By Kate Forsyth I was enchanted with the Grimm Brothers’ fairy tales from the moment I read them as a little girl, sick and lonely in hospital. I was only seven, but I still remember the transformative experience of reading the tales by myself for the first time. I had been given a copy of…Read more The Secret History Of The Grimm Fairy Tales
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Q & A with Kate Forsyth
Q: What is the first thing you’d love everyone to know about you? A: I’ve wanted to be a writer for as long as I can remember and spent my childhood daydreaming, making up stories, and playing imaginary games. My grown-up life as an author seems a natural extension of that dreamy little girl’s…Read more Q & A with Kate Forsyth
The Enduring Fascination of Fairy Tales
Kate Forsyth Fairy tales are the oldest of all stories. Because they are so old, and so prevalent, they have insinuated themselves deep into our brains, providing instantly recognisable symbols and metaphors for our deepest fears, our most fervent desires, our most fragile hopes. It is no coincidence that many psychological conditions are given the…Read more The Enduring Fascination of Fairy Tales
The Buried Moon cover
THE BURIED MOON is set for release in March 2019 and it's all systems go behind the scenes. This week, we saw the final cover - here it is: It's gorgeous! Side by side with Vasilisa, it looks amazing. The next five months are sure to fly past in a whirl of designing, proofreading and…Read more The Buried Moon cover
Baba Yaga Books
The Baba Yaga is one of my favourite mythic characters, and she seems to be making a bit of a cultural reemergence, so I thought I'd share a few contemporary books where she plays a starring role. Out recently is Sophie Anderson's wonderful The House on Chicken Legs. I loved it so much. It's a delightful…Read more Baba Yaga Books
The Teens of Fairy Tales
Sometimes we forget that most protagonists of fairy tales are actually teenagers. While they're out-foxing witches, rescuing each other from suspect entrapments and certain death, or heading out on near-impossible quests, they must also be battling raging hormones, crippling self doubt, and huge never-before-felt emotions. What if, at the end of the day, they pulled…Read more The Teens of Fairy Tales
Castlemaine Launch
Last Thursday, Castlemaine Library hosted the first launch of Vasilisa the Wise and Other Tales of Brave Young Women. About seventy people came along and shared the celebration, one that's been several years in the making. The wonderful Carmel Bird gave the launch speech and began: Once in a kingdom far far away there lived…Read more Castlemaine Launch
Seven Podcasts for Fairy Tale Lovers
If you're anything like me, you use podcasts to get you through the day - out walking, in the car, cooking dinner: all the stuff where sometimes it's great just to have some else's voice in your head for a while! I also spend a lot of time at the computer working with images and,…Read more Seven Podcasts for Fairy Tale Lovers
The mythology of women working together
A terrific post from Sharon Blackie about women working together. The tale 'Kate Crackernuts', retold in Vasilisa the Wise & Other Tales of Brave Young Women, is a noteworthy example of this in which Katie helps her stepsister Lady Kate.
Twice Upon a Time: books that will make you rethink Fairy Tales
We hope that Vasilisa the Wise and Other Tales of Brave Young Women will encourage people to rethink the fairy tales they have always known. Many people think of princess tales as the standard, but looking back through the history of fairy tales, you'll find many stories of women who slayed dragons, rescued princes and…Read more Twice Upon a Time: books that will make you rethink Fairy Tales
Long Lost Fairy Tales 