The Ink & Blood Dueling Society Doesn't Exist
A short, illustrated manual to the secret world of writing duels, and how to host your own.
Paperback book
$15
Goblin Market hosted several bouts of writing duels. They're also one of the few places that sell physical copies of The Ink & Blood Dueling Society Doesn't Exist.
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Explore the secret world of writing duels with this short, illustrated manual. Inside, readers discover the history of a notorious literary organization and detailed instructions for hosting their own writing events.
Topics include:
- Who participates in these events
- What you need for a writing duel
- Where to host live writing competitions
- How to build an audience
- Advice for competitive writers
Autumnal Games runs these events live as Writing Duels: writers competing to craft stories in a short window of time, usually in front of an audience. More at writingduels.com.
Just remember: the Ink & Blood Dueling Society doesn’t exist.
As seen at
- PAX Unplugged, November 18, 2017
- PAX East, April 5, 2018 · with Tommy Maranges and Cory O'Brien
- PAX South, January 17, 2020
- The Ink & Blood Dueling Society, August 8, 2026
Frequently asked questions
What's a writing duel?
Writing duels put two (or more) writers against each other in verbal, but not always verbose, combat. Given a prompt, the writers have ten minutes to write. After the time ends, the best piece wins. There's a whole book about it. Really.
Does the Ink & Blood Dueling Society exist?
No, there's no such thing as the Ink & Blood Dueling Society. You couldn't possibly learn about such an organization with this book and, if such a book DID exist, you couldn't possibly order it at your local book shop.
Jim makes games and events that invite people to embrace a shared fiction.