The Mythic Circle #45: 2023 (Series in Creative Writing from The Mythopoeic Society)

The Mythic Circle is the annual creative writing journal of The Mythopoeic Society and publishes fiction, poetry, and images created in the tradition of fantasy literature established by J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, and the Inklings. As of 2020, the editors are Victoria Gaydosik (general manager and fiction) and Nolan Meditz (poetry). The Society has published creative writing since 1971; The Mythic Circle has been published since 1987. The journal is currently published yearly and generally appears in time for the Mythopoeic Society Convention (MythCon) each August. Aspiring contributors for the next issue are invited to submit completed short fiction, poetry, or images at The Mythopoeic Society’s online site. This year’s edition features fantasy stories that present dragons of all sorts, a werewolf, a deceived and dying king, wicked wizards, a redeemer who brings life back to her village, a questing youth seeking recognition of his manhood, a grieving sister obsessed with her late bridegroom, and the second installment of the book A Circle of Dragons as retold by A.J. Prufrock. The poems examine ordinary life’s magic, mystical explorations, reinterpretations of classic myths, and inescapable tragic circumstances. Visual representations includes dragons, a princess, several stained glass examples, a mermaid scene, Bilbo finding the arkenstone, and other fantasy themes; the front cover shows Jason confronting a serpent to win the golden fleece, and the back cover shows a dragon at ease, reading a book.