“We gays cast our nets out into the mythic sea, searching for our own lost archetypes…those symbols of the human psyche which we may claim as emblematic of our own particular way of being.” –Stanley Johnson, “On the Banks of the River Time Looking Inland”

The Rainbow Issue of Fairy Tale Review will be dedicated to queer fairy tales written by queer writers. Prose Editor Benjamin Schaefer will serve as Editor for the issue.

Since its inception, Fairy Tale Review has been committed to contributor diversity and inclusive engagement. While The Rainbow Issue will be dedicated to queer fairy-tale poetry and prose written by writers who self-identify as members of the LGBTQIA+ community, we are especially interested in submissions by writers working at the intersection of queerness, including women and nonbinary writers, BIPOC, writers with disabilities, and writers from other marginalized and underrepresented groups in mainstream publishing.

Submissions to The Rainbow Issue will be accepted March 21, 2022 – June 30, 2022. Specific genre guidelines can be found below. We ask that all submissions adhere to the following general guidelines:

All work must be submitted using our Submittable portal. We do not accept submissions via email or postal service.

Submissions must be previously unpublished, both in print and online.

Writers should submit only once in a given genre per submission period, unless encouraged to submit again by our editorial staff. Multiple submissions will go unread.

Simultaneous submissions are welcome. Please note as such in your cover letter and withdraw the submission immediately if accepted elsewhere. Withdrawals can be done through Submittable. If you’ve submitted a packet of poems and must withdraw one but would like the rest to remain under consideration, please add a note to your submission in Submittable.

We welcome submissions directly from authors or agents.

For prose: Writers may submit a single prose piece up to 6,000 words or up to three prose pieces under 1,000 words each. We welcome short fiction, essays, lyric nonfiction, and creative scholarship. Scholarship will go through a standard peer review process.

For poetry: Writers may submit up to four poems totaling no more than ten pages.

For graphic novels, comics, and drama: Writers may submit up to ten pages.

For original artwork: Artists may submit up to five high-resolution images.

For translations (to English): Writers may submit translations of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Submissions in translation should follow the above guidelines corresponding to the genre of the original work. Submissions in translation should include the translated work in its source language, along with documentation of any permissions necessary to publish the work in both languages (original and English) combined in a single document.

The Rainbow Issue will be published in spring 2023. Contributors will receive two (2) issues of The Rainbow Issue and a $50 honorarium upon publication. A standard contract between the contributor and Fairy Tale Review will be executed upon acceptance.

Our editorial staff is small and entirely volunteer-based. We hope to respond to all submissions within 4 months.

Fairy Tale Review is published by the Journals Division of Wayne State University Press, Detroit, MI, and is proud to be part of their Series in Fairy Tale Studies.