AFTS 'Sleeping Beauty' Bumper Issue Is Out

A lot of work went into this issue, which, adding up the hours, took approximately two-plus very solid months (including working with a variety of lovely writers and artists), to edit, source, design, produce and publish. With an effort at being as inclusive as possible (especially due to being later than originally planned) and keeping a high standard for this last issue that our Fairy Tale News Hound will be involved with (at least for a while), this issue turned out to be a 'bumper' - coming in at 60 pages. (Thank goodness there was a great proofing team helping finesse all the text and checking the final layouts!)

Please find the wonderful variety of contents listed below (available for current Australian Fairy Tale Society members only - new sign-ups this week also eligible):

William Morris border

• Roundtable Discussion on Sleeping Beauty: 'Three Good Fairies on Roses, Thorns & Sleeping' - with 3 female writers, Belinda Calderone, Rebecca-Anne Do Rozario and Kate Forsyth  (all of whom did their PHDs in fairy tale studies)
• 'Sleeping Kingdom, Waking Beauty' - a multimedia bardic exploration of Sleeping Beauty
• a review of the show by Margaret McKay
• a retrospective by creator & performer Reilly McCarron - from seed to stage
• 'Sundown' - a new silhouette art by Spike Deane
• 'The Spindle' - an article on spinning, spindles and yarn from Melissa Rose Tonkin
• 'Re-Spin' by Graham Ross - a transcript from an oral retelling of a revamped Sleeping Beauty
• 'Slumber Sweet Maids' - a Sleeping Beauty wallpaper pattern by Kathleen Jennings
• 'Spinning the Legend of Briar Rose & the Pre-Raphaelites' - interview with Kate Forsyth, discussing her process of researching and writing her new novel 'Beauty in Thorns'
• 'Spinning A Yarn - Sleeping Beauty & Anthrax' - AMA medical article by Jason Giacomel MBBS (reprinted with permission)
• 'The Youngest Serf' - a wonderfully fun short story with a unique perspective on Sleeping Beauty (and other fairy tales princess problems) by Carla Billinghurst
• 'Sleeping Kingdom, Waking Beauty' - script excerpts and audio preview (embedded MP3)
• 'The Medic' a sci-fi Sleeping Beauty short story by Patsy Poppenbeek
• 'Sleeping Beauty' illustration by Erin-Claire Barrow, with an atypical princess
• 'The Needle & the Spoon' - a modern short fiction on the fairy tale, inspired by true events
• 2017 AFTS Annual Conference Program and highlights to look forward to
• Ripples From the Rings - local fairy tale monthly meeting summaries from around Australia
• 'Prick' - an exclusive chapter preview of 'Beauty in Thorns' by Kate Forsyth (to be published July 2017 in Australia)
• Announcements, Australian fairy tale calendar, AFTS member news & achievements
• Editorial fairy tale comic
• Plus a wide variety of Sleeping Beauty-related art and excerpts of recommended works

NB: The ezine, in PDF format, is digital only and not print resolution, due to restrictions on public domain image printing, and in an effort to keep the file as small as possible. Download from the members only, password protected link (sent to members via email after sign-up) is recommended for optimal viewing and to enable playing of embedded audio files.

The announcements also include the resignation notice of our Fairy Tale News Hound from her AFTS duties, including the ezine. (See below.) It was a very difficult decision to take a step back, especially with regard to this unique fairy tale focused magazine, but she felt it was personally necessary to do so at this time. We can vouch for the astonishing and unique pool of talent and expertise the Australian Fairy Tale Society has, and can testify that each one of the members our News Hound has worked with over the past eight to nine months (over four issues), has been a pleasure to work with in their enthusiasm and reach for excellence.

The ezine allows members of the AFTS the exclusive opportunity to submit new fairy tale works, fiction and non, visual and audio, for possible publication in the ezine (which is distributed to all members nationwide and overseas). We would love to see this initiative continue.

If you have enjoyed past issues, would like to see more (upcoming fairy tale themes are: Goose Girl, Aladdin, The Handless Maiden, Snow White, Wild Swans/Six Ravens, The Firebird) and could offer some help, please contact the AFTS at austfairytales@gmail.com.

Image above is by Léon Bakst from his Sleeping Beauty panel commission
'The aged king pleads with the good fairy..."

We love that Bakst used one of two interesting details Perrault's text includes, which are usually forgotten... (see below).

     When the accident happened to the princess, the good fairy who had saved her life by condemning her to sleep a hundred years was in the kingdom of Mataquin, twelve thousand leagues away. She was instantly warned of it, however, by a little dwarf who had a pair of seven-league boots, which are boots that enable one to cover seven leagues at a single step. The fairy set off at once, and within an hour her chariot of fire, drawn by dragons, was seen approaching.
     The king handed her down from her chariot, and she approved of all that he had done. But being gifted with great powers of foresight, she bethought herself that when the princess came to be awakened, she would be much distressed to find herself all alone in the old castle... 

- Charles Perrault 'The Sleeping Beauty in the Wood'

AFTS Ezine Sleeping Beauty Issue Publishing This Week + AFTS 2017 Conference Program Line-Up Released

And yes, that's why we've been so busy. It's a bumper issue (60 pages!) with a lots of diverse new fairy tale works - from short stories, to stage, to storytelling, to sci-fi and much, much more! The issue includes an AFTS exclusive preview chapter from Kate Forsyth's new book 'Beauty in Thorns', (we've read it - it's amazing!), and a wonderful look at her writing process in weaving together Sleeping Beauty with the romantic and notorious stories behind Edward Burne-Jones' 'The Legend of Briar Rose' Pre-Raphaelite paintings, in a special interview. We already recommend this book, and may just have to import a copy from Oz for our library as soon as hard copies hit Australian shelves this July.

The ezine is available to Australian Fairy Tale Society (AFTS) members only. (It's one of the many benefits of paying an annual membership of $25.) Want to join? You can sign up HERE.

AFTS members:

watch your inboxes this week for the private member link to download, so you can see it in its proper - and very pretty - magazine format.

Expect lots of wonderful fairy tale reading in your very-near future!

We also want to take the opportunity to mention that the program for the 4th annual conference for the Australian Fairy Tale Society has also been released. The event will take place right after the Australian Winter Solstice on Saturday, June 24th 2017. Please find the program flyer below, designed by our News Hound, Gypsy Thornton, using wonderful artwork by world renowned, Australian artist Kathleen Jennings. Click to view full size.

Artwork used by permission: "Exotic (Thumbelina)" by Kathleen Jennings

You can find more information about the conference and register HERE.

Lots of Treasures in Enchanted Conversation's Diamonds & Toads Issue

Toads & Diamonds Ex Libris Etching
by Ukraine artist Konstantin Kalinovich

Enchanted Conversation, Fairy Tale Magazine, has just released their Diamonds and Toads Issue - and it's wonderful!

New contributing editor, Amanda Bergloff, has created some unique digital art for each of the stories and poems in this issue, making the chosen entries even more fun to read.

Although Kate Wolford, always curates wonderful writing, we've particularly enjoyed this issue's creative short stories and evocative poems. While we acknowledge that we might be influenced due to this fairy tale being one of our favorites, and that we got uninterrupted time to read the whole issue in one lovely sitting with some fabulous tea to go with it, we maintain it's a great issue with lots of lovely writing, well worth your time to peruse.

You can find the 'entry' and Table Of Contents to this current issue HERE.

And, if you're interested, Gypsy wrote a personal entry, reflecting on retellings of this fairy tale, at Fairy Tale Footnotes HERE.

'Fairy Tale Roundup' Newsletter to Launch (& OUABlog & TT are involved - sign up now for 1st issue debut!)

Swans Rescue by Rebecca Solow (from 'The Witch' & a series based on Russian folktales)

There is an exciting new fairy tale resource about to launch and wing its way directly to your inboxes! It's for fairy tale news, fairy tale submission announcements, fairy tale writing tips, fairy tale tidbits... you get the idea: all things fairy tale! 

A smorgasbord of all-fairy-tale-goodness, heaped temptingly into one delicious monthly newsletter for all fairy tale folk, the newsletter is being coordinated by sister-blog, Enchanted Conversation and, oh yes - we're part of it!

Both Once Upon A Blog and Timeless Tales are involved, along with a few other folks. Our hope is that over time the list of fairy tale site contributors will grow, as we bring you more of what you love. Just like in fairy tales, we believe that when we work together we can be stronger, together, and help support our readers and fellow fairy tale sites even better.

All you have to do to enjoy this new co-op is to subscribe.. for FREE.

Here's a modified excerpt from the new newsletter announcement at the host site, Enchanted Conversation:

 

Announcing our *new* FAIRY TALE ROUNDUP! 

Fairy Tale Roundup is a  brand new, monthly co-op newsletter, filled with information about writing and reading opportunities for fairy tale fans! 

Our monthly report will include

- Fairy tale news

- Submission opportunities

- Exclusive writing tips,

- And all things fairy tale from popular fairy tale, fantasy, and folklore sites! 

We will be including news from Enchanted Conversation, of course, but not just EC: World Weaver Press (publisher of Kate Wolford's anthologies, along with other fantasy, paranormal and sci-fi) will include news of forthcoming publications and submission opportunities. Once Upon a Blog, a site jam-packed with fairy tale news, will contribute, along with partner, Timeless Tales, who publish new short stories based on classic fairy tales and myths. As a bonus, Tales of Faerie will also be in the mix now and then! 

We hope, in time, more sites will join in, making Fairy Tale Roundup your favorite source for fairy tale news and opportunities on the web. 

Subscribe now at Enchanted Conversation's sign-up page HERE!

__________________________________________________________________

'Beauty and the Beast' 2017 - Limited Edition Magazines: Which Is Best? Here's Your Content Breakdown

While many magazine are doing features and lovely huge photo spreads on the new movie (such as Empire Magazine's spread, shown at the bottom of this post), there are a number of magazines out in a limited edition run at present, all of which bring insight to the film, its changes and updates to the new version of the story, as well as the original Disney one. But are they really different? Is it worth spending around* $15 each, to get them all? It depends on what you're looking for. (*actual prices vary but all are over $10 and at least one is over $15 with tax included.)

Here's the breakdown:

• Disney's Beauty and the Beast Official Collector's Edition - featuring lots of little tidbits about the story differences, so it's worth reading those brief inserted text boxes, as well as some nice detail close-ups you won't see elsewhere (eg Maurice's music boxes and their significance). There's also quite a bit on the costume art and the inspirations behind the details, (again, the text inserts hold some great info) along with huge full color movie shots and scenes.

• Entertainment Weekly's The Ultimate Guide to Beauty and the Beast (Collector's Edition) - this is the interview heavy edition with cast and creators but also has a lot on the original animated movie's 'making of' as well as the stage musical, Disney history, Disney princesses and a couple of nice pages showing concept art of the sets for the new movie

• Life Magazine's Beauty & the Beast: The Story of a Fairy Tale (Time Inc Special) - this magazine is broken into six chapters, and goes into great detail on the history of the fairy tale, including the real life Petrus Gonsalves in 1550 (which some believe may have been an inspiration at some point on the tale's journey), tracking the tale from The Golden Ass, to Cupid & Psyche, touching on A Midsummer Night's Dream, Bluebeard, The Frog King, The Ram, Madame d'Aulnoy's influence including The Ram, Leprince de Beaumont, the Grimm's Snow White & Rose Red and The Singing, Springing Lark, through to modern adaptations. It also looks at Cocteau's influential film in historical context and all this in good detail with classic illustrations from a huge range of tales along with old photos, well before it even begins to discuss both Disney versions (the classic animated film and the soon-to-be-released live-action remake. It finishes on the never-ending appeal of fairy tales and quotes The Golden Key (always published as the last tale in any decent Grimm's collection).

You may have already guessed but if fairy tale fans were only able to buy one, the one we'd highly recommend is Life Magazine's surprisingly in depth, yet easy to read, volume. Although the cover isn't, perhaps, as appealing, if you're looking for a tie-in with the film, the fairy tale content is worth the price. As far as we can tell, the writers for this are J.I. Baker (Editor and Writer), Amy Lennard Goehner (Writer-Reporter) and Kostya Kennedy (Editorial Director, also credited in the Introduction).

Empire Magazine's Beauty and the Beast 2017 feature spread in the February issue
(which features a lot of other movies as well)

Note: the D23 Magazine has a lovely cover and does indeed spotlight the movie, but it is not exclusively about the film.

Timeless Tales' Snow Queen Issue is Now LIVE!

From TT's Editor, Tahlia Merrill Kirk:

The long wait is finally over. Your patience has paid off and our new collection of short stories and poems has arrived at last.  

Perhaps the oddest thing about the original Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale, is the name. Considering it's called, "The Snow Queen", our titular character has a surprisingly small role amongst the many adventures that occur to Gerda and Kay.  

In our latest issue, our writers ask plenty of questions about the Snow Queen herself. Andersen portrays her as the villain, but is there more to it? Could she be a victim, or even the heroine?  

But these retellings also explore the wide variety of other characters--from the Robber Girl, to the crows, to the strange imp who started the whole story. Some of these pieces are cold and wintery, like you'd expect, but others will take you back to summer vacation.  

Read them all HERE. 

 

 

 

            

A special note about our audio version: It isn't quite ready yet, but will be sent out later this week, so if you are a patron (or become one--hint hint--) you will be receiving the audio files a tiny bit late, but trust us, it's so worth the wait!

Issue 03 of the AFTS Ezine: 'The Twelve Dancing Princesses' Sneak Peek!

It's that time again - time for stories and poems and art and fairy tale conversations, all tucked into a new issue of The Australian Fairy Tale Society member exclusive ezine. Our theme this issue is: 'The Twelve Dancing Princesses', or 'The Shoes That Were Worn To Pieces', which we think is perfect for party season.

This one is very close to being wrapped in a digital bow and sent out to currently registered members, just in time for some holiday reading!

Without giving away too many of the goodies, we will just whisper that this issue is full of lords a'leaping, ladies dancing, dual worlds, enchanted royalty and shoes, shoes, shoes! 

It's lovely, luscious and just a little decadent. ;)

Going to miss out because you're not a member? Now is the perfect time to sign up and get exclusive access to our unique fairy tale magazine! You don't need to live Down Under or be an Aussie native to join - you just need to be happy to support the research, use and creation of fairy tales and folk who love them, in Australia. (As you'll see from the ezine - there's a lot of fairy tale magic at work these days under the Southern Cross!)

For $25 annual membership you receive the 30-ish page ezine every second month (6 issues a year), discounts to fairy tale events, exclusive fairy tale reference and research lists (put together by our qualified librarian and historian), many opportunities to network with professional writers, artists and scholars, all of whom love and work in fairy tales, and opportunities for publication of your work.

Not a bad little gift for a fairy tale lover, we might suggest (nudge, nudge) - and it keeps giving all year long!

Join HERE today and Issue 03 will be delivered in the next few days via hard working elves, sprinkled with seasonal wishes for many enchanted dancing days ahead for you all.

Disclaimer: Our resident Fairy Tale News Hound, Gypsy Thornton, is a founding member of the AFTS, Committee Member, and Editor and Designer for the AFTS Member Ezine. She receives no remuneration for her work and no profit is made on this publication. All work is done in the aim of supporting AFTS members in their fairy tale journeys.

Timeless Tales Snow Queen Issue Delayed, But Coming Soon!

Snow Queen by Christian Birmingham

Hi, friends! Tahlia from Timeless Tales Magazine jumping in for a quick update on our Snow Queen issue. 

We were planning on having it released by the end of November, but got slowed down by...well, what can I say--reading so many stories about frost and ice leads to taking lots of breaks for hot cocoa. 

But in all seriousness, it's just been a rough Oct/Nov for this part-time editor. I've been working as hard as I can, but it's time to face the truth: We're looking at early or mid-December. All the stories are selected, but we're still working with our writers to put the final polish on them. Then they're off to our audio narrators and the designer who formats the stories for the page. 

Our fans picked this theme and they will not be disappointed. Believe it or not, Snow Queen isn't one of my favorite fairy tales (Shhhh, don't tell anyone!), but our writers' twists really heighten the color palette of the original. Plus, it's the perfect season for this theme. 

Alright, back to the trenches! Will let you know when we finally launch it. So excited to finally be in the home stretch.

'Warm' regards, ;)

Tahlia Merrill

Editor, Timeless Tales Magazine

Snow Queen by Christian Birmingham

Virginia Lee's 'The Frog Bride'

The AFTS Member Ezine Issue 02: The Frog King, or Iron Henry, is out!

Note: If you are a registered member of the Australian Fairy Tale Society (ie your membership fees are paid up to date), and haven't yet received notice via email, along with the link and secret password, please contact the AFTS via Facebook private message HERE or email them directly at austfairytales@gmail.com. They'll hop-to-it and get your goodies to you ASAP.

We've had frog kings, frog princes and frog princesses on the brain for weeks now and in celebration of completing a great compilation of new frog-themed fairy tale works, packaged into the unique fairy tale magazine, we thought we'd share mythic artist, Virgina Lee's lovely, lovely book The Frog Bride, based on the Russian tale The Frog Tsarevna - a story we love and wish we could have explored much more in the last issue.

Here are her notes (from a couple of years ago) on her first children's book, published in 2008:

My first children’s book ‘The Frog Bride’, undertaken 7 years ago, is a shortened version of The Tsarevna Frog, a traditional Russian folk tale retold here by Antonia Barber. It features a slightly camp Prince Ivan with Princess Vassilisa, who has to take her frogskin off and put it on again, rather a lot. In this quest for true love and acceptance, Vassilisa tirelessly tries to impress and capture the hearts of the prince and the royal court by performing her magic and revealing her innate beauty, when all she really desires is to be fully accepted for her less desirable appearances and habits, frogskin and all. 

 I didn't actually write it myself but it was my choice of story. I chose it mainly because I wanted to illustrate a girl taking off a frog skin. I'm always drawn to the physical transformations in stories and what they symbolize. 

Virginia Lee put a lot of love and artistic skill into the illustrations in this book and it could use some more attention (ie. sales) to boost the demand for more gorgeous illustrated books like it.

Enjoy! (And then go grab yourself a copy, if you haven't already.)

Don't you just love the hung-up frog skin in the wardrobe? Such a lovely touch!

Note: the paperback version has this cover below.