Author: mercyfulkate

FWG Newsletter November 2025

~ mercyfulkate ~ 1 Comment

I hope everyone had a great Furry Book Month! It’s over for another year and now we’re heading into the holidays with frightening speed.

Thanks to everyone who picked up this year’s Furry Book Bundle. We had our best year of sales yet, which helps both the guild and all the authors involved. All the money will be divided evenly among the authors, with the guild getting a share too. Authors, we’ll try to get your payments sent before December.

If you’ve been writing a lot lately and finding your energy flagging, take a break and read a book or stories written by other authors. Reading is a great remedy for burnout and stress. It helps refill your creative well! *points at all the great new books available below* If you’ve been reading a lot instead of writing, maybe it’s time to open your work-in-progress file.

I’m the last person to discover anything new, so I only just saw K-Pop Demon Hunters yesterday. I’ve been dancing around all day to the soundtrack, another stress reliever. These days we have to take joy where we can.

Here are the current open markets for your short stories:
Indecent Exposure – Deadline December 22, 2025
CLAW Vol. 2 – Deadline April 30, 2026
This Is Halloween – Deadline When Full
Children Of The Night – Deadline When Full

Please also check out the latest book releases from our members:
Dragon’s Soul, by J.F.R. Coates, Released June 7, 2025.
Two Strikes and I’m Out, by Michael H. Payne (poetry), Released June 16, 2025.
Lesser Gods: Reckoning, by Alex Frey, Released June 17, 2025.
Tales from the Guild: Blood and Water, Released June 30, 2025.
A Portrait for Tomorrow, by Raynarde, Released June 30, 2025.
Winterfall, by Lauren Rivers, Released July 15, 2025.
The Bones Behind the Glass, by Renard Avec-Histoire, Released August 18, 2025.
Gravitational Pull, by Ty Fox, Released August 19, 2025.
Tikadi’s Gift, by Moth Flutterby, Released October 17, 2025.
Legend of Ahya: A Divinity Decayed [Book 5], by Matthew Colvath, Releasing Nov. 30, 2025.
The Wideness of the World: An Early Modern Anthology, Releasing December 13, 2025.

Happy writing!
Kate Shaw

The 2025 Book Bundle!

~ mercyfulkate ~ 1 Comment

If you’ve been meaning to grab this year’s furry book bundle, remember that it’s only available through Oct. 31. We’re already a week into the month, so don’t delay!

You have a choice between the SFW only books (8 in all) or the complete bundle of 13 books, SFW and NSFW both included.

The lineup is stellar! Here are the table of contents for the bundles:

SFW:
A Lion Among Mice by David Hardie
Titanblood by Troy Alexander Squires
A Portrait For Tomorrow by Raynarde
Winterfall by Lauren Rivers
A Chronicle of Lies – Part 1: The Dark Sculptor by Abraham Carson (MekanipTheWriter)
Book 1 of the Tori Mysteries: Reaper’s Lottery by Gre7g Luterman
The Rewilding by Jako Malan (aka. Erdbok)
The Bones Behind the Glass by Renard Avec-Histoire

NSFW:
Harmony by Flash Kitterson
Idumea by Madison Rye Progress
My Remise by Koda Copeland
Two Souls of Fangcrest Manor by Domus Vocis and Fruitz
You Look Lost, Pup by Rob MacWolf

While you’re at it, don’t forget about the FWG anthology released earlier this year through Fenris Publishing! You have three options for the anthology: the print and ebook bundle, the paperback only, or the PDF only.

Here’s the full table of contents for the anthology:

“Don’t Be Late” by Renee Carter Hall
“The Prince and the Mage” by Chase Anderson
“Theodore Has a Boyfriend Now” by Cardigan
“Marek’s Run” by Sky McKinnon
“Unbreakable Bonds” by Ty Fox
“Snowshoes” by A. Kita and Aldous Husky
“Brewed Out of Blood” by Rob MacWolf
“The Casket of Brent Lyles” by Pip the Badger
“A Below-Ground Sort of Animal” by Frances Pauli
“Small Business” by Juan C. Moreno
“System Damage” by Bast Andrews
“The Guild” by J.S. Hawthorne

Happy furry book month, and happy reading!

FWG Newsletter October 2025

~ mercyfulkate ~ 1 Comment

We made it to October! It’s time to celebrate Furry Book Month in the best way possible, by reading other people’s furry books and writing our own.

For the first part of that goal, check out the 2025 Furry Book Bundle available! We have some amazing authors and books in the bundle this year! As we’ve done for the last few years, you have a choice of only the general audience books or the full bundle that contains those books as well as the 18+ ones.

For the second part of the month’s “read and write furry fiction,” the Furry Novel Jam is going full-blast on Discord! It’s available year round, but it really kicks off in October. Set a goal that fits your schedule and write–it’s as simple as that!

If you’ve had a story idea for a while and haven’t had time to start writing it, this is a great time to do so. It’s also a great time to take a look through your to-be-read pile and grab something you’ve been wanting to read when you get a minute. It’s important to make time for the things you love.

Here are the current open markets for your short stories:
Indecent Exposure – Deadline December 22, 2025
CLAW Vol. 2 – Deadline April 30, 2026
This Is Halloween – Deadline When Full
Children Of The Night – Deadline When Full

Please also check out the latest book releases from our members:
Dragon’s Soul, by J.F.R. Coates, Released June 7, 2025.
Two Strikes and I’m Out, by Michael H. Payne (poetry), Released June 16, 2025.
Tales from the Guild: Blood and Water, Released June 30, 2025.
A Portrait for Tomorrow, by Raynarde, Released June 30, 2025.
Winterfall, by Lauren Rivers, Released July 15, 2025.
The Bones Behind the Glass, by Renard Avec-Histoire, Released August 18, 2025.
Gravitational Pull, by Ty Fox, Released August 19, 2025.
Tikadi’s Gift, by Moth Flutterby, Released October 17, 2025.
Legend of Ahya: A Divinity Decayed [Book 5], by Matthew Colvath, Releasing Nov. 30, 2025.

Happy writing!
Kate Shaw

FWG Newsletter September 2025

~ mercyfulkate

It’s September, and I just staggered back from Dragon Con with a (fortunately mild) case of con crud. I also just moved to another state, so if you have contacted the guild about something and haven’t heard back, please reach out again. It might have slipped between the cracks in all the chaos of moving.

We’re getting really close to October, which means Furry Book Month! That means we’re now collecting submissions for this year’s Furry Book Bundle! Please remember that you MUST be a current member of the FWG to submit your book. If you’re not, this might be a good time to apply.

We are taking submissions for both a general audiences and an 18+ book bundle until Sept. 27, 2025. To submit your novel for consideration, please keep the following qualifications in mind:

The author must be a member of the Furry Writers’ Guild.
The story must be self-published.
The story must be a novel.
The story must be a stand-alone or first in a series (no sequels).
The story must be furry.
The story cannot have been included in a previous bundle.

The bundles will be available on Gumroad for pay-what-you-want (minimum price of $10), with proceeds split evenly between all contributing authors and the FWG. Please get your entries in before September 26th, since we want the bundle to go live on October 1st. We would like to include around ten novels per bundle. Since we want to showcase as wide a variety of writers as possible, we are more likely to choose submissions by authors who have not been featured in a previous bundle.

To submit your book, use this link: https://forms.gle/6efvMSDVQTVpvqGu8

We’ll also be revving up for the Furry Novel Jam in October, for those of us who need a way to help reach our writing goals. Furry Novel Jam goes year-round for those who want to participate, though! You can find out more on the FWG Discord and join in. I took the opportunity of a new month to start my own daily writing goal yesterday. Only 400 words, but it’s progress! I hope your writing is going well too.

Here are the current open markets for your short stories:
Plott Hound – Deadline September 15, 2025
Indecent Exposure – Deadline December 22, 2025
This Is Halloween – Deadline When Full
Children Of The Night – Deadline When Full

Please also check out the latest book releases from our members:
Meeting Dominique, by Royce Day, Released May 1, 2025.
Dragon’s Soul, by J.F.R. Coates, Released June 7, 2025.
Two Strikes and I’m Out, by Michael H. Payne (poetry), Released June 16, 2025.
Tales from the Guild: Blood and Water, Released June 30, 2025.
A Portrait for Tomorrow, by Raynarde, Released June 30, 2025.
Winterfall, by Lauren Rivers, Released July 15, 2025.
The Bones Behind the Glass, by Renard Avec-Histoire, Released August 18, 2025.
Gravitational Pull, by Ty Fox, Released August 19, 2025.
Legend of Ahya: A Divinity Decayed [Book 5], by Matthew Colvath, Releasing Nov. 30, 2025.

Happy writing!
Kate Shaw

FWG Monthly Newsletter August 2025

~ mercyfulkate

August is here and that means Halloween is on its way (the best holiday, personally), along with October in general. October means Furry Book Month! We are planning to put together another furry book bundle this year, so if you have a book you’d like to submit, now is the time to do some last-minute revisions. We’ll post in a few weeks with details regarding submissions, so keep an eye out.

For me, August also means I’m moving to another city in another state. I’ll be very busy for the next few weeks, but if you have an issue or question that needs guild officer attention, feel free to email and someone will get back to you as soon as possible.

I don’t know about you, but I’m really looking forward to autumn in my part of the world. I always feel more productive when the school supplies go on sale. I have editing and writing projects to finish, maybe even a new project to start for Furry Novel Jam! I hope you too are able to settle in with your seasonal drink of choice and a crisp new notebook and pen, and get some words written.

We have some new channels on the Discord server that might help you prepare for your next project, or help you get past a block. Our vice president Flash Kitterson started a weekly prompt–sorry, pawmt!–that’s a lot of fun, and we have a new worldbuilding channel too.

Here are the current open markets for your short stories:
Indecent Exposure – Deadline December 22, 2025
This Is Halloween – Deadline When Full
Children Of The Night – Deadline When Full

Please also check out the latest book releases from our members:
Tales of Scales, by Michael Miele, Released April 2, 2025.
Wind Singer: An Imbrium Novella, by Frances Pauli, Released April 19, 2025
Meeting Dominique, by Royce Day, Released May 1, 2025.
Dragon’s Soul, by J.F.R. Coates, Released June 7, 2025.
Two Strikes and I’m Out, by Michael H. Payne (poetry), Released June 16, 2025.
Tales from the Guild: Blood and Water, Released June 30, 2025.
A Portrait for Tomorrow, by Raynarde, Released June 30, 2025.
Legend of Ahya: A Divinity Decayed [Book 5], by Matthew Colvath, Releasing Nov. 30, 2025.

Happy writing!
Kate Shaw

Of The Wilds

~ mercyfulkate

Today we lost one of our own after a serious illness. Of The Wilds was a brilliant writer who especially liked to write about dragons, probably best known for his serialized novel The Dragon in the Dungeon.

The loss of anyone in our community is painful, especially someone as young as Wilds. I only met him once in passing, when he leaned over his partner Resolute’s chair and waved at me via Zoom. I remember his smile and the happy mischief in his expression. While he was a quiet person, he left a positive impression on everyone he met.

His work lives on, a permanent window into his personality, humor, imagination, and skill as a writer. We will all miss him and grieve his loss, but we can also celebrate him by reading his stories. Like the last note of music that never quite fades, Of The Wilds will remain forever in his words.

FWG Monthly Newsletter July 2025

~ mercyfulkate

Sooner even than we’d hoped, Tales from the Guild: Blood and Water is available from Fenris Publishing! The anthology is available in paperback, ebook, or a bundle of both!

The new guidelines for guild membership are now in place, reflecting the recent guild vote. We decided to keep things simple, and changed “novel, short story, or poetry” to “fiction.” All other requirements remain the same.

It’s hard to believe we’re more than halfway through the year (and halfway through the decade). Pretty soon it’ll be time to look ahead to Furry Book Month in October, but until then those of us in the northern hemisphere can enjoy the lazy days of summer, relaxing in the sun and considering plot twists and character interactions. Or, of course, we can do the same inside in the air conditioning. Those writers in the southern hemisphere can sip cocoa and outline the next furry masterpiece.

Here are the current open markets for your short stories:
Digital Villainy Summit Con Book – Deadline July 9, 2025
The Second Hayven Celestia Anthology – Deadline July 15, 2025
Monsterf*ck – Deadline July 15, 2025
Furvana 2025 Conbook – Deadline July 21st, 2025
Indecent Exposure – Deadline December 22, 2025
This Is Halloween – Deadline When Full
Children Of The Night – Deadline When Full

Please also check out the latest book releases from our members:
My Remise, by Koda Copeland, Released March 25, 2025
Tales of Scales, by Michael Miele, Released April 2, 2025.
Wind Singer: An Imbrium Novella, by Frances Pauli, Released April 19, 2025
Meeting Dominique, by Royce Day, Released May 1, 2025.
Dragon’s Soul, by J.F.R. Coates, Released June 7, 2025.

Happy writing!

Kate Shaw

We heard you like anthologies…

~ mercyfulkate

…so we made you an anthology!

It’s been a long time in the making, but the Tales from the Guild: Blood and Water anthology is finished and off to the printers! We partnered with Fenris Publishing, who took on the hard work of layout, graphic design, and all the hidden steps of bringing a book to market. The amazing cover art is by Chum Basket.

The anthology is literally off to the printers, which means a wait of about a month for copies to be printed and bound, then probably a few more weeks for shipping. With luck Fenris will have copies in hand by August and the book will be available to order through their website or in person at your favorite convention!

We’ll keep you updated on the official release date and when preorders will be available. Thanks to Fenris, JFR Coates who spearheaded the project, the other editors, and of course all the authors!

FWG Monthly Newsletter June 2025

~ mercyfulkate

May was really busy for the guild, with the Cóyotl Award winners announced and guild officer elections! We’re settling into the middle of the year with some thoughts of how we should move ahead with changes to guild membership and also how we can get the word out about the guild to writers who might not know about us yet.

We’ve had some great new book releases over the last several months and I’ve been bad about updating the reading list at the bottom of the monthly newsletters. It’s updated now, so definitely take a look and grab copies of the books you’ve missed! I’ve also been bad about updating the open markets list below. Remember you can always check our Furry Writers’ Market page on the website to find new anthology calls and other open markets for your writing!

Our new VP has started a weekly writing ‘prawmt’ on the Discord server, if you’re looking for fun story prompts. If you hop on over to Sofawolf Academy and make an account (if you don’t already have one) you can watch an interview with me, your reluctant guild president.

Happy Pride Month! I hope your wordcounts soar this month and your troubles dwindle.

Here are the current open markets for your short stories:
The Morning After – Deadline June 1, 2025
Plott Hound Deadline June 15, 2025
Neo-Twiny Jam – Deadline July 1, 2025
The Second Hayven Celestia Anthology – Deadline July 15, 2025
Indecent Exposure – Deadline When Full
This Is Halloween – Deadline When Full
Children Of The Night – Deadline When Full

Please also check out the latest book releases from our members:
My Remise, by Koda Copeland, Released March 25, 2025
Tales of Scales, by Michael Miele, Released April 2, 2025.
Wind Singer: An Imbrium Novella, by Frances Pauli, Released April 19, 2025
Meeting Dominique, by Royce Day, Released May 1, 2025.
Dragon’s Soul, by J.F.R. Coates, Releasing June 7, 2025.

Officer Election Results

~ mercyfulkate

Voting has concluded in what we think may be the first actual vote needed for officer elections. 51 members voted.

The contested officer position was Markets Manager, with Scribbles Cheetah (incumbent) receiving 62.7% of the vote and Chase Anderson receiving 37.3% of the vote. It was actually a much closer race than it sounds, with the percentage going back and forth repeatedly and at one point standing (for a long time) right at 50/50. Congratulations to Scribbles for continuing as the FWG Markets Manager for 2025-26!

The other half of the ballot regarded expanding the guild’s membership requirements to include written work in other formats/media (i.e. not just novels, short stories, and poetry). Members overwhelmingly voted in favor of this, with 92.2% of the votes. We also received 33 thoughtful responses about the change, both positive and negative. In the coming weeks, guild officers will take all comments into account and discuss how best to implement the change to benefit guild members and potential members. I hope to post our conclusions sometime in June so that members can make comments and suggestions before the change is adopted formally.

Thanks to everyone who voted and commented!

It looks like I’ll be staying on as president for the next year, and I’ll do my best. Flash Kitterson has stepped into the vice president role and is doing a fantastic job already! Resolute will also be staying on as public relations officer and is, as always, doing a great job. Remember that the treasurer and Coyotl Awards chair roles are still vacant, so if you’ve been thinking of volunteering, you don’t need to wait for guild elections next April. Just let us know.

In other news–
For the horror fans among us, check out the Kickstarter for a planned horror anthology, The Deer Is Messed Up, which will be paying pro rates. It’s not a furry anthology but Scribbles checked with the editor and they will consider furry/anthro stories. It needs to meet its goal by June 4 for the anthology to happen, so pre-order your copy through Kickstarter and support small publishers!

I’ll be back next week with the monthly newsletter!