We are the home of 606 authors from among our 4271 members.

A special welcome to our newest member, heysakuya.

It is with great sadness that I must say we have closed our doors to new submissions and posts.  This being said, we would still like to welcome everyone with open arms, and invite you all to read the stories that have been posted in our archive.

Regretfully, I must inform all of our authors and readers that WizardTales is shutting its doors to new submissions and posts, effective immediately.  At this time, the site will remain online and available for reading and reviewing indefinitely.

If it becomes necessary to bring the site completely offline, we will make sure to give our authors ample notice to save their material.

On behalf of the WizardTales staff, I am pleased to announce the winner of the One-Hour Challenge.

Congratulations to Gmariam, who provided us with a short story from the Lord of the Rings fandom that follows Samwise Gamgee as he says farewell to Frodo at the Grey Havens.  Please be sure to check out Home Again by Gmariam [All Ages]. 

I'd also like to take a moment and thank all of our participants.  All of our entries were outstanding. 

Stay tuned for our next challenge!

WizardTales is pleased to announce that the following fics have been recommended by members of our staff for the month of July:

Cts recommends:

Harry Potter and the Years of Rebellion by full_pensieve

Reason for Recommendation: This fic is one of my all time favourites and and one that's influenced my own writing. It is well written, fast paced, has great characterization and the dialog goes trippingly over the tongue.

 Jayiin Mistaya recommends:

 Double Justice, by Spiderwort

Fandom: Harry Potter

Reason for Recommendation: An in-depth look at an oft-overlooked character and her possible motivations.  Excellent writing and excellent storytelling keep you interested!

 MuggleMomma recommends:

 Founding by Gmariam

Fandom: Lord of the Rings

Reason for Recommendation: A sonnet loosely following the Petrarchan tradition, this is a beautiful piece of work about the founding of the Kingdom of Gondor.  Gmariam has taken one of the most difficult forms of poetry and made it flow so readily that it seems easy.  A truly wonderful piece of work from a truly gifted author.

KrysCullen recommends:

A Family Complete by Lady Saffir

Fandom: Twilight

Reason for Recommendation: You don't get a lot of stories from Esme's POV, and this one is beautiful. It really shows how amazing the gift of a new baby is to Esme, whose prime function in life is to love and take care of children. The author really touches your heartstrings with this one.

WizardTales is pleased to announce that the following fics have been recommended by members of our staff for the month of June:

jayiin recommends:

Growing Up with Oliver Wood by Gwen Pennington

Fandom: Harry Potter

Reason for Recommendation: Because she writes kids awesome and because she can address a secondary character without making them cooler than the trio.  And there are kilts.

Snapes Talon recommends:

Snivellus and the Head Girl by SeverusSempra

Fandom: Harry Potter

Reason for Recommendation: This isn't your typical Severus/Lily story. The author methodically and realistically builds the relationship, carefully evolving both characters without slipping into OOC. Meticulous attention has been paid to crafting OC's and creating new, inventive spells. A pleasure to read!

KrysCullen recommends:

A Future with Imperfections by Subtlynice

Fandom: Twilight

Reason for Recommendation: This author really digs into the mind of Alice Cullen and what she is feeling when Edward decides to leave Bella. Usually in fanfiction you get either Bella or Edward's PoV on this topic and it is nice to see how someone else who loves them both is affected by this decision.

butter_beer_drinker recommends:

Forever on the Closed Ward by Aelan Greenleaf2

Fandom: Harry Potter

Reason for Recommendation: I really liked the style and the flow of this story. Even though her character uses an alias, it is pretty obvious who they are but it does not deter from the story line. The lines flow well; the story is simple yet sad and easy to follow.

The WizardTales staff is pleased to announce the launch of its first multi-fandom challenge!

The clock is ticking…

The following takes place in the span of an hour.  An hour is merely a unit of time, equivalent to 3600 seconds, 60 minutes, or 1/24 of a mean solar day.  It is short lived but can easily become one of the most important moments in a person’s life.  As each second passes, lives can be altered.

Where are you during the most important hour of your life?  What occurs?  How does it change you?  Is it the end of the world or a new beginning?  Or is it a simple moment that teaches you an important lesson?

Your task is to take a character from any of the four fandoms: The Harry Potter Series, The Inheritance Cycle, The Lord of the Rings or The Twilight Series and to describe the most important hour of his or her life.

All entries must meet the following criterion:

• Adherence to the site’s Submission Guidelines
• Minimum word count of 1000 words
• Multi-chaptered submissions must be completed by the deadline
• All submissions must be placed under the 'One-Hour Challenge' classification

All entries will be judged on the following:

• Adherence to prompt
• Clarity of writing
• Grammar/Spelling mechanics
• Characterization

Bonus Points: To be as quotes within the context of the story

• There are things in this world which are out of our control. Sometimes we like to blame ourselves for them so we can try to make sense out of them.
• How can you protect my family when you can't even protect yours?
• Events occur in real time.
• I know what it's like to feel like it's never going to end.
• We don't have time for your personality disorder!
• When you look at it in perspective, you'll realize I was acting in your best interest.
• How long have you been playing me?

All entries must be submitted by 11:59pm EDT, Saturday, June 27, 2009. The winner will receive domain name registration of their choice, a one-year basic hosting package from Dragon Networks, and custom design.

Good luck and happy writing!

(All quotes provided for the challenge bonus points are from the television show “24”.)

WizardTales Staff is proud to announce the opening of a new weekly challenge on the forums. The Weekly Drabble Challenge invites users to write a meaningful story in response to a prompt - all in five-hundred words or less!

Think this sounds easy? You can check out the first challenge here! New prompts are posted every Saturday, and while only the winner can call himself "Drabble King," all entries get valuable critique from the panel of judges!

You can find the full list of rules in this thread.