Warhammer 40k fiction publisher Black Library will accept writing sample submissions for a short window in the new year, Games Workshop announced on its Warhammer Community site on Wednesday. To prove you have what it takes to be the next big Warhammer 40k author, you’ll need to send in a synopsis and extract from a short story starring a Space Marine successor chapter. A talented few will be asked to show more work, and could end up becoming Black Library authors.
The WarCom article sets out the rules for submissions. Writers need to plan a short story and submit both a 100 word synopsis and 500 word writing sample during the submission window, which opens early January.
Your story must focus on a Space Marine successor chapter – that means no Blood Angels, Ultramarines, Imperial Fists, or any other First Founding chapter that saw action in the Great Crusade. The article highlights the Silver Skulls, Mortifactors, Carcharadons, Emperor’s Spears, Black Dragons, and Iron Snakes, but there are hundreds of named successor chapters you could choose from.
There are some further caveats. The article stipulates “no Chapters of your own creation, no Deathwatch or Grey Knights stories, and nothing set during the Horus Heresy,” clarifying that stories should be set strictly during the Era Indomitus. This is the current time period for Warhammer 40k stories – set after the fall of Cadia and the resurrection of Ultramarines Primarch Roboute Guilliman, it’s a period where the Primaris Space Marines spearhead the Indomitus crusade to reclaim the galaxy from the forces of Chaos.
The publishing firm has run open submission windows since 2018, and they’re the only way for people who aren’t already established fiction authors to pitch their writing to Black Library.
If you love Warhammer 40k lore but haven’t engaged with a Black Library novel before, we have recommendations for the best Warhammer 40k books to get you inspired. And if you’re in the mood for a saga, check out our Horus Heresy book order.