In this special issue we take a hard look at War in Fantasy. Conflict, from skirmishes to mass battles, tavern brawls to planet-wide apocalypses, is a staple of Fantasy.
The Battle of the Five Armies in The Hobbit, The Last Battle in Narnia, The War in Heaven by Charles Williams, and Lyra Belacqua’s fight against death and the consciousness-stifling strictures of the Magisterium, are a few examples.
In Warhammer 40K, which expanded the original Fantasy table-top wargame into the far future, we learn ‘in the grim darkness of the far future there is only war.’
There are very few large-scale Fantasy texts that do not acknowledge the impact of war in some way, whether through invasion, siege, massacre, colonisation, spoils of war, legacy, or trauma.
Protagonists and places are scarred by it. Narratives are often prominently ante-, para-, or postbellum. Powerful weapons – key to victory or defeat, depending on whose hands they fall into – their acquisition and mastery, are the MacGuffins that drive plot.
But does the prevalence of conflict in Fantasy normalise violence and even perpetuate it, or does it offer a useful mirror, allowing us to have a perspective on real-world conflict, narrativize trauma and learn to overcome it?
Articles on any of these aspects are welcome. Here are some suggestions:
• The influence of the First World War on Tolkien’s Middle Earth.
• Early depictions of war in taproot texts such as Beowulf.
• Changing depictions of warfare in 21st Century Fantasy.
• Warfare between the human and the other-than-human.
• Hidden, supernatural wars.
• The depiction of non-western cultures in Fantasy warfare.
• Portrayal of marginal figures in warfare, e.g., scavengers; servants; animals.
• The impact of warfare on urban and rural settings in Fantasy.
• Magic in warfare.
• Historical influences on depictions of warfare in Fantasy, e.g. armour, weaponry, tactics.
• Parleys, peace treaties, truces, ceasefires, and the cessation of conflict.
• The aftermath of war in Fantasy texts.
• Valkyries, Morrigans, and other psychopompic figures in warfare.
• Visions in conflict and haunted battlefields.
Publication is expected December 2025.
Submissions should be clearly titled as follows: SURNAME_TITLE_BFSJOURNAL_CFP_WINTER2025.
A 200-word abstract and 100-word author bio should be included. Work needs to be original, previously unpublished, and referenced using the Harvard author/date system. The editor retains the right to edit any submission, and contributors must be willing to address any editorial suggestions within good time.
For submission guidelines, click here.
Send to The Editor: mailto:bfsjournal@britishfantasysociety.org
Deadline for ABSTRACTS: 31st August 2025
Deadline for ARTICLES (if abstract is accepted): 31st October 2025
** BFS Journal Midsummer Launch Showcase
Join us on Tuesday 24 June 2025, 19:00 - 21:00 BST for the virtual launch party for BFS Journal #26! Meet the talented contributors behind this issue, hear readings from their work and ask questions. Don't miss out on this opportunity to connect with fellow fans of speculative fiction and support the BFS community. Register FREE here.