Building a World Worth Reading: Inside the Launch of LegendHaven, the Quarterly Magazine to Rekindle Meaning, Moral Imagination, & Mythic Wonder
Why We're Starting a Magazine for Readers Who Still Believe Stories Matter
In an age of algorithm-led churn, soulless reboots, and stories stripped of meaning, a band of storytellers is drawing a line: to reclaim wonder, restore myth, and rebuild the future—one story at a time.
Three volunteers from the LegendFiction writing community have launched a quarterly magazine hand-crafted to recover meaning, reignite the moral imagination, spotlight new fiction, and offer readers our guides on the must-reads, must-see, and must-game. And more.
The magazine, call LegendHaven, lands this summer as a full-color, 80-page print publication released four times a year. It’s more than a magazine — it’s a clarion call to readers bored of cynical content and hungry for tales that matter.
“This isn’t just something fun to flip through,” said Dominic de Souza, the founding editor. “It’s the Gray Havens. It’s the Last Homely House. It’s the campfire for the ones who stayed up reading and never got over it.”
Dominic looks like he wandered out of an author’s worldbuilding bootcamp — dark curls, collared shirt, notebooks that barely close from of doodling and dreaming. Born across oceans and raised on world mythology, he now builds communities that feel like monasteries wrapped in fandoms. He talks about fiction the way some talk about faith — not as escape, but as the long road home.
The magazine is a direct outgrowth of the LegendFiction community, a rapidly growing network of writers and readers passionate about clean, meaningful, and often faith-informed storytelling.
What began as an online convention three years ago — a gathering place for Catholic and Orthodox authors — has evolved into a year-round movement, anchored by a writing school, regular challenges, and now, a quarterly literary beacon.
A Curated Companion for the Fiction-Hungry
Each 80-page, quarterly issue is packed with author interviews, original stories, and curated recommendations. Annual subscriptions are now open for readers who want to belong to something more than a fandom — a movement.
The pages of LegendHaven Magazine will be filled with content designed for readers first: author interviews, short stories, book and movie recommendations, game recs, community spotlights, and essays on myth, meaning, and craft.
Each issue aims to serve as a curated companion for the fiction-hungry — those seeking more than what’s trending on social media. Readers who long for worlds they can believe in. Characters who rise instead of collapse. Stories that leave you with more than a cliffhanger — stories that leave you changed.
“We’re building the magazine we wish we had as teens,” said Gabriella Batel. “A place to find new authors, make new friends, and realize you’re not crazy for wanting stories that mean something.”
Gabi Batel grins like a saint of stories who swapped the halo for something with plot twists. She writes YA thrillers with bite and heart, the kind that dare you to feel something sharp and then sit with it. Equal parts adrenaline and awe, she edits like she’s wielding a scalpel and a sparkler at the same time.
That map is rooted in three foundational values the LegendFiction community has championed since its inception: myth, meaning, and moral imagination.
“We want to build the kind of creative culture where people read a story and know: I am not alone,” de Souza added. “Stories are how we find our people — and our purpose.”
Why the World Needs This
“We’re tired of book reviewers spamming content for likes, and corporations using storytelling to push agendas,” de Souza said. “We’re reclaiming story as something vital— something that helps us become more human.”
To the LegendHaven team, this is more than window dressing. For some people, stories are literal life or death. The stories we consume — especially the ones we repeat and revere — become the scaffolding of our interior lives. They teach us what is heroic, what is lovable, what is possible.
“These stories give voice to things inside us so deep we didn’t know how to live without them,” said Gabe Chabot.
Gabe leans in with the easy warmth of someone who’s making peace with the long road. Flannel shirt, ballcap, a half-smile that says he’s seen more than he’ll say — and written the rest down. Years ago, he left the U.S. for Australia with questions he couldn’t outrun. His first book is part adventure, part memoir— a raw, honest look at one man’s heroic attempt to take on the world and come back whole.
“They’re not just stories,” he says. “They can be pillars. Cornerstones. The myths our children will live inside. That’s why this isn’t another magazine for kids.”
LegendHaven is created by authors and editors going after the hardest breach in the culture: the collapse of meaning in modern storytelling.
This magazine is for high schoolers, college students, and adults — readers who are navigating grimdark fiction, anti-heroes, and morally complex narratives. We don’t avoid uncomfortable stories. We don’t burn books. We engage with them, especially if they’re trending.
“Sometimes we fangirl like the best of them,” says Gabi. “Sometimes we drop hot-takes about what we hated. But we always ask: what can we learn about meaning and moral living, without moralizing?”
“We’re not interested in preachy, ‘safe’ stuff or academic excellence,” says Dominic. “We’re charging into all the pop culture and booktoks we know and love— to challenge it, learn from it, and build a future we believe in. We’re meeting up people inside the stories they already love — and offer new worlds to get lost in.”
Moral Imagination: Fiction as Formation
LegendFiction understands fiction as more than escapism. It’s a moral proving ground where ideas, instincts, and emotions are field-tested. Moral imagination helps readers envision lives worth living and sacrifices worth making.
“Storytelling is a field test of moral imagination,” de Souza explained. “It’s how we build the habits, the symbols, and the imagination to live better lives — before we’re tested for real.”
LegendHaven is fighting back against corporatized storytelling and content farming. They believe in the fandom, not the franchise. The myth, not the merch.
The team envisions a return to stories written with a community, for a community. They are inviting readers and authors into a long-form, slow-build rebellion of fun, fellowship, and fearless storytelling.
“We’re returning to the old days — when authors wrote for their community, with their community,” says Gabi “We’re building a revolution, with snacks and bookmarks.”
Responding to the Crisis of Meaning
LegendHaven is deeply aware of the cultural moment: a rising crisis of meaning where attention is monetized, depth is rare, and identity is unstable.
“Meaning has to matter,” de Souza says in his manifesto. “Because people are dying from being denied any meaning to their lives or purpose for their suffering. And stories are how we start to fix that.”
LegendHaven Magazine is a direct response. Born from Catholic and Orthodox roots, the project has grown to welcome anyone who believes in the power of stories to connect, to heal, and to build.
AI-Forward, Human-Centered
While many creative spaces fear or abuse AI, LegendHaven is charting a middle path. They see AI as a tool for freedom — a way to remove busywork and amplify creativity, not replace it.
“We’re practical,” said de Souza. “Creators will use whatever tools help. Stories must come from human hearts and be written by humans. Authors have a vocation, a calling, to help the human family. You can’t outsource what matters most to you to a robot. That’s the line.”
The team is developing a year-long authorship school to help creators build sustainable writing lives, not just follow content trends. But they draw a firm line:
“You are the point,” says Gabi. “Your fiction is the byproduct of your journey — not the end. Some authors can use AI to clear the path and fast-track the soul-sucking tedium.”
Built by Volunteers, Fueled by Vision
The magazine is launching as volunteer-driven dream, a labor of love from writers and readers within the LegendFiction network.
Subscriptions are now open for an annual plan of $100, which includes all four quarterly issues delivered to your door in print, and beautiful digital formats to download and print off, or read on your device.
Despite limited resources, the team is building with professional care — editorial spreads, stunning design, and a strong ethos that reflects the community’s aesthetic: ludicrously epic.
“Maybe it stays small. Maybe it doesn’t. That doesn’t matter,” said de Souza. “We’re doing this the best we can, Because we can’t imagine anything less. And we’re in it for the long haul, because fiction is life. We’ll never stop creating.”
LegendFiction’s writing school, online community, and anthology projects continue to grow — but LegendHaven Magazine is shaping up to be the beating heart of the movement. A signal flare in the fog. A handmade map for myth-lovers.
A quarterly reminder that fiction still matters — and that the stories we choose to love can help us build a world we want to live in. And the haven is where you come to find it, and meet up with new friends.
Subscriptions and more information are available soon at LegendHaven.com
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