Writing The Magic: Essays on Crafting Fantasy Fiction

by Dan Coxon (Editor), Richard V. Hirst (Editor)

From Lord of the Rings to Game of Thrones , over the last hundred years few genres have captured the public imagination as powerfully as fantasy. Whether it's epic quests of dwarves and elves, wizards and paladins, or the influential childhood classics of Alan Garner and C.S. Lewis, the appetite among readers for all things magical seems insatiable. Pulling together a fellowship of some of the best writers of modern fantasy fiction, WRITING THE MAGIC invites you to step through the portal and discover what gives these tales such enduring appeal. Writers such as Jeff Noon, Hannah Kaner, RJ Barker and Jen Williams pull back the curtain on how they write fantasy, demystifying topics such as worldbuilding, sources of magic, creating authenticity, and how best to deploy your dragons. An essential map for anyone wanting to write their own world into being, WRITING THE MAGIC explores the perilous realms of fantasy fiction - and arms novice writers with everything they need to embark on their own adventure. Francesco Dimitri, Hannah Kaner, RJ Barker, Kritika H. Rao, Juliet E. McKenna, Jen Williams, Jeff Noon, Alex Pheby, J.L. Worrad, Richard Strachan, Charlotte Bond, Katherine Langrish, and Lucy Holland.

213 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 18, 2025

About the author

Dan Coxon is an award-winning editor and writer based in London. His non-fiction anthology Writing The Uncanny (co-edited with Richard V. Hirst) won the British Fantasy Award for Best Non-Fiction 2022, while his short story collection Only The Broken Remain (Black Shuck Books) was shortlisted for two British Fantasy Awards in 2021 (Best Collection, Best Newcomer). In 2018 his anthology of British folk-horror, This Dreaming Isle (Unsung Stories), was shortlisted for a British Fantasy Award and a Shirley Jackson Award. His short stories have appeared in various anthologies, including Nox Pareidolia, Beyond the Veil, Mother: Tales of Love and Terror and Fiends in the Furrows III. His latest anthology - Isolation - was published by Titan Books in September 2022.

Reviews

[Patrick Conner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Writing The Magic: Essays on Crafting Fantasy Fiction offers a focused look at the creative decisions behind one of the most enduring forms of storytelling. Edited by Dan Coxon and Richard V. Hirst, the collection brings together contemporary fantasy writers to explore what makes fantasy worlds convincing, memorable, and emotionally engaging.

The book's greatest strength is its variety of perspectives. Contributors including Hannah Kaner, R.J. Barker, Jen Williams, Jeff Noon, Juliet E. McKenna, Katherine Langrish, and others examine subjects such as worldbuilding, magic systems, authenticity, perception, and the practical challenges involved in creating imaginary worlds.

Rather than treating fantasy writing as something mysterious or inaccessible, the collection aims to make the craft more understandable for writers who want to develop their own stories. The essays can therefore appeal to both newcomers looking for guidance and established fantasy readers interested in understanding how the genre is constructed.

The book also has significance beyond general writing advice. It connects contemporary fantasy practice with influential traditions and authors, while providing a collection that can encourage conversations about genre, imagination, literary technique, and the continuing popularity of fantasy fiction. It was also shortlisted for the 2026 British Fantasy Award for Best Non-Fiction.

With only 17 ratings and 3 reviews on the Goodreads page provided, Writing The Magic has considerable room to build a larger reader presence. Its combination of established contributors, practical craft discussions, and appeal to fantasy writers makes it well suited to targeted outreach among aspiring authors, writing communities, fantasy readers, educators, and creative writing groups.

[Farah Mendlesohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

All essay collections are a mixed bag. My recommendations from this one are:

J. L. Worrad: How Beautiful They Are: Elric of Melnibone and the Amoral Elf Motif, which got me thinking about 'apologetic empires'.
Hannah Kaner: The Domestic and the Divine, which explores the way belief systems mutate and the consequences of that.
Richard Strachan: Vicarious Dreams: Fantasy and Tie-in Fiction. - I have been interested in Tie In fiction for years but I've only written a little about it (see the Inter=Galactic Playground). This does a very good job of showing just how very interesting it is as a thing.

And also Juliet McKenna's chapter just because it's Juliet McKenna and she always has something interesting to say.

--

Now my beef.

Sources: only five essays have Sources sections at the end; even if the authors didn't provide them they should have been extracted from the essays by the editors. This is what editors are for.

The list of 100 Fantasy novels. This is not the list of novels discussed. Nowhere is there a list of novels discussed. Luckily I realised this early and started tagging them. But -- and this is a serious problem -- because they have not listed the novels discussed in the chapters, which are commendably diverse, the result is to omit many of the writers of colour and from non Christian traditions referred to by the essay authors.

There is no index.

[Kate Berry · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was drawn to this collection because it highlights my three favourite fantasy authors: Tolkien, Moorcock, and Le Guin. It does contain some interesting essays, some are rather basic, good for new writers perhaps. I enjoyed the essay by Alex Pheby on perception and reality, and the one by Lucy Holland on Ursula K. Le Guin.

[Runalong · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good mix of essays exploring the many routes to testing fantasy and also great spotlights on key authors. Strongly recommended to anyone interested in the genre

Full review - https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/bl...