Back in the days of yore, some 100 years ago at this point, pulp fiction magazines were everywhere. Publications like Weird Tales and Unknown Worlds were the places to be for short-fiction writers hoping to make a living.
Throughout the twentieth century, publications like these introduced the world to the likes of Robert E. Howard, H.P. Lovecraft, Clark Ashton Smith, C.L. Moore, Edgar Rice Burroughs, and countless others. Without such authors, fantasy as we know it would not exist.
While all sorts of genre fiction were represented among the pulps, I’ve always been most interested in Sword & Sorcery and Heroic Fantasy, action-packed tales featuring outsider heroes solving their problems with steel, guile, and decisive efficiency.
We love S&S here at The Arcanist, so much so that we’ve established a new magazine dedicated to it. We’ve also published Lee Patton’s debut novella, A Valley of Shadow, about an undead mercenary fighting to save a young girl pursued by monstrous men, which can be read on Arcanist Online for free in its entirety and is available as a classic-sized paperback.
S&S has been in stasis for some time; but in the last few years the genre is experiencing a revitalization. We are experiencing a Third Wave of Sword and Sorcery taking the literary landscape by storm. A fistful of magazines have cropped up and have been doing gangbusters on crowdfunding platforms.
If you’ve read our selection of Sword & Sorcery and ache for more sword-swinging badasses and tower-climbing scoundrels, I’ve curated a list (in no particular order) of all the active or recent Sword & Sorcery magazines I could find.
Whetstone: Amateur Magazine of Sword and Sorcery
Unfortunately, Whetstone is defunct as of December 2023. The good news is that the entire back catalogue of eight issues is available for free download.
Edited by Jason Ray Carney of Spiral Tower Press, a resident expert on Pulp Studies and academic coordinator of the Robert E. Howard Foundation, Whetstone is a master-crafted, low barrier starting point for anyone curious to see how S&S has evolved in the present decade.
The Chain Story
Helmed by Michael A. Stackpole (author of Rogue Squadron, Talion: Revenant, among countless other titles) the Chain Story project seeks to share S&S tales with a recurring narrative element (linking them together) written by a variety of authors.
The Chain Story has shared tales from pros like C.L. Werner (author of Shintaro Oba and several Warhammer novels), Bryan Young (authors of several Battletech novels) to recognizable S&S community members like Thomas Grayfson, Alina Lee, and our very own James D. Mills.
There are over a dozen entries to the Chain Story, most of which can be read freely online or in eBook format.
Tales From the Magician’s Skull
The first twelve issues of the Skull were edited by the legendary Howard Andrew Jones (author of The Hanuvar Chronicles) supported by Goodman Games and are largely considered some of the finest S&S magazines ever crafted. These issues were furnished with intense, OSR-inspired design and even a mash of Dungeon Crawl Classics compatible monsters at the end of the issue.
Outland Entertainment has since taken over publication of the Skull along with editor Cullen Bunn. Thus far, they have released two more issues, with more on the way.
Repeat TLFM contributor DJ Tyrer has been featured, as well as friend of the Arcanist, Matthew John (author of The Maxus Cycle), and countless other excellent S&S writers.
Swords & Sorcery Magazine
Edited by Curtis Elliot and Patrick Odren, Swords & Sorcery Magazine is a free, monthly web publication dedicated to the heart of the genre. With a backlog of over 160 issues, you could spend years diving into their archive.
Webzines like this are the premiere proving grounds for new authors seeking to emerge into S&S.
They are funded solely on Patreon, so consider giving that a look if you love what they’re doing.
Savage Realms Monthly
Savage Realms Monthly has featured some exciting works by pros and amateurs alike. They published the first appearance of the excellent Bohun by Steve Dilks. Edited by William Miller of Literary Rebel, Savage Realms is the premiere proving ground of Sword & Sorcery.
All their issues are available on Kindle Unlimited and in paperback. As their name suggests, they release new issues every month. Just like the old days.
Crimson Quill Quarterly
Crimson Quill Quarterly is a grass roots publication established after the founding editor spent an inspiring afternoon at Robert E. Howard Days in Cross Plains, TX (which is held in the home of the man himself)..
Until recently CQQ was based on the KDP platform. In early 2026, Amazon has taken down their listings for unknown reasons. The editors are currently working hard to change platforms and return their previous issues to print, along with the delayed April 2026 issue.
Their focus is purely on the authors and their stories. The books are clearly made with the love and care found only in indie publishing, with every story headed by a classic black ink illustration.
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly
Heroic Fantasy Quarterly is a free, quarterly web publication and was founded by David Farney and Adrian Simmons in 2009. They have over sixty issues and have featured some excellent S&S writers over the years.
They frequently release “best of” anthologies, bringing their favorite online tales to print. Readers who wish to support their efforts can do so on their Patreon page.
Old Moon Quarterly
Old Moon Quarterly is published by Julian Barona and edited by Graham Thomas and Caitlyn Emily Wilcox. Their eight volumes, and a gothic fantasy novel scriven by staff members, are available as eBooks on their website or paperbacks on Amazon.
Goblins and Galaxies
Goblins and Galaxies entered the market with a splash in 2024. Helmed by Charles Tyra of Randolph Literary Press, who has previously published 48 issues of Cosmic Horror Monthly, G&G has now enjoyed two successful five figure Kickstarter Campaigns.
Every paperback comes with an eBook download, and I’ve heard tell of a mobile app that will include a generous selection of short fiction for free users.
We’ve had the pleasure of speaking with Charles, who gave an inside look at how he approaches publishing. You can watch the full interview here.
Battleborn Magazine
Another newcomer to the scene and one I’m very excited about. Battleborn Magazine is positioned on the frontlines of fantasy, dedicated to presenting S&S both classic and new to the next generation of readers. Their approach is very akin to a fiction-oriented Savage Sword of Conan.
Editor Sean C.W. Korsgaard has gone through great effort to obtain rights to classic stories which have been long out of print. Notable inclusions in Issue 1 are “The Pearls of the Vampire Queen” by Michael Shea along with a “A Stone’s Throw” by Howard Andrew Jones, a tale of Hanuvar that had never before been printed on paper.
In the same issue you can read “Temple of the River King” another tale of Izrak the Deathless by our very own Lee Patton.
Battleborn raised over $12,000 on IndieGoGo with 213 backers with plans to expand into bookstores and offer direct subscriptions. The first issue releases May 31, 2026. You can see our review here.
Swords Against!
Swords Against! is the debut project of Elastic Torch Books, dedicated to S&S characters who defy power and resist oppression. Elastic Torch is an imprint of Mystic Bull Games, who have been publishing for 14 years—the perfect folks to bring about another high quality publication.
I’m a proud backer of their first successful BackerKit campaign, which raised over $11,000 with 571 backers.
Mordschlag Sword and Sorcery Magazine
Mordschlag is our own contribution to sharing excellent S&S. Inspired by Tales from the Magician’s Skull, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and a random copy of The Magic Goes Away by Larry Niven found in a Goodwill, MORD seeks to offer thrilling, thew-bound tales of Sword and Sorcery with a gritty OSR design.
Each pocket sized issue of Mordschlag features a fistful of new S&S tales, an article analyzing the genre, and a selection of monster stat-blocks pulled straight from the fiction and ready-to-play in Shadowdark RPG.
Issue #0 of Mordschlag is in the works and will be available soon. Sign up for our newsletter so you don’t miss it.
New Edge Sword & Sorcery
New Edge Sword & Sorcery approaches the formula of the classics while implementing an inclusive, boundary-pushing approach to S&S. Edited by Oliver Brackenbury, NESS is dedicated to making Sword & Sorcery for everyone.
You can watch our full interview with Oliver here.
They have made a name for themselves over the last few years with a series of successful BackerKit campaigns. The 2026 issues raised over $80,000 in March/April—these folks are a force to be reckoned with!
Issue 0 is available as a free eBook (which features an excellent article from the editor about the definition of S&S) and they sell further issues as both paperback and hardcover on their website featuring truly wonderful interior design.
In addition to the magazine, NESS is also publishing a series of novellas. We will be covering every entry over the next few months, beginning with What Rough Beast? by Bryn Hammond.
Coming to BackerKit in June is Blue Fire by Molly Tanzer, the first official novella featuring C.L. Moore’s Jirel of Joiry.
