It’s just over a week until our annual celebration of the fantasy genre begins on May 1 and your Wyrd and Wonder hosts have been brewing potions ideas to spark your imagination. If you’re looking for inspiration and/or want to join some group fun, come see what we are planning…
We’re counting down the days now until a month of Wyrd and Wonder begins! This year’s theme is the broad and generous one of magic and we’re here to celebrate it in all its forms. Your hosts are Annemieke (A Dance With Books), Ariane (The Book Nook), Jorie (Jorie Loves A Story), Lisa (Dear Geek Place) and me – imyril (There’s Always Room For One More). Real life is dominating our attention this year, which is why it’s been a little quieter than usual in the lead up to the event, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been quietly plotting some fun to get the party started.
Not sure what all this is about? Find out more about Wyrd and Wonder.
So what does my crystal ball predict Wyrd and Wonder has in store this year? Well…
Read-alongs
We’ve got two backlist read-alongs lined up this year as we indulge in some magical reads we’ve been meaning to get round to for a while. A read-along is a chance to buddy read with friends across several weeks, with fixed chapters to discuss each week (you can read ahead, but please avoid spoilers for other readers). Anybody can take part – just add a comment on the hosts’ posts (the schedule links below) to let them know you’re interested.
Lisa and the team at The Fantasy Inn will be your hosts for Diana Wynne Jones’s classic fantasy Howl’s Moving Castle. This is a three week read-along starting May 3rd (schedule details), although if there isn’t an opportunity to watch the delightful Studio Ghibli dramatisation before month’s end you can turn me into a teapot. .
Annemieke is your host for a four-week read-along of The Bone Witch by Rin Chupeco (and perhaps the rest of the trilogy later in the year). Discussion prompts will be posted at A Dance With Books each Wednesday starting May 3rd (schedule details).
Fantastic Top Fives
Last year we introduced the Fantastic Fives – themed prompts to inspire some Top Fives through the month. It was too good not to do again, so we’re making this a tradition – we’ll be tackling the prompts in order and aiming to share our posts each Sunday, but feel free to do whichever topic(s) you fancy whenever the mood takes you:
Top Five Magic Systems or Spells
This year’s theme is all things magical, so where better to start than with the intriguing ways in which its represented across different fantasy worlds?
Top Five Magical Songs
This one is open to interpretation – explore music as magic, fictional songs from your favourite fantasies, or real-world songs that make you think about magic or transport you to another world (metaphorically speaking, we assume)…
Top Five Magic Casters
Who are your favourite spellslingers – time to showcase the witches, wizards, sorcerers, liches (just me? Come on, Xykon is a fabulous character), dragons, and other casters of magic you’ve enjoyed on your reading travels.
Top Five Magical Ingredients
Another prompt to have fun with – share spell components that caught your fancy, the magical ingredients for a book you can’t resist (character traits? tropes? worldbuilding features?) or five books to make a magical reading list…
Prompt Challenge
Annemieke has concocted the prompts of this year’s Wyrd and Wonder Challenge to inspire you throughout the month. As usual, the only rule is have fun – dip in and out to share a post or pic for the prompts that take your fancy or go all-in and tackle them all across the month. You can even switch it up and use them to help you pick your next read! However you choose to respond, tag your content with #WyrdAndWonder so we can come enjoy it.
| Day | Prompt |
|---|---|
| May 1 | Best laid plans (your Wyrd & Wonder TBR) |
| May 2 | Rewind (past Wyrd & Wonder favourites) |
| May 3 | Divination |
| May 4 | Magical location |
| May 5 | Fae |
| May 6 | Historical fantasy (celebrate a subgenre) |
| May 7 | Favourite spells |
| May 8 | #MapMonday |
| May 9 | Most often recommended (to or by you) |
| May 10 | Necromancy |
| May 11 | Magic sword |
| May 12 | Djinn |
| May 13 | Dark academia (celebrate a subgenre) |
| May 14 | #ShelfieSunday |
| May 15 | Current read |
| May 16 | Love to hate – favourite villains |
| May 17 | Alchemy |
| May 18 | #ThrowbackThursday |
| May 19 | Witchy cover art |
| May 20 | Mythology (celebrate a subgenre) |
| May 21 | Favourite magic casters |
| May 22 | Magical community |
| May 23 | Bite-size fantasy (novellas or short stories) |
| May 24 | Astrology |
| May 25 | Magical items |
| May 26 | Marks of magic |
| May 27 | #StackSaturday |
| May 28 | Eye of newt |
| May 29 | Magical destiny |
| May 30 | Magical typography |
| May 31 | Favourite Wyrd & Wonder read |
Not sure what a prompt means? Check out the hints / supporting notes in the master schedule.
Master schedule
This year’s Wyrd and Wonder master schedule is set up and ready to start keeping track of everything that’s going on. We have added details of the prompts, challenge and read-alongs – now it’s over to you to add links to your Wyrd and Wonder posts during May. You can add links in advance if you’re super organised or pop them into the sheet as your posts go live and we’ll share them in the weekly Quest Logs to ensure the rest of the party swing by to have a read.
Join the party
Sign up to join the party or if you want to play it cool just casually follow #WyrdAndWonder and join in the chatter in May. Most of the action will be across participating blogs, and your hosts will do their best to boost the signal across Instagram and Twitter.
We also have a Discord server now – OtherWorlds is a hub for both Wyrd and Wonder and SciFiMonth shenanigans, with separate channels for each event for chatting as well as sharing recs, posts and read-along discussions. To join us on OtherWorlds, please sign up for Wyrd & Wonder then comment on this post or DM me on Twitter requesting an invite.
ART CREDITS
Flying witch artwork by astromoali.
Magic portal artwork by Tithi Luadthong.
The gorgeous artwork has been licensed for use for this event online. You are welcome to use the banners on your Wyrd and Wonder posts, but please make no changes and always credit the artist(s).
onemore.org 