An international literary quarterly for prose, essays, poetry, and modern fables. We want the stories too specific, too heavy, or too honest to say out loud anywhere else.

Lilac & Fable is an international literary quarterly for prose, essays, poetry, and modern fables, founded in 2026 by Lily N.

The name comes from two things it's built from. Lilac, because it's what my own name, Lily, sounds like when you soften it. Fable, because I wanted that whimsical, not-quite-real quality fables have, where a story feels more true precisely because it isn't literal.

I grew up with books piled up around my bed every night, enough that the smell of old pages still feels like home to me. The more I read, the more I started wondering something: do people write stories just so they can hand their feelings to someone else? So we can recognize ourselves in each other, and realize that whatever we're carrying, someone has already found a way to say it? That question is the reason this journal exists.

We publish fiction and modern fables, personal essays, poetry, and hybrid or experimental prose, alongside pieces on personal style, fashion history, and cultural musings treated with the same seriousness as fiction. Above all, we want the story about the curse of not being chosen, and the quiet, stubborn hope that a red string is still pulling you toward the right person, just not yet. We want the daughter who's carrying more than she was ever asked to, labelled "angry" for wanting a break she never gets to take, whether she's the oldest, the only one, or just the one who ended up holding it all.

We read every submission ourselves and try to reply to everyone, even when the answer is no. We publish original, previously unpublished work only, and we do not accept AI-generated writing. We're looking for honest writing over polished writing, whatever form that honesty takes.

If you've got a piece that's been sitting in a drafts folder because you weren't sure where it belonged, this might be the place.

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The Lilac & Fable Journal 

We're reading poetry for our debut issue, up to 5 poems per submission. We want the poem about the curse of not being chosen, and the quiet, stubborn hope that a red string is still pulling you toward the right person, just not yet. We want the poem written by the daughter who's carrying more than she was ever asked to, labelled "angry" for wanting a break she never gets to take. We want whatever you've been sitting on because it felt too specific, too heavy, or too honest to say out loud anywhere else.<div><br></div><div>Original, unpublished work only. We do not accept AI-generated writing. We read everything ourselves and try to respond to everyone, even when the answer is no.</div>

The Lilac & Fable Journal

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Issue I - Lilac & Fable Journal

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