Contest: Help Title an Anthology of Military Fantasy

If your reading or writing interests tend toward military fantasy—that's a sub-genre defined as "stories that involve soldiers, swords, and spells," by the way, and not "how to build democracies in the Middle East"—anthology editor John Joseph Adams wants to hear from you!

This news tip comes via the "War Stories" military science-fiction anthology featured on the Red Bull Rising blog last November.

In addition to assembling themed collections of genre fiction, Adams also edits Lightspeed and Nightmare magazines.

On his website, Adams explains his latest project:

Back in June, I sold an untitled anthology to Baen on the subject of "military fantasy." And what is that, you might ask? Military SF, of course, is a long-time staple of science fiction, but fantasy fiction often has just as many battles and military engagements and yet we rarely hear the term "military fantasy." So I proposed an anthology that would focus on those fantastical battles and the soldiers that fight them.

In any case, the contracts were signed, the contributors started writing their stories, and all was well. The problem was: I couldn’t think of a title for the d--- thing.

Adams is conducting a contest for a winning suggestion of an anthology title. "The ideal title would be short and to the point, and say both 'military' and 'fantasy' equally," he writes. "I’ve been thinking something that takes a well known military phrase or title and gives it a fantasy twist could work."

Click here for the special e-mail form through which to make entries. Contest ends Jan. 31. As prizes, Adams is offering:

• A hardcopy of the anthology after it is published.

• A one-year ebook subscription to Lightspeed magazine.

• An e-book of his 2008 anthology "Seeds of Change."

• Acknowledgement of the winning contribution in the book itself.

To get the blood and creative juices flowing, Adams suggests examples such as "Blood & Magic," "Tactical Magic," and "Military Magic," although he notes that "magic" need not appear in the title at all.

To further describe the "military fantasy" sub-genre, Adams points to literary settings such as:

• The Battle of Helm's Deep from J.R.R. Tolkein's "The Two Towers."

• The alternate-history version of the Napoleonic Wars in Naomi Novik's "His Majesty's Dragon."

• The Battle of the Blackwater Bay from George R.R. Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" series.

Good writing and hunting, you shield-maidens and dragon-riders! Tally ho!

*****

Illustration: "The Procession of the Trojan Horse in Troy" by Giovanni Domenico Tiepolo (1727-1804)