Faerie News

In Australia's misty Midwinter, something munificent shone. Come closer: it's a book. But not an ordinary one at all. Oh no, my friends. It's like that golden ball a frog once found at the bottom of a well, gleaming in the depths.

South of the Sun: Australian fairy tales for the 21st century is an intercultural, illustrated anthology of contemporary fairy stories for grownups.

Created as a partnership between Australian Fairy Tale Society and WA publisher Serenity Press, it garnered stellar endorsements by leading authors Kate Forsyth, Angela Slatter and Juliet Marillier, and includes tales by other luminaries such as Carmel Bird, Sophie Masson, Cate Kennedy and Eugen Bacon, along with artwork by Kathleen Jennings and Lorena Carrington, who designed the book's cover.

I'll have more to say about the quest soon - its challenges, joys, surprises and why the resulting concoction is so groundbreaking.

It's been a hectic year, with the Bendigo Writers Festival, Australian Fairy Tale Society conference, at which I co-presented with one of our book's participants, T.D. Luong, and other shenanigans. I hope to catch up on reviews soon. For now, I passionately invite you to support our years of research, fundraising, collaboration, editing, contractual liaison and all other aspects of this publication, by procuring your own copy and buying one for a friend!

Here's the link to order.

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It's been such an honour to receive the Australian Fairy Tale Society Award, I still can't quite shake the thrill, like seeds in my hair from gardening during lockdown free of shampoo.

There was steep competition, with nominees making great contributions to this field: storyteller Jo Henwood, author Serene Conneeley and glass artist Spike Deane. The annual prize means being custodian of a bewitching frog sculpture by Spike herself, for a year. Then it hops over to the next awardee in Australia.

Fairytale Frog by Spike Deane

Numerological magic can be irresistible for faerie folk; I'm the 5th awardee of this prize, awarded in the 5th month of the year, my birth month in which I turned 55; the pentacle (pentagram, apple seedpod) is one of my favourite symbols. So mine is the 5th little plaque on the wooden base.

A beautiful glass dome rests above, with a copper frog musing behind it in silhouette: a tribute to the AFTS logo, a native tree frog.

It was also a joy to open an enchanting artwork by the previous awardee (photographic illustrator Lorena Carrington) who created it especially for me: hence the cats, forest and a dryad covered in leaves.