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PROJECT UPDATE
Oliver
CREATOR
about 23 hours ago

Project Update: Sword & Stationery: We want to hear from you!

DID YOU KNOW WE'RE ADDING A LETTERS PAGE TO THE MAGAZINE?


SWORD & STATIONERY will become a new feature in every issue, a chance for you to have your thoughts shared with others in a classic, analog fashion which pulp scholars may read decades from now...

...but only if we get some letters! Here's some guidelines:

  • Ideally your letter will involve S&S, NESS, and/or writing & publishing...but if you want to ask one of us about our favorite dinosaur it's possible you'll find out!

  • Questions are more likely to get an answer, but sharing your thoughts on a story, pitching wild theories, and other statements are welcome.

  • Letters over 200 words long may be edited down for length.

  • Letters received by before before May 1st have the best chance of being included in one of this year's issues.


Our goal is for this bring some of the great community spirit we have on our Discord out into the wider, NESS-reading world, and we hope to hear from you!

Keep your swords sharp and your sorcery numinous,
Handwritten signature of Oliver Brackenbury


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PROJECT UPDATE
Oliver
CREATOR
24 days ago

Project Update: Has your pledge gone through?

Heya! 

For NESS 2026 we still have 46 failed credit card charges, so you may wish to check if your pledge has gone through. 


If it hasn't, you can comment beneath this update and we'll respond, or perhaps first you can check out this help page for ways you may be able to resolve the issue yourself: https://help.backerkit.com/category/616-payment

Meanwhile the wheels keep turning on NESS 2026 but, as you can imagine, there isn't a lot more we can show you so soon after the crowdfund has ended...though we have got the vintage SFF magazine issues already in envelopes, ready to ship to the lovely folk who each made the made the pledge that unlocked a key stretch goal for us!



Those will go out some time in April.

Cheers,
 Handwritten signature of Oliver Brackenbury
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PROJECT UPDATE
Oliver
CREATOR
about 1 month ago

Project Update: 263% Funded!!! (What Comes Next?)

IN SHORT



I still can't believe we did it...plus 18 more.


IN DETAIL

So everything wrapped, and then I napped, and several hours later....here I am! Normally I'd recuperate more before writing this update, however there's a very important, time-sensitive item further down I had to get out to you ASAP...

 Photo of a large wrapped object that has MEATBALL written on the top in sharpie


Fulfillment Schedule
We're once again playing it safe by saying that issues will be shipped out in "Q4" aka "October, November, or December". Already we're about a month ahead of schedule compared to last year, however who knows what challenges the year may bring?

When we're closer to shipping we will do our best to provide a more specific shipping date.

 Picture of a BIG meatball sandwich with the NESS rainbow metal pin sitting dead in the center.


Please do join The New Edge Sword & Sorcery Discord, a great online hang-out that I'd love to see your digital faces in, a fun spot to chat about the magazine, Sword & Sorcery in general, and otherwise connect with your fellow readers, writers, artists, and more.

It's also a breeding ground for goofs like how Meatball Subs Are The Only Real Sandwich, and the only time I get to eat one is when we've finished funding another publication.

Reader, I had a good time wrestling this massive beast earlier today...while appreciating it's probably a good thing I limit myself to how many I have in a year!

 The most excellent front cover of Swords Against! issue one.


Of all our friends we linked to in In Short, if you check just one out please make it the crowdfund for our sword-siblings at SWORDS AGAINST! magazine, and get yourself that "Ace Double" zine co-produced by the two editorial teams!


The crowdfund ends at 12pm EST, tomorrow aka Sunday, March 15th.

https://www.backerkit.com/c/projects/mystic-bull-games/swords-against-the-swords-sorcery-fiction-magazine 


I sort of still can't believe I made this very silly video on Friday. You get into a funny headspace near the end of these grand endeavors!


Alright, that's all from me for now. Please make sure to read through IN SHORT for the practical details of what's happening with charging backers for pledges, charging for shipping, our rough schedule and more.

We have other exciting book projects planned for the rest of 2026 and with the success of this crowdfund you've put us in the position to make them as great as we possibly can. Thank you.

Normally I'd be more loquacious however I'm writing this while still feeling very, very stunned by all that's transpired. So for now I'll just say...you've brought us to incredible new heights, and I promise we'll work very hard to show our gratitude for that.

Keep your swords sharp, and your sorcery numinous!

Sincerely,
 Handwritten signature of Oliver Brackenbury
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user avatar image for Oliver
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PROJECT UPDATE
Oliver
CREATOR
about 1 month ago

Project Update: Last Chance! And....OVERTIME???



WANT TO PLEDGE, TELL YOUR FRIENDS, OR BOTH?

NOW IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!

Also, did you know about crowdfund overtime?

 Overtime. Starting at 11:50 am EST the campaign won’t end until we go 10 min without a pledge or pledge adjustment. HOW LONG CAN WE GO???

We're making great progress on the next raise. Maybe in overtime we can triple artist pay too? Maybe even double the international shipping discount?

Heck, we're at 956 backers as I type this. Dare we dream of....

 1000 spelled out with this year's NESS logos as the zeroes.


Let's goooooo!

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PROJECT UPDATE
Oliver
CREATOR
about 1 month ago

Project Update: 24 Hours Left!


We've unlocked....

  • Double Art
  • $5 USD off shipping for Canadians
  • $10 USD off shipping for everyone else outside the USA
  • Two bonus stories
  • A bonus poem
  • Three bonus pieces of flash fiction
  • Phone & desktop backgrounds using art from each of our three issues
  • Six raises for Authors
  • Six raises for Artists...

There's still time to unlock more raises, getting us to TRIPLE pay for contributors...and the final stretch goal we can even conceive of reaching, DOUBLE INTERNATIONAL SHIPPING DISCOUNT...

If you haven't already, please consider backing and sharing the campaign so we can pay our contributors as much as possible.

 Graphic showing $10 USD off shipping for Canadians, $20 USD off for the rest of the world outside America.



Meanwhile...

TONIGHT

Join us right here on the crowdfund page, up top where the trailer video sits, at 7pm EST to join our Final Friday Livestream party!

Not long after we start there will be a 20 min set of live music by Gloamwalker, followed a TTRPG liveplay of DCC: The Dying Earth as run by one of its designers, Julian Bernick!



And don't forget our crowdfund exclusives like...


Alright, let's take this thing all the way to the 21st Aeon!

The snail knight is closing in on that next Author Raise...

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