NYC ComicCon: Catherynne Valente On Fairy Tales

Just thought you might like to see this little quote from New York City's ComicCon last weekend (Oct 10-13), because it's awesome:

Valente's brand new release! (love this series)

"Here's the thing about fairy tales," Catherynne M. Valente (The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two) said during one of the many panels devoted to science fiction and fantasy literature during this past weekend's New York Comic Con, held at Manhattan's Javits Convention Center. "They are the best-edited stories of all time... boiled down, espresso-like stories that go straight to the back of your reptile brain." 

Valente, coming at (the challenge for keeping things new) from the fairy tale side, made much the same point, challenging the notion that any mythological or folkloric creatures were overplayed in modern fantasy. Any creature, she suggested, could still be done in an interesting way. "Everything's already been told," she said--"but you haven't told everything."

Stories that directly coffee-jolt your lizard brain. Seriously. Awesome. I have to quote her sometime soon.

Reported from NYC ComicCon by Shelf Awareness. (Emphasis in bold is mine.)

As a bonus, here's the lovely trailer for Valente's (AWESOME) Fairyland Series:

Circumnavigating Fairyland - New Book & Podcast from CM Valente

Catherynne M. Valente, award winning author of "The Orphan's Tales", is writing - and podcasting - a new YA book with the lengthy and whimsical, wonderfully olde-worlde title of:

"The Girl Who Circumnavigated Fairyland In A Ship Of Her Own Making"

After many enquiries as to whether the fairy tale book mentioned in her (very) adult book, "Palimpsest" was real, Valente took it upon herself to bring it into existence. It turns out she really likes writing Young Adult fantasy!

(From CMV's blog:)

This is a book about a little girl named September who gets herself a ticket to Fairyland on the back of The Green Wind and a somewhat cranky Leopard. There she discovers the realm of the capricious Marquess and the dangers of the Perverse and Perilous Sea. It is going to be something else.

In her blog, she talks about her process and discoveries as she writes it. She's also recording herself reading it and posting both the text of the chapters and the audio, week by week, podcast-style as the book is completed. It's completely free though donations are welcome.

You can follow her progress through her blog, week by week through the podcast and also via Twitter. Here's her announcement:

#Fairyland is live! Read girl's adventures w/ leopards, fairies, & customs agents! Read for free, pay if you can! http://tinyurl.com/mbpvur

There are wonderful echoes of "The Orphans Tale" evident already, which should make for a rich, enjoyable experience for the reader/listener and one that stands the test of time.