Briar & Thorn Is Here!
- Madeline Mertz
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
We are delighted to present The Sleeping Beauty Issue! Scroll down for a list of featured authors, and first lines for each piece in Briar and Thorn, The Sleeping Beauty Issue. Click on the PDF to download and read the issue for free.
Click on the box to download and read our Spring/Summer 2025 issue!
What's inside:
TO SLEEP, PERCHANCE TO DREAM: THE ENDURING APPEAL OF SLEEPING BEAUTY (nonfiction) – 5
By contemporary standards, Sleeping Beauty is the most old-fashioned of princesses. She is a wished-for child who falls into a death-like slumber as soon as she comes of age.
Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine. Her work has also appeared in Blue Heron Review, Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly, Mothers of Enchantment, and The Magic of Us. Her debut novella, Selkie Moon, publishes in 2025. You can find her at Kellyjarviswriter.com.
BRIAR-ROSE REFLECTS ON HER LIFE (poetry) – 9
Who is to say that I did not live during those
Hundred years of slumber?
Deborah Sage is a native of Kentucky, USA. She has been most recently published in Eternal Haunted Summer, Fairy Tale Magazine, the 2022 Dwarf Stars Anthology, Amethyst Press All Shall Be Well anthology for Julian of Norwich, Eye to the Telescope and Lothlorien Poetry Journal.
ASH IN YOUR EYES (prose) – 10
Once upon a time, a fearful king ordered that all the spinning wheels in his kingdom be destroyed.
Jo Niederhoff has loved storytelling since she asked her kindergarten teacher to move out of her forest. Learning to write just helped her put down her stories on paper instead of having to act them out, which she still does on stage. She can be found at @eliza-writing.bsky.social.
ENCHANTED CREATOR: THE WRITING MAGIC OF JANE YOLEN (interview) – 13
. . . in the real world, if you fall asleep for a week or a month or a year, you’re likely dead.
Kelly Jarvis (bio above) interviews prolific writer Jane Yolen
IN LISBETH ZWERGER’S ‘BRIAR ROSE’ (poetry) – 17
I was in that picture once.
It feels like a hundred years ago.
Rachel Ferriman was born and raised in Johannesburg and has a Fine Arts degree from Wits University (2001). Like many people, she has experienced significant loss over her lifetime but believes that even the slightest sliver of light cuts through the deepest darkness, and creativity is light.
LET ME SLEEP (poetry) – 18
‘Picturesque’ is the word they use for my home,
and ‘beautiful’ the word for me –
R. Haven has been mentored by Yvonne Blomer, poet-in-residence with Arc Poetry. He hails from Toronto, Canada. His debut horror novel, The Other Face of Sympathy, comes out September 2025, and he is represented by Kaitlyn Katsoupis of Belcastro Literary Agency. His website is theirritablequeer.com.
UPON A DREAM (prose) – 19
They found her by the ceiba tree, in a slant of afternoon light. Rosa had been missing for twenty years, and yet there she was, asleep in the grove like she’d never left.
Jon Negroni is a Puerto Rican author of fantasy and Caribbean folkore based in the San Francisco Bay Area.
GIFTS FOR GIRLS (poetry) – 23
They were never
Practical,
My sisters,
Dr. Sara Cleto and Dr. Brittany Warman are award-winning folklorists, teachers, and writers. Together, they founded The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic, where they teach creative souls how to re-enchant their lives through folklore and fairy tales. Their fiction and poetry can be found in Enchanted Living, Uncanny Magazine, Star*Line, and others.
HEIRLOOM ALCHEMY (prose) – 24
A knock woke the old man from his comfortable doze.
Amy Trent is a storyteller, mother, cookie-lover, and award-winning novelist. She delights in writing novels and short stories that explore identity, whimsy, and love through the lens of fairy tales and folklore. To learn more about Amy, or to find the recipe that inspired this story, please visit amytrent.com.
FAIRY TALE DREAMS (poetry) – 29
The Valiant One slept restlessly on a hard bed
Sword kept near, for his dreams were haunted
Emily Kramer is a romantic in pursuit of wonder. She is the creator and host of The Modern Romantic Podcast, a photographer, glass artist, and occasional poet. With a background in fashion and costume design and a love for romanticism, Emily explores themes of beauty, stillness, and storytelling through art.
AWAKEN (prose) – 30
Brambles and blackberries. Thistle and thorn.
Angela Rega is a writer and teacher based in Canberra. Her short stories have been published in Australia, Canada, United States, United Kingdom and Norway. Her publications include The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy and Horror, PS Publishing and South of the Sun: Australian Fairy Tales for the 21st Century.
THE TRUTH THAT SLEEPS (poetry) – 33
They never told you this
never mentioned the real story.
Kim Whysall-Hammond is a Londoner who now lives elsewhere. Her poetry has appeared in Fantasy Magazine, Eternal Haunted Summer, Dreams and Nightmares and others. She won Third prize in the 2023 Dwarf Star Speculative Poetry Award. Her debut chapbook, Messages from the Road, is published by Palewell Press.
HOBO QUEEN (prose) – 34
Once upon a time, below towering cedars deep in a town park, a royal couple ruled a sprawling encampment.
KT Wagner writes speculative fiction, loves to knit and collects strange plants, weird trivia and obscure tomes. Her work is published and podcast with Pulp Literature, On Spec, Flash Fiction Online, Cosmic Horror Monthly, Toasted Cake and more. KT organizes writer events and works to create literary community. www.ktwagner.com https://bsky.app/profile/ktwagner.bsky.social
OUR MOTHER AS SLEEPING BEAUTY (poetry) – 37
In the morning, we gathered around her bed and marveled at her beauty.
Robin Michel’s poetry and prose appears in many journals. She is the author of the prize-winning chapbook Things Will Be Better in Bountiful (Comstock Review 2024) and one full-length poetry collection, Beneath a Strawberry Night Sky (Raven & Wren Press, 2023). Born in Utah, she now lives in San Francisco.
THE TAPESTRY (prose) – 38
She had started weaving to pass the time. Hours spread around her, each one as potent and as terrifying as a winter’s night, and she had needed something to occupy her mind while the rest of the kingdom slept.
Kelly Jarvis (bio above)
SLEEPING BEAUTY RETURNS THE GODDESS TO THE WORLD (poetry) – 42
sleeping, I was magnificent
Caitlin Gemmell is a poet who dreams of becoming a fairy godmother and relocating to the seaside. Her poems have been widely published, including by Bella Grace, Green Ink Poetry Press, and in Elizabeth Royal Patton Poetry Prize Anthology.
STEADFASTLY WAITING (prose) – 43
The prince slept at Maricia’s house.
Sergej Pavlović is a young writer from Montenegro, Balkans. Though he is twenty four years old, he remains in love with fairy tales and considers them an endless source of inspiration and captivating material for study.
CENTURY’S REST (poetry) – 46
A hundred years gives ample scope
for dreams. Ice floes drift from end
Thomas R. Keith currently resides in his hometown of Austin, TX. His poetry and short fiction have appeared in various journals and anthologies.
SLEEPING GIRL (prose) – 47
The Queen’s daughter drifted to sleep. She gripped her mother’s hands in hers. . .
Laura Matney is a fiction writer, ghostwriter, and Author Accelerator certified book coach. She writes fantasy that uses folklore and mythology to shine a light on modern day issues. She is a captain of chaos, managing one small child, two giant dogs, and, occasionally, her husband.
I WOKE UP ONE DAY AND FOUND ME (poetry) – 50
Like a fazed deer, I found myself—little by little, in a bed;
Yukti Narang (she/her/hers) is an emerging Indian creative writer, screenwriter, and dramatist. Her work has been featured in renowned literary magazines and anthologies, and forthcoming with several others. Her debut poetry collection is 'There Is A Home In All Of Us' (2023). Yukti is currently working on her literary and film titles.
A WAY THROUGH THE BRIARS (prose) – 51
My anger’s fresh; theirs is old and weary, barely alive now a winter’s passed since the spell was cast.
Lynden Wade neglects her family to spend time in the worlds of folklore and magic. She’s had stories published in a range of publications, including BFS Horizons, the journal of the British Fantasy Society. She is still hoping for a house elf. Find her on Instagram @lwadewrites.
Poetry for Briar and Thorn was curated by our Guest Poetry Editor, Sally Rosen Kindred.
The Fairy Tale Magazine is made possible by the generosity of our Fairy Godparents Club members and many of our authors. Our staff members volunteer their time. If you enjoy this issue and giving feels good, we welcome your donation, small or large. You may give via PayPal to The Fairy Tale Magazine (thefairytalemagazine@gmail.com).