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Editor's Note: Can a mermaid ever be tamed and live a fully human life? That's the question behind today's classic tale from the book, Legend Land, published in 1922, and retold by Lyonesse below. If you'd like to read more mermaid tales, check out our "Song of the Sea Issue" HERE. A story is told of an inhabitant of Unst, who, in walking on the sandy margin of a voe, saw a number of mermen and mermaids dancing by moonlight, and several seal-skins strewed beside them on the ground. At his approach they immediately fled to secure their garbs, and, taking upon themselves the form of seals, plunged immediately into the sea. But as the Shetlander perceived that one skin lay close to his feet, he snatched it up, bore it swiftly away, and placed it in concealment. On returning to the shore he met the fairest damsel that was ever gazed upon by mortal eyes, lamenting the robbery, by which she had become an exile from her submarine friends, and a tenant of the upper world. Vainly she implored the restitution of her property; the man had drunk deeply of love, and was inexorable; but he offered her protection beneath his roof as his betrothed spouse. The merlady, perceiving that she must become an inhabitant of the earth, found that she could not do better than accept of the offer. This strange attachment subsisted for many years, and the couple had several children. The Shetlander’s love for his merwife was unbounded, but his affection was coldly returned. The lady would often steal alone to the desert strand, and, on a signal being given, a large seal would make his appearance, with whom she would hold, in an unknown tongue, an anxious conference. Years had thus glided away, when it happened that one of the children, in the course of his play, found concealed beneath a stack of corn a seal’s skin; and, delighted with the prize, he ran with it to his mother. Her eyes glistened with rapture—she gazed upon it as her own—as the means by which she could pass through the ocean that led to her native home. She burst forth into an ecstasy of joy, which was only moderated when she beheld her children, whom she was now about to leave; and, after hastily embracing them, she fled with all speed towards the sea-side. The husband immediately returned, learned the discovery that had taken place, ran to overtake his wife, but only arrived in time to see her transformation of shape completed—to see her, in the form of a seal, bound from the ledge of a rock into the sea. The large animal of the same kind with whom she had held a secret converse soon appeared, and evidently congratulated her, in the most tender manner, on her escape. But before she dived to unknown depths, she cast a parting glance at the wretched Shetlander, whose despairing looks excited in her breast a few transient feelings of commiseration. “Farewell!” said she to him, “and may all good attend you. I loved you very well when I resided upon earth, but I always loved my first husband much better.” And check out our FLASH FICTION & POETRY Writing Contest currently going on GRAND PRIZE $100 in each category PLUS Publication in an upcoming digital issue PLUS Publication on this website PLUS Publication in our printed yearbook DETAILS HERE

Psyche and Eros is the latest novel-length re-telling of a classic story from Greek mythology. Part myth and part fairy tale, the book begins by defining the different types of love (philia, agape, and eros) before launching into a sweeping romance told in turns by the title characters. Eros's story begins as the universe is unfolding “before there were stories to be told”. McNamara presents Eros as a primordial god of love who sets life into motion by shooting an arrow that brings the earth and sky together. His twin sister Eris, the goddess of discord, is the antidote to his power. As time unfolds, generations of the gods fight for power, and finally Zeus, eager to cement his place on Mt. Olympus, pulls his own goddess of love from the sea. Aphrodite adopts Eros as her son in a power move against the older god. It will be thousands of years before Eros is introduced to Psyche, the mortal girl who has been prophesied to become a hero. Psyche grows into a beautiful young woman and earns the ire of Aphrodite with her lack of interest in romance, and Eros is compelled to shoot Psyche with a cursed arrow. When Eros mistakenly cuts himself with the arrow, he falls hopelessly in love with Psyche, but, because of the curse, she is not allowed to see his true form or they will be split apart, forever craving what they cannot have. The love between Eros and Psyche is set against a backdrop of Greek history and mythology which highlights the beauty and dangers of human love and desire. McNamara plays with source material, casting Penelope as Helen’s sister and turning Clytemnestra’s daughter Iphigenia into Psyche’s beloved cousin. The romance between Psyche and Eros unfolds slowly, as Eros must present himself in various animal forms to maintain their connection. When Psyche lights a candle to gaze on her sleeping husband’s true form, they are ripped apart, and Psyche must endure Aphrodite’s tortures if she hopes to regain her true love. “Beauty and the Beast” is my favorite fairy tale, so I was thrilled to learn that there was a novel telling the story of Eros and Psyche, often cited as an early variant of the “Search for the Lost Husband” tale type. This book did not disappoint! Although it lacks the full reach of Madeline Miller’s Circe, the book presents a passionate romance while exploring ideas of free choice, heroic action, human folly, and the curious life of the gods. The narrative voice is both humorous and touching, and readers will find themselves fully invested in the beautiful love story of Eros and Psyche. This book is a must-read for fans of fairy tale, romance, and mythology! You can order the book here. Thank you to NetGalley for a free copy of the book in exchange for a fair review. Kelly Jarvis is the Special Projects Writer and Contributing Editor for The Fairy Tale Magazine. Her work has appeared in Eternal Haunted Summer, Blue Heron Review, Forget-Me-Not Press, Mermaids Monthly, The Chamber Magazine, and Mothers of Enchantment: New Tales of Fairy Godmothers. She teaches at Central Connecticut State University. And check out our FLASH FICTION & POETRY Writing Contest currently going on GRAND PRIZE $100 PLUS Publication in an upcoming digital issue PLUS Publication on this website PLUS Publication in our printed yearbook DETAILS HERE

Check out Kate's fabulous finds that you can enjoy, too! This week's pick: Song of the Sea Issue Well, I’ve been missing in action on my picks for a couple of weeks because we’ve been working away nonstop on the June issue. And what an issue it is! Of course it’s my pick of the week. The “Song of the Sea” issue is a bit of an accident. I didn’t realize I was choosing lots of sea/mermaid related stories and poems until after I’d accepted them. When I realized what I’d done, I figured why not make it a sea issue? (Or maybe it was Amanda’s idea. The issue is half hers—at least!) The result is by far the most gorgeous thing we’ve ever done. Amanda pulled out all the stops on art and layout and the result is dreamy, romantic and dazzling. In addition to the new glorious poems and stories we have in this issue, we’ve included some “Best of EC” works, and we’ve got some great nonfiction too. I’m especially excited about Kelly Jarvis’s interview with the brilliant fairy tale scholar, Maria Tatar! This issue is also a whopping 88 pages, so you know you’re getting your money’s worth and then some. You can learn more about purchasing a single issue or becoming a subscriber here. You’ll be entertained and be supporting a great cause, as FTM is a nonprofit! Yours in Enchantment, Kate And check out our FLASH FICTION & POETRY Writing Contest currently going on GRAND PRIZE $100 PLUS Publication in an upcoming digital issue PLUS Publication on this website PLUS Publication in our printed yearbook DETAILS HERE

Kate's Pick of the Week Kate Recommends... Check out Kate's fabulous finds that you can enjoy, too! This week's pick: Song of the Sea Issue Well, I’ve been missing in action on my... Recent Posts 4 minutes ago 2 min Book Review: Psyche and Eros by Luna McNamara Psyche and Eros is the latest novel-length re-telling of a classic story from Greek mythology. Part myth and part fairy tale, the book... 3 days ago 1 min Kate Recommends... Check out Kate's fabulous finds that you can enjoy, too! This week's pick: Song of the Sea Issue Well, I’ve been missing in action on my... May 31 2 min Book Review: American Mermaid by Julia Langbein American Mermaid is an interesting novel about a Connecticut high school English teacher, Penelope Schleeman, who has written a... May 29 1 min Kate's Picks: Glass & Feathers Check out Kate's fabulous finds that you can enjoy, too! This week's pick: Glass and Feathers I know that I’ve been pushing the... May 25 1 min Throwback Thursday: A Recipe for Simple Syrup by Lauren Parker Editor’s note: The detailed recipe. The anger. The boiling. The crows. We couldn't resist this one. Enjoy! Queen's Wreath will tickle the... May 24 2 min Book Review: Stone Blind, Medusa's Story by Natalie Haynes Medusa is well known as a monster with snakes for hair and a deadly stare. But, to quote Natalie Haynes's Greek myth retelling, “We’ll... ALL POSTS “Who would be A mermaid fair, Singing alone, Combing her hair Under the sea, In a golden curl With a comb of pearl, On a throne?” ― Alfred Lord Tennyson We Love Fairy Tales... This is a site for fairy tale lovers, creators, and dreamers. If you love entering the imaginative world of Charles Perrault, The Brothers Grimm, and Hans Christian Andersen, this is your place. If you love reimagining classic fairy tales and putting the results into stories, this is your place. If you want to write and read all-new fairy tales, this is your place... Read More Mini Art Gallery Subscribe to Our Newsletter Get monthly updates on what's going on at The Fairy Tale Magazine, along with free art downloads, submission opportunities, and writing tips! Contact First Name Last Name Email Subscribe

The Fairy Tale Magazine's Writing Contests The information below is for the Flash Fiction and Poetry Contests ONLY ​ The Fairy Tale Magazine is a non-profit magazine dedicated to paying writers and bringing original and classic fairy tales, art, interviews, articles and more to our readers through the magazine. So, to continue to pay authors and artists for their amazing work, we’re holding two contests to raise funds for FTM at $5.00 per entry (and unlimited entries) with the Grand Prize being $100. USD for each contest. All money raised through these contests will go towards paying the authors and artists for the upcoming 2023 issues of The Fairy Tale Magazine, so check out the details below! ​ FLASH FICTION CONTEST COST TO ENTER: $5.00 per entry (and unlimited entries per author) ​ THEME Any subject as long as it is within the fairy tale or folktale genres ​ WORD COUNT Up to 1,000 words ​ SUBMIT Send a brief cover letter along with your story pasted into the body of the email. Must be 18 to enter. ​ TO ENTER Send $5.00 per entry to katewolford1@gmail.com via PayPal. Unlimited entries. Send story to thefairytalemagazine@gmail.com Subject Line in email: FLASH FICTION Contest - Author Name ​ GRAND PRIZE $100. USD + publication on our website and in a digital issue of FTM PLUS publication in the printed yearbook. Payment is ONLY MADE THROUGH PAYPAL (So you must have a PayPal account or you are ineligible for this contest.) ​ Submissions will be acknowledged, but notices of rejection will not be sent for either contest category. Only the one winner from each category will be contacted and announced. Remember that all normal submissions standards apply. ​ RUNNERS UP 2 runners up will receive publication on our website and in a digital version of FTM PLUS publication in the printed yearbook. ​ ANY QUESTIONS? Drop us a line at thefairytalemagazine@gmail.com ​ CONTEST ENDS J UNE 30th POETRY CONTEST COST TO ENTER: $5.00 per entry (and unlimited entries per author) ​ THEME Any subject as long as it is within the fairy tale or folktale genres ​ WORD COUNT Up to 500 words ​ SUBMIT Send a brief cover letter along with your poem pasted into the body of the email. Must be 18 to enter. ​ TO ENTER Send $5.00 per entry to katewolford1@gmail.com via PayPal. Unlimited entries. Send story to thefairytalemagazine@gmail.com Subject Line in email: POETRY Contest - Author Name ​ GRAND PRIZE $100. USD + publication on our website and in a digital issue of FTM PLUS publication in the printed yearbook. Payment is ONLY MADE THROUGH PAYPAL (So you must have a PayPal account or you are ineligible for this contest.) ​ Submissions will be acknowledged, but notices of rejection will not be sent for either contest category. Only the one winner from each category will be contacted and announced. Remember that all normal submissions standards apply. ​ RUNNERS UP 2 runners up will receive publication on our website and in a digital version of FTM PLUS publication in the printed yearbook. ​ ANY QUESTIONS? Drop us a line at thefairytalemagazine@gmail.com ​ CONTEST ENDS JUNE 30th

SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED for the September & Decembe r 2023 issues _______________________ SUBMISSIONS ARE STILL OPEN FOR OUR FUNDRAISING FLASH FICTION & POETRY CONTEST Until June 30th with a Grand Prize of $100 USD in each category. A submission fee is required to enter the contests, and the overall editorial guidelines should be followed. Learn more about the contest HE RE _______________________ ​ NOW CLOSED -Writing opportunities for 2023 ISSUES include- NOW CLOSED New Fairy Tales: Fairy tales that are almost or entirely new or are just new takes on old tales are all welcome. Mashups of existing fairy tales are welcome as well. Submissions must follow the theme below to be considered. Poetry: Poetry inspired by fairy tales and that follows the theme is also welcome. HERE IS HOW YOU SUBMIT AND FORMAT AND WHEN Only the kind of submissions outlined below will be accepted at The Fairy Tale Magazine (FTM) in 2023. Here are the submission periods for both stories and poems: ​ The second and last submission period for 2023 will be from May 1, 2023 at 12 a.m., EST to June 2, at 11:59 p.m., EST. This will be the window for works that will be published in the September and December issues of FTM. There will only be four issues. No submissions will be considered or acknowledged if received outside of the windows stated above. You submit through email only. Please use this address only: thefairytalemagazine@gmail.com . That is for submissions only. ​ Your last name, the publication month you are submitting for, and the year should be in the subject line of the email of your submission. Example: If you are submitting for publication in March 2023 and your last name is Smith, you should write Smith, March 2023 in the subject line. ​ You must be 18 years old or older, but may be from any country. Only works in English, please. You should try to use American English word forms and punctuation. ​ Do not send attachments. They will not be opened or considered. Paste your work in the body of an email. No fancy spacing or characters, please. Do not indent for new paragraphs. Just do an extra return between them. Please, single space between lines and after sentences. And please include a title. ​ A bio in the third person and no more than 50 words should be in the submission email below the story. Even if you have been published in our magazine before, we need a new third person bio every time. ​ You should include a word count below the story. ​ A Paypal address must be included. Without one, work will not be considered. (Please do not email or message anyone at FTM asking what PayPal is and how to use it.) ​ Only previously unpublished work, please. ​ Only one work per writer per submission period. Simultaneous submissions are fine, but once we have accepted a story or poem for publication, we expect authors to withdraw their submissions from other publications. ​ RIGHTS First and all electronic and digital rights and print rights for a yearbook edition of the magazine are being sought, as are rights to use the work for promoting and to benefit FTM in perpetuity, although you will retain the right to withdraw consent for using your work in promotional efforts after one year from publication. We are also buying the first podcast, YouTube, and all potential digital media rights to your work. ​ Once a work is digitally published in FTM, you are free to shop it elsewhere—meaning electronic and digital rights revert to you immediately after publishing. And once a work is published in the print edition of FTM, you may sell the print rights elsewhere, but The Fairy Tale Magazine will continue to sell or publish your work as part of the digital magazine, on media platforms such as YouTube and on podcasts platforms and the print yearbook indefinitely. THEME AND CONTENT The theme for 2023 is "LOVE,” with romance preferred, but love between friends, family members, pets and their humans, etc., will be considered as well. ​ We are also very open to the stories and poems focusing on seasonal holidays, like solstice celebrations, Halloween, Hanukkah, etc. However, while holiday based stories and poems are very welcome, you still need to include the theme. ​ Stories must be PG in terms of content. A lot of young kids find our site, even though it’s not a kids publication. We have to bear that in mind. (See below.) ​ Content definitely does not have to feature the traditional white, princess and prince love story. ​ Remember, stories and poems must have the theme in them, even though it needn’t be a huge part of the story. Do bear in mind that all fairy tale related fiction and poetry needs an element of the supernatural—as well as transformation. Transformation is a huge deal for the 2023 publishing year. ​ The essence of classic fairy tales should be maintained when you write these stories and poems. Kate tends to prefer things to end happily, but it's not absolutely essential. ​ Absolutely none of the following for any submissions: Sci-fi, lengthy grossout descriptions of bodily functions or injuries, dystopian, descriptions of people’s bodies through the objectifying eyes of the protagonist, erotica, high fantasy, vampires, stage magic, excessive world building (a.k.a., info dumps), time-travel, extreme horror/gore, futuristic, space travel, western, love triangles and any form of romance that is not between humans or human-like creatures like fairies. ​ Also, The Fairy Tale Magazine is NOT a young children's publication. Period. We see this as a 15 years of age and older publication. Yes, we know young children will see our work, but it’s definitely for teenagers and older. The Fairy Tale Magazine prefers “own voices.” Follow this link to learn more about what “own voices” means. It's essential that you READ past stories, poems, and nonfiction to see what we will publish. ​ ​ WORD COUNT Length of stories is 1,000 to 5,000 words, but 1,000 to 3.500 is preferred. Poems must be no longer than 500 words. In the case of stories, remember that when you write more than 1,000 words, your pay per word drops, as we pay a flat rate of $50. NOTIFICATION OF SUCCESS & PAYMENT Please read the following completely before submitting: ​ You will receive a response telling you Kate has received your submission. You will not receive a notice of rejection. No editorial feedback of any kind will be provided. We will not justify editorial decisions either. We just do not have the time. We get well over one thousand submissions a year and are a tiny staff. ​ Only emails of acceptance will be sent. ​ Also, the chosen authors will be announced on the blog at fairytalemagazine.com. The authors whose work will be featured in the March and June editions should be announced on the site blog on Feb. 1, 2023. The authors whose work will be featured in the September and December issues should be announced on the site blog on July 1, 2023. If your work is not chosen and announced on the site, then FTM has no claim on it. ​ If your work is not chosen and announced on the site, then FTM has no claim on it. ​ Payment for all works is $50. There will also be a contract for you to sign. A Paypal address must be included. Without one, work will not be considered. ​ All things being equal, authors who support The Fairy Tale Magazine will get greater consideration of their work. FTM depends on its fans, and deeply appreciates them. We are a community, not just a magazine. However, quality always takes precedence over all other considerations. ​ A great way to get started with supporting our site is to sign up for our newsletter. It’s free and filled with goodies you’ll probably appreciate, so sign up and read it! ​ For questions only, but not for submissions, contact Kate at katewolford1@gmail.