From Tahlia, Editor at Timeless Tales Magazine...
Writers! Dust off your Monmouth, your Malory, and maybe even
your Monty Python, because Timeless Tales will soon be accepting retellings
of Arthurian Legends!
The submission window will run from March 27 - May 5. Please see our SUBMISSIONS page for full details.
The submission window will run from March 27 - May 5. Please see our SUBMISSIONS page for full details.
Special Note: Since this theme encompasses many stories, if
you submit a retelling that heavily references a specific tale (ie,
"Gawain & the Green Knight"), please include the name of the tale
in your cover letter. We have a solid familiarity with this genre, but it is vast. So do us a favor and don't assume we're Medieval scholars.
Also, just for our blog readers, here's a list of hopes and
fears I have for this issue:
Fear: Pieces written in Old English. Maybe this is a
long shot, but I know how passionate some professors are about the original
text of these stories. I'm already having flashbacks to the Chaucer unit in my
Sophomore English Lit class with all the crazy spelling...and I'm not just
talking "Ye Olde Taverne" like you see at the Renaissance festival.
True old English is like another language! I really want to retellings that are
accessible to a non-academic audience.
Hope: Smart humor that isn't a total
ripoff of Monty Python. One of my favorite takes on Arthurian
Legend is Gerald Morris' Squire's Tale series. It mercilessly
mocks the irrational plots and outlandish characters of the original tales, but
you can tell the author researched his butt off for these books. There's a
genuine affection behind the jests, too. I'd love to read some short stories or
poems like that.
Fear: Too many
love triangles. So many filmmakers and
playwrights have reduced Arthurian legend to the Lancelot/Guinevere affair.
Simply changing the setting to the wild west or modern day won't save this
trope from being overdone. There's more to King Arthur than a tragic romance.
Hope: Fairy tale crossovers. I especially hope someone sends me a tasty 12 Dancing
Princesses/Knights of the Round Table mashup, but this genre is ripe for other
combinations.
So
what are you waiting for? Get writing!
