Gathered Nettles: Two Sisters Obsessing over YA Lit

While exploring Portland with my sister in preparation for her Great Oregon Move, we had to make a stop (well, several stops admittedly) to Powell’s Book Store. We spent hours in the YA section, and the Fantasy section before stumbling upon the Poetry stacks, which featured a nook dedicated to literary magazines. Perusing the hodgepodge array of journals and zines, we were pleasantly surprised to see some issues focusing on fairy tales, folklore and fantasy on display.

One in particular, Fairy Tale Review, caught our eye because it presented fiction, poetry and essays around a specific theme found in fairy tales (the current Grey Issue is about lost children). Because, we’re always keeping our eyes peeled for publications with a fantasy/supernatural/feminist angle, to draw inspiration from, it led me to do some of my own digging to find other scholarly journals that are creating thoughtful discussions around these topics. It was inspiring to see how many different conversations are taking place, academically and socially, around fairy tales!

Here are the results from my initial research:

Gramarye: Journal of the Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy

Sample Articles: Diane Purkiss on the “Undomestic Witch”, and Jacqueline Simpson on her collaboration on folklore with Terry Pratchett

Marvels & Tales: A Journal of Fairy Tale Studies

Sample Articles: Veronica Schanoes on “Fearless Children and Fabulous Monsters”, and Aidan Day on “Angela Carter’s Orientalism”

Cabinet des Fées: A Journal of Fairy Tales, Fiction, Poetry & Scholarly Articles

Sample Articles: Johsua Gage on the history and folklore surrounding Salt, and an interview with artist Adam Oehlers

Fairy Tale Review: The Grey Issue – a Literary Magazine with a Fairy Tale Theme

Sample Articles: A Grey issue exploring the trope of lost boys and girls, and a Brown issue about how an earthly existence is at the heart of all fairy tales

Children’s Literature: A Scholarly Journal from Johns Hopkins University

Sample Articles: Michelle Ann Abate on “Children’s Literature in the Age of Protest”, and Don Latham on “Manly Hearted Women”

The Lion and the Unicorn: A Journal that Examines Genre and Literature for Youth

Sample Articles: Amanda Phillips Chapman on “The Riddle of Peter Pan’s Existence”, and Jeanne Klein on “The Pivotal Role of Child Actors”

KH