Wyngraf #4
Contents
Read on for more about this issue's stories!
About Wyngraf #4
October 1st, 2023
With its delicate balance of adventure, humor, and pathos, Wyngraf's slightly delayed fourth issue is perhaps our strongest statement yet of what cozy fantasy can achieve.
Wrapped in a gorgeous summertime cover by Jenny Mure, Wyngraf #4 features a confluence of story themes. Music features heavily, as does storytelling itself. Like issue #2, it sports a fascinating crowd of authors, including a professional game designer and an Egyptologist. Natasha Inwood returns from Wyngraf #1 (as does her character Neea, though only in a cameo capacity).
The magazine's expansion into non-fiction continues with "The Gentle World," a lengthy and wide-ranging interview with Phyllis Ann Karr. Though probably best known for her Frostflower & Thorne novels, Phyllis is also the author of At Amberleaf Fair, an early cozy fantasy that boasts a small but loyal following today.
Over at Tor.com (now Reactor), Jo Walton said of Amberleaf, "It's gentle and delightful and I genuinely really like this odd sweet little book, and unless I'm forgetting something I don't think anything bad happens at all." We were thrilled to interview Phyllis in such depth, and to share with you the strange and secret stories behind her charming cult classic.
Complete Contents
"The Gentle World: A Conversation with Phyllis Ann Karr"
Phyllis's 1986 novel At Amberleaf Fair prefigures cozy fantasy in a number of fascinating ways. Learn the surprising story of Amberleaf's genesis and much more!
"The Story Collector" by J.A. Collignon
You travel the land, learning strangers' stories but always moving on. There hasn't been a town to convince you to settle down... yet.
"The Three Speaking Peoples" by S. B. Kleinman
Has Jeremy told you the story of how he got his sword? No? Well—
"Never-Ever-Ever" by Shanna Germain
For a bard, a ringing in the ear means nothing less than forced retirement. But retirement isn't an option when a rebellion relies on your music.
"The Stormwalker" by Aidan Redwing
A ranger's hospitality is put to the test when a creature of legend shares his tent on a stormy night. But what does the specter really want?
"The Search for Dragonfire Chili" by Lydia Rose Hecker
If Chef Nethra's ever going to open her own restaurant, she'll need a signature dish. But that means an ingredient no one else can offer...
"The Woodworker's Guest" by Natasha Inwood
Drazhen was the happiest man in town until he lost his family. Can a strange visitor bring hope back to his life?
"Jam Today" by Sonia Focke
What do you sell to a man on a quest for happiness?
"A Brief Theory of Time Compression: or Interrupting Discrete Pasts" by Erin Keating
Professor Baldric Bragg of the Time Mages' Academy visits the past to be alone—until one day, someone follows him there.
"A Bard Comes to Bridgemoor" by Coby Anthony Rosser
In this rollicking tale of adventure, a bard, a bowfisher, and a goblin rogue band together to strike a blow for freedom (and eat a little riverboat food).
"The Last First Flight of the Phoenix" by Jennifer Hudak
Every year, the Phoenix makes a huge production: immolation, rebirth, celebration. Zackery the catbird is officially fed up.