Gay Authors 2026 - A Look Ahead
Entry posted by Myr in Announcements
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M E R R Y C H R I S T M A S ! ! !
As we wrap up 2025, I wanted to make a post looking ahead to 2026. I'll cover the plans as we know them right now, and at the end, I'll ask for some engagement from you, our members.
Site Software Update
The largest project for 2025 will be our plan to upgrade to the newest version of the Invision Community, the forum software. This is the largest software change in ten years and is a complete modernization of the software code. It has been rewritten from the ground up to be Mobile first. Since more than half of our traffic is from mobile devices, this should be good news to everyone. Our programmer has been working since October on the Stories software update that will bring our custom software into the most recent software era. We are running the forum software on our test server, so here is a quick sneak peak:
They also have a dark mode that you can even set to auto if your operating system switches modes based on time:
The most notable change for us is that we plan to use a left-side menu. By putting everything into the menu, it'll be much easier to access from mobile devices. The breakdown of that menu will change before we launch. We will show more as we get closer. My hope is to launch in Q1 2026.
We also plan to make things a big more visual, as you can see by the way the forums are broken down.
Blogs
We plan to continue our current features in 2026. Word of the Day, Genre Deep Dives, Weekly Wrap-ups, CSRs (Can't Stop Reading) Features, Prompts, Anthology/Writing Posts, etc. All these things require volunteers and participation.
A special shout out to @Bill W for his help in providing many of the words used for Words of the Day this year. Thank you!
Writing Events
In 2026, we will offer our usual lineup of writing events, including the poetry anthology, secret author contest, annual anthology, and prompt team event. Stay tuned for upcoming announcements regarding themes and guidelines! Looking ahead
- Poetry Anthology - April
- Secret Author Contest - summer
- Annual Anthology - October
- Prompt Team Event - December
In 2027, we will start an every-three-year event called "Gone, But Not Forgotten", dedicated to our friends who are no longer with us. You can find more details on our upcoming writing events in this post:
Feedback
Feedback comes in many forms. Sometimes the feedback is just silently moving on. Sometimes it is moving on dramatically. As I have mentioned innumerable times over the years, most of our site readers aren't members. Our simple compliance change on our Mature stories has seen over 1000 new members join the site in the last 2 months. This provided some nice feedback on, yes, they want to keep reading those stories.
Sometimes, we've done surveys. Sometimes we do a little poll. On stories, posts, and blogs, people use reactions for feedback. It's the easiest form, but it says someone looked at it. On stories, we can click the recommendation with reasons, which is a nice step up from just a reaction. Other people make comments or write reviews. All of these send authors and site staff messages.
And finally, we sometimes outright ask for feedback. I would like people to weigh in, even if you usually just lurk. What do you want to see at Gay Authors in 2026?
- I'm a reader, and I just want to see more of what you are already doing.
- I'm a reader, and I want to see more gay demon stories. (Top trending search for the last 3 months on Gay Authors has been "gay demons" according to Bing)
- I'm an author and want to add stories more easily. (This will be part of the upgrade to the new system)
Constructive feedback is the most appreciated. If you can tell me your perspective (author, reader, editor, community member, guest that just registered to answer this), it would help provide context to your feedback. If you are a person of few words, please provide a translation matrix for your grunting. 
Wishing you all the best in this holiday season and a wonderful new year in 2026!
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