Information updated on 1/18/2024!

The following is relevant to all submissions for 2024 for The Fairy Tale Magazine.

Please read it in its entirety before considering submitting here.

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Writing opportunities for 2024 include:

• New Fairy Tales: Fairy tales that are inspired by classic tales are what we are seeking. Mashups of classic 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. 

• We are not seeking art or nonfiction. We are not hiring. Please do not send inquiries.

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The theme for the year is simply classic fairy tales—more below.

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 2024.

 

Here are the submission periods for both stories and poems: ​

• We will be opening the submissions window for the SPRING/SUMMER Issue on  Jan. 22, 2024 at 12 AM, EST., and closing it on Jan. 29, 2024  at 11:59 PM., EST. 

• ​The FALL/WINTER submissions window will be June 17, 2024 at 12 AM, EST., and closing on June 24, 2024 at 11:59 PM, EST.

• There will be two issues.

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(There will be one contest this year, during the summer. Details will be announced later in the year.)

 

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. 

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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.

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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. 

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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. 

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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. 

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You should include a word count below the story. 

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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.) 

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Only previously unpublished work, please. 

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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.

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RIGHTS

First and all electronic and digital rights 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. Media rights are not exclusive.

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Once a work is published this FTM website, you are free to shop it elsewhere—meaning electronic and digital and electronic rights revert to you immediately after publishing, but The Fairy Tale Magazine will continue to sell or publish your work as part of the magazine’s mission, on media platforms such as YouTube and on podcasts platforms indefinitely. FTM is not published anywhere but on this site.

 

THEME AND CONTENT

The theme for 2024 is Classic Fairy Tales. You can take a lot of license with the work, but there must be a clear connection to a specific old fairy tale in the work.

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We are also very open to the stories and poems focusing on seasonal holidays, like solstice celebrations, Halloween, Hanukkah,  etc. 

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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.)

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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.

 

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.

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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, stage magic, excessive world building (a.k.a., info dumps) war or battle as a major plot device, 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. 

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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. We publish older stories or poems every week on Thursday. People who don’t bother reading our content have virtually no chance of being published. Just search for “Throwback Thursday” in the site search bar and you’ll find many examples of what we publish.

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WORD COUNT

Length of stories is 1,000 to 2,000 words.

Poems must be no longer than 500 words.

 

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. 

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Only emails of acceptance will be sent. 

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Also, the chosen authors will be announced on the blog at fairytalemagazine.com. The authors whose work will be featured in the spring/summer issue should be announced on the site blog on or around March. 1, 2024. The authors whose work will be featured in the fall/winter issue should be announced on the site blog on or around July 24, 2024. If your work is not chosen and announced on the site, then FTM has no claim on it. 

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Payment for all works is $25--US dollars only. There will also be a contract for you to sign.

 

A Paypal address must be included. Without one, work will not be considered.

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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. 

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A great way to get started with supporting our site is to become a member of The Fairy Godparents Club. It costs $20. Each month, members will receive tips and insider information. We also will have at least four fun Zoom parties filled with giveaways! Contact  Kate at katewolford1@gmail.com to ask about membership. We can only accept membership payment through PayPal.

For questions only, but not for submissions, contact Kate at katewolford1@gmail.​