Posted on Leave a comment

Duck Prints Press Summer 2023 Con Wrap!

We’ve now vended at our first two cons, and we wanted to take a few minutes to blog about it!

I (press owner Claire Houck/unforth) attended Fandom Fest in Schenectady, NY, and Albacon in Clifton Park, NY, and vended on behalf of the Press. Authors Nova Mason, Shea Sullivan, Catherine E. Green, and Tris Lawrence helped me out with manning the booth, handling transactions, participating in our first DPP panel, and more, so huge THANKS to them. (Also to Prof. Robert Heverly from Albany Law School, for contributing his expertise on copyright law to our Fandom Fest panel). I wrote about our Fandom Fest panel here, and about our events at Albacon here and here.

To be honest, we really had no idea how things would go, and I’m not exaggerating when I say that we far exceeded our expectations. Going into this, I’ll own I was very afraid – would people be interested in our Press? Would we make money? Or would we be that sad, lonely table that everyone walks quickly by? But things couldn’t have gone better – they went so well we’re already looking at more events to attend in the future.

From a fiscal standpoint, we made almost double what I anticipated and completely made up the expense of buying the supplies and equipment necessary for us to vend at these events and going forward. From a panel perspective, our events were nicely attended. From a “growing the business” standpoint, we added many names to our mailing lists and gained social media platforms. And, from a networking standpoint, we had a fantastic time and met a lot of awesome people – and that’s primarily what this post is about!

You already know about us; we’re here to shout-out some other folks we’re now very happy to know!

The amazing Syrren and I bonded instantly over our shared love of the men of Mo Xiang Tong Xiu books and Stardew Valley romance options. I miiiight have ended up with some merch (though the Genshin Impact ones are gifts for a friend).

According to the Fandom Fest organizers, it was 100% a coincidence that we ended up next to Duck and Cover, but we couldn’t have had a cooler or more appropriate neighbor. A con attendee felt it was so on-brand for Duck Prints Press that they actually bought us this one-of-a-kind hand-painted James Bond duckie! We also talked with Duck and Cover about maybe offering some of their custom ducks as campaign add-ons in the future, so be on the lookout…

The owner of The Cogitation Zone, Lisa, is a long-time friend of Tris Lawrence, who commissioned us this custom Duck Prints Press business card holder that’ll be accompanying us to all our future cons! Lisa also had made a large number of adorable creatures, and I miiiight have traded a copy of one of our anthologies for an axolotl. Because. Axolotl.

The Consol Collection, sadly, has no website that I can find, but they had a lot of things such as this adorable Totoro sticker I got for my kids. And when the owner of Eclectic Arts approached me in an absolutely fabulous Hawaiian shirt featuring Pride-flag-colored twenty-sided dice, I instantly agreed to a sticker trade. On the right, jiadoesart had many lovely things, and I picked out some stickers for my Ghibli-loving kids.

Some Other Neat Folks We Met:

Pastel Prince Shop: lots of gorgeous queer art and merch; I’m hoping to get one of their asexual pride bracelets in the future (it got sold before I could grab it, sadly).

Bear and Bird Boutique: a local business that was vending at Fandom Fest, too, they have a lot of amazing bits and baubles, both fandom-related and original. We’ve bought everything from the Hilda graphic novel to a dragon puzzle at their store.

Picnocline: the only reason I didn’t buy things from Picnocline’s shop is that there were so many cute things that I literally couldn’t pick.

It’s Getting Dicey: dice, one of my true weaknesses! They have metal pride-flag dice sets, and lots of queer dice trays. I wish I could get them all…

Two-Penny Nerdlesque: a local burlesque troupe; they were very enthusiastic about And Seek (Not) to Alter Me and our queerifying of Much Ado About Nothing, and delighted told me about their own very queer versions of Shakespeare and other plays – I’m definitely going to have to check them out in the future.

(There are others too, but I didn’t grab everyone’s information, and I think this is plenty for one post. 😀 )

If any of you all are seeing this post, it was an absolute delight to meet you, and please don’t be a stranger!

Going forward, we’re looking forward to participating in more events and making more connections with other creators, especially other queer creators! Just today, we’ve applied to vend at A Big Gay Market, taking place in Washington Park in Albany on October 29th, 2023. We’ve also got a tentative schedule for 2024, and we’ll post more about where you’ll be able to find us as the dates grow closer and we find out if the juried shows have accepted our applications. We’re going to do our best to continue the success we’ve enjoyed at our first two conventions by pursuing vending as a way to meet potential readers and customers, grow relationships with other queer creators, and get the Duck Prints Press names out there for the benefit of all the authors, artists, and others we work with!

Got a con in New York State or Massachusetts that you love and think we should try to attend in 2024? Let us know in the comments or by dropping us an e-mail at info@duckprintspress.com!

Posted on Leave a comment

Creator’s Spotlight: 6 Recent Works Created in April by Duck Prints Press Contributors!

Our monthly “created works round-ups” are Duck Prints Press’s opportunity to spotlight some of the amazing work that people working with us have done that ISN’T linked to their work with Duck Prints Press. We include fanworks, outside publications, and anything else that creators feel like sharing with y’all! Inclusion is voluntary and includes anything that they decided “hey, I want to put this on the created work’s round-up!”

Check out what they’ve shared with us this month…


Waiting Between Worlds by Era JM Couts

fiction || naruto || f/f, m/m, f/m || haruno sakura/yamanaka ino, uchiha sasuke/uzumaki naruto, hyuuga neji/nara shikamaru || explicit || no major warnings apply || 1,896 || work in progress

summary: The war was over but there was no sudden happiness. Their problems didn’t disappear, their trauma didn’t disappear, and the political landmine of the post-war relations didn’t suddenly solve itself. In a perverse, twisted way, the post-war was harder than the war itself.

Anbu offered an exit. A broken, temporary solution. A way to erase the emotional pain.

Ten years later, they’re deeply entwined in the reality of life politics and the hard choices of a grey world.

But Sakura has a goal, Hinata has a plan, Ino has a mission.

And they’re done waiting.

other tags: Post-Fourth Shinobi War, ANBU, Konoha politics, Hyuuga Clan Politics, Fighting the System, Mostly Canon Compliant until Manga #698, Drama, Angst, Friendships, SNS in Denial, Friends to Lovers, Idiots to lovers, A lot of emotional damage from the war, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Casual Sex, ONS Naru/Saku, FWB Ino/Tema, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Fake Engagement Sasu/Hina, Hyuuga Hinata & Uchiha Sasuke Friendship, Depression, Canon-Typical Violence, Explicit Sexual Content

TUMBLRAO3


Rules Were Made to Be Twistificated by firefly124

fiction || mcyt, traffic life series, double life smp, hermitcraft smp, empires smp || m/m || jimmy solidarity/tango tek || teen & up || no major warnings apply || 2,190 || ongoing series

summary: His communicator vibrated. Jimmy looked at it and was surprised to see it was a message from Grian and not an inquiry about when the coffee shop would be handling custom orders again. It wasn’t even his eight-millionth request for tea. That would’ve just been funny. Instead, it was pretty ominous.

“Meet me at the entity. We need to talk.”

other tags: mention of past Jimmy/Scott, blaze hybrid Tango, avian Jimmy, watcher-listener lore

AO3


We Were Always Going to End Up Together by jumblejen

fiction || supernatural || f/f, m/m, f/m || castiel/dean winchester, eileen leahy/sam winchester || mature || no major warnings apply || 52,289 || complete

summary: When Dean’s best friend Charlie drags him to a haunted corn maze, he’d expected a few scares, a few laughs and maybe pie afterward. Instead he meets someone that might just change everything.

other tags: au – no supernatural, something at first sight, dean is trying to be a person, happy ending, dean’s dating history is not pretty, some angst, mostly fluff, mention of alcoholism, panic attacks, big thoughts

AO3


In Bloom by unforth

fiction || heaven official’s blessing || m/m || hua cheng/xie lian || general audiences || no major warnings apply || 705 || complete

summary: Hua Cheng gives Xie Lian a gift. Xie Lian worries that history will repeat itself.

other tags: Post canon, fluff, emotional hurt/comfort

TUMBLRAO3


Like You Can Stop Us? by unforth

fiction || daomu biji || poly (one gender: male) || wu xie/zhang qiling/wang pangzi || general audiences || no major warnings apply || 100 || complete

summary: Wu Erbai meets Pangzi for the first time.

other tags: outsider point of view, drabble

TUMBLRAO3


Double Vision by unforth

fiction || supernatural || poly (one gender: male) || dean winchester/castiel/jimmy || mature || no major warnings apply || 972 || complete

summary: Dean is somewhere between “still drunk” and “annoyingly hungover” when he wakes up in an unfamiliar bedroom with the certainty that he got laid the previous night.

But nothing could have prepared him for who he wakes up to…

other tags: incest/twincest trigger warning, drunk sex (implied),

TUMBLRAO3


See a fandom you love? Check out these fics! Or, find a whole new fandom! Happy reading…

Who We Are: Duck Prints Press LLC is an independent publisher based in New York State. Our founding vision is to help fanfiction authors navigate the complex process of bringing their original works from first draft to print, culminating in publishing their work under our imprint. We are particularly dedicated to working with queer authors and publishing stories featuring characters from across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. Love what we do? Sign up for our monthly newsletter and get previews, behind-the-scenes information, coupons, and more!

Posted on Leave a comment

Creator’s Spotlight: January Works Created by Duck Prints Press Contributors!

Our monthly “created works round-ups” are Duck Prints Press’s opportunity to spotlight some of the amazing work that people working with us have done that ISN’T linked to their work with Duck Prints Press. We include fanworks, outside publications, and anything else that creators feel like sharing with y’all! Inclusion is voluntary and includes anything that they decided “hey, I want to put this on the created work’s round-up!”

Check out what they’ve shared with us this month…


inseparable. by MizuShiba

art || call of duty: modern warfare ii || m/m || ghost/soap || general audiences || no major warnings apply || complete

summary: A peaceful moment after a stressful day.

TUMBLRTWITTER


Were-Pei by unforth/Nina Waters

fiction || 天官赐福 – 墨香铜臭 | tiān guān cì fú || m/m || hua cheng/xie lian || general audiences || no major warnings apply || 8,203 || complete

summary: For the past month, Hua Cheng’s been developing a friendship with the sweet, nice guy who lives in an alley along the route Hua Cheng walks home. He’s looking forward to growing that relationship with another night’s worth of chit-chat and shared steamed buns when he turns into the alley.

Instead, he finds a dog.

other tags: Fluff, Getting Together, Modern AU

AO3


Who We Are: Duck Prints Press LLC is an independent publisher based in New York State. Our founding vision is to help fanfiction authors navigate the complex process of bringing their original works from first draft to print, culminating in publishing their work under our imprint. We are particularly dedicated to working with queer authors and publishing stories featuring characters from across the LGBTQIA+ spectrum. Love what we do? Sign up for our monthly newsletter and get previews, behind-the-scenes information, coupons, and more!