Story Artcards
Stories You Can Hold. Worlds You Can Explore.
Imagine an entire novel represented by a miniature work of art no larger than a playing card.
Story Artcards bring original storytelling and visual art together in a collectible 2.5 × 3.5-inch format.
Each physical card may contain a very short story or provide access to a longer written work, audiobook, or author-narrated recording through a QR code or web link.
Story Artcards invite novelists, short-story writers, illustrators, photographers, and other creative individuals to turn literature into art you can collect, gift, save, and trade.
What Is a Story Artcard?
A Story Artcard is a miniature physical artwork combining original storytelling with visual expression.
A card might feature:
- An original short story or work of flash fiction.
- An illustration inspired by a story or novel.
- Original cover artwork for a published or unpublished book.
- A photograph or drawing representing a fictional character or setting.
- A QR code linking to a complete short story, novella, or novel.
- Access to an audiobook or recording of the author reading the work.
Some Story Artcards may contain an entire miniature literary work. Others serve as artistic gateways to stories of almost unlimited length.
The physical card is the collectible artwork, while the accompanying literature gives it another dimension.
Create Your Own Story Artcards
Story Artcards are an open artistic format. Anyone is welcome to create, collect, sell, gift, and trade them independently.
Writers may illustrate their own stories or collaborate with painters, photographers, illustrators, printmakers, and other visual artists.
Cards may be individually created originals or signed, limited editions.
Creators are free to establish their own values and arrangements for selling or trading their works.
Written stories and audio recordings may be hosted on the creator's own website or another suitable service. A card may link to the complete work, an authorized digital edition, or a page where readers can access or purchase it.
Creators retain their respective copyrights and are responsible for obtaining permission to use any accompanying artwork, written material, recordings, or other creative content.
Ownership of a physical Story Artcard does not automatically transfer copyright or rights to reproduce the associated literary work.
There is no requirement to participate in Minnaar Money.
Your stories. Your artwork. Your terms.
Story Artcards as Minnaar Money
Selected Story Artcards may also become Minnaar Money — Art You Can Trade.
Artist and collector Steven Minnaar invites writers and visual artists to submit completed physical Story Artcards for consideration through Guest Artist Selections.
Steven personally selects works according to his artistic standards, choosing only artworks he would be proud to have created himself.
For each accepted Story Artcard you choose to exchange, you contribute the physical card and one troy ounce of .999 fine silver.
In return, you may choose any available 1 SV Minnaar Money artwork from the Catalogue, including works by Steven Minnaar and other Guest Artists.
Your accepted Story Artcard receives:
- Permanent Catalogue Registration: A lasting record of the artwork and its original creators.
- Digital Certificate of Authenticity: Documentation identifying the registered physical artwork.
- Sovereign Value of 1 SV: An assigned exchange value within the Minnaar Money system.
- Lasting Exchange Privileges: Eligibility to exchange your registered artwork for other available Minnaars under the established Catalogue rules.
Each accepted physical card is registered individually. Additional copies of the same edition do not automatically become Minnaar Money.
Submission is free. Artwork and silver are required only after acceptance, if you decide to proceed.
For Minnaar Money consideration, Story Artcards must measure exactly 2.5 × 3.5 inches, be physical artworks on paper or card stock, and be originals or signed limited editions. Accepted cards must be delivered in clear protective sleeves.
Collaborate With Other Artists
Story Artcards offer opportunities for writers and visual artists to work together.
A novelist might commission an illustrator to interpret a favorite scene. A photographer might create an image inspired by a short story. An audiobook narrator might collaborate with an artist to produce a collectible edition of a recorded work.
An author might even create a series of Story Artcards representing individual chapters, characters, or books in a larger literary collection.
Collaborating creators should agree on attribution, permissions, and compensation before offering their work.
Participating creators are welcome to meet one another through the free Minnaar Trading Post or at our weekly Minnaar Money Meetups in Dana Point, California.
Discover More Artcards
Story Artcards are part of a growing family of miniature collectible artworks connecting physical art with music, poetry, and storytelling.
Discover Musical Artcards, Poetry Artcards, and the broader possibilities of this open artistic format.
Give Your Stories a Physical Presence
Whether you write flash fiction, short stories, novellas, novels, or experimental fiction, Story Artcards offer another way to share your creative work.
Create your own. Collaborate with another artist. Build a collection. Trade for something new.
Story Artcards — Stories You Can Hold. Stories You Can Trade.
Story Artcards are an open collectible-art format. Only individual physical cards personally selected and registered in the Minnaar Catalogue become Minnaar Money. Sovereign Value is an artistic exchange designation, not a guarantee of conventional market value or redemption for cash or silver.