Gingerbread houses deep in the forest. Baskets of treats for Grandma. Poisoned apples. Bowls of porridge, simmered just right. Food is an integral part of the fairy tales we tell, and to keep you satiated while you wait for The Fairy Tale Magazine's upcoming Issue Ravenous, we have served up a buffet of delicious folklore, literary cookbooks, luscious art, and food-themed quotations for you to savor. And, as a special treat, our Editor-in-Chief, professional composer and poet Kristen Baum DeBeasi, has baked us a playlist of music to make our mouth water! So, pull up a chair, Be Our Guest, and dine on every delectable morsel in our roundup! Food Folklore *If a man and a woman eat from the same beet, they will fall in love *In ancient Greece, dill was used to garland the brows of returning war heroes *Eat twelve grapes at midnight on New Year's Eve to usher in good luck *Always toss spilled salt over your left shoulder to ward off evil spirits *Spilling milk is considered a bad omen *Dropping a tortilla on the floor means a visit from your in-laws is coming soon *Keep fish scales in your wallet for good fortune *Hanging garlic from the rafters can prevent the evil eye *Place a piece of wedding cake under your pillow to dream of your future spouse Cookbooks for your Literary Kitchen What better way to begin a Fairy Tale Cookbook Roundup than with Alexander Höss-Knakal’s Fairy Tale Cooking: Delicious Dishes Inspired by The Little Mermaid, Cinderella, Aladdin, and Other Classic Characters and Christin Geweke’s Fairy Tale Baking: Delicious Treats Inspired by Hansel & Gretel, Snow White, and Other Classic Stories. Both volumes contain fairy tale inspired recipes alongside photography by Melinda Kutelas and Yelda Yilmaz. You’ll find dishes like Mushroom Flatbread with Hazelnut Pesto (inspired by Little Red Riding Hood) and Black Forest Cherry Trifle (inspired by the deep, dark woods). The most famous fairy tale collectors get their own kitchen volume titled The Brothers Grimm Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Fairy Tales. Robert Anderson presents concoctions drawn directly from the Grimms Kinder-und-Hausmarchen such as Clever Hans’s Sticky Bacon and Onion Pan Fry and Spider’s Web Pancakes. Divided into sections like Once Upon a Time, Crumbs & Nibbles, The Magic Cooking Pot, and Happily Ever Afters, this book is sure to delight fairy tale fans. Once Upon a Kitchen by Leslie Bilderback offers readers 101 magical recipes inspired by Arthurian Legend, The Arabian Nights, The Lord of the Rings, Star Wars and even Shakespeare! Recipes include Lusty Month of May Potato Soup, Aladdin’s Magical Garden Salad, Gandalf’s Cold Chicken and Pickles, Jedi Ration Bars, Titania’s Apricot and Dewberry Crisp, and, my favorite, Witches’ Brew (a coconut shrimp green curry). The perfect cookbook for literary minds! Magic takes over in The Wizard’s Cookbook and The Wizard’s Dessert Cookbook both penned by Aurelia Beaupommier. The first volume outlines the author’s “Who’s Who” of sorcerers before launching into magical foods for every day and feasts for special occasions. The second volume provides sweet recipes for Butterbeer, Lucy Pevensie’s Magic Cordial, and Bilbo’s 111th Birthday Cake. Fans of JRR Tolkien, JK Rowling, Roald Dahl, and CS Lewis will find themselves drawn to the kitchens to recreate their favorite literary meals. And for those who prefer Elves to Wizards, check out Robert Anderson’s The Elven Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by the Elves of Tolkien. Kitchen Witch: Food, Folklore, and Fairy Tale by Sarah Robinson does not contain any detailed recipes, but it invites readers to find magic in all corners of their kitchen. Robinson compiles the folklore and healing properties of everyday foods and explores the significance of celebrating with food as the wheel of the year turns. She also offers an historical overview of kitchen witches and a study of food in fairy tale. I love this informative book, but if you prefer your folklore with recipes try Eric Johnson’s The Folklore Cookbook: Fairy Tales and Recipes which pairs seventy-five original folktales with instructions for preparing matching dishes. Where would The Fairy Tale Magazine be without our beloved trolls? Karima Cammell and Clint Marsh’s The Troll Cookbook gifts readers “the aromatic spell of a stirred pot; the ritual conjuring of ingredients; the ancient, rumbling wilderness echoed in our hungry bellies.” This treasure explores the primal flame and provides with readers with an overview of trolls before grouping its stories, folklore, and recipes by season and ending with a reminder to rekindle the flame of simple living and home cooking. Practical tips like the value of a sharp knife and the economic benefit of tending a garden are placed next to whimsical stories, gorgeous illustrations, and tongue-in-cheek troll equivalents for temperatures, measurements, and weights. The result is pure magic, and readers will soon find themselves searching the tree lines for the ancient shadows of trolls. This is one of my most precious cookbooks, and it never fails to fill my kitchen with enchantment. The incomparable Jane Yolen, who was featured as an Enchanted Creator in our Briar and Thorn Issue, brings her folkloric magic to children in Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook for Young Readers and Eaters. Written with her daughter Heidi Stemple, and lovingly illustrated by Philippe Béha, this book draws connections between the art of cooking and the art of storytelling, explaining how both processes’ contain changeable ingredients which make every serving unique. Yolen and Stemple return to the intertwining of storytelling and cooking in both Jewish Fairy Tale Feasts and Hanukkah Fairy Tale Feasts, collections which feature retellings of Jewish tales alongside classic recipes. And, Jane Yolen also pens the introduction to Paul Yee’s Chinese Fairy Tale Feasts: A Literary Cookbook (illustrated by Shaoli Wang), a book which folds the fairy tale and folklore of China into child-friendly recipes designed to stimulate family time in the kitchen. The latest in this series is Arab Fairy Tale Feasts which features Karim Alrawi’s stories and pictures from Nahid Kazemi. Make way for one of my favorite books of all time: The Unofficial Princess Bride Cookbook: 50 Delightfully Delicious Recipes for Fans of the Cult Classic by Cassandra Reeder. In addition to complete party menus for a Feast of Insanity and a Storming the Castle Banquet, this volume features recipes for Fezzik’s Restorative Stew and Buttercup’s Perfect (Chicken) Breasts. Filled with tidbits of information about the movie, this book is sure to be on the As-You-Wish-List of every Princess Bride fan. Find my full review of the cookbook here. Looking for a fairy tale adjacent cookbook? Consider A Gothic Cookbook: Hauntingly Delicious Recipes Inspired by 13 Classic Tales, a text which grew out of Dr. Alessandra Pino’s academic study of how food manifests on Gothic pages. Ella Buchan, a food writer and recipe developer, joins Pino to create over sixty original recipes illustrated by Lee Henry. America’s most popular Gothic writer gets his own cookbook in A Ravenous Feast: Spellbinding Recipes Inspired by the Literary Works of Edgar Alan Poe by Veronica Hinke, and the Mystery Writers of America ban together to create Wickedly Good Meals and Desserts to Die For. Literature lovers can also find tamer options include The Book Lover's Cookbook: Recipes Inspired by Celebrated Works of Literature, and the Passages That Feature Them by Shaunda Wenger and Janet Jensen, Jane Austen's Table by Robert Anderson, and A Literary Tea Party: Blends and Treats for Alice, Bilbo, Dorothy, Jo, and Book Lovers Everywhere by Alison Walsh. If you prefer to get your nutrients in liquid form look no further than La La Laine’s Fairytale Cocktails: Cocktails Inspired By Your Favorite Disney Characters. Dedicated to all the “Disney adults” who still believe in fairy tales, this book is divided into chapters like Snow White’s Hazy Adventures, A Whole New World of Flavors, and Under the Sea Mixology. Full-color photography allows readers to enjoy the beauty of drinks like Mad Hatter’s Punch and Enchanted Rose Martinis. This book contains the perfect concoctions for romantic evenings or girls’ nights curled up watching a favorite film. If you don’t consider yourself a Disney adult but still like to raise a glass of cheer, try the literary inspired Tequila Mockingbird by Tim Federle, a book which blends sixty-five drink recipes with scintillating commentary on the novels which inspired them. For a cozy tavern-inspired meal, why not try The Copper Spoon Chronicles Cookbook? Emily Teuscher offers a culinary quest through a world of flavor and fantasy, peppering her stories with recipes like Roasted Garlic Butter and Hen and Hearth Stew. I follow Emily on TikTok where she posts meals for weary travelers, and her concoctions never fail to delight me! This beautifully illustrated book is sure to be a favorite among Dungeons and Dragons players and adventurers! Finally, nothing is more fairy tale than celebrating the wheel of the year, and Erika Kubick’s gorgeous text Cheese Magic: Seasonal Recipes, Plates, and Pairings does just that, providing readers with delectable concoctions to carry them from Imbolc through Yule. Divided into eight seasonal sections and illustrated by Devon Forst, this book will keep cheese-lovers’ mouths watering as the wheel turns. I love to flip through cookbooks and dream about recipes for parties, celebrations, and gatherings with friends. We hope our list of literary cookbooks inspires you to make some magic in your own kitchens! Art and Quotations to Savor Goblin Market by Arthur Rackham “Come buy our orchard fruits, Come buy, come buy: Apples and quinces, Lemons and oranges, Plump unpeck’d cherries, Melons and raspberries, Bloom-down-cheek’d peaches, Swart-headed mulberries, Wild free-born cranberries, Crab-apples, dewberries, Pine-apples, blackberries, Apricots, strawberries;— All ripe together In summer weather,— Morns that pass by, Fair eves that fly; Come buy, come buy" (Christina Rossetti) The Goblin Market by Hilda Koe "Come buy, come buy: Our grapes fresh from the vine, Pomegranates full and fine, Dates and sharp bullaces, Rare pears and greengages, Damsons and bilberries, Taste them and try: Currants and gooseberries, Bright-fire-like barberries, Figs to fill your mouth, Citrons from the South, Sweet to tongue and sound to eye; Come buy, come buy” (Christina Rossetti) Snow White by Walter Crane "Then she went into her most secret room--no one else was allowed inside--and she made a poisoned, poisoned apple. From outside it was beautiful, white with red cheeks, and anyone who saw it would want it. But anyone who might eat a little piece of it would die" (Little Snow White, The Brothers Grimm) Hansel and Gretel by Kay Nielsen "The bird sat on the roof, and when they came closer, they saw that the little house was built entirely from bread with a roof made of cake, and the windows were made of clear sugar" (Hansel and Gretel, The Brothers Grimm) Little Red Riding Hood by Walter Crane "One day her mother, having made some cakes, said to her, "Go, my dear, and see how your grandmother is doing, for I hear she has been very ill. Take her a cake, and this little pot of butter" (Little Red Riding Hood, Charles Perrault) Beauty and the Beast by Kinuko Y. Craft "At noon she found dinner ready, and while at the table, was entertained with an excellent concert of music" (Beauty and the Beast, Jeanne-Marie LePrince de Beaumont) Music for Cooking Compiled by our Editor-in-Chief Kristen Baum DeBeasi This playlist includes a variety of food/topics around food and hunger from fairy tales old and new. Some of the pieces are inspired by the Brothers Grimm (Hansel & Gretel), Disney (Beauty and the Beast), Christina Rosetti (Goblin Market), The Nutcracker, Narnia, and a mashup of many familiar fairy tales. Two modern sonic retellings are: The Golden Fly One. This is lovely solo piano music by Alessandra Celletti. I like to imagine that her suite for The Golden Fly loosely shares fantasias on the Celtic tale of The Golden Fly (related to the myth of Étaín) involves food and drink, specifically a pivotal moment wherein the goddess Étaín, transforms into a golden fly and falls into a queen's cup, is drunk up by the queen, which leads to her magical rebirth as a human girl after the queen gives birth to her. It’s not clear that this is the inspiration according to the composer, but for me, that’s always been the story I connect it with. And the art song I composed, “Ravenous” based on Sally Rosen Kindred’s poem that’s inspired by the Grimm's tale "The Raven.” We hope From Gingerbread to Goblin Fruit: A Fairy Tale Food Roundup has fed your soul while you wait for the Fairy Tale Magazine's upcoming Ravenous Issue! Fill your kitchen with music and bake up some magic for the people you love! Kristen Baum DeBeasi, the Editor-in-Chief of The Fairy Tale Magazine, was born a flower child (on the inside). In fact, she remembers communing with the flowers surrounding her PNW home as a young girl. It wasn’t until later in life when her inner flower child grew bold enough to emerge (on the outside). Kristen has loved faeries and fairy tales for as long as she can remember. She is a poet, writer, and composer with a M.M. in theory and composition. The marriage of storytelling and music guides her creative expression. Visit her at: https://www.kbdebeasi.com/ Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine, is a Recurring Columnist for Eternal Haunted Summer, and teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her work has been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Blue Heron Review, Corvid Queen, Mermaids Monthly, The Chamber Magazine, The Magic of Us, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. Her debut novella, Selkie Moon, was named a semi-finalist in the Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship and her Gothic historical romance, Sea and Stars, won a Literary Titan Gold Book Award and a Literary Global Gold Seal. Connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/

Although Nightbird is classified as a young adult novel due to its twelve year old protagonist, a young girl who must navigate the secrets of her family and her small town, this spellbinding story will delight adults and fans of fairy tale magic. Written in Alice Hoffman’s beautiful style, Nightbird is a book that will lead you back to a time in your life when friendships, first love, and finding your true self all lead to enchantment. The novel takes place in the town of Sidwell, Massachusetts in the Berkshires. Teresa Jane Fowler (known as Twig) must keep her family’s secret, the results of an ancient curse cast by a witch over two-hundred years ago. Twig’s family owns an apple orchard which grows fruit from the seeds of Johnny Appleseed himself, and when new neighbors move into the witch’s abandoned cottage down the street, Twig’s growing friendship with a girl named Julia makes her secret harder and harder to keep. Together, the girls must investigate the local legend of a “flying monster” who steals things from residents, save the woods, which house a unique species of owl, from being bulldozed and developed, facilitate their older siblings’ star-crossed romance, and break the ancient curse upon the Fowler family. Nightbird is an easy read for adults, but there is much complexity in the writing which lingers long after the book has been put away. It is the kind of book I would teach in my Children’s or Young Adult Literature college classes to demonstrate the possibilities of the genre in the hands of a true artist. Hoffman shines when she speaks of the depths of love and friendship, and her narrative is filled with natural imagery about the world that will change the ordinary into something special. The book encourages readers to see what is in front of them from a new point of view, and it is the perfect story to share with a middle grade reader or to enjoy with the full force of adult nostalgia. If you loved Hoffman’s Practical Magic series, you will enjoy Nightbird which sparkles with magic, innocence, and love. You can purchase the book here. Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her work has been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Blue Heron Review, Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly, The Chamber Magazine, The Magic of Us, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. Her debut novella, Selkie Moon, was released in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/

I have long been a fan of Sharon Lynn Fisher’s cozy Gothic fantasies (Salt & Broom, Grimm Curiosities, Tea & Alchemy) and I was thrilled to find Bane Bloom just as phenomenal! The novel begins with the mysterious diary entries of Charles Carroll, an apothecary from the London Society who has been sent to the Lake District to catalogue the specimens in Arthur Banes’ Pine Cottage. After Mr. Carroll loses his grip on reality and disappears, Catherine Gray, a young woman with an interest in botany and a talent for illustration take up his cataloguing work in exchange for becoming an apprentice apothecary. Catherine has grown up with an artist for a father, and her trip to the north may help secure their future, but when she arrives in the country and meets Thomas Bane, Arthur’s grandson and the groundskeeper for the property, Catherine’s careful plans begin to unravel. Thomas is no ordinary man, and his taciturn behavior harbors a series of dark secrets. Nevertheless, an attraction between Thomas and Catherine is undeniable, and much of the novel centers on the complexities of their growing relationship as Catherine learns the secrets of Pine Cottage. The titular Bane Bloom, an elusive shape-shifting flower that has the power to grant your heart’s desire, is the key to the Pine Cottage mystery, and it explains the tie between Thomas and the surrounding land. Madness, folklore, superstition, and witchcraft permeate the story, and Fisher’s admiration for both benevolent (hyacinths, foxglove, and bluebells) and malevolent (hellebore, and belladonna) plants fill her sentences with luscious scent and eye-catching beauty. As always, her landscapes are meticulously researched, and I felt like I was wandering among the becks and fells as I turned each page. Bane Bloom perfectly blends a real world setting with frightening touches of fairy magic, and I delighted in learning about kelpies, nokken, and wodewose. The tone leans Gothic and explores serious themes like abandonment, loneliness, and isolation, but beneath it all is a strain of beauty and a reverence for the natural world as the village participates in celebrations to welcome the spring. Fisher’s prose especially sings when she is exploring the relationship between Catherine and Thomas. Although the book is told primarily from Catherine’s point of view, a few chapters allow Thomas to tell his own story, and the blend of both voices helps the reader feel more invested in their courtship. The romance between Catherine and Thomas is a slow burn, but it is also quite sensual since both characters stand somewhat outside the gendered and social expectations of Victorian society. The ups and downs of their relationship will make readers swoon, and the mystery of whether they will discover their happily ever after is as intriguing as the mystery of the Bane Bloom. If you love beautifully crafted explorations of nature, folklore, and romantic relationships, you will adore Bane Bloom! You can find it here. Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and a Recurring Columnist for Eternal Haunted Summer. She also teachers writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her folklore inspired novella, Selkie Moon, was a semi-finalist in the 2025-2026 Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship and her Gothic historical romance, Sea and Stars, is the winner of the Literary Titan Gold Book Award. Learn more about her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/

Do you love Jane Austen? Do you love murder mysteries? If you answered yes to these questions, then add Vanessa Kelly’s novel, Murder in Highbury to your list today! The novel takes place in the summer of 1813, a year after Emma’s marriage to the magistrate George Knightly. Emma and her friend Harriet Martin discover the body of Mrs. Elton, the vicar’s wife, on the steps of the church, and when they notice bruises on her neck and a blood-smeared candlestick on the altar, foul play is suspected, and an investigation filled with twists and turns ensues. In addition to offering her readers a satisfying mystery, Kelly provides a faithful adaptation of Austen’s characters in her novel. Kelly’s Emma is the Emma generations of readers have fallen in love with, and her new role as a wife has not changed her personality or dampened her wit. Emma has evolved from matchmaker to detective, but her dialogue retains the witty banter and keen observations of Austen’s original character. Readers will also delight in the stern but loving George Knightly, the hysterical Harriet, and the humorous Mr. Wodehouse who claims the vicar “should not have allowed his wife to go off and get murdered in the first place.” The novel ends with George’s hope that his wife’s detective days are over, a sentiment the reader will certainly not share. I loved the cozy vibes of this murder mystery which immersed me in Regency Era inquests and funeral customs. The subtle plot twists and endearing character portrayals kept me reading, and Vanessa Kelly continues the fun with her sequel Murder at Donwell Abbey! You can purchase the first book in the Emma Knightly Mystery Series here. Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review. Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her work has been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Blue Heron Review, Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly, The Chamber Magazine, The Magic of Us, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. Her debut novella, Selkie Moon, was released in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/

Inheritance is the first book in best-selling author Nora Roberts’ new The Lost Bride Trilogy and it will delight her fans. The book begins with the tale of an 19th century bride ruthlessly murdered before her marriage can be consummated and then moves into the present day where the protagonist, Sonya MacTavish, is forced to call off her own wedding due to her groom’s infidelity. When she learns that her late father had a long lost twin who has left her a Victorian mansion on the Maine coast, she jumps at the chance to make a new start. She soon discovers, however, that the house is haunted by the ghosts of her family’s past. With the help of a new love interest, Sonya will try to solve the mystery of the Lost Brides, seven women who were killed or met an untimely death while living in the house. This book has all the makings of a Gothic romance, and I found the setting and legends which punctuate the modern day narrative captivating. It is part ghost story, part romance, part fantasy-suspense. The story ends with a cliffhanger and fans will be happy to learn they can complete the trilogy by reading The Mirror and The Seven Rings. This was an easy and fun summer read. If you have ever dreamed of a spooky mansion on the east coast and a generational curse, then this just might be the book for you! You can purchase it here. Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review. Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her work has been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Blue Heron Review, Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly, The Chamber Magazine, The Magic of Us, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. Her debut novella, Selkie Moon, was released in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/

The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Real Magic is a beautifully written portal fantasy which sends Nora, a graduate student researching John Donne’s poetry, into a world where real magic exists. At first, the lonely Nora, who is suffering from both a real-world break-up and an existential crisis about her life path in academia, finds solace in the beautiful fairy world she encounters. She exists in a trance-like state as she is given a magical makeover to prepare her for a romance with the son of the Queen, but not everything is as it seems. It is Aruendiel, a powerful but moody magician who rescues Nora from her fated marriage, offering her shelter in his home and protecting her from retaliation. As a romance begins to build between the unlikely pair, Aruendiel agrees to teach Nora to wield some magic of her own, a prospect that makes her return to her own world more complex. I absolutely loved this novel! The presence of a contemporary scholar in a medieval-type world of magic provided ample points of contemplation regarding the examination of Faerie, and the magical world of the book is in constant conversation with the contemporary world of scholarship, poetry, and literature. Fragments of poems return to Nora as she navigates a strange and dangerous environment, and she translates a copy of Pride and Prejudice for Aruendiel to read. Emily Croy Barker has achieved a perfect balance between urban and high fantasy, one that makes readers see the mundane world of the everyday as a place filled with shadows of enchantment. In addition to the intellectual commentary regarding the intersections of magic, art, science, and technology, Barker gives readers a delicious slow-burn romance steeped in mystery and intrigue. Although I usually tear through books, I found myself lingering with one, enjoying every moment of the superb plotting and immersive description. When I reached the end, I was delighted to learn Barker has written a sequel, How to Talk to a Goddess and Other Lessons in Real Magic, which advances the relationship of Nora and Aruendiel while exploring humanity’s relationship to divinity. I loved it just as much as The Thinking Woman’s Guide to Magic. If you enjoy sparkling, witty dialogue, deep character development, high fantasy with real-world human stakes, and intelligent, slow-burn romance steeped in mystery, pick up copies of both books in Emily Croy Barker’s bewitching duology. They will change the way you think about magic! You can find the books here. Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her work has been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Blue Heron Review, Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly, The Chamber Magazine, The Magic of Us, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. Her debut novella, Selkie Moon, was released in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/

I was lucky enough to read an early copy of The Elementist and was absolutely enchanted by it! Boyko tells the story of Caedris, a character who discovers herself through memory and her connection to the elements. Found wandering in the woods and covered in amethyst, emerald, and aquamarine tattoos, Caedris is pushed forward on a journey to find what is missing. Boyko builds a beautiful world with her writing, presenting a society based on the premise of gifting. There is a host of characters to enjoy, and I especially loved Ferrid, the Lorekeeper, and Jocco, the sweet and steady farmhand. The love triangle between Caedris, Ferrid, and Jocco is full of twists, turns, and revelations grounded in emotional and social growth. The novel unfolds like the rings of a tree, looping around as it weaves together stories, memories, thoughts, and voices. The natural world oozes from the pages, but there are libraries and labyrinths too, all bound together by the web of Boyko’s prose. The beautiful cover created by Alison Weber, The Faerie Scribe, perfectly captures the essence of The Elementist, a sweet but quest-filled adventure to discover one’s place in the world. If you enjoy traditional fantasy writing, stories crafted with lyrical prose, and quests that are as internal as they are external, The Elementist is the book for you! You can find it here. Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and a Recurring Columnist for Eternal Haunted Summer. She also teachers writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her folklore inspired novella, Selkie Moon, was a semi-finalist in the Speculative Fiction Indie Novella Championship and her Gothic historical romance, Sea and Stars, is the winner of the Literary Titan Gold Book Award. Learn more about her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/

Steven Ostrowski’s semi-autobiographical poetry collection, Life Field, traces the development of a poet through the liminal spaces of life. His opening poem, “What is a Life Field?” unfolds as a series of questions that introduces a “boy, curly-haired, cautious, / reckless, climbing a rotted trestle” in the fields behind his home. In his second poem, “Babe in Smoke,” he reveals that even at four years old, “poems were / already inventing themselves inside me, since a poem is a / body within a body breathing underneath the heart and / pulsing like stars all over the brain.” Deftly twisting the sacred mysteries of life and writing together from the first page of the collection, Ostrowski’s work propels readers forward, taking them on a beautiful and haunting journey through the fields of time. Life Field explores boyhood and heartbreak, bliss and brotherhood, “driving / under the influence / of memory” as it careens through life, noting the poet’s adolescent inspiration Bob Dylan, “Shakespeare’s orphan,” whose “ghost songs, / even fifty years down the highway, / shiver like the last hotel in the hurricane.” There are poems about lost friends and human history, poems for the writer’s daughter and sons, poems about aging men playing ice hockey, and poems that contemplate the silence that “opens between two sounds.” Ostrowski’s strain of nostalgia is both intimate and universal, prompting readers to travel through the landscapes of their own lives with renewed wonder. Written to “deepen the mystery of what it means to be human,” the poems in Life Field continue singing long after the book is closed. Pieces titled “What is Forgiveness?” and “What is Love?” echo the format of Ostrowski’s first poem, offering readers a series of thoughtful questions after his poignant and repetitive admission “I don’t know.” The final poem, titled “Life Field” returns to the image of the “curly-haired boy / filthy with innocence / a kind of me,” bringing closure to the collection while simultaneously opening the space for continued contemplation. By anchoring his “autobiography of sorts” within a series of pastoral landscapes, Ostrowski moves his readers through the liminal spaces of individual life while connecting them to the boundless beauty of humanity. Thought provoking, transcendent, and accessible, this collection is for anyone willing to be swept away by the mysteries of language and life. You can purchase the book here. Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her work has been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Blue Heron Review, Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly, The Chamber Magazine, The Magic of Us, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. Her debut novella, Selkie Moon, was released in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/

Enter the place where hearing can be perceived as dangerous—a lure to certain death—or where it can serve as a warning. The authors of Siren Song—winners of our Prose & Poetry Contest 2026—bring us tales in which the sirens’ call is imperative. Sirens and their counterparts exist throughout the world, whether they be feathered or finned. This issue allows you to imagine siren calls in places we all frequent in addition to sirens whose very personal issues challenge whether they can possibly be sirens. Within the pages of this issue there are traditional tales and tales from a variety of cultures. We invite you to enter the realm of the siren. As you hear their call, you may wish to read aloud the poems and tales within and allow the enchantment to take hold. This issue holds six award-winning poems and stories. Read on to learn more about each author and allow their first lines to tempt you. Click on the box below to download! Winner in Poetry The Beauty of It All Lies Mostly in the Wanting Strip the scales from fish. Throw the remains over the ship’s side. Mine my world for sustenance. Hannah Bessinger holds an MFA in poetry from North Carolina State University. Her work has appeared in 2River View, THRUSH Poetry Journal, and The Southern Poetry Anthology Volume V: Georgia. __________________________________________________________________________________ Runners Up in Poetry Salt Stories II I once had a cottage by the sea, its timbers washed silver by years and weather, hardy lavender in the back garden, Sandra Kasturi is a mixed-race writer, poet and editor. Her poetry collections are The Animal Bridegroom, Come Late to the Love of Birds, and the forthcoming Snake Handling for Beginners. Sandra’s work has won prizes and appeared in multiple magazines and anthologies. She was a finalist for the National Poetry Series in 2024. __________________________________________________________________________________ Tempted by Chocolate’s Siren Song—Reality vs Resistance Like a jungle creature yowling but with enticing operatic tones, chocolate bars call to me when I pass near them Joan Leotta plays with words on page and stage. Internationally published as essayist, poet, short story writer, novelist, she’s a multiple nominee for Pushcart and Best of Net. Publications include One Art, Lothlorien, The Mackinaw, Ekphrastic Review, and Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. She also performs stories for youth and adult audiences. __________________________________________________________________________________ Winner in Prose The Unquiet Water The ocean glinted, too bright and too hot in the midday sun. The back of Mayu’s neck warmed as her fingers skimmed the frigid water, darting through the speckles of sunlight. Shannon Weston (she/her) is an author based in Portland, Oregon. She has a penchant for the speculative and the mysterious. When she isn’t writing, there’s a good chance she’s making up ridiculous nicknames for her rescue dog. You can keep up with her at @shanwestonwrites on Bluesky and Instagram. __________________________________________________________________________________ Runners Up in Prose The Grey Singer Before dawn, when the haar still lay thick over the harbour, Màiri walked the pier alone. James Garry is a Scottish writer, heritage researcher, and folklorist whose work explores ghostlore, dark heritage, and the supernatural in Scottish culture. He is currently developing research on paranormal traditions, storytelling, and cultural memory in Scotland, with a particular interest in folklore, landscape, and haunted histories. __________________________________________________________________________________ Unicorn Snail Silk Dawn winds carried downy feathers across the craggy island. In springs past, the island would be blanketed in them; but this year so few of the Sirens’ chicks had survived. S. Leigh Ann Cowan is a white, deaf, queer ciswoman born on a Tuesday morning. She holds master’s degrees in Deaf Studies and English Literature and Language. Find more about Leigh Ann and her work, especially her passion for deaf representation in fiction, on her website, slacowan.com. 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).

The Porter women have lived without men for generations, teaching their red-haired, green-eyed daughters the art of healing and how to nurture their unique fairy gifts, but never to wish for fathers or husbands. Now, following the death of her grandmother and aunts, Arabella lives alone on the Scottish isle of Skye, the last of the Porter line. But when a letter left behind by her long-dead mother reveals the identity of her father, Arabella breaks with tradition, journeying across the ocean to find him. She soon finds herself in a foreign land where her ways and her very presence are unwelcome. She has a new job in a strange house with a mysterious, gruff employer in a conventional town where everyone has a secret and no one is who they seem to be. Set on Skye and in Mystic, Connecticut in 1847, Sea and Stars glows with the confident storytelling and gorgeous language author Kelly Jarvis’ readers have come to expect. While she skillfully combines gothic suspense, a beautifully imagined setting, rich with complex historical detail, and folklore from both the old and new worlds, this story is more than a historical romance with a touch of fantasy magic swirled in. Woven throughout are sparkling threads of Animal Bridegroom tales like “Beauty and the Beast” and Search for the Lost Husband tales like “East of the Sun, West of the Moon” sure to delight fairy tale fans. As Arabella navigates the challenges of life with a smoldering, secretive employer, she also struggles to make her peace with ghosts of the past and to find her place in a society much less tolerant of her and her beliefs. Arabella’s culture shock provides a thoughtful exploration of pre-Civil War New England society from a perspective much closer to our own. And while this story is a romance (and a spicy one at that), Jarvis also examines love between family and friends, as well as themes of grief, transparency (or lack of it), and trust. Exciting, clever, heartfelt, and so beautifully written you just might weep, Sea and Stars shines. You can find it here. Lissa Sloan is the author of Glass and Feathers, a subversive continuation of the traditional Cinderella tale. Her fairy tale poems and short stories have appeared in The Fairy Tale Magazine, Niteblade Magazine, Corvid Queen, Three Ravens Podcast, Eternal Haunted Summer, and anthologies from World Weaver Press. Visit Lissa online at lissasloan.com, or connect on Facebook, Instagram, @lissa_sloan, X, @LissaSloan, or Bluesky @lissasloan.bsky.social.

Michelle Grierson takes the legend of the selkie bride to new heights in her stunning novel Becoming Leidah. This story, set in 19th century Norway, will grip your heart as you follow the tale of a fisherman who finds a selkie woman along the shore, marries her, and raises a child with blue webbed hands and feet. Pieter and Maeva do everything they can to hide the child’s peculiarities from the suspicious townsfolk, but as Leidah grows and begins to tap into her shapeshifting powers, themes of love entrapment, protection, and freedom all crescendo toward explosion. In addition to addressing the selkie bride legend, Grierson explores Nordic mythology and witchcraft, adding layers of complexity to her striking narrative. A mysterious shapeshifter lurks in the background, following mother and daughter as they hunt for their hidden seal skin. The ghost of the midwife who delivered Leidah lingers on the earthly plane to offer the child protection. The woman who loved Pieter before he claimed Maeva on the shore conspires to separate the family once and for all, and behind it all are the Norns, the three ancient sisters who weave, hold, and cut the red thread of life. Grierson’s story is a masterpiece in narratology, presenting alternating timelines and different points of view that keep readers interested and invested in the plot. The book moves toward an ambiguous conclusion that leaves readers thinking long after they close the cover. Becoming Leidah is a mesmerizing tale about time and the way the past informs and shapes the future. If you enjoy mythology, folklore, and family drama, you will love this haunting book. This take on the selkie bride tale was recommended to me by a friend, and I eagerly pass that recommendation on to you! You can find it here, Kelly Jarvis works as the Contributing Writer for The Fairy Tale Magazine and teaches writing and literature at Central Connecticut State University. Her work has been featured in A Moon of One’s Own, Blue Heron Review, Corvid Queen, Eternal Haunted Summer, Mermaids Monthly, The Chamber Magazine, The Magic of Us, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. Her debut novella, Selkie Moon, was released in 2025. You can connect with her on Facebook (Kelly Jarvis, Author) or Instagram (@kellyjarviswriter) or find her at https://kellyjarviswriter.com/

August Macke, SCHREIBENDE FRAU (WOMAN WRITING) 1910 We are pleased to announce the winners of our our prose & poetry contest. Our theme was Sirens! We received entries from many cultures and the entries were varied, imaginative, and high caliber. Our judges were Lynden Wade for Prose and Lissa Sloan for Poetry. In poetry, the winners are: Winner in Poetry Hannah Bessinger “The Beauty of It All Lies Mostly in the Wanting” Runners Up in Poetry Sandra Kasturi “Salt Stories II” Joan Leotta “Tempted by Chocolate’s Siren Song—Reality vs Resistance” In prose, the winners are: Winner in Prose Shannon Weston “The Unquiet Water” Runners Up in Prose James Garry “The Grey Singer” S. Leigh Ann Cowan “Unicorn Snail Silk” Congratulations to all of our winners! Thank you to all who submitted! The entry fees we received go to prizes for the winners and runners up. All fees beyond those awarded for prizes help defray design costs. Entries were anonymous and our judges read blind for impartiality. Both remarked that the work was outstanding. They wished they could have selected more entries to honor. We are proud to be publishing these works as a PDF bonus mini-issue due out July 15, 2026. The Fairy Tale Magazine is a niche literary magazine created for the purpose of continuing the fairy tale tradition of telling, retelling, and sharing the delight of this beloved genre. If you wish to support the magazine, we welcome donations large or small to our PayPal Account. Simply sign into your PayPal Account and choose Send Money, type in our email address thefairytalemagazine@gmail.com (our Parent Company is Enchanted Press), and choose an amount to share. All donations help us pay our authors and help with the cost of running the magazine. Thank you!