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Gender in Fantasy (British Fantasy Society Journal)

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Organization: British Fantasy Society
Event: British Fantasy Society Journal
Categories: Postcolonial, Hispanic & Latino, Interdisciplinary, British, Popular Culture, Gender & Sexuality, Literary Theory, World Literatures, Medieval, Early Modern & Renaissance, Long 18th Century, Romantics, Victorian, 20th & 21st Century, Aesthetics, Anthropology/Sociology, Classical Studies, Cultural Studies, Environmental Studies, Film, TV, & Media, Food Studies, History, Philosophy, African & African Diasporas, Asian & Asian Diasporas, Australian Literature, Canadian Literature, Caribbean & Caribbean Diasporas, Indian Subcontinent, Eastern European, Mediterranean, Middle East, Native American, Scandinavian, Pacific Literature
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Event Date: 2026-08-31 to 2026-08-31 Abstract Due: 2026-08-31

BFS Journal #29 - Winter 2026

Call for Submissions: Gender in Fantasy

Fantasy has long explored lifeworlds and paradigms outside of societal norms. Orlando, Virginia Woolf’s gender-fluid protagonist, declares, ‘I'm sick to death of this particular self. I want another.’ World myths, legends, folk tales, and fairy tales are early promoters of gender-fluidity, populated by the likes of Inanna/Ishtar; Hermaphroditus, the offspring of Hermes and Aphrodite; androgynous Dionysus; Ardhanarishvara; Ometeotl; Guanyin; cross-dressing thunder and trickster gods; heartsick seafaring maidens disguised as sailors; and the mercurial ontologies of the Fae. In this issue we will explore how gender is portrayed and explored in Fantasy. Fantasy plays an important role in enlarging what is possible, and creating refugia for the marginalised and other modalities. In an increasingly intolerant, xenophobic, and close-minded world, where Far Right governments roll back hard-won freedoms and civil rights legislation, and undermine, mock or openly attack important principles of equality, diversity, and inclusivity, this function of Fantasy is never more vital, for as Orlando states, ‘He who robs us of our dreams robs us of our life.’

The BFS Journal is seeking original, unpublished, human-authored articles of between 2000-8000 words (including bibliography). Possible approaches include:

·       Non-binary identities and challenging binaries.

·       Found families and marginalised identities in YA Fantasy 

·       The portrayal of matriarchies and patriarchies in Fantasy worlds.

·       The rise of Romantasy and the female gaze.

·       The performance of gender.

·       Power and gender roles.

·       Queer Fantasy and destabilisations of heteronormativity in Fantasy.

·       The divine masculine and feminine in Fantasy.

·       Masks, disguises, masquerades and carnivals.

·       Friendships and relationships in Fantasy.

·       Flirting, courting, and marriage in Fantasy.

Send the Abstract (200 words), including title, keywords, and a 100-word bio to the Editor (Dr Kevan Manwaring) by 31st August. The BFS Journal Winter issue will be published December 2026. Completed articles, if commissioned, will be due in by 30th September, when they will undergo peer-review. Send to: bfsjournal@britishfantasysociety.org 

https://britishfantasysociety.org/get-in-touch/bfs-journal/

bfsjournal@britishfantasysociety.org

Dr Kevan Manwaring (editor)