I was sent this yesterday and am so thrilled by this idea that I'm going to take a serious look at my schedule to see if I can participate! Here's the press release, care of Siren Day Camps(one of the many fascinating branches of Siren School aka L'Ecole Siréne):
Grimm Scavenger Hunt
Step back in time to a charming Bavarian village where hot apple strudel is served with cold beer, farmers sell their fresh produce, and at any moment, someone may break out into a polka. It's the sort of place you'd expect to see in a fairy tale, especially of the Grimm variety, and it's the perfect setting for our fractured and fabled scavenger hunt.
10am - We'll meet and greet at the Coffee Tale, known to have the best coffee in the Black Forest (or at least Huntington Beach). While waiting for everyone to find their way in, we'll talk a bit about the Brothers Grimm and the world in which their tales evolved. 10:45ish - Grimm Scavenger Hunt: Enjoy browsing at the Old World Farmer's Market while you search for bread crumbs, so to speak 12noon - We'll take a mitaggessen break at the German Restaurant, featuring German Pretzels, Potato Pancakes, Brats & Wursts, Sauerkraut, German Potato Salad, Spaetzle, Bread Dumplings, Schnitzels, and more. Those who tip enough German beer may be cajoled into doing the chicken dance. 1pm - Grimmer Scavenger Hunt: Use your wits and wiles, as you scour the village to collect the remaining bits of information needed to complete your hunt 2pm - We'll gather at the Old World German Bakery to determine our Scavenger Hunt winner and celebrate over Apple Strudel, German Chocolate Cake, Sachertortes, and Black Forest Cake. Our winner will be awarded with a rustic prize of dubious worth.
$35 per person for scavenger hunt; food is no-host i.e. not included
Editor's Note: You know when the Editor of Timeless Tales Magazine, offers to write a review. that the book is either something special, or unique, or perhaps both...
Jacket description:
There are countless villains found in the pages of fairy tales—ogres, giants, even a witch or two—but none seem to capture the imagination like the stepmothers and wolves. Here nine authors tackle these villains. In some, the wolf or stepmother becomes the hero. In others, they retain their original threatening nature. In all the stories, the villains are presented in a new light. Rediscover your favorite villains in these new fairy tales.
This spring, I attended the SCBWI Austin writing conference where I made lots of new friends and learned about every aspect of the publishing process, from social media to book contracts. Having a limited budget, I hungrily eyed the book sale table like Charlie Bucket trying to decide which candy bar to buy with his last dollar. And then I spotted this little gem:
Being in the fairy tale business, there was no question in my mind that this would be the book I took home. My newly acquired treasure is even signed by the editor, Madeline Smoot, who I had the pleasure of meeting a minute after buying the book (wish I’d snapped a pic!). The book’s title ended up being 100% accurate--Stepmothers and the Big Bad Wolf is a collection of ten short stories that focus exclusively the two iconic characters of stepmother (Cinderella’s specifically) and wolf. Since the current trend is to write tales from the villain’s perspective, I was expecting lots of echoes of Maleficent here, especially in the stepmother stories. However, I was pleasantly surprised to find that none of the stories utilized the cliche first person narrator saying “let me tell you my side of the story”. In fact, the key to these retellings’ success is that most of them have antagonists rather than villains. Villains are characters designed to be destroyed. They lurk and cackle in Antagonists are meant to cause conflict that can be resolved. The conflict causers in this collection take many forms--from an abusive husband to Cinderella herself. Perhaps my favorite part about this collection is the wide variety of settings. For example, “Soteli Ma” takes place in an Arabian-esque world, but instead of the expected domed palaces and handsome sheiks, writer Laura Ring surprises readers with a wilderness survival story. Jump over to the UK, right after Arthurian Legends, and you find “Wolfsbane” full of torchlight and heavily guarded fortresses. Keep reading, though, because there’s even a story set in futuristic Antarctica! Be sure to read to the end where you’ll find my personal favorite, “The Wolf Listens”, which features a Native American girl forced to live in a British school. She is surrounded by teachers who actively work to erase her racial identity. Basically, If you feel like you’ve been-there-done-that with fairy tale retellings, you’re definitely in for a treat with Stepmothers and the Big Bad Wolf. It takes two of the most popular tales, breaks down their walls, and reassembles them into radically different structures.
This review was written voluntarily, without any compensation or affiliation with any of the authors or editors for business purposes.
Tahlia Merrill Kirkis Editor of Timeless Tales Magazine, and an official partner of Once Upon A Blog.
Yes, I do think that's what a cantankerous Baba Yaga might say if she saw someone getting that cake, unless you happen to have a blue rose* handy, or get her on one of her very rare good days, or, better still, have the advantage of a special oracle like our fairy tale friend Taisia Kitaiskaiawho asks our favorite Russian crone questions very week on our behalf. A dear friend sent me a picture of this AMAZING cake yesterday and I just had to share. Created by Sylwia Sobiegraj, of Have Some Cake, it's quite a feat. (Foot?) Oh and in case you're wondering what the flavor is? Chocolate mud cake covered with dark chocolate ganache. (YUM!) You can see more of her amazing cakes HERE. (Thanks again Lisa!) Anyone know if those blue roses work on people? Talk about an awesome birthday gift. You really could be 29 forever... or at least a longer time than usual. ;) * According to some versions of the myths, Baba Yaga ages a year every time someone asks her a question. This is why she is often portrayed as a cranky old hag — she is frustrated and angry about having been asked so many questions. The only way for her to de-age herself is by drinking a special tea she brews from blue roses. Heroes who bring her a gift of blue roses are often granted wishes as reward for their aid ("Baba Yaga" Wikipedia 2006).
A preview of what's to come TOMORROW! Thanks to the kind folk at Papaveria Press for generously giving me a wonderful preview of Cabinet des Fées' latest sea-themed anthology of short works and poetry, and allowing me to gift myself with a lovely post on my birthday, in announcing the release slightly early, complete with permission to give you sneak peeks - of my choice! - at some of the wonderful writing! 'Presents' (aka excerpts) are below... But first a look at the 'greeting' to readers and a list of tales and tellers:
The whole issue is beautiful to behold and the words are captivating too. The editors and team at Papaveria Press have put a lovely combination of art together - of words, images, fantastical tales and personal reflections. It's a very beautiful feather in an already very lovely hat!
Scheherezade's Bequest Volume 1, Issue 2. SOMETHING RICH AND STRANGE: TALES FROM THE SEA called authors to draw from folktales, personal experience, and the vast ocean of the imagination to reveal selkies, mermaids, sea nymphs, the great flood, and more in this wonderful collection of short stories and poems, each one a siren song luring us into the waves. This issue continues our tradition of offering original fairy tales and retellings of the old stories that leave us with a sense of wonder, a sense that something rich and strange is always just around the corner.
There's a wonderful variety in the volume and yet there is a consistent feel of ebb and flow as you read through the various offerings.
Some are amusing (for instance, a trickster Shower Muse), some have a distinctly different premise to the usual mer stories (like the mysterious, fathomless Lake of San Ezequiel, appearing alongside a desert town).
There are turns of satisfyingly happy endings and tragically true endings.
Mixed in is a wonderfully satisfactory amount of selkie stories with an unusual perspective (like Salt, which follow the motif of salt water in all it's forms through a selkie story and the subject of consent) and riffs on The Little Mermaid too, (like Sisters that looks at the issue of mermaids and souls in the best way I've read to date) without either dominating the issue. As I mentioned above, I was gifted with choosing some excerpts to share with you and I have to tell you this was more difficult than I at first imagined it would be! I've finally chosen, in the end to share just a few excerpts to show you the variety of language, since I found it so difficult to choose favorites, as well as a few of the author notes on how they came to be inspired. The author's notes are just as fascinating as the stories themselves!
Please click on the excerpts and selected author's notes to read them full size. I think you'll be drawn in as quickly as I was and want to keep reading. And as for a peek at the tales... take a look below:
This is only the beginning of a truly different version of The Little Mermaid, and one you'll love, especially if you love Andersen's tale or any variant of it.
"...people were a bit like fish..." and suddenly I couldn't help but begin to make comparisons myself! This story is the story of a girl and the story of a soul... and fish.
I dearly wanted to show you more, to show you how salt weaves through the life of this seal-woman, her husband and her children but I will leave that for you to discover on your own.
I hope you've enjoyed a special preview of the issue. Thank you again to the folks at Cabinet des Féesfor this lovely gift today.
The paperback issue of Something Rich and Strange - Tales From the Sea is already available to order via Amazon HERE.
Everything I've read about this film project is quite fascinating and I can't quite believe I've only recently learned of it. Little From the Fish Shop (malá z rybárny in Czech) is reportedly very faithful to the Hans Christian Andersen original text of The Little Mermaid, despite that it's setting is modern and on dry land. The stop motion animation puppets are delightfully different (I have some close-ups pictured in this post) oh and it's important to mention, despite being a fairy tale and made in an animated medium, it's not primarily aimed at, as the review below puns, "small fry".
They were forced to abandon the familiar waters of their home, plundered by the humans, and move out onto dry land to live in a bustling harbor district. They’ve exchanged their underwater palace for a humble little fish shop. This is a story about the Sea King and his youngest daughter Little. Her days were filled with small pleasures and naive dreams about the life out there, then she saw J.J. for the first time and her heart came alive. She decided to accept the witch’s harsh curse. Forsaking her family Little took to the world of humans to follow her fatal love. Will the flame of her love burn bright or will it die in the deep waters of the sea?
Here are a couple of trailers, and I have to say, I'm quite fascinated by these glimpses!
Relocating not just Andersen’s yearning heroine but her entire royal family to dry land, Jan Balej’s wittily designed stop-motion outing honors the sorrowful romantic narrative of the original tale to a far greater extent than the Mouse House’s 1989 smash — despite a radical shift in milieu to the red-light district of a seamy city harbor. Not especially suitable for, er, small fry, this touching, technically inventive twist on a classic will nonetheless be treasured by animation buffs.
...It’s no longer better down where it’s wetter, a somewhat elegiac prologue informs us, as we peer into silty depths made murkier by stray debris and floating garbage. The film’s ecological allegory is limited to this introduction, but it’s effective enough: So greatly have the oceans been polluted by humankind that not even the merfolk can survive in them. Instead, the Sea King and his family have been forced to move to the nearest port, where they learn to walk on their tails and work as fishmongers — about the most drastically macabre betrayal of their natural environment imaginable. (The fishiness of Balej’s merpeople extends well past their lower halves: Glassy round eyes and perma-pouts suggest rampant interspecific breeding in the fathoms below.)
As in Andersen’s tale, then, the King’s youngest daughter — simply named Little — develops a fascination with human behavior, albeit one cultivated at closer quarters. Forbidden from exiting the family shop before her 16th birthday, she enters the outside world a mass of vulnerable, pent-up curiosity, swiftly and unguardedly falling in love with older lothario JJ.
Note: look at all those laurels! That's something to take note of. I really hope we get a chance to see it in the US, UK and Australia. (Dubbing shouldn't be an issue, as apparently the 'speaking sounds' are mostly nonsensical and as a result, fairly universal.)
You can read the whole review HERE (possible spoilers though). If you don't want to spoil anything for yourself you may be interested to know this is doing well with critics, both for the story portrayal/translation and the use of stop motion and 'grotesque' design ('grotesque' here, meaning the art movement style, which works well for the fishy features, not meaning that it's difficult to look at necessarily).
The film is currently screening in the Czech Republic along with what appears to be a truly delightful exhibition of puppets, sets, 3D printing and interactive experiences for children and adults and behind-the-scenes fare.
It also has 'festival slots' at Annecy and Karlovy Vary, which point to a distinct likelihood that it will get picked up for international distribution soon.
First of all: apologies for the language below, but I think most people will appreciate the answer, even if the question feels a little... strong. Actually, it was difficult to find another way to say the same with quite as much emphasis for the post title, so I ended up rephrasing altogether, though I haven't communicated the depth of anguish the petitioner is clearly feeling about this subject. But there's another reason I rephrased, other than for family friendly titles. Though most people may not be in a relationship situation as is mentioned here, it's not unusual to find yourself being disapproved of by one group or another, at some point in your life, and having it bother you. And Baba Yaga has a refreshingly different take on how to deal with it.
Here's today's question and answer (via poet and oracle Taisia Kitaiskaia* of The Hairpin):
It might not be a complete answer, in my mind, but it's a solid - and positive - start.
What do you think of Baba Yaga's advice?
Want to ask Baba Yaga a question of your own?
You can!
There's now an email address where you can send your questions
directly to Baba Yaga herself.
AskBabaYaga AT gmail DOT com
To encourage Baba Yaga to continue imparting her no-bones-about-it wisdom (ok, there may be some gristle in there... bones too), I suggest we not to leave her box empty...
Thank you Baba Yaga (& Taisia).
* Taisia Kitaiskaia is a poet, writer, and Michener Center for Writers fellow. Born in Russia and raised in America, she's had her poems and translations published in Narrative Magazine, Poetry International, and others.
Yexian of the Chinese Cinderella story, and the magic fish that grants her wishes.
Catchy title, don't you think?
And before you go much further I wanted to point out this lovely series of paintings by Stephanie Pui Mun Law for the fairy tale Ye Xian. I really like the incorporation of the fish into the different paintings. You can find her gallery and much more of her work (many more fairy tales) HERE.
Back to the article: I just thought this was a nicely succinct and personable piece, that's worth a read and might be good to keep on hand for reference. It has a nice summary of ancient Cinderella stories most people outside fairy tale folk wouldn't be aware of, and may be useful if you want to reference the history of Cinderella stories, particularly Ye Xian or Yeh Shen.
Yexian of the Chinese Cinderella story. - Burdens to Bear
Here are some excerpts from the article at AncientOrigins:
Before there was Cinderella, there was Ye Xian. Undeniably one of the most well-read fairy tales, Cinderella describes the life of a young woman forced into servitude by her stepmother until she is freed by her fairy godmother and a charming prince.
Meet the Cinderellas: Ye Xian, Zezolla, and Cendrillon
Considered to have been first dictated in the 17th century by Italian writer Giambattista Basile, and later streamlined in the 18th century by the renowned Frenchman Charles Perrault, the version of Cinderella that most have read is, in truth, a later telling of a much older story.
Before both of these men told of Zezolla and Cendrillon, there was Ye Xian, the tale of a young Chinese girl living sometime between the Qin and Han Dynasties of China (221-206 BC and 206 -220 AD, respectively).
It goes on to talk about the details of Ye Xian but the bit I like the most is the part about her fishy-friend:
Yexian of the Chinese Cinderella story, in her kingfisher finery
Ye Xian's Magical Protector
Ye Xian's only relief comes from her acquaintance with a very large and very chatty fish living in the river near Ye Xian's home. The fish, as it turns out, is a guardian sent from the sky by her ever-present mother, and helps Ye Xian through her dark home life. That is, until Jun-li catches Ye Xian with the fish and Ye Xian's stepmother stabs it with a dagger for her and Jun-li's dinner.
However, just as the fairy godmother of the better known maiden Cinderella has extraordinary magic, so does the Ye Xian's fishy friend. Its role in Ye Xian's future does not end with this mishap.
Following the murder of her only friend, Ye Xian is visited by the spirit of an old ancestor who informs her that while the shell of her friend might be gone, its spirit is still alive. Through the burial of the fish bones in the four corners of her bedroom, Ye Xian can still harness the power of her spirit guide as one would a genie—whatever Ye Xian wishes for will come true.
Fish are fascinating creatures in fairy tales. One of the weirdly wonderful things about them is how they often continue to have magical properties/provide protection/send messages etc beyond their death... I'll have to hunt for a book on the subject (there must be one somewhere, or at least a paper).
In the meantime you can read the whole article HERE.
Yexian of the Chinese Cinderella story, in her kingfisher finery on festival night.
Many thanks to all our elves for sorting through the entries and verifying each individually (yes - they checked each one!). All the verified correct entries were entered into a (virtual) hat from which was pulled...
Danzel at Silver Shoes and Rabbit Holes, with her Pinterest entry link!
CONGRATULATIONS Danzel!
Please email me at fairytalenews AT gmail DOT com with your US mailing address, and we will have Kate Forsyth's US edition of The Wild Girl sent to you ASAP.
Note: You have till TUESDAY noon - August 4th - to claim your prize. If unclaimed we will put all the entries back in the hat to draw another winner.
