Synopses & Reviews
The fairy tale lives again in this book of forty new stories by some of the biggest names in contemporary fiction.
Neil Gaiman, and#147;Orangeand#8221;
and#160;
Aimee Bender, and#147;The Color Masterand#8221;
and#160;
Joyce Carol Oates, and#147;Blue-bearded Loverand#8221;
and#160;
Michael Cunningham, and#147;The Wild Swansand#8221;
and#160;
These and more than thirty other stories by Francine Prose, Kelly Link, Jim Shepard, Lydia Millet, and many other extraordinary writers make up this thrilling celebration of fairy talesand#151;the ultimate literary costume party.
and#160;
Spinning houses and talking birds. Whispered secrets and borrowed hope. Here are new stories sewn from old skins, gathered by visionary editor Kate Bernheimer and inspired by everything from Hans Christian Andersenand#8217;s and#147;The Snow Queenand#8221; and and#147;The Little Match Girland#8221; to Charles Perraultand#8217;s and#147;Bluebeardand#8221; and and#147;Cinderellaand#8221; to the Brothers Grimmand#8217;s and#147;Hansel and Greteland#8221; and and#147;Rumpelstiltskinand#8221; to fairy tales by Goethe and Calvino and from China, Japan, Vietnam, Russia, Norway, and Mexico.
and#160;
Fairy tales are our oldest literary tradition, and yet they chart the imaginative frontiers of the twenty-first century as powerfully as they evoke our earliest encounters with literature. This exhilarating collection restores their place in the literary canon.
Review
"I cannot remember a time I had more fun reading a book! Many of these contemporary tales rival the originals in creepiness, joy, and impact." Darcey Steinke, author of Easter Everywhere
Review
"Let's open the door to the green room and peek to see who is waiting. A bevy of beauties...an evanescence of sprites...an abundance of adversaries...a passel of princes....Maybe we should have brought that bubbly; but there's something being served here more deeply inebriating than champagne. Hush." Gregory Maguire, from the Foreword
Review
"This is a book of brilliant dreams and dazzling nightmares: perfect fare for imaginative readers of any age."
Seth Lerer, author of Children's Literature: A Reader's History from Aesop to Harry Potter and dean of arts and humanities at the University of California, San Diego
Review
"A pedant might object to the subtitle of My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me, since most of the selections in this anthology edited by Fairy Tale Review founder and editor Kate Bernheimer are in fact retellings of tales, and the couple that are new draw heavily on existing tales. However, our hypothetical pedant would be missing that the magic of fairy tales is in how the story becomes new again with each telling, and the forty authors assembled here certainly bring all kinds of newness to their tales. Rudy Dornemann, Rain Taxi (Read the entire Rain Taxi review)
Synopsis
The fairy tale lives again in this book of forty new stories by some of the biggest names in contemporary fiction.
Michael Cunningham, Francine Prose, Aimee Bender, Kelly Link, Jim Shepard, and more than thirty other extraordinary writers celebrate fairy tales in this thrilling new volume. Inspire by everything from Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen" and "The Little Match Girl" to Charles Perrault's "Bluebeard" and "Cinderella" to the Brothers Grimm's "Hansel and Gretel" and "Rumpelstiltskin" to fairy tales by Goethe and Calvino and from China, Japan, Vietnam, Russia, Norway, and Mexico, here are stories that soar into boundless realms, filled with mischief and mystery and magic, and renewed by the lifeblood of invention. Although rooted in hundreds of years of tradition, they chart the imaginative frontiers of the twenty-first century as powerfully as they evoke our earliest encounters with literature.
Synopsis
The fairy tale lives again in this book of forty new stories by some of the biggest names in contemporary fiction.
Neil Gaiman, Orange
Aimee Bender, The Color Master
Joyce Carol Oates, Blue-bearded Lover
Michael Cunningham, The Wild Swans
These and more than thirty other stories by Francine Prose, Kelly Link, Jim Shepard, Lydia Millet, and many other extraordinary writers make up this thrilling celebration of fairy tales the ultimate literary costume party.
Spinning houses and talking birds. Whispered secrets and borrowed hope. Here are new stories sewn from old skins, gathered by visionary editor Kate Bernheimer and inspired by everything from Hans Christian Andersen s The Snow Queen and The Little Match Girl to Charles Perrault s Bluebeard and Cinderella to the Brothers Grimm s Hansel and Gretel and Rumpelstiltskin to fairy tales by Goethe and Calvino and from China, Japan, Vietnam, Russia, Norway, and Mexico.
Fairy tales are our oldest literary tradition, and yet they chart the imaginative frontiers of the twenty-first century as powerfully as they evoke our earliest encounters with literature. This exhilarating collection restores their place in the literary canon."
Synopsis
The fairy tale lives again in this book of forty new stories by some of the biggest names in contemporary fiction, science fiction, fantasy, and magical realism. Neil Gaiman, "Orange"
Aimee Bender, "The Color Master"
Joyce Carol Oates, "Blue-bearded Lover"
Michael Cunningham, "The Wild Swans"
These and more than thirty other stories by Francine Prose, Kelly Link, Jim Shepard, Lydia Millet, and many other extraordinary writers make up this thrilling celebration of fairy tales--the ultimate literary costume party.
Spinning houses and talking birds. Whispered secrets and borrowed hope. Here are new stories sewn from old skins, gathered by visionary editor Kate Bernheimer and inspired by everything from Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen" and "The Little Match Girl" to Charles Perrault's "Bluebeard" and "Cinderella" to the Brothers Grimm's "Hansel and Gretel" and "Rumpelstiltskin" to fairy tales by Goethe and Calvino and from China, Japan, Vietnam, Russia, Norway, and Mexico.
Fairy tales are our oldest literary tradition, and yet they chart the imaginative frontiers of the twenty-first century as powerfully as they evoke our earliest encounters with literature. This exhilarating collection restores their place in the literary canon.
Synopsis
The fairy tale lives again in this book of 40 new stories by some of the biggest names in contemporary fiction — Michael Cunningham, Francine Prose, Aimee Bender, Kelly Link, Jim Shepard, and more than 30 other extraordinary writers.
Synopsis
The fairy tale lives again in this book of forty new stories by some of the biggest names in contemporary fiction. Michael Cunningham, Francine Prose, Aimee Bender, Kelly Link, Jim Shepard, and more than thirty other extraordinary writers celebrate fairy tales in this thrilling new volume. Inspire by everything from Hans Christian Andersen's "The Snow Queen" and "The Little Match Girl" to Charles Perrault's "Bluebeard" and "Cinderella" to the Brothers Grimm's "Hansel and Gretel" and "Rumpelstiltskin" to fairy tales by Goethe and Calvino and from China, Japan, Vietnam, Russia, Norway, and Mexico, here are stories that soar into boundless realms, filled with mischief and mystery and magic, and renewed by the lifeblood of invention. Although rooted in hundreds of years of tradition, they chart the imaginative frontiers of the twenty-first century as powerfully as they evoke our earliest encounters with literature.
Synopsis
Fifty leading writers retell myths from around the world in this dazzling follow-up to the bestselling My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me Icarus flies once more. Aztec jaguar gods again stalk the earth. An American soldier designs a new kind of Trojan horsehis cremains in a bullet. Here, in compelling guise, are your favorite mythological figuresNarcissus and Echo, Orpheus and Eurydice, Pygmalion and Galatea, even Argos, Odysseuss faithful dogalongside characters from Indian, Punjabi, Inuit, and other traditions. Featuring talkative goats, a cat lady, a bird woman, a beer-drinking ogre, and a squid who falls in love with the sun, these are stories of boundless wonder and invention.
If xo” signals a goodbye, then xo Orpheus is a goodbye to an old way of mythmaking, a book that boldly heralds a new beginning for one of the worlds oldest literary traditions.
Synopsis
A National Book Award finalist for her short stories, New York Times bestselling author Jean Thompson returns to form with The Witch and Other Tales Re-Told.
Synopsis
Great fairy tales are not always stories designed for children. The lurking wolf in Little Red Riding Hood,” the gingerbread house that lures Hansel and Gretel, the beauty asleep in her castlethese fables represent some of our deepest, most primeval fears and satisfy our longing for good to win out over evil (preferably in the most gruesome way possible). In this captivating new collection, critically acclaimed author Jean Thompson takes the classic fairy tale and brings it into the modern age with stories that capture the magic and horror in everyday life. The downtrodden prevail, appearances deceive, and humility and virtue triumph in
The Witch, as lost children try to find their way home, adults cursed by past unspeakable acts are fated to experience their own horror in the present, and true loveor is it enchantment?conquers all.
The Witch and Other Tales Re-Told is a haunting and deeply entertaining collection, showcasing the inimitable Thompson at the height of her storytelling prowess.
Synopsis
For fans of Stephen King, Neil Gaiman, Lois Duncan, and Daphne Du Maurier comes a powerhouse anthology featuring some of the best writers of YA thrillers and horror A host of the smartest young adult authors come together in this collection of scary stories and psychological thrillers curated by Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Seas April Genevieve Tucholke.
Each story draws from a classic tale or twosometimes of the horror genre, sometimes notto inspire something new and fresh and terrifying. There are no superficial scares here; these are stories that will make you think even as they keep you on the edge of your seat. From bloody horror to supernatural creatures to unsettling, all-too-possible realism, this collection has something for any reader looking for a thrill.
Fans of TVs The Walking Dead, True Blood, and American Horror Story will tear through tales by these talented authors:
Stefan Bachmann
Leigh Bardugo
Kendare Blake
A. G. Howard
Jay Kristoff
Marie Lu
Jonathan Maberry
Danielle Paige
Carrie Ryan
Megan Shepherd
Nova Ren Suma
McCormick Templeman
April Genevieve Tucholke
Cat Winters
Synopsis
This whimsical and spellbinding debut collection of stories creates fresh and contemporary tales of how magic and myth work in our everyday lives, as it mines the rich folklore and history of Cornwall.
Synopsis
In the tradition of Angela Carter, this luminous, spellbinding debut reinvents the stuff of myth. Straying husbands lured into the sea by mermaids can be fetched back, for a fee. Trees can make wishes come true. Houses creak and keep a fretful watch on their inhabitants, straightening shower curtains and worrying about frayed carpets. A mother, who seems alone and lonely, may be rubbing sore muscles or holding the hands of her invisible lover as he touches her neck. Phantom hounds roam the moors and, on a windy beach, a boy and his grandmother beat back despair with an old white door.
In these stories, the line between the real and the imagined is blurred as Lucy Wood takes us to Cornwall’s ancient coast, building on its rich storytelling history and recasting its myths in thoroughly contemporary ways. Calling forth the fantastic and fantastical, she mines these legends for that bit of magic remaining in all our lives—if only we can let ourselves see it.
About the Author
Kate Bernheimer is the founder of the literary journal
Fairy Tale Review, as well as the author of two novels and a children's book and the editor of two other anthologies of original short fiction. She lives in Tucson, Arizona.
Gregory Maguire is the bestselling author of Wicked, the basis for the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical of the same name. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.
Table of Contents
Diving Belles 1
Countless Stones 20
Of Mothers and Little People 39
Lights in Other Peoples Houses 54
Magpies 76
The Giants Boneyard 90
Beachcombing 106
Notes from the House Spirits 130
The Wishing Tree 147
Blue Moon 170
Wisht 188
Some Drolls Are Like That and Some Are Like This 205