“The Magic Bangle” by Shastri Akella has just appeared in Best American Short Stories 2024, edited by Lauren Groff and Heidi Pitlor. Of the story’s publishing journey, Shastri Akella writes, “After facing a homophobic attack in my hometown, I wrote this story, reimagining the city as a queer utopia, so its inclusion feels particularly special.” The Death of Alexander the Great” by Zak Salih has been listed as “Distinguished” in Best American Mystery and Suspense 2024, edited by S. A. Cosby.  “What’s He Building in There” by Cat Powell was a Finalist for the Shirley Jackson Awards in the Novelette category.  The Rainbow Issue in its entirety was a Finalist for the 2024 Lambda Awards in the category of LGBTQ+ Anthology. We are so proud of all contributors to The Rainbow Issue.

After eight years of serving tirelessly in the editorial office of Fairy Tale Review  in so many roles (Editorial Assistant, Managing Editor, Fiction Editor)  Benjamin Schaefer was promoted to Editor for The Rainbow Issue (Vol. 19, 2023). Benjamin has retired from Fairy Tale Review to work on a novel  — which we can’t wait to read — and we wish him the best (and will continue to hound him with texts featuring lots of emojis).

We’d also like to thank Fairy Tale Review’s long-running Poetry Editor Jon Riccio, who has been with the journal for over ten years (!). Jon first joined our staff as a graduate student editorial assistant and has remained a stalwart fairy-tale superhero ever since then.  His work on The Rainbow Issue, along with a dedicated team of Associate Poetry Editors, deserves commendation. Jon has a new chapbook just released — The Orchard in Lieu of A Horse — which poet Robert Carr describes as “an internal world fully realized, a queer epiphany.”