About

Wyngraf Issue #1 is edited by Nathaniel Webb.

Wyngraf book cover

Blurb

Fantasy fans, curl up and stay a while!

At last, cozy fantasy has a magazine all its own. Wyngraf #1 offers nine snug stories in the tradition of Redwall and The Hobbit. Go there and back again with lush settings, caring characters, and dragons of all sizes.

Review

I used to enjoy reading short story collection, especially those by Isaac Asimov and Jeffrey Archer. However, I've been dreading this bingo square for the past two years. I don't mind reading a companion collection to an existing series (for example, "The Traveler's Gate Chronicles"), but reading short fantasy stories just doesn't seem appealing for me, especially if they are based around dark and heavy themes.

So, when I got to know about a cozy fantasy collection last month, I was relieved. While not all the stories in Wyngraf fit my definition of cozy, I did have an easier time reading this collection.

  • "The Perils of Living with Your Human" by Nathan Slemp
  • "The Road to Fjallmark" by Natasha Inwood
  • "What We Buried" by J.A. Prentice
  • "Your Own Beeswax" by Dan Crawford
  • "Weaving Serenity" by Amanda Cook
  • "Vigil" by Nathaniel Webb
  • "Dragonsmith" by Angelica Fiori
  • "A Petrified Heart" by Katherine Quevedo
  • "Epilogue" by Rajiv Moté

My favorite was "Dragonsmith" by far — the characters, the whimsical nature of magic and the plot (a smith making toys for a festival) hit all the right notes for me. "Vigil" was my next favorite (a cadet taking the test for a messenger job, which conflicted with the desire to stay with her friend) — loved the magic, reminded me a bit of "City of Stairs".

Some of the stories felt like a novella compressed to a short story. That's probably one of the reasons I don't go out of my way seeking short stories to read these days.

You can check out https://wyngraf.com/ for free short stories. I also found the definition there:

Wyngrāf is an Old English compound word that means "wondrous grove."

My rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟☆

What others are saying

From Samantha's review on goodreads:

Wyngraf does a great job of curating a collection of short stories that showcase many levels of cozy fantasy. From backpacking adventure, to hearth, community, and even life after epic adventuring, Wyngraf highlights the many avenues cozy fantasy can take. This is a great magazine for those wanting to find out more about the genre and those that know it and want more.

From James's review on goodreads:

There are two stories about dragons I very much enjoyed. The one about fairies was incredibly imaginative, had an amazing sense of tension and was just wondrous. It was my favorite of the bunch. Though I wouldn’t exactly call it cozy. It’s a heck of a story and worth picking up the magazine for on its own.

Bingo

/r/Fantasy/ 2022 bingo categories:

  • Two or More Authors (HM)
  • Published in 2022
  • Five SFF Short Stories (HM)
  • Self-Published OR Indie Publisher
  • No Ifs, Ands, or Buts