Welcome to the Otherworld
our editors, what's in a name, and important dates!
Welcome to The Otherworld, a new fairy tale and folklore literary magazine launching in Fall 2025!
The Otherworld is a place to walk through stories and tales across time, continents, and cultures through flash fiction, short stories, poetry, and essays.
It's a place to speak in threes, linger in doorways, and follow white cats into the forest.
It's home to maiden, mother, and crone. Hags and witches too. Fairy tale spinners, word weavers (and readers), and wild women of all sorts.
We have so much envisioned for The Otherworld and can't wait for you to walk in liminal spaces with us as we beckon worlds.
The Editors
Jess Lynn
Jess Lynn is a lover of stories, wearer of flower crowns, and still believes in magic. As a biracial, Indigenous woman (Lumbee), she sees her work as the crossroads between worlds of history and magic. And loves to wonder how the annals of history might’ve intersected with magic. When her head’s not stuck in a book or following rabbit trails of possible plot lines, she’s living life with her husband and 4 kids, seeking entrances to otherworlds, and hoping to convince others to come along.
Stephanie Ascough
Stephanie spent her childhood making up stories, talking to animals, and getting lost in books. As an adult, not much has changed–except now she publishes fantasy and fairy tale books of her own and is raising children who talk back. She, her husband, kids, and cat/fae overlord live in beautiful Eastern Tennessee on unceded Cherokee and Muscogee land. She is thrilled to partner with Jess Lynn to create The Otherworld Magazine so they can share their combined fairy tale nerdiness with other like-minded weirdos.
What’s in a name?
Why did we choose this name for our publication?
We wanted to evoke a sense of something folk and fairy tales often convey: a glimpse through the veil, a connection to worlds overlooked, forgotten, or ignored–often at the peril of the overlooker.
We all know stories are powerful things. They can be beautiful and dangerous, comforting and unsettling. We wish to remember that words have the power to create, connect, or control. The dangers of the otherworld are real, but those who traverse wisely come out on the other side carrying real treasure, both within themselves and for those on this side of the veil. If not careful, these explorers cross boundaries and ignore warnings at their own peril.
Here at The Otherworld Magazine, we are excited to share with you essays, flash fiction, and poems that linger on thresholds and look behind the veil. We want to create space for words that delight, illuminate, ponder, question, and even frighten us, with their curiosity and imaginings.Â
This may be the Otherworld, but it brushes up against the mundane every day. You already know this. We invite you to read and share words that remind us that fairy and folktales are simply another way of engaging with reality.
Important dates!
Our first newsletter goes out to subscribers on the Spring Equinox, March 20th 2025. It will contain our interest form, so if The Otherworld stirs your imagination and creativity, be sure to sign up!
For this year, you can expect one email newsletter per quarter. On the Summer Solstice, June 21st, 2025, we’ll bring you the dates for our very first open submissions window.
traversing the veil together,
the editors at The Otherworld Magazine
