Winter may be having a last hoorah, but the time and magic wait for no-one: the aurora blazed in our skies last week, but dawn and dusk are pushing back daily against the darkness. With just two weeks to the equinox and snowdrops in full bloom, the magic of spring is on my mind, which means… it’s time to talk about Wyrd and Wonder.

It’s a kind of magic

Wyrd and Wonder is an annual celebration of all aspects of the fantasy genre as an enthusiastic party of adventurers put it front and centre on our blogs and social media feeds through May. We’ll be reading and reviewing books, talking about movies and tv shows, playing games, sharing songs and generally having a good time. Sure we all read fantasy all year around, but in May we sing about our love of the genre together (actual singing optional).

We enjoyed have a theme for the event last year, so we’re doing it again! This year we’re focusing on all things magical, whether that’s magic users, magical creatures, magic systems, or things that raise the hairs on the back of your neck (in a good way). As always, you’re free to read and post outside the theme – we love low fantasy too! – but magic will be the theme for our banners and prompts this year.

But who is this we?

How about you? Yes, you! Wyrd and Wonder is an open community that welcomes fantasy veterans and first-time readers. If you want to try out a new genre or focus on your favourite subgenre, you are equally welcome to join in. The party will be sharing reviews and memes, read-alongs and recommendations, but we pride ourselves on being a chilled bunch – you can set yourself reading targets and ambitious post plans and we’ll cheer you on all the way, or you can grab a cuppa and join the chat in the comments.

Meet your hosts

Wyrd and Wonder is brought to you by Ariana of The Book Nook, Annemieke of A Dance With Books, Jorie Loves A Story, Lisa of Dear Geek Place and me (imyril of There’s Always Room For One More). We’ll be putting together some plans over the next 2 months, and come May we’ll be coming up with daily prompts to inspire posts and photos, leading two read-alongs (details coming soon) and sharing the party’s adventures in weekly Quest Logs and retweets.

If you have any questions about the event, hit us up on Twitter (@WyrdAndWonder) or in the comments on our blogs – we’re happy to answer your questions or help bounce around ideas you want a hand with. Watch out for more Wyrd & Wonder news over the coming weeks!

Join the party

Ready to add your name to the party rolls? Sure you are. Come join the fun.

There’s no deadline for signing up and it’s not a solemn commitment. You won’t be asked to negotiate with dragons or oust a wizard. Putting your name on the adventurers’ rolls simply lets us know to keep a place for you by the fire and (with your permission) start introducing you to the rest of the party.

Grab some loot

We have two flavours of artwork for this year’s event, because we loved these pictures too much to pick between them. You are welcome to use the banners and buttons when talking about Wyrd & Wonder, but please remember to credit the artists (details below). Click on an image to save a full-size copy.