic, compelling painted covers...

...and we hope it shows!



Notice how each novella has the subtitle "A Tale of...."?



This is because we feel strongly that Sword & Sorcery is character-driven first and foremost, and no matter the cover art or the title we want fans of any character we publish to have an easy time knowing they've found a story starring their favorite.

Or...favorites?

The idea came to us in 2023, but our quest truly began in 2024 with Double-Edged Sword & Sorcery, a love-letter to a classic line of Scif & Fantasy two-in-one books called "Ace Doubles"...and a way for a very new, tiny publisher to afford to put out two novellas instead of just one!



What you see above is two copies of the same book, flipped over to show each side. You read through one novella, flip the book around hey hey a second novella to enjoy! Keeping this format in mind we chose to pair two different takes on Mongol-inspired S&S; one locked into a city under siege, the other taking its characters on a long desert journey.



From the beginning we knew a nice full page piece of interior art placed right before the first page of the story (called a "frontispiece") was vital. We carried this practice forward into the next year, when we expanded to crowdfund a full set of four novellas!



That time, thanks to our mighty supporters we unlocked a new art feature: FANTASY CARTOGRAPHY.

Sword & Sorcery is a sub-genre of Fantasy, so of course we want to do everything we can to help you feel like you're being taken Somewhere Else...

We decided we couldn't risk living without Caster Jones' varied and wonderful maps, so with our next set of novellas we didn't make them a stretch goal; they now come standard. Speaking of those novellas, that brings us to...

 In the interest of variety, we didn't bring back all four of the same creative teams this year but...



...at this point you may have noticed some recurring author names and cover artists. Does that mean there's detailed series continuity you need to learn? Can you enjoy the 2026 novellas if you haven't read everything that's come before?

It's important to us that no matter which book you start with, you can have a great time. So, starting with Double-Edged Sword & Sorcery, we've worked with our authors to make sure that while you'll feel rewarded for collecting the full runs of any given character...





...you can start with any book on its own, with no knowledge of the character or setting, and have a great time!



It's our hope that eventually other characters than Goatskin & Orhan will develop their own novella series...

We love that we're getting to build these series that exemplify what we first set out to do with our magazine, bringing forward everything that makes Sword & Sorcery special while broadening its majestic vistas!



Thank you for making this possible. So, what's next?

As you can see, we're always looking to build upon the Sword & Sorcery we've published before. We also want to keep trying new things; right now we hope to make posters featuring our gorgeous cover art available - check out the poll attached to this post - and make retro style risograph 'zines a regular thing - check out that stretch goal attached to this post!  But first and foremost there's the less tangible, never-ending quest to keep finding authors & artists who can take us Somewhere Else...

If you haven't already, please consider backing and sharing this crowdfund, lending your mighty thews to ours as we stride forward into the future of Sword & Sorcery!

Keep your sword sharp and your sorcery numinous,

Backers outside the United States will now pay less for shipping, huzzah! That's $5 USD off shipping for Canadians, $10 USD off for the rest of the world. 

And with 17 days left I'm thinking we can get you a... 

This cover is actually FAN art, created by Goran Gligović because he just loves the adventures of Zeynep & Kawtar so much!

We're thinking you'll love them too, so the plan is to collect 17,000 words of their adventures, pay Goran to extend the cover into a full front-n'-back wraparound, and give it away to all backers of the crowdfund! Digital pledge backers will get it in ePub & PDF, and physical pledge backers will get a risograph printed 'zine. But what does "risograph" mean?



It's essentially a kind of old-fashioned photocopying that uses two big drums of color and can print much faster than normal 20th Century photocopiers. They create a very cool retro look that has been popular in recent years for things like band posters, indie comics, and 'zines. You can learn more about it at our printer's website: https://diskettepress.com/pages/riso-printing

The above is cover art for a bonus 'zine our backers of another crowdfund, for Molly Tanzer's BLUE FIRE, unlocked. You'll notice it's done in a style using a clever pairing of two dominant colors plus the white of the page, and that is the style we'll work with Goran to do for the wraparound Z&K cover!

So if you fancy getting a set of four excellent mass-market paperback S&S books AND a classic retro style, risograph printed, stapled 'zine with even more S&S tales in it...please consider backing (if you haven't already) and telling a friend or five about the crowdfund!



Finally, know that Jay Requard will be interviewing Dariel R.A. Quiogue this Thursday evening at 7pm EST right at the top of the crowdfund page! They'll discuss his popular character, Orhan Timur the Snow Leopard, the new Fields of Hell novella, writing craft and more.

Keep your swords sharp and your sorcery numinous,

Wow, we hit thus much more quickly than our first novella set crowdfund and I really appreciate the confidence you're showing in what we do!



We're already about of a quarter into unlocking our international shipping discount! With 20 days left I can see us going further still, toward...


...a 17,000 word collection of short stories starring Luanna Saitta's adventure duo!

Zeynep ain't much for talking. Kawtar wants to be heard at all costs.

Meet your new favorite sapphic sword & sorcery duo in four pulse-pounding tales of flashing steel, demonic forces, and stolen kisses in a sultry and dangerous desert setting!

If we hit $23,550 then all backers will receive a free 'zine!  PDF for digital backers, a risograph-printed 44 page stapled 'zine for physical backers. The cover art will also be extended into a full front & back wraparound illustration.



MEANWHILE

Thank you again for helping us fun these books, and for sharing your enthusiasm for them across ye olde social media - every bit helps! We believe strongly in Sword & Sorcery mass-market paperbacks with beautifully painted covers, and we're glad you do too.

Keep your swords sharp and your sorcery numinous,