The Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic

The October Patreon Fairy-Tale Salon
2023-10-05 19:00 - 20:00 (America/New_York) | Zoom
Please find the info for our October Fairy-Tale Salon below!
Date: October 5th at 7PM ET
Prompt: Tell us about the WEIRDEST fairy tale or fairy-tale retelling you’ve ever read!
Quest: Our dear salonnière Deborah suggested that we talk about the weirdest fairy tale or fairy-tale retelling that we’d ever come across, and we LOVED this idea! What fairy tale did you just exclaim “WHAT??” upon finishing? What retelling made your brain hurt from how little it made sense? Has an incredibly strange fairy tale or retelling ever really WORKED for you? We can’t wait to hear all about it!
If you’d like to participate, make sure that you’re on the Salonnières tier or higher on Patreon for the month of October – this should be an especially funny meeting!

The September Book Club - Tales from the Hinterland by Melissa Albert
2023-09-21 19:00 - 20:00 | Crowdcast
Our book club pick for September is Melissa Albert’s collection of unsettling fairy tales, Tales from the Hinterland!
“Lush and deliciously sinister fairytales to be consumed as greedily as Turkish delight or any fairy fruit. I loved these.” ― Kelly Link
“The writing is as spare and precise as poetry, connected to the darker, edgier elements of fairy-tale conventions. Albert’s rich and tightly focused collection forms the core of the mythology created in her novels, and her fans will be thrilled at this further glimpse into that world.” ― Booklist, starred review
Our meeting will be on Thursday, September 21st at 7PM ET. If you want to join us, make sure you’re at a $7+ tier on Patreon for the month of September!
Can’t make it live? The replay will be available right after the meeting takes place!

The September Patreon Fairy-Tale Salon
2023-09-14 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
All everyone! Please find the info for our September 2023 Fairy-Tale Salon below –
Date: September 14th at 7PM ET
Prompt: Fantasy World Foundations
Quest: This month we want to know – what are your fantasy world foundations from childhood? What lands did you grow up in, in your imagination? Did you make up realms on your own, or did you fall through portals into worlds from books, TV shows, or other media? How did those worlds shape you? Do you ever still visit them today?
If you’d like to participate, make sure that you’re on the Salonnières Patreon tier or higher for the month of September – we’d love to see you there!

The August Book Club - Glass Town by Isabel Greenberg
2023-08-29 19:00 - 20:00 | Crowdcast
Our Book Club pick for the month of August is Glass Town: The Imaginary World of the Brontës by Isabel Greenberg – our first graphic novel!! We adored this thoughtful story about stories (and of course it doesn’t hurt that it’s about our beloved Brontë siblings!)
“Greenberg pulls Glass Town and its characters directly from the Brontës’ juvenilia, giving readers a look into the early creativity of an iconic literary family with a playful visual style that captures the Brontës’ enthusiasm as they discover what fiction can do.” — AV Club
“This lyrical, endlessly inventive book will appeal equally to lovers of history, literature, and metatextual fantasy.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Our meeting will be on Tuesday, August 29th at 7PM ET. If you want to join us, make sure you’re at a $7+ tier on Patreon for the month of August :).
Can’t make it live? The replay will be available right after the meeting takes place!

The August Patreon Fairy-Tale Salon
2023-08-14 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Please find the info for our August 2023 Fairy-Tale Salon below!
Date: August 14th at 7PM ET
Prompt: Small World Stories!
Quest: In the folkloristic study of personal narrative, there is a common kind of tale called “small-world stories.” Small-world stories are stories about synchronicities, weird coincidences, and unexpected connections. They are stories that you almost can’t believe are even real – they literally make you say “wow, what a small world!” Here are a few examples –
1) Your Mom and Dad both attended a concert ten years before they met – and your Mom has a photograph with your Dad in the background.
2) You run into your favorite old camp counselor at the Eiffel Tower.
3) Twenty years later to the day, you wind up saving the life of the nurse who saved your life when you were a baby.
It sounds incredible, but everyone has stories like this… we can’t wait to hear yours!
If you’d like to participate, make sure that you’re on the Salonnières tier or higher on Patreon for the month of August – hope to see you there!

The July Book Club - Burning Girls by Veronica Schanoes
2023-07-31 19:00 - 20:00 | Crowdcast
Hi all! We are thrilled to announce that we have the honor of another guest for our book club – the incredible writer and scholar Veronica Schanoes!! Our book club pick for July is her gorgeous short story collection, Burning Girls, and she will be with us live to talk about it on the 24th 31st!
Please note that we have had to reschedule this event!! It will now take place on July 31st at 7PM ET – we apologize for any inconvenience!!
“This is one of my most anticipated releases of 2021, period. Schanoes compiles a collection of stories about women in the margins. Fierce stories, from historical fantasy to fairytales, that take inspiration from other fantasists, such as Karen Russell and Kelly Link. Such a collection will no doubt take its place alongside some of my favorite collections of all time, such as Link’s Get In Trouble and Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber.” ― Book Riot‘s 10 Speculative Short Story Collections to Enjoy in 2021
“Veronica Schanoes is one of the most powerful voices in speculative fiction and has been for a very long time. Her work effortlessly blends the modern with the archetypal. It is constantly surprising, endlessly rich, and terribly needed.” – Catherynne M. Valente
“Brilliant tales of enviable imagination, gracefully written, and with a strong feminist center. One of the best collections I’ve come across in recent years.” – Jeffrey Ford
“Veronica Schanoes’ imagination and artistry are on fire in her collection. . . . She draws on the deep, untapped potential of traditional tales and classic fantasy to inspire her own unique, compelling narratives. Subtly crafted, her stories are startling in their emotional, psychological, and social resonance.” – Donald Haase
Our meeting will be on Monday, July 31st at 7PM ET – if you want to join us, make sure you’re at a $7+ tier on Patreon for the month of July!
Can’t make it live? The replay will be available right after the meeting takes place!

The July Patreon Fairy-Tale Salon
2023-07-11 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Hello everyone! Here is all the information for our July Fairy-Tale Salon –
Date: July 11th, 2023 at 7PM ET!
Prompt: Funny Folklore-y Stuff!
Quest: This month, we’re looking for your most hilarious folklore-related material. Is there a super silly ritual that you do with your family every St. Patrick’s Day? Do you know the absolute worst Dad joke in the history of the world? Is there a particular line in a folksong that cracks you up every time? We want to hear about it!
If you’d like to participate, just make sure that you’re on the Salonnières tier or higher for the month of July – see you soon!

RESCHEDULED: The June Patreon Fairy-Tale Salon
2023-06-26 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Hi all! Here is the info for our RESCHEDULED June Fairy-Tale Salon!
Date: June 15th 26th, 2023 at 7PM ET!
Prompt: Your Favorite Local, Magical Place
Quest: Your quest this month is to tell us about your favorite local, magical place. We get so caught up in our day-to-day lives that we sometimes forget there’s often magic just around the corner… where do you go in your neighborhood, city, or just surrounding area when you want a little shot of enchantment? Do you have a favorite spot in a nearby park, a beloved coffee shop corner, an aquarium that makes your heart sing, or a delightful used bookstore that you love to visit when you’re feeling low? Tell us all about it!
If you’d like to participate, just make sure that you’re on the Salonnières tier or higher for the month of June – see you soon!

The June Book Club - Enter the Body by Joy McCullough
2023-06-22 19:00 - 20:00 | Crowdcast
Hi everyone!
Our book club pick for June is Joy McCullough’s Enter the Body – yep, we’re giving you just a tiny bit more Shakespeare, but this time it’s in the form of a book that reads an awfully lot like an experimental fairy-tale retelling (and we are HERE FOR IT.)
“Body turns Shakespeare on his head while honoring his talent as the girls retells their stories on their own terms…. Truly outstanding.” – Booklist, starred review
“At once tender, poetic and ferocious, Enter The Body breathes new life into the Bard’s most tragic heroines. More than a tribute to Shakespeare, this kaleidoscopic, ambitious novel-in-verse gives Juliet, Ophelia, Cordelia, and Lavinia the chance to tell their own stories full of passion, justice, sisterhood, and love. Simply spectacular.” – Michael L. Printz Award winner Laura Ruby, author of Bone Gap
We’ll be meeting on June 22nd, 2023 at 7PM ET, so be sure to join us on Patreon at the $7 book club level or higher to take part. Hope to see you there!

Smithsonian Associates: Gender, Sexuality, and the Fairy Tale
2023-06-20 18:45 - 20:15 | Zoom
Fairy tales have a reputation for being conventional, and many of the most famous fairy tales appear, on the surface at least, to be just that. Tales like Cinderella and Snow White famously end with dazzlingly beautiful girls marrying princes, and others, like Jack and the Beanstalk, reward boys for their bravery and brashness with wealth and power. However, beginning as early as the 1970s, feminist fairy-tale scholars have pointed out tales and readings that complicate those conventions, and now researchers and writers are expanding on these beginnings to explore fairy tales’ queer possibilities.
Once used to mean strange or eccentric, later wielded as a slur against homosexuality, and eventually reclaimed by activists and scholars, the word “queer” can simply mean different than expected. Folklorists Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman share some very old and very unconventional fairy tales and discuss modern LGBTQ+ twists on old tales and traditions. From a little-known 12th-century (and possibly even older) version of Snow White to literary fairy tales being written now, learn how fairy tales can be surprisingly inclusive and wonderfully disruptive to our expectations.
Click here to grab your ticket!

Norm and Transgression in the Fairy-Tale Tradition - Conference at Brown University
2023-06-07 08:00 - 2023-06-09 19:30 | Brown University, Smith-Buonanno Hall, Providence, RI, United States
We are so excited to be presenting at the conference Norm and Transgression in the Fairy-Tale Tradition: (Non)Normative Identities, Forms, and Writings at Brown University! Our paper – “‘Our Beloved Cinderella: Kalynn Bayron’s Cinderella is Dead and the Queering of Folk Narrative Genre” – will be on Thursday.
“From Perrault’s representation of female disobedience in ‘Bluebeard’ to Little Red Riding Hood’s disregard of her mother’s prohibition of wandering in the forest, transgression is a key theme in fairy tales. The act of transgression is typically used as a vehicle for a moral and/or educational message which seeks to punish the transgressor and reward ‘good’ behaviour that is compliant with societal norms and values. But with the evolution of the literary fairy tale as a genre, transgression has taken many other forms and significations that go well beyond acts of disobedience or the infringement of society’s rules and expectations. Rewritings of fairy tales, including the efforts by late 19th-century Decadent writers to subvert traditional happy endings and moral meanings or postmodern feminist adaptations that challenge the patriarchal structure embedded in those fairy tales, put into question the very notions of transgression and normativity in the fairy-tale world.
It could easily be argued, moreover, that transgression of accepted cultural norms has defined the literary fairy tale as a genre ever since its development in late 17th-century France. Physical deformity and monsters, such as ogres, witches, and other villains, populate the fairy-tale universe; violent and homicidal acts are commonly represented; and transgressive relationships and comportments abound, including, for instance, the numerous tales classified as ‘unnatural love’ in the Aarne–Thompson–Uther Index of folktales. In spite of the evident moralistic and allegorical meanings of fairy tales, and of the supposed acceptance of its illogical and ‘marvellous’ world as normative by the reader, the latter cannot but acknowledge the transgressive presence of topics such as cannibalism and anthropophagy in many of the tales. Recently, scholarly works in the emerging field of Queer Fairy-Tale Studies have underlined the ‘transgressive’ quality of certain traditional tales that do not conform to a heteronormative paradigm.”
For more information, please click here!

The May Book Club - Threadneedle by Cari Thomas
2023-05-30 19:00 - 20:00 | Crowdcast
Our Book Club pick for the month of May is Threadneedle by Cari Thomas!! This one was recommended to us by one of our students, and we really enjoyed the fascinating magic system and similarities to The Craft!
“An enthralling and original fantasy, woven inside a magical web of lies” – Jay Kristoff
“The magic both gleams and threatens. There are riddles and puzzles to be solved and there’s a library – trust me, it’s a good one.” – Robin Hobb
Please note that this selection comes with a trigger warning for abuse.
Our meeting will be on Tuesday, May 30th at 7PM ET. If you want to join us, make sure you’re at a $7+ tier on Patreon for the month of April!
Can’t make it live? The replay will be available right after the meeting takes place!

The May Patreon Fairy-Tale Salon
2023-05-16 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Hello all! Here is the info for our May Fairy-Tale Salon!
Date: May 16th at 7PM ET
Prompt: Fairy Tales & Burnout
Quest: We’ve been thinking a lot about burnout again, and we really think that the fairy tale can offer us SO much as we try to negotiate that issue in a world that seems to just keep insisting that that the only way to exist is in a constant state of overwhelm, exhaustion, and hustle. Sleeping Beauty teaches us the power of rest, Jack encourages us to play, and Snow White knows better than anyone how to survive – and thrive – despite all the forces at work that want to prevent her from doing so. How do you bring enchantment back into your life when you’re feeling burned out? How do you reignite your spark? How do you find magic again? If we could do anything at Carterhaugh to help you with these feelings, what would it be? What would you most want to learn from us about using fairy tales (etc) to combat burnout?
If you’d like to participate, just make sure that you’re on the Salonnières tier or higher on Patreon for the month of May – see you soon!

The April Book Club - The Dream Runners by Shveta Thakrar
2023-04-19 19:00 - 20:00 | Crowdcast
We are *thrilled* to let you know that our book club pick for April is The Dream Runners by one of our best friends, Shveta Thakrar! Like Dr. Yocom last month, Shveta will be joining us for the meeting LIVE for a night all about magic and dreams and Indian folklore and writing!
“Utterly unique, The Dream Runners uses magnificent world-building to explore how much of our own stories we can change.” — Jodi Picoult
“The Dream Runners is a novel greater than the sum of its (already vast and sparkling) parts—an emotionally resonant and supremely satisfying read.” — Camille DeAngelis
Our meeting will be on Wednesday, April 19th at 7PM ET. If you want to join us, make sure you’re at a $7+ tier on Patreon for the month of April!
Can’t make it live? The replay will be available right after the meeting takes place!

The April Patreon Fairy-Tale Salon
2023-04-12 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Hi all! Here is the info for our April Fairy-Tale Salon!
Date: April 12th at 7PM ET
Prompt: Mythic Fiction
Quest: We love what’s typically called “mythic fiction” (aka ‘fiction inspired by folklore’!) – so much that we even have a book club all about it! This month, we want to know what your all-time favorite book of mythic fiction is – does Terri Windling’s novel The Wood Wife make your heart sing? Are you pretty sure that Charles de Lint knows something most people don’t? Do you still long to live in Narnia? We can’t wait to hear all about it!
If you’d like to participate, just make sure that you’re on the Salonnières tier or higher for the month of April – see you soon!

Smithsonian Associates: Wonder Tales from Japan
2023-04-03 18:45 - 20:15 | Zoom
Whether they’re called fairy tales or something else, fantastical stories are found the world over. Like their Western fairy tale counterpart, Japan’s fantastical stories—otogi-banashi—are part of the body of stories folklorists call “wonder tales”: They contain supernatural elements, are set in the land of once upon a time, and feature marvelous situations. Sometimes, otogi-banashi even include the mysterious yokai, ghosts and spirits that take numerous forms that can range from a magical raccoon dog (the tanuki) to an umbrella (a tsukumogami)!
Folklorists Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman of the Carterhaugh School of Folklore and the Fantastic explore traditional tales from Japan, the yokai that haunt them, and how contemporary Japanese creators adapt the Western fairy tale and combine it with local lore. They look at traditional stories like “Momotaro,” the tale of a peach boy; “Urashima Taro,” the story of a fisherman who gets more than he bargains for; and “The Mirror of Matsuyama,” a relative of “Snow White.” Learn how Japanese wonder tales and fairy tales combine their enchantments in modern genres like anime (animation) and manga (comics).
The lecture will take place on April 3rd at 6:45PM!
Click here to grab your tickets!

The March Book Club - KIN S FUR by Margaret Yocom
2023-03-20 19:00 - 20:00 | Crowdcast
Hey everyone! We are so excited to announce that our book club pick for March is KIN S FUR by Dr. Margaret Yocom, our mentor and dear friend… who will be joining us for the meeting and reading the whole book LIVE!
This is a book of erasure poetry – using her own translation of the Grimm fairy tale “All Kinds of Fur,” Dr. Yocom weaves a beautiful story behind the story, one of resilience and personal power.
“Open this book and enter a world of danger, transformation, and tactical survival—a multi-layered, multi-voiced telling of ‘Allerleirauh’ / ‘All Kinds Of Fur,’ a Brothers Grimm tale you most likely have not met, a ‘Cinderella’ version with incest. In a new translation, Margaret Yocom first brings us this forgotten tale, stocked, as we’d expect, with kings, rings, beasts, and betrayals. She then, through erasure, lures out of its darkness another voice—the voice of ‘All Kinds Of Fur’ herself, lying hidden within its words. In keeping with traditions of wonder tales, erasure practice poses riddles and embodies paradoxes—adding by subtracting, listening by looking, redrawing the boundaries of author and reader, teller and told. Enter this forest. Voice what you see. Is it sunlight in shadow, or a sudden shadow cutting through light?”—Susan Tichy
“These poems are haunted by what Yocom makes invisible by her erasures; what she makes visible has different bones. The incest in the fairy tale variously translated as ‘All Fur’ or ‘Donkeyskin’ shows through the skin without the ‘s’: kin. I have used these poems in my fairy tale course to introduce students to a tradition whose dark side has been erased, in other ways, by numerous editors and publishers—and which KIN S FUR restores. Are we not all, like these fairy tale beings, humanimals?” – Katharine Young
Our meeting will be on Monday, March 20th at 7PM ET – and Dr. Yocom will be there to read and talk about her book and process! If you want to join us, make sure you’re at a $7+ tier on Patreon for the month of March!
Can’t make it live? The replay will be available right after the meeting takes place!

Smithsonian Associates: Feminist Fairy Tales - Who Needs a Prince?
2023-03-13 18:45 - 20:15 | Zoom
You might have heard something like this: “I don’t want my daughter reading fairy tales!” or “Fairy tales are so sexist. All these girls needing a prince to save them!” But the truth is that the politics of gender in fairy tales are much more complicated than these statements acknowledge.
In fact, modern fairy-tale studies grew out of debates over how gender and sexism play out in traditional tales. Scholars have grappled with questions such as why so many famous fairy-tale heroines are waiting to be rescued—and whether they really need rescuing at all. Or they might find that something else is actually going on in the plot of these familiar stories, and also wonder what kinds of fairy tales have happy endings that aren’t dependent on a heroine’s rescue by a handy prince.
Such investigations revolutionized questions of gender and sexuality, opened the door to queer interpretations of classic tales, and rediscovered rich archives of tales with active hero(ines) of all genders. This work has even spurred the creation of new fairy tales that reflect contemporary mores in old stories.
Join folklorists Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman on March 13th at 6:45PM ET as they explore the roots of fairy-tale studies; look at familiar tales such as Cinderella and Bluebeard as well as some of their lesser-known versions; uncover a treasury of unfamiliar tales; and illustrate how scholarly discussions of sex and gender have transformed the art of the fairy tale as we know it.
Click here to grab your tickets!

The March Patreon Fairy-Tale Salon
2023-03-09 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Please find the info for our March Fairy-Tale Salon below!
Date: March 9th at 7PM ET
Prompt: Show us a favorite fairy-tale object!
Quest: At our last salon, the subject of our most fairy-tale-y jewelry came up, and we loved it. We love fairy-tale-ish objects of all kinds to be honest so, for the March salon, we’re having a “show and tell”! We’d love to see your favorite fairy-tale objects. Jewelry is of course welcome, but you can also show anything else! A favorite souvenir, a beloved stuffed animal, or the dress that makes you feel the most like Snow White are all welcome. We can’t wait to hear the stories behind the items!
If you’d like to participate, make sure that you’re on the Salonnières tier or higher on Patreon for the month of March – can’t wait to see you there!

The February Book Club - Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda
2023-02-27 19:00 - 20:00 | Crowdcast
Hey all! Our book club pick for February is Woman, Eating by Claire Kohda, a really unusual take on the vampire legend that we think will give us a LOT to talk about!
“Absolutely brilliant – tragic, funny, eccentric and so perfectly suited to this particularly weird time. Claire Kohda takes the vampire trope and makes it her own in a way that feels fresh and original. Serious issues of race, disability, misogyny, body image, sexual abuse are handled with subtlety, insight, and a lightness of touch. The spell this novel casts is so complete I feel utterly, and happily, bitten.” — Ruth Ozeki, Booker-shortlisted author of A Tale for the Time Being
Our meeting will be on Monday, February 27th at 7PM ET – if you want to join us, make sure you’re at a $7+ tier for the month of February!
Can’t make it live? The replay will be available right after the meeting takes place!

The February Patreon Fairy-Tale Salon
2023-02-16 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Please find the info for our February Fairy-Tale Salon below!
Date: February 16th at 7PM ET
Prompt: What is something quirky you do to show love?
Quest: Valentine’s Day can be a tricky holiday – some people love it, some people hate it, some people think it’s a “Hallmark holiday” that only exists to make us buy more stuff. We, however, happen to love it, and we use it to celebrate all kinds of love (in fact, Sara used to buy roses for ALL her classmates in high school, so that no one was left out or felt sad!) For our salon meeting this month, we want to know – what’s something quirky or off-beat that you do to show love to someone you care about? Do you always cover them with a blanket when they fall asleep on the couch or maybe randomly make them a batch of their favorite cookies for no reason at all? Do you suffer ungrudgingly through concerts for a band you hate just because they love them, always bring home some kind of turtle thing (their fav) from the dollar store when you know they’ve had a hard day, or sing silly songs you made up on the spot just to see them smile? Whatever it is, we can’t wait to hear!
If you’d like to participate, make sure that you’re on the Salonnières tier or higher on Patreon for the month of February – looking forward to seeing you there!

The January Book Club - The 2022 Short Stories Nominated for the Hugo Award
2023-01-26 19:00 - 20:00 | Crowdcast
We’re doing something a little different this month! Instead of a single book, our book club picks for January are the five short stories nominated for the 2022 Hugo Award.
We’re a little late getting the information about this book club out, so we figured a shorter assignment was only fair – plus, these stories are all AMAZING and thought provoking and strange and wonderful. We can’t wait to talk about each of them with you (and, of course, taking a vote on which story you think should have won!)
The five short story nominees for 2022 were:
“Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather” by Sarah Pinsker (Uncanny Magazine, Mar/Apr 2021)
“Mr. Death” by Alix E. Harrow (Apex Magazine, Feb 2021)
“Proof by Induction” by José Pablo Iriarte (Uncanny Magazine, May/Jun 2021)
“The Sin of America” by Catherynne M. Valente (Uncanny Magazine, Mar/Apr 2021)
“Tangles” by Seanan McGuire (Magicthegathering.com: Magic Story, Sep 2021)
“Unknown Number” by Blue Neustifter (Twitter, Jul 2021)
[Note: This story was published on Twitter, which means that you have to follow the replies in the thread to get the full story!]
Click each story to read!
In case you’re not familiar with them, the Hugo Awards are annual awards for the best science fiction/fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. They are given at the World Science Fiction Convention and chosen by the World Science Fiction Society members. They’re kinda a big deal!
Our meeting will take place on January 26th at 7PM ET. Can’t make it live? The replay will be available right after the meeting takes place.
All you have to do is support us on Patreon for $7+ and you’ll get a link to join in!

Smithsonian Associates: How to Write a Fairy Tale
2023-01-24 18:45 - 20:15 | Zoom
Everyone thinks they know what a fairy tale is. There are castles, a prince or two, maybe a curse to break or a talking cat to befriend. But what is a fairy tale, really? What are the necessary pieces that make a story recognizable as a fairy tale? And how might you write one of your own?
Writing a fairy tale is not as easy a task as you might imagine. Some argue that to make a fairy tale, your story has to follow certain rules. Some say that what happens in a story, the specific plot points, and stock characters make a fairy tale. Others still argue that none of those things really matter at all —what matters is the particular work that fairy tales do in the world. Maybe J.R.R. Tolkien had it right when he spoke of fairy tales as simply stories that have “a peculiar mood and power,” stories that capture the feel of Faerie.
Join folklorists and writers Sara Cleto and Brittany Warman on January 24th at 6:45PM as they explore how to go about writing a fairy tale of your own. Do you have to follow the rules? What kinds of questions should you ask? What practical steps do you need to follow?
Explore the plot elements that define these stories, the characters who move through them, and ways to create a fairy-tale atmosphere or a twist on a traditional tale. Using folkloristics, fairy-tale studies, and narrative theory, Cleto and Warman reveal the structures and rules that underpin the fairy tale—and show you how to re-create and break them in your own writing. And don’t worry: There will be plenty of writing prompts to help get you started on fairy tales of your own.
Click here to grab your ticket!

The January Patreon Fairy-Tale Salon
2023-01-12 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Hi everyone – here is the info for our January Fairy-Tale Salon!
Date: January 12th at 7PM ET
Prompt: New Year’s Traditions
Quest: A new year is upon us! What do you like to do to usher in this new beginning? Do you always eat black-eyed peas or noodles? Do you love watching the fireworks on New Year’s Eve? Maybe you always make a resolution to make a big change? Tell us all about it!
If you’d like to participate, make sure that you’re on the Salonnières tier or higher on Patreon for the month of September – looking forward to seeing you there!

The December Book Club - Christmas Days by Jeanette Winterson
2022-12-27 19:00 - 20:00 | Crowdcast
Our December book club pick is CHRISTMAS DAYS: 12 STORIES AND 12 FEASTS FOR 12 DAYS by Jeanette Winterson!
This book is full of stories that are funny and thought-provoking, traditional and innovative, “childlike and spooky” – exactly the kinds of tales you want to read during the winter holiday time! Though her theme is Christmas, we think this collection will appeal to those of any and/or no religion in their lives as well – there are mysteries, ghost stories, and romances here!
“Spooky, clever, funny, and poignant, Winterson’s supernatural tales refresh our appreciation of what it truly means to give, to love, and to share joy.” – Booklist
“Winterson has gathered 12 Yule-themed stories . . . She is especially good with the supernatural, using eerie and magical elements in ways that hark back to Poe and Dickens . . . Spooky, inventive, funny . . . [the book] has a 19th-century charm much needed in the grim 21st.” – Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Plus there are a bunch of delicious-sounding recipes as well!
Our meeting will take place on December 27th at 7PM ET.
Can’t make it live? The replay will be available right after the meeting takes place!
All you have to do is support us on Patreon for $7+ for the month of December and you’ll get the link to join in!

Gothic Solstice 2022
2022-12-21 19:00 - 22:00 | Crowdcast
This year, we weren’t quite ready to leave the Gothic behind after we finished up our Gothic Realms course… winter is just the perfect time for ghost stories, and – believe it or not – Christmas is a traditional time for such tales! We knew that we had to do another solstice celebration – this one dedicated to all things Victorian and Gothic.
Join us (and special guests Dr. Maria DeBlassie and Dr. Stephen Winick!) on December 21st at 7PM ET for an evening of eerie wonder and Gothic delight! We can’t wait to celebrate with you!
Read all the details about the evening (and register!) by clicking here!
[Note that this is a live event, but everything will be recorded and available for viewing for at least one year!]

The December Patreon Digital Fairy-Tale Salon
2022-12-13 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Hi all, here is the info for the December salon!
Date: December 13th at 7PM ET!
Prompt: What do you do to make your home feel enchanted and cozy in the winter?
Quest: Think about your home in the wintertime – what do you do to up the coziness factor, or make your space feel a little more enchanted? Do you have a favorite blanket, a favorite ritual, or a favorite moment you look forward to every year (maybe the first snowfall?) Do your holiday decorations make your home feel magical? Are you fully on board with the whole hygge thing (or #gloomth if that’s your jam!) If you were to take a beautiful picture in your home in December, what would you most want to include?
We can’t wait to be inspired by your ideas!
If you’d like to participate, just make sure that you’re on the Salonnières tier or higher for the month of December! See you on the 13th! :).

The November Book Club - What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
2022-11-29 19:00 - 20:00 | Crowdcast
Our October book club pick is WHAT MOVES THE DEAD by T. Kingfisher!

(We couldn’t resist another Kingfisher novel… or, somehow, another scary mushroom book??)

Plus this one? It’s a total reimagining of “The Fall of the House of Usher,” by Edgar Allen Poe, one of the most famous, unsettling, and awesome Gothic short stories of all time. Kingfisher adds, as Andy Davidson puts it, “a wholly new mythology” to the tale and we are here for it.

“Thoroughly creepy and utterly enjoyable.” — Publishers Weekly

“T. Kingfisher spins biting wit, charm and terror into a tale that will make your skin crawl. Poe would be proud!”―Brom

“A fluid technicolor reimagining of Poe’s “House of Usher” that takes no prisoners…Not to be missed.” – Brian Evenson

Our meeting will take place on November 29th at 7PM ET.

Can’t make it live? No worries – the replay will be available right after the meeting takes place!

To join in, all you have to do is support us on Patreon for $7+ for the month of November, and we’ll send you the link!

The November Patreon Fairy-Tale Salon
2022-11-21 19:00 - 20:00 | Zoom
Hi all! Here is the info for our November Fairy-Tale Salon!
Date: November 21st at 7PM ET
Prompt: Family Recipes!
Quest: Thanksgiving is coming up in the US, and everyone is thinking about delicious fall food! This month, we’d love to know about your favorite family recipes (for Thanksgiving or for anytime!) Do you have a favorite Thanksgiving dish that your grandmother taught you to make? Do you and your parents and siblings always make cookies on Christmas Eve? Is your family’s secret BBQ sauce out of this world? Tell us all about it! (We’d love it if you shared your recipe specifics too, but no pressure!)
If you’d like to participate, just make sure that you’re on the Salonnières tier or higher for the month of November – see you soon!

The October Book Club - The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black
2022-10-27 19:00 | Crowdcast
Our October book club pick is THE COLDEST GIRL IN COLDTOWN by Holly Black!
That’s right: we’re FINALLY reading Holly Black!
Our meeting will take place on October 27th at 7PM ET.
Can’t make it live? No worries – the replay will be available right after the meeting takes place!
To join, support us on Patreon for $7+ for the month of October, and you’ll get the invite sent straight to your inbox.
Y’all, this is one of our favorite vampire books of all time. It’s incredibly creative and one of those books we gobbled up in one night. Here’s what the Kirkus Review (starred!) had to say about it: “Ten years ago, a vampire “started romanticizing himself” and went on a rampage, turning people until new vampires were everywhere. As much as possible, they are contained in walled Coldtowns, along with humans who idolize them—or were trapped when the walls went up. Outside, people avoid going out after dark, watch endless feeds from Coldtown parties and idolize vampire hunters. When nihilistic Tana, whose emptiness seems to stem from events surrounding her mother’s infection with vampirism, wakes up in a blood bath to find her ex-boyfriend infected and a terrifying but gorgeous vampire chained beside him, she is determined to make things right. What follows is a journey that takes her into Coldtown and out of the grief that has plagued her for years, with plenty of sharply observed characters and situations that feel absurdly, horribly believable. There’s dry humor and even a relationship (to call it a romance would be too easy; this is something entirely more complex). Perhaps most unexpectedly, there is no happy ending, just a thread of hope in humanity.
You may be ready to put a stake in vampire lit, but read this first: It’s dark and dangerous, bloody and brilliant.”
