The Arcanist Fantasy Publishing

The Arcanist.

BLOOMINGTON, IN — A small press dedicated to great fantasy.

Established by EiC James D. Mills in 2019 as a TTRPG publisher (formally: The Arcanist’s Refuge), The Arcanist was reforged in 2024 alongside Managing Editor Lee Patton as a college literary magazine focused on character-driven fantasy.

Since then, we’ve branched into publishing novels, novellas, seasonal magazines, and an online publication.

Our goal is to get people reading with thrilling, thoughtful tales.

We regularly publish:

  • Mordschlag Sword and Sorcery Magazine (Print Magazine)
  • Arcanist Online (Weekly Web Magazine)
  • Ages Undreamed Of (Yearly Anthology)
  • Ancient Arcana (Yearly Anthology)
  • Dope Fantasy Novels.

Masthead:

  • James D. Mills. Editor-in-Chief. Author of Dark Fantasy and Sword and Sorcery. Co-Host of Rogues in the House Podcast. Check out his books, Ashen Rider and SOIL.
  • Lee Patton. Managing Fiction Editor. Author of Sword and Sorcery. Check out his novella, A Valley of Shadow.
  • Menke HB. Poetry Editor. Writer and Poet.
  • Jackelyn A. Bickford. Associate Editor. Writer, Freelance Editor.
  • Liam Pisano. Associate Editor. Writer, Freelance Editor.
  • Eden Louisa. Director of Marketing. Master of the mind.

Volunteers

  • Rich Rardin. Volunteer Submissions Reader since May 2025.
  • Alexander J. Wood. Editorial Assistant since July 2025.
  • Liem Namiot. Submissions Reader since January 2026.
  • Katelyn Osbourne. Submissions Reader since January 2026.
  • Charles Richard Livesay. Submissions Reader since February 2026.
  • Emma Foster. Submissions Reader since June 2026.
  • Rilen Bell. Submissions Reader since June 2026.
  • C.R. Aramais. Submissions Reader since July 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

What types of Fantasy do you publish?

For our short-fiction publications, we focus on Sword & Sorcery and Dark Fantasy. Arcanist Online boasts a wide variety, as do our print books.

We look for tales crafted with intention and literary sensibilities and character-driven narrative.

Do you publish “The Arcanist Magazine?”

We publish no such magazine. Our first periodical project, The Literary Fantasy Magazine, was originally titled “The Arcanist: Literary Fantasy Magazine” which we changed once we discovered a closed flash fiction magazine a near-identical name.

In January 2025, we registered the press itself under the name The Arcanist: Fantasy Publishing, LLC.

Will you publish my book?

Book-length manuscripts are now invite only. We do not have the resources to allocate appropriate effort towards fairly evaluating unsolicited novel submissions.

About oncee per year we open general submissions, where writers can submit serial fiction for Arcanist Online (up to 50,000 words), which often get printed as paperbacks under a standard book contract.

How can I buy your books?

Our publications are available directly through our webstore. Three times per year we also crowdfund new projects on BackerKit, where backers can add our previous publications to their orders at a reduced price.

Of course, most of our publications are also available worldwide on Amazon.