Annie Leibovitz's Beauty and the Beast

NOTE: This post is especially for Heidi Anne Heiner who's busy discussing fairy tales at Dragon*Con today. I believe Beauty and the Beast is her favorite of the many tales she knows... :)

Fashion and sought-after portrait photographer, Annie Leibovitz, has tackled more than a few fairy tale subjects in her time. Today we look at how she portrayed Beauty and the Beast (with Drew Barrymore as Beauty) for Vogue in 2005.

Although there are images available on the web without the text I thought the commentary and retelling of the story was interesting so have included the image versions as printed in the magazine.

Click on the images for a closer view.

You can see a slideshow without the text HERE.

A thank you to Arlene deWinter for alerting me to these via her Gothic Faery Tales site. Arlene has some lovely things to explore there, including her original - and dark - retellings of fairy tales. You can find her HERE.

Faeries and Fairy Tales at Dragon*Con This Weekend

Our fairy tale comrade-at-arms, Heidi Anne Heiner of SurLaLune, will talking about fairy tales at Dragon*Con in Atlanta this weekend! (For those who don't know, Dragon*Con is the world's largest fantasy and sci-fi convention.)

The panel "Faeries and Fairy Tales" will be happening at:
8:30pm on the 5th (Saturday)
and Heidi is one of the guest panelists.

Panel description:

Faeries and Fairy Tales : Something old, something new, something borrowed and something Blue Fairy? What bits of mythology, folklore, and fairy tales are in stories today? Guests: Susan Fichtelberg, Maggie Stiefvater, Gillian Summers (Berta Platas & Michelle Roper), Steve Berman and Heidi Anne Heiner

If you are attending, please make sure you go say 'hi' to Heidi and attend the panel. We want to hear everything! Heidi has promised a full report of the highlights on her return so keep checking the SurLaLune blog for that.

"Fairest of All" - A Snow White Novel from Disney & Serena Valentino

How on earth did I miss this?!

There's a new Snow White novel and this one is a treat for those of us who love both the tale and Disney's version.

"Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen" by Serena Valentino is a release from Disney Press and uses the Disney characters to tell the story - from the Queen's point of view. (If the author's name sounds familiar you're probably aware of the "Gloomcookie" comics and the "Nightmares & Fairy Tales" graphic novel series.)

If you're familiar with Disney's Snow White, you'll know that the Queen is one of the scariest Disney villains invented to date and yet this book is written from her point of view - as the protagonist.

Here's author Serena Valentino's description of what the book is about (from her BLOG):

Fairest of All is a story about grief and loss, it circles upon its self, revealing more with each revolution, much in the way we process grief each time it revisits. It is a story of a woman so overwrought by heartbreak and loss, so fearful of experiencing that sort of pain again that she closes her heart off for fear of perishing all together. It is also a tale of abuse, and the Queen's desire to break that cycle with her new family, but her own insecurities and loses send her reeling into the tempest she is most familiar and accustomed to. It is a bloody tale of a woman consumed by insecurity and the lure of a mysterious man in an enchanted mirror driving her to do things completely against her nature, and her struggle with how her grief and sorrow has transformed her into something completely alien even to herself. It is the story of the Wicked Queen, and who she was before, and who she longed to be before she was destroyed by her vanity.

And the official blurb from her WEBSITE:

Fairest of All is the story of the Wicked Queen, who she was before, and who she longed to be before she was destroyed by her vanity and the need to murder her daughter Snow White. It is a bloody tale of abuse, heartbreak, love and grief, and the lure of a mysterious man in an enchanted mirror. Beautifully written by Serena Valentino, author of Nightmares & Fairy Tales. Available in August 2009.

And here's a quote from 'Mouse House' reviewer Jim Hill:

This is half the charm of “Fairest of All: A Tale of the Wicked Queen.” All of the Disney-inspired winks & nods that Ms. Valentino folds into this tale. By that I mean: The touchstones from the movie version of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (i.e. The Magic Mirror. The Heartbox. The Huntsmen. Even that boat in the dungeon that the old crone uses as she’s sneaking away from the castle) are still part of the narrative. But this time around, these touchstones are each introduced in an unusual manner and then take on different meanings over the course of Serena’s story.

You can read the rest of the review HERE.

Serena has apparently been posting chapters to entice us into pre-ordering (Sorry Serena - I only just discovered the book!) so, to do my part to help promote her book (and more Snow White stories), here are a couple of excerpts to help you make the decision to add this one to your collection (yes, I'm totally biased):

From Chapter 10 - The Shattering of A Soul

“Little bird . . .” the Queen’s voice broke and trailed off.

“Momma, what’s wrong?” The Queen shook her head, and closed her eyes tightly to dam the tears. Snow looked at her mother with sad, black eyes and said, “He’s not coming back yet, is he? Not now?” The Queen shook her head. “Not ever.” - “I think maybe you’re wrong, Momma, he promised he would come home soon, and Papa never breaks his promises.”

The Queen’s grief intensified at the child’s denial. She choked it down and felt it grip at her, slicing at her insides like broken pieces of glass. She felt broken, no longer able to contain her tears. “I know, my poppet, but I’m not mistaken. He couldn’t help it, my darling, he isn’t coming home this time.” The little girl’s lip quivered and she began to shake. The Queen held out her arms to her, and Snow White crumpled into her mother’s lap and howled an unearthly sob. The child was shaking so violently that the Queen felt she might crush the little girl for holding her too tightly. As she hugged Snow she wished to take the child’s grief and lock it away inside her with her own.

From Chapter 18 - Dream Sickness

“Show me Snow White!”

Snow White was running in the dark forest, full of fear and anguish.

She was panic-stricken, alone, and heading back to the castle. Back to her mother, who would surely have the Huntsman punished for attempting to hurt her, and weaving lies that she plotted her own daughter’s death. “Foolish girl.” The forest came alive; it was visceral and dangerous. It wanted Snow White’s life. The Queen’s rage penetrated the trees, bringing their leafless limbs to life. As if they were hands, the tree branches scratched and grabbed at Snow, entrapping her, pinning her to the ground. They wrapped themselves around her neck, choking her, and clawing at her chest for her heart.

The forest would do what the Huntsman could not.

You can read more excerpts HERE.

And you can order from Amazon.com HERE.

And if you'd like to read some behind-the-scenes details and keep up with what else Serena is doing, you can read her blog HERE.

Though this novel is being marketed at 9 to 12 crowd there's obviously a lot there for older readers to sink their teeth into. I can't wait till that 'thud!' on the front porch announces this books arrival! (Maybe I'll put up this bathroom decal in the meantime...)

Cabinet des Fées Fairy Tale Journal Issue #8 is Live

The September 2009 issue (#8) of fairy tale journal "Cabinet des Fées" is now live online.

If you're not familiar with this journal you'll be pleasantly surprised by the variety of offerings and new fairy tale based works in these collections.

Rather than try to describe the content, I'll quote from their website:

Cabinet des Fées is an online journal begun in 2005 as a result of our love of fairy tales in all of their manifestations. We’ve seen two issues in print with a third on the way, but now are online only. Scheherezade’s Bequest is our tri-annual offering of fiction and poetry. We keep our editorials and announcements, plus other news we come across that we think our readers might appreciate in Our Grim(m)oire, where you’ll find Storytellers, live readings of the fantastic in literature. We also present essays from and interviews with respected authors, editors, scholars and other assorted personalities in the fields of fairy tales, folklore and myth.

Here's the content line-up for this issue:

Fiction and Poetry:

Rapunzel Considers the Desert by Jeannine Hall Gailey
Harp by Alex Wilson
In the Ashes by Gerri Leen
Dahut’s Curse by Jennifer Lawrence
Basic Biology by Caren Gussoff
A Wolf’s Lament by M. Lynn Johnson
The Bear and the Bicycle by Catherine Knutsson
All Underneath the Eildon Tree by Joshua Gage
Connla mac Lia and the Kingship of Eriu by Amal El-Mohtar
The Courtship of Caoilte and Yvaine by Jessica P. Wick
Anthology by Sonya Taaffe
Faithful by Brittany Warren
Stone Flowers by Mike Allen
Envy by Grace Andreacchi
Cry Wolf by Adrienne J. Odasso

... and a whole lot of book reviews.

Cabinet des Fées is also planning on having more regular online content so, while not reverting to a blog, there will be new fairy tale content being added regularly to the site from now on.

They also have two journals in print and available for purchase (a third is currently in the works). Click on the covers to be taken to more information and purchase options.

Submissions for the next issue will re-open on October 1st (guidelines are HERE).

You can find the online journal HERE.

Disney's Hollywood Studios Featuring Art & Design from "The Princess and the Frog"

Disney's Hollywood Studios (formerly MGM Studios) at Walt Disney World currently have art and design from the upcoming feature animation "The Princess and the Frog" on display.



You can see a little more HERE.

Over Rainbows and Down Rabbit Holes at the Monterey Museum of Art

The Monterey Museum of Art currently has an exhibition called "Over Rainbows and Down Rabbit holes: The Art of Children's Books" and, reportedly, more than a few fairy tale illustrations are included in the exhibition.

Overview from the website:

The exquisite artistry of classic children’s books is highlighted in this exhibition. View historic works by Beatrix Potter, creator of Peter Rabbit, to more contemporary illustrations by K.Y. Craft, Rosemary Wells and Maurice Sendak. The exhibition includes family activities and a family reading area.

The Museum had the main event for the exhibition on August 21st which included sidewalk chalk drawings, recreating some of the illustrations on display. Artist, Nikolas Larson, chose to recreate one of the illustrations from Paul Zelinsky's Caldecott winning retelling "Rumpelstiltskin". (Cover shown at end of post - click HERE to go to Zelinsky's website to read more about the book and see more of his amazing drawings.)You can see more pictures of Larson's chalk 'painting' progress through the day at his blog HERE.Other pictures of sidewalk chalk drawings from the event can be seen HERE on the museum's Facebook page.

The recreations are gorgeous. I don't envy whomever was tasked with destroying, er, cleaning afterward!

The Art of Children's Books exhibition is on display through September 13, 2009.

CAGES PDF Just Released - FREE Download

It's here!

The whole story of

"Cages
A Steampunk Retelling of Grimm's Jorinde & Joringel
In V parts with Epilogue"

is now available for
FREE download & distribution

HERE
at the Supernatural Fairy Tales website.

Please note: if, when you click on the cover image at Supernatural Fairy Tales, a blank page opens and no document appears or downloads, try returning to the site and 'right-clicking' (or holding down the CNTRL button, then clicking) on the cover image and selecting 'SAVE LINK AS'. It should bring up a box with 'cages.pdf' already typed in the SAVE AS area. Click SAVE and it will download automatically after that. If you're still having problems accessing it, email me at fairytalenews AT gmail DOT com and I'll send it directly to you as soon as I see your mail.

Please feel free to download, copy and distribute the PDF to anyone you think will enjoy it.

[If you have any questions about the story, the short series podcast or the PDF, please don't hesitate to email me at fairytalenews AT gmail DOT com]

Book Release: "Ash" by Malinda Lo

Today, September 1st, a new retelling of Cinderella hits the shelves. The YA book and the debut novel from anthropologist-turned-author Malinda Lo, has a different take on the well known (and oft-retold) tale.

Here's the blurb from Amazon.com:

In the wake of her father's death, Ash is left at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Consumed with grief, her only joy comes by the light of the dying hearth fire, rereading the fairy tales her mother once told her. In her dreams, someday the fairies will steal her away, as they are said to do. When she meets the dark and dangerous fairy Sidhean, she believes that her wish may be granted.

The day that Ash meets Kaisa, the King's Huntress, her heart begins to change. Instead of chasing fairies, Ash learns to hunt with Kaisa. Though their friendship is as delicate as a new bloom, it reawakens Ash's capacity for love-and her desire to live. But Sidhean has already claimed Ash for his own, and she must make a choice between fairy tale dreams and true love.

Entrancing, empowering, and romantic, Ash is about the connection between life and love, and solitude and death, where transformation can come from even the deepest grief.

The first thing that got my attention? Fairies. This is a fairy tale with actual fairies (something far less common than most people realize).

The second thing is the romance. It's not at all surprising to see a Cinderella retelling have romance as a primary element but this one is a lesbian retelling.While this isn't a new thing, there's bound to be some controversy over this, especially being YA.

The vast majority of the reviews I've read (on many different sites) are incredibly favorable and from what I gather the storytelling style is lyrical and very, well, 'fairy tale'.

You can find the 1st chapter HERE.

Malinda's blog gives some fascinating insight into her writing process, including that, being trained in anthropology meant she took a great interest in reading as many variants of Cinderella she could find while preparing to write, along with some additional folklore studies. (A lot of other information about her process and approach is scattered throughout the posts, so I recommend just going to her BLOG and browsing.)

Malinda also discusses how the gorgeous cover was created in considering the themes of the book, by way of personally interviewing the artist/designer (you can read that entry HERE) and answers some frequently asked questions about "Ash" (FAQ available HERE).

This one is definitely on my wish list.

'The Simpsons' Parody (Disney's) Snow White

It just came to my attention that "The Simpsons" parodied the Disney version of Snow White this season (Season 20 episode 20).

While I can only find a portion on YouTube to show you here, you should know they pretty much told the whole Snow White story in true Simpson's style with Lisa playing the main role of the princess. Interestingly, they didn't 'gorify' their version as much as expected, although their nods to other tales (Hansel & Gretel, Red Riding Hood and Goldilocks) were nicely done.

Here is Lisa's version of 'the seven' (no"dwarfs" here!) :

And here the huntsman (played by Grounds Keeper Willie) has trouble killing Snow White... or anything else:

It's not the first time The Simpson's writers have employed 'Disneyesque' fairy tale tropes in their scenes. Here's a scene from the movie where Marge and Homer get a little woodland creature help in the romance department.

You can see the full Simpsons episode below or HERE on Hulu. Lisa Simpson's 'Snow White and the Seven' starts at 5 minutes, 5 seconds in.

Provensen's "Tales from the Ballet"

From their book "Tales from the Ballet" (Golden Press 1968) by Caldecott Medal winners illustrators Alice and Martin Provensen*. As the title suggests, many of these tales are fairy tales. Either ballets were created from old tales like Sleeping Beauty and Ivanand the Firebird or new fairy tales like Giselle were written, often based on a little piece of something else (Giselle was based on a poem). The Nutcracker, of course, is originally by E. T. A. Hoffman, truncated and adapted from his very long short story 'Nutcracker and the Mouse King' .

The Sleeping Princess Coppelia (2 images) The Golden Cockerel Giselle
The Nutcracker
The Firebird

You can find more on the Provensen husband-and-wife author and illustration team* HERE and see the lovely Alice Provensen gallery HERE.

NOTES:
*The Provensen's are not credited with writing 'Tales from the Ballet' as well as illustrating it. The writer is listed as Louis Untermeyer.
*The Provensen's didn't win the Caldecott for this book but for "A Glorious Flight", a biographical picture book about an aviator.
*Some of these images were found on Flickr. The others were found on various foreign rare book seller sites.