SPFBO 6 Intro

Who is the Fantasy Inn?

The Fantasy Inn formed back in 2017 when a group of friends met through the Reddit fantasy community and decided: why not make a blog? Since then, we’ve read quite a few books, written the occasional journalism, and even started a podcast.

We hope to share stories we love, promote an inclusive community, and lift up voices that might not otherwise be heard. And as one of the newest blogs to join the Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off, we plan to continue doing exactly that.

What is SPFBO?

The Self-Published Fantasy Blog Off is an annual competition hosted by Mark Lawrence. To quote the mission of the contest:

The SPFBO exists to shine a light on self-published fantasy. It exists to find excellent books that might otherwise have gone unnoticed. It exists to help readers select, from the enormous range of options, books that have a better chance of entertaining them than a random choice, thereby increasing reader faith in finding a quality self-published read.

Each year, 300 books enter the contest. These are split between 10 blogs and read over the course of 11 months until a single winner remains. You can find more details on the official SPFBO page and track the progress of the contest here.

Meet Our Judges

Hiu

One of the best parts about being a book blogger is being able to shine a light on those books that really strike a chord with you. When that book is self-published, it’s an even better feeling to get behind it and push it in the direction of those who will love it.

I’ve been reading self-published fantasy ever since we started this blog, and I’m excited to participate in SPFBO as a way of “giving back” to a community that has given me so many wonderful books over the years. I have a few strong dislikes — snooty, “high-born” characters with no self-awareness will generally not do well with me — but my tastes are pretty broad. If a book is well put together, I’ll usually find something to like, and I prefer to focus on those aspects in my reviews rather than dwell on any personal dislikes.

Kop

I’m excited to be a part of the judging panel for SPFBO after having followed it for a few years now. Many great books have been a part of it that got the attention they deserved. Personally, while I’m fairly easy to please, it doesn’t mean I’ll like everything. However, whether it’s a positive or negative review, my reviews are my own opinion and are always solely about the book itself. That being said, I’m hoping for the best!

Tam

I’m very excited to be a part of SPFBO this year. I’ve been watching the competition since SPFBO 3 began and I’ve read and loved a lot of the entries that I’ve got my hands on.

My reading tastes are difficult to describe, I will try just about anything. In particular, I’m a big fan of compellingly written characters who I can really get behind. I’m also somewhat fond of magic. All the books I get will have a fair chance, even if I dislike a book, I will still do my best to outline its positives so people with tastes different to my own can potentially find a new book to read.

Travis

I’ve been following SPFBO for a few years now, and will always be grateful to it for introducing me to self-publishing and more indie authors than I can keep up with! I was a guest judge back in SPFBO4 and am excited to be returning with the Inn this year for SPFBO6.

My reading taste is pretty eclectic. I’ll read any subgenre as long as I can get in the heads of some compelling characters. Every book I read will get a fair chance. I can’t promise every review I write for the contest will be positive, but they will always be kind.

Our Process

Detailed updates like who is reading which book, which books we’ve completed, etc. can be found on our SPFBO progress page (link to come soon). Below is the process we plan to follow for judging SPFBO6, which may change slightly as we learn along the way and figure out how we can improve.

• Our 30 books are split evenly between us, with everyone assigned 7 or 8 books. We did a snake draft to pick our favorites, which was great fun and involved all the swearing.
• Each judge will try every book assigned to them. We aren’t setting a minimum requirement but we will be giving every book a fair chance and finishing those we really enjoy.
• Books that have promise but end up not being a good fit for that particular judge will be offered to another judge.
• Some books will get full reviews. Others will receive feedback in a group review with several other books.
• Each judge will select a semifinalist from their group, for a total of 4 semifinalists from the Fantasy Inn. Each semifinalist will get a joint review from all judges, and be featured as a guest on the Fantasy Inn podcast if they are interested.

Our Favorite Covers

Each blog picks their three favorite covers as part of the SPFBO contest. Here’s ours: