The Best Communities For Fantasy Writers

As fantasy writers, we spend a lot of time on our own, navigating the beautiful and crazy worlds that we create. 

There comes a time, however, when we need to take a step back from the page or computer screen and connect with fellow authors. 

And there are many benefits to doing this—something we’ll explore in detail below. 

If you’ve spent time scouring social media and the internet for fantasy writing groups and had as much luck as the Baudelaire Children from A Series of Unfortunate Events, you can now breathe a sigh of relief.

In this guide, you’ll find a breakdown of some of the best communities for fantasy writers, plus plenty of tips on how to find more beyond this guide.

Click below to start browsing:

Choose A Chapter

  1. What Are The Benefits Of Working With Other Fantasy Writers?
  2. How To Find Communities For Writers
  3. What Are The Best Communities For Fantasy Writers?
  4. In Summary
  5. More Writing Guides And Tools

What Are The Benefits Of Working With Other Fantasy Writers?

Even the best fantasy writer in the world needs a helping hand sometimes.

There are a number of benefits that come with working with other fantasy writers. Let’s break it down:

  • Shared research – when working with other authors, you benefit from their knowledge and expertise. For example, some people may be historians or scientists and can help you answer questions to help with your worldbuilding.
  • Collaborations – to boost exposure and minimise costs, many fantasy writers are now collaborating together. One approach they take is to bundle up their books into a special offer to entice readers to buy them.
  • Discussing and testing out ideas – if you’re working on a concept and aren’t quite sure if it works, discussing it with another fantasy writer could help you flesh it out.
  • Beta reading – we all reach a stage in our writing and editing where we need help from a fresh pair of eyes. In writing communities and groups you can connect with other authors to swap stories to read over and give feedback on.
  • Keeping in the loop – the publishing industry is changing all the time. It’s important to stay up to date with new developments (like Amazon Vella). One of the best ways to do that is by being in a community with other writers who share the news and insights they come across. 
  • Sharing of contacts – in communities of writers, you find that some people are at different stages of their careers. The more experienced writers may possess contacts with the likes of artists, editors and proofreaders that they can share with you. 

There are undoubtedly more benefits than those we’ve discussed above. The more you engage with other fantasy authors, the more you come to realise and appreciate the positives of working closely with your fellow scribes. 

How To Find Communities For Writers

It can tricky to find communities of fantasy writers. Many of us will instinctively look to our local area, searching the web for the likes of “writing groups near me.” 

Chances are, if there are some writing groups near you, they may not be focused on the fantasy genre. That may only leave you frustrated if those in the group can’t offer you the help and support you need.

As a result, you may turn to online writing groups. From experience, I know it can be tricky to find active groups. Many pop up and disappear over time. So while you may grow excited at a discovery, your hopes may quickly be dashed when you realise they haven’t been active for a few years. 

Social media may yield some better results, but out of them, all Facebook is perhaps the only one that offers some kind of group or community structure. 

However, Facebook’s popularity is on the wane and its group functions aren’t the best. As a result, many writing groups on the platform are becoming less and less active. 

So where does that leave the fantasy book writer in their hunt for social connections?

What Are The Best Communities For Fantasy Writers?

It’s here we arrive at our list of some of the best communities for fantasy writers. This isn’t an exhaustive list. If you know of any other communities, please share the details in the comments below.

R Fantasy Writers

R Fantasy Writers (or r/fantasywriters), found on one of the internet’s most popular sites, Reddit, is one of the biggest communities for fantasy authors in the world. 

At the time of writing, there are around 430,000 members of the community, including some of the fantasy genre’s most popular authors. 

The group is open to everyone. Once you’re in, you can post about your writing (with strict restrictions on self-promotion), chat with other writers, and take part in events, like the annual Stabby Awards. 

R Fantasy Writers is a great place to meet like-minded people who you can then engage with on a more personal level beyond forum-style posts. 

The Fantasy Writers’ Toolshed

The Fantasy Writers’ Toolshed began life as a podcast dedicated to creative writing, with a focus on the SFF genre. Due to its popularity, it’s since evolved into a thriving fantasy writing community.

Writers have the option of joining two different types of groups—Discord and Facebook—both of which have hundreds of active writers. The former allows for more immediate conversation, with topics broken down into threads. The Facebook group is ideal for more general posts but lacks the immediacy Discord offers. To learn more about my Discord writing group head here.

fantasy writers toolshed

The Fantasy Writers’ Toolshed is ideal for any writer looking to discuss ideas, find beta readers, and stay connected with the publishing industry (there are regular posts with the latest calls for submissions).

You can join here and receive a free book on creative writing in the process. You’ll also receive a bi-weekly newsletter with the latest writing guides and tools, as well as links to listen to new episodes of the popular podcast, which comes out on the 14th and 28th of each month. 

The Fantasy Writers’ Toolshed was created by myself a few years ago as an extra layer of support beyond my book, A Fantasy Writers’ Handbook. 

Fantasy Writers Forums

In the early days of the internet, fantasy writers’ forums were a great place to post discussion points and engage with people in subsequent comments. 

The medium has become less popular over the years as people move to more immediate forms of communication, like Discord. 

But with that being said, there are still a lot of fantasy writing forums out there. 

And they can be easily found. A simple Google search for “fantasy writing forums” will bring up pages of results. Some of the most popular forums include:

  • Mythic Scribes
  • Fantasy-Writers.org
  • WritingForums.org
  • SFFChronicles.com
  • SFFWorld.com
  • FantasyFaction – though this is more of a fantasy fan forum.

Fantasy Writers Conference 2022

There’s nothing better than networking with your fellow scribes face-to-face. One of the best ways to do this is at fantasy writers’ conferences. In 2022, there are a lot of them scheduled to take place, especially now COVID restrictions have been lifted in many parts of the world.

In the UK, the biggest event is FantasyCon (hosted by the British Fantasy Society), due to take place in September. There’s also EasterCon, Dublin Wizard Con, Balitcon, and many more. For a full schedule of fantasy conferences, head here.

In Summary

It doesn’t matter where in the world you live, there are communities for fantasy writers’ out there, open and waiting for you to join their ranks. 

Even the best fantasy writers of all time have admitted to needing help and support from other people. We can’t do it all alone!

As we’ve discussed, there are many fantastic benefits to working with other authors, and hopefully, now you know where to look. 

More Writing Guides And Tools

Below, you can find some more writing guides and tips to help you on your quest for success:

richiebilling
Latest posts by richiebilling (see all)
Scroll to Top