BBC Countryfile Magazine

1 min read

by Lisa Schneidau The author uses her ecologist training to add depth to old tales from Britain’s woods and forests. A beguiling retelling of many overlooked legends. by Amy Jeffs A creative exploration of legend and landscape – myths of homeland, lo

Psychologies

1 min read

I was thrilled to see that you opened The Fix pages of the April issue with a paragraph about fierce mythological women. It is fabulous to see strong women celebrated in mythology, when in our culture we typically read fairy tales in which women and

Cinema Scope

21 min read

Just past the midpoint of Alexandre Koberidze’s What Do We See When We Look at the Sky? the narrative pauses for a five-minute montage of children playing European football on the blacktop of a fenced-in basketball court. Accompanied by Gianna Nannin

Getaway

1 min read

An extraordinary Giant Kite Festival takes place every year on The Day of the Dead in a cemetery in Sumpango, Guatemala. It’s believed the kites create a connection between the spirits of the dead and their families here on Earth, with messages attac

British Columbia History

15 min read

This is a monumental work—and for many people it’s impossible to conceive of how it would have come together. Can you tell us a bit about your process of research and writing? This was a book that took a long time, in some sense, for both of us it i

Guernica Magazine

12 min read

I’ve come across these legends in my life before, but only occasionally. Never so many at once.

ASIAN Geographic

1 min read

Today, as most people’s lives revolve around technology, folk tales have long since fallen out of fashion, as if a remnant of a past world long forgotten. We live in an age of science and reason where oral traditions that once helped make sense of li

Fortean Times

2 min read

It is a commonplace among fairyists that the fairies seen today in midnight walks are not the same as those seen 800 or even 100 years ago. Twenty-first century fairies are smaller: they are often doll-sized, or even butterfly-sized. They frequently

ASIAN Geographic

1 min read

A folk tale is a story passed down from generation to generation, often by word of mouth. Folk tales are inherently embedded in a culture, and in the modern world, as the tradition of oral storytelling has givenway to books and television, such tales

Chat It's Fate

1 min read

Although the Hope Diamond is the most famous cursed diamond in the world, it’s not the only one. Diamond superstitions exist in folklore and mythology from all around the world. A traditional Eastern superstition is that the possession of extremely l

ImagineFX

1 min read

LOCATION: England MEDIA: Photoshop WEB: www.artstation.com/alexandracurte “I’ve been painting my whole life and the fantasy genre is my favourite,” says Alexandra. “I’ve always loved fairy tales and all things magic and folklore, which can be found i

The Caravan

4 min read

In the 1970s, when the bazaars first came to Uttarakhand’s Munsyari village, people began to purchase grain instead of growing it. Barley, one of the crops native to the region, slowly diminished in quantity and purpose. Rekha Rautela, who wrote abou

ASIAN Geographic

1 min read

Storytelling is common to every culture, and storytellers have catered to the desire for a “good story” since the beginning of civilisation. We encounter stories daily, whether through the bedtime stories we read as children, parents and grandparents

SFX

1 min read

Pick of the paperbacks this month? Perhaps veteran author M John Harrison’s latest, THE SUNKEN LAND BEGINS TO RISE AGAIN ( , out now, Gollancz). An oblique book, concerned with a lack of connection, it follows two Londoners whose lives become tinged

You South Africa

4 min read

WHEN we talk of fairytales we’re referring to short stories that usually involve a prince or princess who lives in an undefined place – a kingdom far, far away. The stories include fantasy creatures such as fairies, giants, elves, dragons and mermaid

CrossStitcher

1 min read

The Grimms’ Fairy Tales Stitch-A-Long design is now complete! Over the past year designer Amanda Butler has created a stunning sampler containing 12 much-loved Grimms’ Fairy Tales characters. If you enjoyed stitching it then turn over the page and yo

Literary Hub

6 min read

It is rare for a literary critic to remain alive for readers decades after his death—even rarer than for a novelist or a poet. Lionel Trilling (1905-1975) belonged to what Randall Jarrell called “the age of criticism,” a time when the analysis and ju

PLAY

1 min read

Sure, most of them are bloodthirsty spirits, but they’re a fascinating, if aggressive, insight to Japan’s wonderful mythical creatures. Take your time to explore the parks and shrines nestled in the city; there might be items hidden there that can h

Writer's Digest

2 min read

Enjoy some Midwestern hospitality at this intimate conference known for its regional flair. WHEN: May 10–11, 2019. WHERE: Best Western Premier Waterfront Hotel & Convention Center, Oshkosh, Wis. PRICE: $75. Fee includes Saturday lunch. A special co

Literary Hub

6 min read

For years I knew Kanishk Tharoor primarily as the author of thoughtful essays about history, in the broadest sense: not just what happened in the past but also how humans have explored the past, made sense of the past, contested the past. So when I s

Literary Hub

4 min read

It’s very strange to take a full year off of doing something that you’ve been doing for over 15 years, knowing that you’ll return to it but are utterly detached from it in the meantime. For me, that is teaching literature at the college level. Going

Literary Hub

7 min read

In post 11/8 America, the citizenry became more aware, more active, more willing to submit themselves to self-examination. Yet while the world of journals both print (Freeman’s), and online (Guernica, Lit Hub, Electric Literature), have increased the

Wanderlust

1 min read

Babies conceived under the lights will be lucky The Chinese and Japanese believe children conceived under the lights will be blessed with good fortune – and good looks. The lights ease the pain of childbirth …according to Icelandic folklore, th

Literary Hub

2 min read

Nigerian-American writer, producer, and actress Yetide Badaki, well known for acting in the TV series This Is Us and American Gods, comes from a family of storytellers. She recalls sitting by the fire as a youth and listening to her elders. “Storytel

Total Girl

1 min read

Could witches actually exist? Are fairy tales not tales at all but relics of a the not-too-distant past? These questions and more are on Roxy’s mind ever since she moved into the Soup Ministry’s servant quarters with her sister Gretel. The Soup Minis

Chat It's Fate

1 min read

If your Valentine’s Day wish includes a well-endowed lover, then you’re not alone! The Daily Star reports that Women in Thailand have been flocking to a bizarre ‘penis park’ to hug giant sculptures of phalluses, in the belief that this will bring the

Literary Hub

3 min read

“Allen marries several distinct genres to produce an insight into what it means to be a person with a psychiatric diagnosis—as opposed to a novelist toying with the boundaries of thought … Meta-biographical writing is at such a peak of sophistication

Chat It's Fate

1 min read

Some light workers choose to place their magical tools under copper pyramids to charge and renew them. The four sides represent the four elements (earth, fire, air, water) and the triangle parts represent holy trinities such as the Triple Goddess or

Literary Hub

3 min read

Aaron Mahnke—the creator, writer, and voice of Lore—is having a busy October. The podcast at the centre of that buzz has slowly become a juggernaut, with some 6 million bi-monthly listeners, a brand-new Amazon series from the executive producer of Th

Chat It's Fate

4 min read

In the UK, we’ve got the Beast of Bodmin, Black Shucks and the Loch Ness monster – just a few of the weird and wonderful entities that are the stuff of British folklore and fairy tales. Other countries have their own crazy creatures – and they’re eve