If you follow us on Facebook/Twitter or receive our newsletter, you've probably already heard that we've released new editions adding poetry to issues #1-3 (Puss in Boots, Pandora's Box, and Twelve Dancing Princesses). Rather than repeat it all again, I'm going to focus on other news. But if you haven't checked out those five new poems, head over to our LIBRARY and get reading!
What I haven't talked about on social media is the major facelift we've given to ALL our back catalog. Shoutout to our amazing graphic designer, Geoffrey Bunting, for spending almost a year working with me to make everything polished and uniform.
There's far too much new artwork to show off them all, but here's a sample:
Still with me? Cool. Let's wrap up this update by talking about what's next:
1. I'm doing my very first public event on October 12! If you live in Central Texas, come on out to the Texas Teen Book Festival near Austin, TX. We'll have a booth and be giving out hard copies of our magazine!
2. Kindle Editions of all our issues will be coming soon. I've been wanting to offer ebook versions for ages, but it's been so daunting, I've procrastinated until this summer. Stay tuned for details!
3. We're still looking for a volunteer Marketing Assistant to join our team. More details on the original blog post.
4. I'm working on a book review for a collection of socialist fairy tales, so keep an eye out for that soon.
Greetings, fairy tale fans! This is Tahlia, editor of Timeless Tales Magazine, letting you know that our latest issue is ready for your eyeballs' gentle caress 😉. It is chock full of surprising and inspiring retellings of Arthurian Legends.
We've really tried to capture both the drama and the absurdities of life in King Arthur's court. We promise that you've never seen Camelot like this before!
What if the Sword in the Stone took place among the Aztecs?
What if Lancelot met Guinevere in a Starbucks?
What if Sir Galahad was actually a woman?
What if Merlin was an outlaw in the Wild West?
What if Morgan Le Fay never died, but was reborn over the centuries?
Here's an excerpt from "Galahad & the Trickster" by Andy Scott:
“Hail,” Galahad called. “P-pardon me, good sir. Pray, tell me, is this still the North Road?”
“This?” the man crooned. He turned and stretched like a cat, his lithe body lounging perilously on the old rickety post. The sign's letters danced and transformed into letters, but were still gibberish.
Galahad gasped. “Demon! B-Be gone, wr-wretch of the infernal abyss.” His voice echoed into the empty forest.
The man leaned back and closed his eyes. “Wuddifahcud, pup … buddahcan’t. All-Father, in his one-eyed wisdom told me I couldn’t leave this hole until the prophecy was fulfilled.”
“Wh-what prophecy, demon? And speak true!” Galahad almost believed his own courage.
The man sighed.
“Odin’s prophecy, dolt. Can’t get around that.” Swinging his legs he sang, “Never shall you see Asgard again, Loki, until a virgin ploughs Yggdrasil’s key from his consummated bed.”
Loki? Galahad’s insides squirmed. He had heard of the ‘gods’ of the North Men. Cruel, pagan demons with brutal rites. He whispered a prayer under his breath, sword still trembling towards at Loki’s neck.
“Y-you said ‘consummated’” Galahad croaked, “but if the bed was consummated the giver couldn’t be a virgin?”
Carterhaugh is where it's at for Summer folklore and fairy tale studies this year! (Carterhaugh School of Folklore & the Fantastic, that is.) And time is running out to sign up!
Did you just need a little reminder of the awesome awaiting you to complete that registration?
Go directly HERE to sign up BEFORE MIDNIGHT this FRIDAY.
Need some more background before you commit? Happy to help.
We highly recommend CarterhaughSchool's courses but why do we love Caterhaugh's founders and professors, Brittany Warman and Sara Cleto (and their sometimes-guest-lecturer Shveta Thakrar) here at Once Upon A Blog? It's not just because these ladies are passionate about all aspects of fairy tales, combining formidable scholarly-chops and research with accessibly-lovely whimsy and humor (because they most definitely do!), but because they make their courses appeal to a wide range of folks. They're inclusive and lay-friendly, while remaining challenging and engaging for the experienced scholar as well. Their materials combine the best of old world research and resources, with the tech-savvy and visual eye candy that appeals to critical, yet hungry contemporary fairy tale folk. They're fresh yet grounded, and have helpings aplenty of brains and beauty in the presentation and the content. Best of all, they specifically encourage personal development along an individual's chosen 'path' (scholar, writer or artist) for the final assignment so you can make your study relevant to your personal life and journey. Like folklorists tend to do, the study becomes part of the student's actual life and experience.
Here are Sara and Brittany doing some 'field research' for the Legends course about to begin (which they turned into a fun commercial):
These ladies are a hoot! We love that they're prepared to jump into fairy rings!
Image by Comfreak at Pixbay
And may we just say: don't be fooled by all the prettiness coming your way via Caterhaugh. While they admittedly love (and are in favor of) beautiful fairy tale things, these ladies are the real deal and fully qualified to give your brain a good work out too. (They just have also been blessed with good aesthetic taste as well!)
To give you a sense of where it's possible to go with them in discussions and study, we recommend listening to their awesome interview and discussion on inclusivity in fairy tales with the forHugo Finalist SF/F podcast The Skiffy and Fanty Show. You might be surprised at the depth they go to in the hour long show - which we recommend making time to listen to, even if you have to do it in sections. It's too good to miss and inclusivity is something we need to be especially aware of at this point in time.
But back to Caterhaugh's current offerings - WHICH ARE STARTING UBER-SOON.
This time around these fairy godmothers of folklore and fairy tale studies are bringing us a long course (ten lessons over ten weeks) onLEGENDS. But wait: why are fairy tale mavens teaching a whole course on legends? Legends aren't fairy tales, right?
Ah - but they have so many delectably overlapping features, you'd be hard pressed to find a fairy tale scholar who doesn't also do their fair share of reading and study on legends simply because they can't help themselves! Brittany and Sara wrote a short and delightful article to explain. It's titled:
And we also highly recommend their 10 Reasons to Study Folklore - (two words: 'ceiling cat') which should provide a good bridge into the upcoming course on Legends as well.
We'll wait while you check it out... *whistling, rocking back and forth on toes, more whistling...*
Arthur Rackham
You're back? Great!
Here's a taste of what's to come:
"We’ll look at supernatural legends, urban legends, and historical legends, leading you through the woods beyond King Arthur’s court and into a fairy’s grotto and out again into the haunted synapses of the internet."
Supernatural Legends UnitJuly 8th – Fairy Legends July 15th – Vampire Legends July 22nd – Cryptozoology Legends July 29th – Sea Legends
Urban Legends Unit August 5th – Ghost Legends August 12th – House Legends August 19th – Internet Legends
Historical Legends Unit August 26th – British Legends September 2nd – American Legends & Wrap Up
Do you feel your eyes getting bigger with each section? We do!
But then we read 'Cryptozoology'. Gah. That settles it. The FT Newsroom Little Leaguers are going to be mighty upset with us if we don't get on board this train! (And if Gravity Falls is mentioned and they're not allowed to participate, there might just be a mutiny!) We'll have to triple check we can do this course on the road. (Brittany tells us: as long as you have regular access to the internet, you can!)
So guess what we've just added to our Summer program?
Just like with the fairy tale long course, you can read a summary of how it works around your personal schedule HERE, with a list of the dates of each set of materials being sent and the lectures and additional teaching material becoming available, as well as your unique Carterhaugh keepsakes (in the form of beautifully designed Grimoire pages for you to build your own magical book of knowledge).
You can register HERE but it must be by midnight, June 30th 2017, EST - THAT'S THIS FRIDAY MIDNIGHT EST FOLKS!
The course will be conducted through video lectures that will be accessible on the dates listed below, but all the materials will be yours to download and interact with whenever you choose (so don’t worry if you can’t play on those specific dates!) The price for this 10 lesson class will be $200, payable in one, two, or four installments. Full payment must be complete by the time registration closes on June 30th at midnight. Aside from the videos you will also receive the PowerPoint presentations featured in the video lectures, a beautifully made PDF “grimoire page” summary of each lesson, and any supplementary reading. This material is yours to keep and download for personal use!
There will be a final assignment prompt for which you may choose the path of the scholar, the path of the writer, or the path of the artist. Personal feedback on completed final assignments is available upon request – we would love to see what you come up with!
Dates: July 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd, 29th, August 5th, 12th, 19th, September 2nd – note that these are simply the dates that materials will be posted! You will be able to download everything and watch whenever is most convenient to you.
Total Number of Lessons: 10
What’s Included: Welcome Letter, 10 Video Lectures, 10 PowerPoint Presentations, 10 Beautiful PDF “Grimoire Page” Lesson Summaries, PDFs or Links to Any Supplementary Reading, Personal Feedback on Completed Final Assignment if Desired
Any Additional Materials Needed: No
Registration Closes: June 30th at Midnight
Price: $200 – you can pay in one, two, or four installments! Full payment must be complete by the time registration closes on June 30th.
Writers! Dust off your Monmouth, your Malory, and maybe even
your Monty Python, because Timeless Tales will soon be accepting retellings
of Arthurian Legends!
The submission window will run from March 27 - May 5. Please see our SUBMISSIONSpage for
full details.
Special Note: Since this theme encompasses many stories, if
you submit a retelling that heavily references a specific tale (ie,
"Gawain & the Green Knight"), please include the name of the tale
in your cover letter. We have a solid familiarity with this genre, but it is vast. So do us a favor and don't assume we're Medieval scholars.
Also, just for our blog readers, here's a list of hopes and
fears I have for this issue:
Fear: Pieces written in Old English. Maybe this is a
long shot, but I know how passionate some professors are about the original
text of these stories. I'm already having flashbacks to the Chaucer unit in my
Sophomore English Lit class with all the crazy spelling...and I'm not just
talking "Ye Olde Taverne" like you see at the Renaissance festival.
True old English is like another language! I really want to retellings that are
accessible to a non-academic audience.
Hope: Smart humor that isn't a total
ripoff of Monty Python. One of my favorite takes on Arthurian
Legend is Gerald Morris' Squire's Tale series. It mercilessly
mocks the irrational plots and outlandish characters of the original tales, but
you can tell the author researched his butt off for these books. There's a
genuine affection behind the jests, too. I'd love to read some short stories or
poems like that.
Fear:Too many
love triangles. So many filmmakers and
playwrights have reduced Arthurian legend to the Lancelot/Guinevere affair.
Simply changing the setting to the wild west or modern day won't save this
trope from being overdone. There's more to King Arthur than a tragic romance.
Hope: Fairy tale crossovers. I especially hope someone sends me a tasty 12 Dancing
Princesses/Knights of the Round Table mashup, but this genre is ripe for other
combinations.
