This year we introduce The DreamForge Channel on YouTube. We’ll have four playlists: DreamForge Anvil (about the magazine), On Writing (writing challenges and lessons), Interviews (talks with writers, scientists, and more), and Obiter Dictum (commentary on a variety of interesting subjects).

We start off with The Fermi Future, a look at the Drake Equation and the Fermi Paradox.  When the math says there should be many technical civilizations out there among the stars, why haven’t we detected any yet?  More importantly, why haven’t they stopped by? Watch our short video to gain an overview of the problem and our take on it.  Watch The Fermi Future.

It’s 2022. If you’re looking for a great way to subscribe or renew your DreamForge Subscription, support us on Patreon at our DreamCaster level. For only $3.00/month, you get:

• Online access to all the content in our Reader’s Portal, all DreamForge Anvil and DreamForge Magazine issues in ePub and eMobi format, including all back issues and more exclusive content.
• Monthly ZOOM meetings of our DreamCasters Writing Discussion Group, including guests like Bruce McAllister, Jane Lindskold, Wulf Moon, Paul Dellinger, and more. (Meetings available on video for those unable to attend.)
• Writing Challenges leading to consideration for publication in DreamForge and access to special submission periods.
• Interact with other DreamCasters on our DreamForge Discord Channel.

Get your supercharged DreamForge Subscription today by supporting us on Patreon at the DreamCaster Level and Above.

Writing Challenge

Our First Writing Challenge of the year is the Great DreamCaster Bake-Off. DreamCasters will be competing for the next few months in a step-by-step competition to build a story in the pattern of our “Conflict Template.” with eliminations, helpful beta readers, and a path toward publication. All DreamCaster participants will also be able to submit a story for consideration during a special submission period at the end of the challenge.

You can read more, including learning the Conflict Story Template at our article on the Writing Challenge.  The deadline for the first part of the challenge is March 4, so join DreamCasters today!

The Rewards:

• The winner receives either a $150 prize or (if the story meets our quality and thematic standards) an offer for paid publication in DreamForge Anvil and DreamForge Magazine.
• The Beta Readers for the winner may submit a story* of their choosing to DreamForge —at the end of the competition— for detailed comment by the editor and consideration for publication.
• All other Beta Readers who participate through to the end may submit a story* of their choosing to DreamForge —at the end of the competition— for consideration by the editor for publication.

*Stories submitted must be no more than 5,000 words and to be considered for publication must show some mastery of the materials covered in the Great DreamCaster Bake-Off Challenge.

Bruce McAllister

PARSEC, Pittsburgh’s premier Science Fiction & Fantasy Organization, welcomes guest author Bruce McAllister to our February 19th meeting on ZOOM at 1:00 pm. Open to the public. Register at https://bit.ly/Parsec-Meeting

Bruce’s short stories have appeared in many fantasy and science fiction magazines, including Analog and Asimov’s, college readers, and “year’s best” anthologies, including Best American Short Stories 2007, guest-edited by Stephen King.

His second novel, Dream Baby, was called a “stunning tour de force” by Publishers Weekly. Bruce will engage us with anecdotes of interest to fans, as well as people and events that have affected his fifty+ year career.

We’ll also hear poetry selections from Parsec’s resident poet Mary Soon Lee and from Bruce McAllister too!

Jane Lindskold

Our Special Guest at our February 6th DreamCaster Meeting is fantasy and science fiction novelist Jane Lindskold.

Jane is going to talk about her latest novels in the new Over Where Series: Library of the Sapphire Wind (out now) and Aurora Borealis Bridge (coming out on April 5^th) in relation to writing as well as talk to our DreamCasters and take questions.

From Jane’s listing on encyclopedia.com:

“Author Jane Lindskold is known for her literate science fiction and fantasy novels that blend meticulous research, compelling plots, and convincing characterization to create works that live in the imagination long after the final page has been turned.

For Lindskold, “succeeding at the challenge of making the unreal real is one of the most enjoyable things about writing in this genre.”

Whether writing in collaboration, as she did with Roger Zelazny in Donnerjack, in stand-alone sci-fi and fantasy tales such as her early Brother to Dragons, in companion volumes such as Changer and Legends Walking, or in a multi-volume saga like “Firekeeper,” Lindskold treats her readers to that self-imposed precept of making the “unreal real.”

As the author notes on her website, “I like the freedom of building believable societies and characters. It’s the closest to creating myths and legends—the road that led me to SF and fantasy a long time ago—that I’ll ever have.”

Thank You for Your Support!