SpiralCon 3 Panel #1: NEITHER BEG NOR YIELD: EMPLOYING THE S&S ATTITUDE.

Our first panel, Saturday, July 27th, 9:00a-9:50a, will be

NEITHER BEG NOR YIELD: EMPLOYING THE S&S ATTITUDE.

The panel will be presented by the managing editor of Rogue Blades Entertainment, Jason M Waltz. Here are brief introductions to the participants. Panelists will discuss about how they use the S&S Attitude in their fiction writing, and how they would recommend other writers employ or try to follow it.

Jason M. Waltz is one of the most prominent editors and publisher in the speculative fiction genre, known for his steadfast dedication to sword and sorcery literature. As the founder of Rogue Blades Entertainment, Waltz has championed the works of both emerging and established authors, fostering a vibrant community of S&S enthusiasts. His editorial expertise and passion for high-adventure storytelling have led to the creation of acclaimed anthologies such as Rage of the Behemoth, Return of the Sword, and most recently, Neither Beg Nor Yield.

C.L. Werner is our guest of honor. We wrote a longer treatment of Werner's accolades HERE.

Adrian Cole, an esteemed British fantasy author, is renowned for his contributions to the sword and sorcery (S&S) genre. Over the years, Cole has crafted an impressive body of work characterized by vivid fantasy elements, intricate and exciting plots, and compelling characters. His celebrated series, The Dream Lords, has earned him a devoted following among fantasy enthusiasts. Recently he had been extending the adventures of Elak of Atlantis, the sword and sorcery hero originally created by Henry Kuttner, with most recent editions being published by Parallel Universe Publications.

Eadwine Brown, a long time editor at Games Workshop, is also a talented sword and sorcery author  in his own right with his fiction appearing in several Rogue Blades Entertainment anthologies. Particularly, "Vengeance, With Wind and Tide," appeared in Neither Beg Nor Yield, and was praised by James Reasoner in this way: "Just a superb story, written in a style reminiscent of Robert E. Howard, with plenty of action, a strong protagonist, and a vividly realized setting."

Lawrence Weinstein, another emerging sword and sorcery author and contributor to Neither Beg Nor Yield, will be participating. More about Weinstein's writing projects can be learned HERE.

SpiralCon 3 Guest of Honor: C.L. Werner

 We are happy to announce the Guest of Honor of SpiralCon 3 (virtual this year) is C.L. Werner. 

C.L. Werner is a prolific fantasy author renowned for his contributions to the Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 universes. His writing career spans over two decades, during which he has produced a vast array of novels, novellas, and short stories that delve into the dark and intricate lore of the Old World, the Age of Sigmar, and the Imperium of Man. Werner’s storytelling is distinguished by its detailed world-building, complex and morally ambiguous characters, and a blend of action, horror, intrigue, and a frisson of dark insights. His notable sword and sorcery touchstones include the ruthless bounty hunter Brunner, the relentless witch hunter Mathias Thulmann, the Skaven Grey Seer Thanquol, and the doomed Vulfnir, the Chaos-touched Norscan. Werner has also explored the history of the Old World, adding depth and complexity to the dark origin of the Skaven in the Skaven Wars: Black Plague Trilogy. Outside of the Black Library, Werner has written for Marvel's Legends of Asgard Series (i.e., The Sword of Surtur and Three Swords), and a four-part Solomon Kane tale, "The Get of Garm." For Guillotine Games, Werner has written a trilogy set in the Zombicide setting: Age of the Undead, Isle of the Undead, and City of the Undead. Most recently, Werner has been writing original sword and sorcery set in a fantasy world based on Feudal Japan featuring the Samurai Shintaro Oba, with a novel currently in the works. Werner's work has also appeared in the emerging indie sword and sorcery (S&S) zine and anthology scene, with stories appearing in Neither Beg Nor Yield (Rogues Blades), Tales from the Magician’s Skull (formerly Goodman Games), among others.

Mr. Werner's Q&A and will be at 10:00a EST until 10:50a EST.

Special thanks to go Jason M Waltz for connecting us with Mr. Werner and helping us to connect with such an esteemed GOH!

SpiralCon 3 is a free virtual con (on Saturday, January 27th, starting at 9a EST) celebrating the past, present, and future of sword and sorcery, cosmic horror, and space opera. 

You can find more information about the convention here: SpiralCon 3

SpiralCon 3 (Online) - Saturday, July 27th

 

Date and Location: Saturday, July 27th, 2024 online via conference software TBD.

Overview: SpiralCon is a not-for-profit, academic fan convention celebrating the genres of the unreal: science fiction, fantasy, and supernatural horror. It is organized by Spiral Tower Press, a small independent amateur press that publishes three free e-zines: Whetstone: Amateur Magazine of Sword and Sorcery, Witch House: Amateur Magazine of Cosmic Horror, and Way Stayion: Amateur Magazine of Space Opera. SpiralCon is a recreational enterprise meant to inspire intellectual discussion of pulp fiction and popular culture.

Guest of Honor: C.L. Werner is a prolific fantasy author renowned for his contributions to the Warhammer and Warhammer 40,000 universes. His writing career spans over two decades, during which he has produced a vast array of novels, novellas, and short stories that delve into the dark and intricate lore of the Old World, the Age of Sigmar, and the Imperium of Man. Werner’s storytelling is distinguished by its detailed world-building, complex and morally ambiguous characters, and a blend of action, horror, intrigue, and a frisson of dark insights. His notable sword and sorcery touchstones include the ruthless bounty hunter Brunner, the relentless witch hunter Mathias Thulmann, the Skaven Grey Seer Thanquol, and the doomed Vulfnir, the Chaos-touched Norscan. Werner has also explored the history of the Old World, adding depth and complexity to the dark origin of the Skaven in the Skaven Wars: Black Plague Trilogy. Outside of the Black Library, Werner has written for Marvel's Legends of Asgard Series (i.e., The Sword of Surtur and Three Swords), and a four-part Solomon Kane tale, "The Get of Garm." For Guillotine Games, Werner has written a trilogy set in the Zombicide setting: Age of the Undead, Isle of the Undead, and City of the Undead. Most recently, Werner has been writing original sword and sorcery set in a fantasy world based on Feudal Japan featuring the Samurai Shintaro Oba, with a novel currently in the works. Werner's work has also appeared in the emerging indie sword and sorcery (S&S) zine and anthology scene, with stories appearing in Neither Beg Nor Yield (Rogues Blades), Tales from the Magician’s Skull (formerly Goodman Games), among others.

Scope: SpiralCon is a one day online convention that begins at 9am and ends at approximately 6pm. The guest speakers do not receive financial remuneration for their appearances. In the past is has been held in two rooms in the Freeman Center at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, but will be online this year. Admission is free and RSVP is optional.

Organizers: Dr. Jason Ray Carney, Department of English, Christopher Newport University; Dr. Nicole Emmelhainz-Carney, Department of English, Christopher Newport University

Volunteers/Guests: If you are interested in volunteering for the event, please contact the organizers as jason.carney@cnu.edu 

8:30-8:50am: Gathering. No registration necessary. We will be using Gather.com for our conference software. Links to our conference virtual zone will be shared later, but, in the meantime, you might want to go to Gather.town (Virtual HQ) to create a free account.

9:00-9:50am: Panel #1: NEITHER BEG NOR YIELD: THE SWORD AND SORCERY ATTITUDE. Read the description HERE.

10:00-10:50am: Panel #2: Guest of Honor: C.L. Werner, Q&A. Learn more about C.L. Werner HERE.

11:00-11:50am: Presentation/Panel #3: Topic/ Guests TBD

12-1:30pm: Break.

1:30-2:20pm: Presentation/Panel #4: Topic/ Guests TBD

2:30-3:20pm: Presentation/Panel #5: Topic/ Guests TBD

Join our Discord Chat Server to discuss the event: https://discord.gg/kk3t6eZQRE

We have a Facebook group as well: Spiral Con 3 Facebook Group

This is our second time doing this; thanks for the support. 😊📚☕️

UPDATED: 6/21/2024

The Book of the Rogue, a Sword and Sorcery Anthology, by Jason Ray Carney

I have been writing Rogue stories for several years now. They are scattered throughout several publications at this point. I have the rights to all these stories now, and so I thought it would be cool to provide a PDF that brings them all together in one place. Indy Cavalier graciously allowed me to use his original art for the cover, and I incorporated clip art from the talented Gilead, Carlos Castilho, Corbac Lenoir, and Gray Moth into the PDF. Finally, as a conclusion, I included an essay I wrote for The Los Angeles Review of Books about sword and sorcery and escapist reading. If you read this, let me know what you think. It's been a pleasure writing these stories. -JRC

You can download the free PDF here: The Book of the Rogue

TriAPA Mailing #10

Spiral Tower Press has established an 'Amateur Press Association,' TRIAPA, and its tenth mailing is now available. We extend our sincere thanks to our excellent contributors. If you are interested in submitting a zine for TRIAPA #11 please send a 2-page zine (maximum) to spiraltowerpress@gmail.com with the subject of "TriAPA: [zine name]". We invite and encourage all fans of sword and sorcery, cosmic horror, and space opera to submit.

You can read more about TRIAPA HERE.

2024

You can download the tenth mailing here: TRIAPA Mailing #10

You can download the ninth mailing here: TRIAPA Mailing #9

You can download the eighth mailing here: TRIAPA Mailing #8

You can download the seventh mailing here: TRIAPA Mailing #7

You can download the sixth mailing here: TRIAPA Mailing #6

2023

You can download the fifth mailing here: TRIAPA Mailing #5

You can download the fourth mailing here: TRIAPA Mailing #4

You can download the third mailing here: TRIAPA Mailing #3

You can download the second mailing here: TRIAPA Mailing #2

You can download the first mailing here: TRIAPA Mailing #1

Interview with Matt Holder, author of Hurled Headlong Flaming

 

I interviewed Matt Holder, author of Hurled Headlong Flaming, the first novella in the Keen Blades series of novellas published by Spiral Tower Press. Check it out! -JRC, Managing Editor.