It’s hard to believe, but 2025 has already ended. So here’s looking back at last year and forward to 2026. Buckle up, because this year is going to be a doozie!
New January Event!
On top of the list is our newest community event—
We are excited to announce our first annual Winter Court Writing Challenge, a free, community-focused speculative fiction event running from January 4–31, 2026! Throughout January, writers of all experience levels are invited to tackle four weekly challenges, each featuring a prompt and required components, to create original stories of 500 words or more. There’s no advance registration, no cost to participate, and no requirement to complete every challenge—though completing more earns you more chances to win a small end-of-event prize package. Even better? All eligible submissions will receive house edits and be published in a shared anthology, and all participants will get exclusive Squibble (the event’s mascot fae) stickers for each completed challenge, and a bonus sticker for finishing all four. Writers can join in for the creativity, the prizes, or the camaraderie—but to submit and win, you’ll need to be part of the Nat 1 Discord.
Step into the Winter Court this January and spend the month actually finishing new work alongside a supportive, creative community! For more information (including an FAQ), click here!
So Many New Releases!
Last year, between Nat 1, Audience Askew, and Gaslamp Pulp, we put out 36 titles, and while that is a lot, it’s nothing compared to this year’s lineup, which sits at a whopping SIXTY. We don’t know what we were thinking; we don’t think we were thinking. It’s a lot. To hopefully sidestep burnout, this year will be a one-and-done for that many new releases in twelve months, we’re going to scale back to more manageable numbers starting next year (2027), but until then, enjoy the consequences of our bad choices!
New Games!
We have two new card games and (hopefully) a tabletop RPG coming out this year as well. The first, Schoolyard Insults, was fully backed on Kickstarter last year; unfortunately, because of production delays and tariffs, it’s a bit behind schedule for release; we’re hoping for a March release, but it may be April by the time we get the goods to ship out to our Kickstarter backers, and we want to be sure that they get their games and goodies before anybody else. We’ll also be having another Kickstarter campaign this year for our NSFW 18+ card game Not My Proudest Fap—more information forthcoming! Lastly, the Faewalk RPGame is currently being tested and, if all goes well, will be released by the end of the year. Again, more information coming at a later date, but you can check out the WIP manual on our Discord channel and even join in on some play sessions to work out the kinks!
Write, Wrong or Otherwise: Year Three!
The WWoO is back for the third time this August from the 2nd to the 15th. It’s keeping the same format as last year, with one week dedicated to writing and a second to editing and critique. Last year’s was another great success (check out the anthology here!), and we expect that this year will be just as good. While registration doesn’t open until the end of July, you can read about it and see the FAQ by clicking here.
Revamping Patreon!
It was brought up several weeks ago in our newsletter and on Discord, but here’s a reminder: our Patreon has been revamped, and every month we will be uploading two comic strips of The Irrelevant Exploits of Blackjack & Bernie and a chapter of the Faewalk serial, A Taste of the Downunder! Not to mention sneak peeks, cover reveals, and other WIP books! So yeah, don’t miss out and join the Patreon ASAP!
Wrapping Up This Update!
While these points are the highlights of 2026, don’t think that’s it—especially if you are a member of our active Discord server, where shenanigans are a constant. Be sure to read the newsletters we’ll be sending you this year, as there’s a lot of content coming out and plenty of fun to be had. Heck, maybe even some productivity (le gasp!)—
Once again, Happy New Year!
~The Nat 1 Publishing Team