Amal: Welp. Winter's here.
Jess: It is? Oh, it is! It's cold!
Amal: ...Cold? Cold? What do you know of cold? How "cold" is it in California?
Jess: FREEZING. I can almost see my breath!
Amal: . . .
Jess: . . .
Amal: . . .
Jess: Ollie, back me up!
Oliver: Actually, it's summer here, so --
Amal: (ahem) It's winter and...
Jess: ...another issue of Goblin Fruit is at hand!
Amal: (Psst. Jess. They've already figured that part out.)
Jess: (Well, what were you going to say?)
Oliver: (Hey, guys?)
Amal: (I was going to speak of epic tales, of noble banquets, of grand adventure and hearthfires and - )
Oliver: (Uh. Guys?)
Jess: (Then why didn't you?)
Amal: (You interrupted me!)
Oliver: (GUYS!)
Jess: (. . .)
Amal: (. . .)
Oliver: (They can read this.)
Jess: . . .
Amal: . . .
Jess: Hi! Welcome to ...

Amal says: It's interesting to Jess, Oliver and me that winter means such different things to the three of us, seeing as we are, respectively, in Southern California, far Southern Australia and all-but-Eastern-Canada. Despite this, we've all agreed that winter is, in our view, a time of banquets and epic tales, of story-telling and song; it's a time of introspection and reflection on grand events, rather than of participation in them. For this issue, we wanted a marriage of fairytales and adventure, poems to grace both the fire-hall and the homey hearth, that would tell of haggard knights and faerie warriors as well as handless maidens and swan brothers. We also decided to make it as much like a fire-hall recitation as possible by including some hearty audio recordings, where the authors have been able to provide them.

Before any issue goes live, Jess and I read the entire thing out loud to each other, partly to smooth out any last glitches, but mainly to delight in the taste of each syllable on the tongue and to take pleasure in the recognition of how much brilliant talent we've collected. We felt it to be fitting that by the end of the issue marking Goblin Fruit's first full year, we both felt like we'd gorged ourselves on a feast of fabulous, fantastical poetry. We wish each of you the same experience.

Jess says: There are some changes at Goblin Fruit we would like everybody to be aware of. The submission guidelines have been tweaked again. "How?" you ask. "Why, go see for yourselves," we answer. We have decided, alas, that a blog would better serve a forum's purpose. We love the idea of poets, and poetry-minded folk, being able to hash it out in a public forum; if there is a sudden outcry, we will go back to the forum system. Otherwise, please look to a blog for all the latest Goblin Fruit news. If there's something you want to comment on, or you'd like to discuss a piece, don't feel shy; e-mail us. We want to know what you think. We crave acknowledgment, good and bad; after all, this is the business of tale-telling.

Also, the Glorianna/Queen Elizabeth/Faerie contest is now closed. We will be announcing the winner in our next issue. The contest was a splendid success, and in the future we will offer more contests, so keep your metaphorical pens sharpened and your computers de-fragged.

Finally, and most importantly, Mei Cohoe is sadly our webdesigner no more. Popular rumour has it that she has run off with one of the goblins. This is a lie; her cats chased him off. Rumour also has it that she is working for the Unseelie Court, which we neither confirm or deny. . .

Oliver says: In lieu of Mei, may I present myself, along with Amal and Jess (with occasional input from the dashing and mysterious X) working hard to fulfill all Goblin Fruit's webbish needs, beginning with this very issue! Thanks to all of this issue's poets, who have, once again, made it a treat (of the dangerous, goblin fruit kind) to furnish our readers with fantastical poetry. The illustrations for this issue come from an assortment of artworks that have insulated me against the cold at some point or another, and it is my hope that they complement the incredible poetry that we offer you this season. Remember, we're gladly accepting submissions of web-quality artworks for future issues, so get those brushes brushing and those goblin quills a-scribbling.