silwritersguild | Horror Fanfiction Book Club: October 31 and November 1

On October 31 and November 1, we will be hosting a fanfiction book club for horror stories. Discussions will take place on our Discord server--see below for how to join!

Stories that are under or roughly 5,000 words and hosted on the SWG or AO3 are eligible. Stories should be horror fiction based in The Silmarillion; they should be complete or a chapter from a longer work that can stand alone. You can only submit a story that you have written.

We do not set strict rules on participating in other authors’ discussion sessions; however, these book clubs only work if authors are willing to read and discuss others’ work as well as their own. If you sign up, please try to attend at least two other authors’ sessions. You do not need to sign up in order to participate in the discussion.

To sign up one of your stories, use this form.

How does a fanfiction book club work?

Imagine discussing a work of fanfiction as a work of literature, thinking about how the author uses craft and canon to construct a work of literary art, and that’s the basis of our book clubs. What makes the story work? What did we fall in love with? What in the story made us stop and think (or for this book club, check under the bed ...)? Please note that, while authors are allowed to request constructive criticism, our book clubs have a positive focus. We are here to celebrate stories and discuss what works, and the discussion will stay positive unless you specifically request constructive suggestions from your readers.

For this session, stories less than 1,000 words will receive a half-hour time slot for discussion. Longer stories will receive an hour.

If you have a Silmarillion-based horror story that you’d like to discuss, consider signing up! All are welcome to read and join in the discussions of the stories.

How do I join the SWG Discord?

We love newcomers to our Discord server! Please request an invite code by emailing our mod team at [email protected] or leaving a comment here. On the dates of the book club, we will also post an open invite for the day so that others can join the discussion.