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BLF Holiday Extravaganza!!! (S01E21)
BAD LIT FRIENDS FIRST ANNUAL HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA!!!
We were going to take the week off, but then a publisher was VERY WRONG on the internetz and… well. Surprise! Consider this a late holiday season present from Kirk and Meagan because who doesn’t like a little bit of legal analysis while they eat their weight in Danish butter cookies?
This episode is all Hot Goss, Contract Law Edition as we dig into the Shadowlight Press litRPG contract that’s been circulating online, why it’s so monumentally appalling, why publishers shouldn’t include Rickrolls on their websites, and what this contract can teach you about reading publishing agreements before you sign anything. We also talk litRPG as a genre, Shadowlight’s not-so-great public response to the kerfuffle, and the bigger takeaway: if a contract makes you feel like you’re being seduced into an author’s penal colony, maybe don’t do that.
Listener note: no episode on January 9th so we can have a tiny rest. We’re back on January 16, 2026 with Season Two (wut) of BAD LIT FRIENDS.
Welcome to Bad Lit Friends. We’re glad you’re here, even if none of us know what we’re doing.
Bad Lit Friends was created and is hosted by Meagan Thompson-Mann and Kirk Rafferty.
Show email: [email protected]
Bluesky: @badlitfriends.bsky.social
Threads: @badlitfriends
Instagram: @badlitfriends
Website: badlitfriends.com
SHOW NOTES:
Writer Beware, “Why These Contract Clauses Are Scary”: https://writerbeware.blog/2025/12/19/why-these-contract-clauses-are-scary/
Reddit post in r/ProgressionFantasy, “PSA: Shadow Light Press Contract” (12/16/25): https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgressionFantasy/comments/1poe338/psa_shadow_light_press_contract/
Follow up Reddit post by Shadow Light Press in r/ProgressionFantasy, “Shadow Light Press - Update” (12/19/25): https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgressionFantasy/comments/1pppp7l/shadow_light_press_update/
Editorial Freelancers’ Association’s Editorial Rates: https://www.the-efa.org/rates/
Author’s Guild Contract Review (I know I said Writer’s Guild!): https://authorsguild.org/legal-services/contract-reviews/
View all episodes
By Bad Lit FriendsBAD LIT FRIENDS FIRST ANNUAL HOLIDAY EXTRAVAGANZA!!!
We were going to take the week off, but then a publisher was VERY WRONG on the internetz and… well. Surprise! Consider this a late holiday season present from Kirk and Meagan because who doesn’t like a little bit of legal analysis while they eat their weight in Danish butter cookies?
This episode is all Hot Goss, Contract Law Edition as we dig into the Shadowlight Press litRPG contract that’s been circulating online, why it’s so monumentally appalling, why publishers shouldn’t include Rickrolls on their websites, and what this contract can teach you about reading publishing agreements before you sign anything. We also talk litRPG as a genre, Shadowlight’s not-so-great public response to the kerfuffle, and the bigger takeaway: if a contract makes you feel like you’re being seduced into an author’s penal colony, maybe don’t do that.
Listener note: no episode on January 9th so we can have a tiny rest. We’re back on January 16, 2026 with Season Two (wut) of BAD LIT FRIENDS.
Welcome to Bad Lit Friends. We’re glad you’re here, even if none of us know what we’re doing.
Bad Lit Friends was created and is hosted by Meagan Thompson-Mann and Kirk Rafferty.
Show email: [email protected]
Bluesky: @badlitfriends.bsky.social
Threads: @badlitfriends
Instagram: @badlitfriends
Website: badlitfriends.com
SHOW NOTES:
Writer Beware, “Why These Contract Clauses Are Scary”: https://writerbeware.blog/2025/12/19/why-these-contract-clauses-are-scary/
Reddit post in r/ProgressionFantasy, “PSA: Shadow Light Press Contract” (12/16/25): https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgressionFantasy/comments/1poe338/psa_shadow_light_press_contract/
Follow up Reddit post by Shadow Light Press in r/ProgressionFantasy, “Shadow Light Press - Update” (12/19/25): https://www.reddit.com/r/ProgressionFantasy/comments/1pppp7l/shadow_light_press_update/
Editorial Freelancers’ Association’s Editorial Rates: https://www.the-efa.org/rates/
Author’s Guild Contract Review (I know I said Writer’s Guild!): https://authorsguild.org/legal-services/contract-reviews/