Some literary journals look for specific kinds of fantasy, including folklore. While it may seem like a lot of speculative literary journals focus on epic fantasy, high fantasy, or even cozy fantasy, there are several out there that focus on the grim, the witchy, and the magical. If you wrote a story that fits those vibes, check out the list below for six literary journals looking for folklore.
Bracken Magazine
This journal looks for poetry and art with a very specific, woods-inspired aesthetic. Before you submit, they recommend that you read some of their past issues to get a feel of what they look for. They also only accept submissions through Submittable and not through email, though they allow simultaneous submissions. They open for submissions twice a year: March 1 to April 30 and October 1 to November 30.
While they ask for a $3 fee for submitting poetry, they also pay $30 for both poetry and art. Find their full guidelines through this link.
Eternal Haunted Summer
According to their site, “EHS is an ezine dedicated to 1) original poetry and 2) short fiction about the Gods and Goddesses and heroes of the world’s many Pagan/polytheist traditions. We feature 3) reviews of books, graphic novels, academic journals, magazines, movies, plays, and so forth.” But even with these guidelines, your story doesn’t strictly need to be fantasy! It can be any other type of genre, as long as you keep it to 3,000 words or less. They also look for essays and book reviews.
Check out their site for their submission address as well as upcoming themes through this link.
Through the Gate
According to their site, “We are looking for fantastical poetry of literary and emotional depth from a diversity of voices and perspectives. Our definition of fantastical is quite fluid, encompassing fantasy, magic realism, myth, folklore, surrealism and slipstream. We desire poetry that is atypically beautiful, unconventionally imaginative, and boundary-crossing.” Send up to three poems to this journal. Also, make sure to follow their specific guidelines for submitting!
Payment is $20 per each unpublished poem. Find their full guidelines through this link.
Corvid Queen
This journal looks for fiction up to 5,000 words. When you submit, you need to use their submission form and also only send one submission. According to their site, “We’re looking for original feminist tales, feminist retellings of traditional tales, and personal essays related to traditional tales. Although we started as a magazine of fairy tales, we’re now open to pieces based on or related to fairy tales, folklore, myths, legends, and pop culture.”
Find their full guidelines through this link.
Luna Luna
Lastly, this journal is closed for May, June, September, and October. Send up to five poems in one submission email through the email they specified. According to their site, “We are intrigued by the headiness of the ecstatic. We seek poems of maximalism, overripe orchards, ritual, madness, amphorae of wine, hypnotic dancing, liberation, lust, obsession, destruction, and fever-dreams. We seek a feast of language; give us the lush, the decadent, the lyrical.”
Find their full guidelines and where to submit through this link.
Thanks to everyone for reading, and see you next week for another book review. Happy submitting!
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