If you’ve always dreamt of writing fiction set in the Warhammer 40,000 or Warhammer Age of Sigmar universes as a professional Black Library author, now’s your chance. Games Workshop will soon be accepting submissions of 500 word short fiction, and will give the best writers the chance to formally pitch full stories for publication.
The submission window will be open between February 22 and March 9. Stories must star exactly two named characters from either the Warhammer 40k or Age of Sigmar universe – and no, you can’t create an interdimensional cross-over that pits Archaon the Everchosen against a Space Marine Primarch. Other settings are off-bounds: GW isn’t hoping to find new authors for more Horus Heresy books.
GW has published full terms and conditions for the competition, which go into the legal details. Notably, you must be at least 18 years old to participate.
The Warhammer Community post announcing the submission window has more details about what the story needs to be like; for example, you can’t add any supporting characters. Cool as it is to put characters at the forefront of their respective Warhammer 40k factions or Age of Sigmar armies, GW is looking for duels, conversations, and other face-to-face scenes.
Both characters must have had an official Games Workshop miniature at some point. We can think of a few edge cases that Games Workshop might want to clarify in other news posts – are the surviving Horus Heresy primarchs which don’t yet have Warhammer 40k primarch miniatures fair game?
Tales must also be set in specific locations. Warhammer 40k stories can take place on Vigilus, Commorragh, or Armageddon, while submissions for Age of Sigmar can be set in Hammerhal Aqsha, the Eightpoints, or Shadespire.
If you want an idea for a short story that we think would be absolutely brilliant – even if it would have almost zero chance of being successful – we’d like to point out that a Warhammer 40k romance would meet the brief of featuring only two characters. We’re just saying…
Source: Wargamer
