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  • From the Editors
  • Donald Haase

Since its founding in 1987, Marvels & Tales has sought to provide a forum in which modern fairy-tale studies could not only critically reassess the canonical collections and classical fairy tales of European cultures but also expand the field’s scope beyond them. On the one hand, that meant publishing scholarship that contributed to the recovery and “rediscovery” of Anglo-European fairy tales that had been overshadowed by the fairy-tale canon. On the other hand, it meant encouraging the publication of research that expanded the geographic and cultural focus and contributed to a greater appreciation of the global corpus of folktales and fairy tales. In its twenty-seven volumes to date, Marvels & Tales has published articles, original-language primary texts, translations, artwork, and reviews illuminating forms of folktale and fairy tale not only from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Russia, Spain, and the United States but also from Afghanistan, Africa, China, Hawai‘i, India, Japan, Latin America, the Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, the Near East, Puerto Rico, and the Solomon Islands.

This diversity is not just the result of individual contributors. It is also indebted to the work of guest editors, who have assembled special issues on non-European texts and traditions. In 1992, when the journal was known as Merveilles et contes and was edited by Jacques Barchilon, Veronika Görög-Karady was responsible for an issue devoted to marriage tests and marriage quest in African folktales (vol. 6, no. 2); and in 2004, Ulrich Marzolph was guest editor for the special issue “The Arabian Nights: Past and Present” (vol. 18, no. 2). Now we have guest editor Marc Sebastian-Jones to thank for conceiving and assembling this current issue, a superb [End Page 169] collection of articles and translations devoted to the fairy tale in Japan. Even the review section of this issue is devoted to Japanese-themed works, thanks to Marc’s close collaboration with review editor Cristina Bacchilega and assistant review editor Jennifer Orme (both of whom have been consistently dedicated to offering reviews that reflect the fairy tale’s generic and cultural diversity).

This Japanese issue is especially meaningful to me, not only because it takes a giant step in expanding our global and transcultural understanding of the fairy tale but also because it is the last issue published under my editorship. After a great deal of thought, I have decided that it is time for me to step aside as editor. Contemporary fairy-tale studies are so dynamic and vibrant and so richly populated by new generations of scholars that the time is right for a change.

I am happy to announce that Wayne State University Press has appointed Anne Duggan and Cristina Bacchilega as the new coeditors of Marvels & Tales. Anne has served brilliantly as associate editor since 2001. Her intellectual energy and scholarly talent have served the journal well and will continue to do so. Cristina, one of the most innovative minds in the field, has helped to forge the international scope and reputation of Marvels & Tales since 1997, when she agreed to serve as review editor and to join me in this new adventure. Their expertise is broad, their individual interests and specialties complementary, and their reputations for fairness, integrity, and sound critical judgment impeccable. Jennifer Orme, who has served as our excellent assistant review editor, will become the review editor. Helen Callow, our experienced editorial assistant, will keep calm and carry on with the journal’s smooth operation. Behind the scenes, our crack professional copy editor Mimi Braverman will be working her magic on the words that fill the journal’s pages, both paper and virtual. This formidable editorial team will do great things for Marvels & Tales as the fairy tale, scholarship, and journal publishing itself continue to undergo profound transformations in the twenty-first century.

I am very grateful to Jacques Barchilon, the journal’s founding editor, who gave me the opportunity to move Marvels & Tales to Wayne State University Press and the privilege to become his successor. I am also grateful to all past and present members of the Editorial Board for their assistance, advice, and support...

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