So I took Midori's advice (in the post below) and said "Rabbit, Rabbit" as the clock struck twelve -- and then little darlin's were everywhere. Today, I spied them on the hillside sleeping off a long night of partying....
In English folklore, saying "Rabbit, rabbit, white rabbit" upon waking on the first day of the month was widely believed to bring good luck. (No doubt that's related to your mum's tradition, Erica.)
Welcome to 2008, everyone!
Thank you, everyone, for your patience this past month while our blog went on a brief, unscheduled hiatus. And happy Winter Solstice!
The solstice has been a particularly significant one for me this year, not only marking the turning of the seasons but also the end of a long chapter of my life and the beginning of a new one. In the last month, I have sold and moved out of Weaver's Cottage, the magical 16th century cottage that has been my home in Devon for over 15 years -- with its thick cob walls, crooked beams and floors, its enormous walk-in fireplace, its courtyard garden covered with roses and its kitchen covered with goblins painted on the walls by Brian Froud, Alan Lee, Charles Vess, Dennis Nolan and other artists. Leaving it, as I'm sure you can imagine, was both a time-consuming and emotional process. I haven't moved far (just down the street, in fact), and I'm moving for good reasons, not bad ones. Yet woven into the excitement of starting a brand new phase of life is a silver thread of nostalgic sadness, honoring all the wonderful years that passed there. (A very nice family will live in Weaver's now, and I'm pleased to report that they intend to preserve the goblins.)
I remember the day I first moved in so vividly. I owned so little furniture back then that my bed was just a mattress on the floor, my living room had just a table and two rush-seated chairs, the kitchen didn't yet have its famous goblins, the garden didn't yet have a single tree or rose bush...and yet it was still the most beautiful place I could ever imagine calling my own. After the last boxes were moved in, we toasted the place with a bottle of champagne and then my friends left, and I was alone in Weaver's for the very first time. I went upstairs and found, to my great surprise, that sometime during the bustle of the move Brian Froud had snuck upstairs without my knowing and left a painting for me there -- the image you see here on the right. I was completely bowled over (or "gob-smacked," as they say here in Britain).
Midori, too, has gone through big changes this year, moving from Milwaukee, Wisconsin to Tucson, Arizona and leaving the teaching profession to go back to writing again full time. (Hooray!) And the Journal of Mythic Arts is undergoing changes too, starting with the new format we debuted this autumn. We've got some exciting things in store for you in the new year, so stay tuned. And thank you, all of you in the Mythic Arts community, for your continued support. May all your solstice changes be good ones too.
Top photograph, Froud Goblins in Weaver's Kitchen, by Alan Lee; bottom photograph, Corner of Weaver's Garden [with me reading, as usual], Summer 2007, by Helen Mason.
Dear Friends and Readers: Terri and I are having yet another one of those intense transitional weeks. Terri is currently saying good bye to the Goblins of Weaver's Cottage and is knee deep in boxes and packing for the big move happening this week. I am on my way to three graduations: my son's Naval graduation in California immediately followed by my husband's Phd. graduation and daughter's undergraduate graduation in Wisconsin (which I read is buried under snow and cold...not ready for that let me tell you). So we are begging your forbearance as we take off to address all these momentous events. We will return to this blog shortly before Christmas.
Capoiera print by Alegria.
Welcome to the Endicott Studio's newly re-designed Journal of Mythic Arts. On these pages you will find news and reviews pertaining to myth-related arts, along with the collected archives of the last ten years of JoMA, plus new JoMA material (articles, stories, poetry, & other arts) added frequently. The best place to start is the new JoMA Home Page -- which should give you an easy overview of all things Endicott and where you can now find it.
Meanwhile, this blog will continue to bring you our usual daily posts, along with announcements of any new material added to any of JoMA's sections: articles, fiction, poetry, and the arts. (There's a "Comments" feature in each of those sections, so readers will now be able to respond to material we publish in JoMA. And we hope you'll do so!) "JoMA Contents," in the upper left hand column, provides navigational links to take you to each section. Underneath are "JoMA Archives" links -- where we index all the offerings in each section of the journal (listed alphabetically by author) so that you can find older material easily.
You'll also find a JoMA Links Page of recommended blogs & websites (including links to Endicott's other web pages), and a Mythic Reading Lists section (with updated book suggestions). We provide information on the Endicott staff, on the Children's Charities we support, and on how to make a donation to JoMA (and receive a print of Terri's art in thanks). If you're curious about where the Endicott name comes from, there's a page about that too.
While the old Endicott Studio website will continue to house Past Issues of JoMA, new material will be published here in the new JoMA format. As Terri mentioned in yesterday's post, we will no longer produce quarterly issues of JoMA -- rather, new material will be added frequently throughout the year, and we will alert you to its appearance on this blog.
...Speaking of which, we've opened the re-designed Journal of Mythic Arts with some fine new poetry for you by Margarita Engle, Wendy McVicker, Joseph Stanton, and Jane Yolen. All of these poems are never-before-published works, and we're honored to be able to present them to you here. You'll find them in the poetry section.
We hope you enjoy the new design. Please let us know how you like it (and if you have any problems navigating through it all).
It's a time of transitions here at the Endicott Studio, and what better time for it than Hallowe'en -- an outgrowth of the ancient pagan Festival of Samhain, which is New Year in the Celtic calendar.
First, there have been personal transitions. Midori and her husband have moved from Milwaukee, where they lived for many years and raised two extraordinary kids into adulthood. They're now in Tucson, Arizona, just down the road from my winter retreat in the Rincon Mountain foothills. And I'm in the middle of moving too, leaving the 16th century English cottage where I've lived for 15 years. I'll be moving to another place in the same village, so unlike Midori I'm not going far...but it feels like a big change for me nonetheless. One rich phase of my life is ending, and another is about to begin.
Second, the Journal of Mythic Arts is also in transition. As Web technology changes and evolves, we're changing too to keep up with the times. We're switching JoMA from its old hand-coded format, which -- due to being labor-intensive to produce -- limited us to four issues per year. Tomorrow we'll debut the new version of JoMA, re-designed with the aid of blogging technology -- allowing us to post new material much more easily. So instead of quarterly issues, we'll now be presenting new articles, poems, stories and art on a regular basis, all year long. Each new piece will be announced on this blog, which (as of tomorrow) will include links to all of JoMA's new pages. And it will now be possible for readers to leave comments about the pieces. There will also be links to JoMA's archives, where past material will still be easily accessible.
We're thrilled about this re-design for three reasons: 1.) It gives us the opportunity to publish works in JoMA year 'round. 2.) We think the new design looks rather handsome. 3.) It's so much less work to produce (particularly for our web designer, Midori, a.k.a. the hard-working "Code Girl") that we'll have more time for other kinds of work...most notably, our own writing and art. (Midori's working on a sequel to The Innamorati now, and I, for one, can't wait to read it.)
So for Endicott, too, one phase of life is ending, and another one is about to begin. Happy Celtic New Year, everyone. And tune in tomorrow!
The "book elf" picture in this post is by Edmund Dulac. The running fairy woman is by Alan Lee. The painting at the top is "Twilight" by Brian Froud -- a perfect piece for Hallowe'en, for twilight, too, is one of those in-between times when the gates between the worlds open, allowing passage between the mortal and faery worlds, and the worlds of the living and the dead. As another Hallowe'en treat, here's a magical video created by Brian and his son Toby for the German band Qntal:
This is just a quick announcement to let everyone know that the Endicott Offices have moved from Wisconsin to Arizona. We are now situated in the desert, beneath the long shadows of the Catalina and Rincon Mountains. I have changed the address in the upper left hand column for those of you sending us review copies, ARCs, and other materials for consideration. For those of you who might have things already on the way to Wisconsin, have no fear, they will be forwarded. And for those of you who sent books earlier in the summer -- now that I have finally moved and unpacked, I shall be able to sit down, put my feet up, and read all the wonderful books. Reviews should be out shortly and thanks for your patience.
The Summer 2007 issue of the Endicott Studio's Journal of Mythic Arts is now online -- focused this time on mythic fiction for Young Adult readers. What's special about this issue is that it contains thirteen short stories, rather than our usual two or three, along with our regular mix of nonfiction, art, and poetry.
You'll find stories by Christopher Barzak, Steve Berman, Holly Black, Gwenda Bond, Elizabeth Genco, O.R. Melling, Will Shetterly, Ellen Steiber and Catherynne M. Valente, among others -- ranging from fables to re–told fairy tales; from fantasy to contemporary realism; from stories rooted in specific cultural myths to those that weave new mythologies out of the colored threads of the old.
Our poetry this time includes works rooted in Cuban folklore by Margarita Engle, two mythic poems by Jeannine Hall, and fairy tale poems by Nan Fry, Neil Gaiman, and others.
In nonfiction, Colleen Mondor (YA reviewer for the fabulous Bookslut website) discusses Geraldine McCaughrean's YA novel The White Darkness, Virginia Borges takes a close look at "The Little Mermaid" fairy tale, librarian Julie Bartel recommends works of mythic fiction that YA readers shouldn't miss, fairy tale scholar Helen Pilinovsky revisits her teenage years, and I write about the "orphan hero" archetype from ancient myth to Harry Potter.
In the gallery, we have "Magic x 4," featuring enchanting works by artists from four countries: Kelly Louise Judd, Lisa Linnea, Nathalia Pierandrei and Julia Jeffrey (whose painting "Ashputtle" is just above). The other artists who have contributed to the issue include James Graham (whose photograph is at the top of this post), Theo Black (whose drawing is above, right), Leland Purvis, Stu Jenks, Brian Froud, Charles Vess and Greg Spalenka.
We hope you enjoy the issue!
Mythic Passages (the web journal sponsored by the Mythic Imaginations institute, edited by Brenda Sutton) also has a brand new issue online. Their topic this time is a particularly timely one: Freedom and Incarceration. The issue contains terrific, wide-ranging articles on Prometheus, the Terezin Ghetto, 9/ll, Walt Disney, The Matrix, Chinese myth, virtual reality, and more -- along with short stories, poetry, and video clips. The art on the right is "Her Prison is Her Freedom" by Charles Urbach.
If you're a long-time Endicott reader, then you'll be familiar with Heinz Insu Fenkl's work, for he's contributed numerous articles on myth and folklore to the Journal of Mythic Arts. (And if you 
haven't yet read his gorgeous, folkloric novel Memories of My Ghost Brother, you have a real treat in store. It's one of my very favorite works of mythic fiction.) Heinz has long been involved with Endicott, but we're pleased to say that he's joining the review staff here at the Endicott blog -- so you'll see his reviews pop up from time to time. (There will also be new book reviews from the rest of us coming soon -- which you'll see more of once Midori, Jamie and I finish work on the soon-to-be launched Summer issue of the Journal of Mythic Arts.)
For those who don't yet know Heinz's work: in addition to being a novelist and folklorist, he edits anthologies, translates literature and folk tales from the Korean, and is the publisher of Bo-Leaf Books. (Their Summer 2007 catalog will be online soon, by the by.) He is also a professor in the Department of English at S.U.N.Y. in New Paltz, where he lives with his wife Anne and daughter Bella. Check out Heinz's website, where he's posted so many fascinating works of fiction and nonfiction that I warn you it may be hard to pull yourself away again. (I particularly recommend "Songbird" and "Dancing on Knives: An Introduction to the Politics of Sexuality and Gender in Korean Shamanism.") He has also created a website devoted to translations of Korean folktales.
As part of our celebration of the Endicott Studio's 20th anniversary, we've created an "Endicott Circle: Now and Then" page, dedicated to all the writers, artists, performers, editors, and scholars who have been involved in Endicott projects over the years.
We've asked them to send us two photographs: one from the late '80s (when Endicott began), and one taken more recently. You can see them here -- and please check back, because we'll be adding more photographs in the weeks and months ahead as folks continue to send them in.
The picture above, by the way, is of Midori, me, and the wonderful artist/musician MaryAnn Harris, taken two long decades ago.
The Endicott Studio's Spring Issue of the Journal of Mythic Arts is now online! This 20th Anniversary issue celebrates Fairy Tales -- mixing older essays that have been expanded, updated, and re-designed with new illustrations, with new pieces such as an article from Terri on the Rapunzel fairy tale. In Fiction, we are pleased to present a haunting story from best-selling author Karen Joy Fowler based on the Pied Piper of Hamelin, along with newcomer (and recent high school graduate) Jessie Roy's wry take on the Sleeping Beauty tale. From the Archives, we also offer Jane Yolen's gorgeous Godmother Death and Kim Antieau's contemporary Briar Rose.
We are especially pleased to represent a collection of new poems -- each one based on a different fairy tale -- from poet Jeannine Hall Gailey. If you love her work as much as we do, then check out her recently published Becoming the Villainess, where you'll find poems on topics that range from myth and fairy tales to Buffy and Wonder Woman.
In the Writing Room, there are reflections by several authors on the influence of fairy tales in contemporary literature. In the Gallery, we look at the glorious art and tragic life of Golden Age fairy tale illustrator Kay Nielsen, alongside an historical survey of women fairy tale artists from the Gallery Archives. The Crossroads reprises Howard Gayton's journal of creating children's fairy tale theatre with drama students in Portugal, and a hilarious personal memoir by photographer James Graham of growing up viewing Baba Yaga in Russian propaganda films of the 1950s.
The art above is "Crumbs" by Jeanie Tomanek (an Endicott Studio favorite!) and the art below is an illustration from Walter Crane's "Sleeping Beauty."
We hope you enjoy it!
Midori and I and lots of other Endicott folks are on our way to Wiscon, which starts tomorrow and ends on Monday. (We'll be hosting a 20th anniversary party there, among other things.) So our blog coverage may be spotty for several days while we're all away from home, and while I'm in transit afterwards from the U.S. back to England. Please bear with us...we'll be back to a normal schedule by the end of next week.
The picture above is a preview of the new Endicott 20th Anniversary print, which we'll be selling at Wiscon to raise money for the Journal of Mythic Arts and our children's charities. It will also be available by mail order on the Endicott site at the beginning of June, along with three other new prints. We'll post the news here when they go online.
Speaking of Katy Marchant, as we were yesterday, she's been telling us for ages that the Endicott Studio should have a presence on MySpace, so that MySpace users can find out about the Journal of Mythic Arts and other Endicott projects. So as of this week we have a very simple and bare-bones MySpace page, which at the moment is basically just a portal to the regular Endicott website and this blog. (Though we have included a little slide show of Endicott art that we think is pretty swell.) Eventually we hope to use it the page in more playful and creative ways...but right now, all our attention is on getting the Spring issue of the Journal of Mythic Arts done and online. It's coming very soon!
You'll find us on MySpace here. If you're a MySpace user and would like to "friend" us, drop us a line.
The art above is by Jessie M. King, who was part of the Scottish Arts & Crafts movement at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries.
Ellen Datlow and I have just completed our latest "fairy tale fiction" anthology, The Cinderella Game -- which is a sequel to our previous books A Wolf at the Door and Swan Sister (although we've jumped publishers for this one from Simon & Schuster to Viking Children's Books).
The Cinderella Game won't be out until next year (the wheels of NY publishing houses grind slowly indeed), so I know it's a bit of a tease to be talking about the book so early. But I want to share the book's Table of Contents with you because we're just so pleased with the wonderful stories and poems our contributors have created:
Meanwhile, the previous two volumes have been re-published in a single omnibus edition specially for Barnes & Noble stores. Titled The Dark of the Woods, the book features cover art by Charles Vess.
Midori and I will both be traveling this week, but the Endicott blog will be back with regular postings on Saturday, April 14th. See you then!
The Winter 2007 issue of The Journal of Mythic Arts is now on-line, focusing on Tricksters dark and bright. The issue features:
* Articles on Trickster in myth, literature, and drama by Heinz Insu Fenkl, Ann Skea, Midori Snyder, and Terri Windling.
* New "Coyote" fiction from Gregory Frost, and "Uncle Tompa" tales from Tibetan storyteller Rinjing Dorje.
* Trickster inspired poetry from Nathalie F. Anderson, Carolyn Dunn, Margarita Engle, Larry Fontenot, Kij Johnson, Mario Milosevic, Munro Sickafoose, and Joseph Stanton.
* Whimsical and Tricksterish gallery exhibitions by Virginia Lee, Oliver Hunter, and Chandra Cerchione-Peltier.
* Additional art contributed by Stephen Dooley, Alan Lee, Iain McCaig, and Endicott's Trickster-Artist-In-Residence: Mark Wagner.
Click here to go to the new issue of the Journal of Mythic Arts, here to go to past issues, and click on the names above for more information on each of our contributors.
Art above: Iain McCaig, Virginia Lee, and Oliver Hunter.
Every year, as many of our readers know, I donate three new art prints to the Endicott Studio, which we sell through our "Friends of Endicott" page. This raises much of the money needed to fund the organization, particularly the Journal of Mythic Arts. Usually we have those new prints available by autumn, in time for Christmas sales -- and you may be wondering where the new prints are this year. I am very sad to have to report that four new paintings I created for 2007 prints have been damaged by the printer and cannot now be reproduced. Midori and I are heart-sick about the loss. We will have new prints in 2007, but it's going to take us a little while to pull something new together. In the mean time, there are still a number of the older prints available, with several designs to chose from. You'll find them on the "Friends of Endicott" page. Thanks, everyone, for your patience, and for your support of Endicott.
At the Endicott Studio, we have many reasons to be thankful on this Thanksgiving Day. We're thankful for all the writers, artists, and scholars who generously donate their work to the Journal of Mythic Arts (see the long, long list of them in the right-hand column of this blog); for our reviewers (Helen, Elizabeth, Jamie, and Kathleen) who donate their time, words, and enthusiasm; for the Friends of Endicott and Endicott Angels who help to keep our blog and the Journal going; for the organizations working with kids-at-risk which we try, in our small way, to support; and to our readers all over the world, for you are the reason we do this at all.
For a contemplation of the holiday, please visit At a Common Table: Poems for Thanksgiving (on the Poets.org website), with links to seasonal works by American poets from diverse backgrounds. And don't forget the Endicott e-Postcards site if you want to send someone a holiday greeting.
Of course, Thanksgiving is not only a time for taking stock of our blessings, but also for savoring the fruits of the harvest and the delights of the kitchen. In celebration of food, family, and community, with a dash of myth and a sprinkling of magic, I recommend Midori's wonderful article, "In Praise of the Cook," and Christopher Barzak's moving story, "Plenty" (on the Strange Horizons website). Finally, I recommend Lee Rudolph's poem "Little Prayer in November" (on the Clark University website). Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.
(The painting at the top of this post is by Vincenzo Campi, 1580. The photograph on the left is of a doll by Wendy Froud, whose enchanting work can be seen in the new book The Art of Wendy Froud.)
The Endicott Studio was named after the street where it first came into being in 1987: Endicott Street, in the old North End of Boston. In those early days, the Endicott Studio was a physical place: a working studio in the Castignetti Arts Building, a 19th century warehouse close to the docks of Boston harbor. We held mythic art exhibitions there, discussion groups for women artists, and "salon" gatherings co-hosted with Ellen Kushner.
Eventually the physical studio closed its doors (when I moved to England), but the Endicott Studio continued on as an arts organization supporting collaborative projects of a mythic nature in the U.S. and U.K.-- including anthologies and other publications, art exhibitions, and reading series. In 1997, the Endicott website was launched, evolving into the quarterly online Journal of Mythic Arts. Today, writers, artists, editors, and scholars from all across the U.S.and U.K. (as well as Canada, France, and Australia) contribute to Endicott projects and The Journal of Mythic Arts.
Why the Endicott history lesson? Because next year, 2007, will be the 20 Year Anniversary of the Endicott Studio -- as well as our 10 Year Anniversary here on the web. We want to mark the occasion in some way -- and we're turning to you, our readers, for ideas. What would you like to see us do? Or what might you like to become involved with yourselves? Please give us your thoughts in the comments section -- and help us celebrate 20 years of supporting the field of mythic arts!
Wow...one server crash, a new web host, a new blog, and a double issue later, and Endicott is pleased to finally announce the arrival of our Summer/Autumn, 2006 Issue of the Journal of Mythic Arts. This issue focuses on the international world of Fairies and Other Native Spirits. We have articles on Italian Fairies, Cherokee Little People, Hungarian Fairies, Costa Rican Duendes, and a new translation of a Korean Fox Wife tale. Among our fiction offerings, we have a brand new story from Carolyn Dunn rooted in traditional Cherokee lore; a poignant story by Élís Ní Dhuibhne inspired by a classic Irish fairy tale; and Kevin Brockmeier's gorgeous retelling of an old English legend. Our poetry this month (in the Coffeehouse section) also draws upon a variety of cultural traditions: Cuban, Scandinavian, Australian, and Arabic in addition to Celtic.
In the Crossroads section, we look at theatrical representations of fairies from A Midsummer Night's Dream to Peter Pan, and at depictions of the fairy tale witch Baba Yaga in Russian children's films. In the Writing Room, we have an article focused on shamanism and fairy lore in The Wood Wife, giving us the opportunity to re–present the magical Wood Wife paintings and drawings of Brian Froud.
In the Gallery, we feature the contemporary fairy paintings of Ernie Sandidge; and we have a look at "sketchbook pages" of fairy drawings by four artists: Alan Lee, Iain McCaig, Charles Vess, and Terri. (A special thanks to Alan Lee who made 21 of his never-before-seen-in-public sketches available to us for this issue.) Also, in the Gallery archives, the pages devoted to the fairy artists Brian and Wendy Froud have been re–designed and updated.
And because this issue spans both summer and autumn, there are a few more articles that will pop up in the issue throughout the fall. We'll let you know here on the blog when each one becomes available. As always, Terri and I are enormously grateful to all the poets, artists, and writers who contribute their work to the site. We thank you for making the Journal possible.
Yes! The Endicott Studio is back on-line! Stop by and visit the Spring Issue if you haven't seen it yet. (Summer is around the corner — but we may give the Spring Issue a little more time due to our unexpected absence.) You know the universe has a quirky sense of humor as the recent issue circulates around the themes of death, re-birth, and resurrection. I am hoping that after a few false starts we have bloomed into resurrection at last. So I think I feel safe to point out a few of the amazing pieces in the Spring Issue:
One note: if you happen to find any pages that appear to be missing "furniture" — as in images that have gone missing, links that don't work — please let us know. I suspect that a few bits of baggage may have been jostled out of the folder during Endicott's crossing to the new server. Thanks!
I am wondering how to hold onto my crumbling patience as I work through the bureaucratic labyrinths of changing a domain name registration from one company to another company. Who knew it would take so long and that each step would require yet another step they neglected to tell you about in the step before? I feel like one of those beleaguered heroines required to do ridiculous and impossible tasks before I can win back my beloved from some hellish enchantment. As it stands now, I am waiting for a fax that once signed will lead to a switch in the account from wholesale to retail, that will lead to an unlocking of the name, that will lead to a transfer, that will lead to an email to me that our site has at last fully arrived, body and soul.
We're still in the process of moving the Endicott Studio site to our new server. We're just waiting (rather impatiently) for the domain name transfer now, and as soon as we receive it, we'll be back on line. Our apologies for disappearing so abruptly!
In the meantime, we're busy working on the Summer issue of the Journal of Mythic Arts--which will feature a brand new story by Carolyn Dunn and new poetry from Nathalie Anderson among other treasures.
And this little critter recently wandered off my drawing table and out of the studio...
Wish us a bit of luck today. We are moving the entire Endicott site from its defunct server to a new home. Endicott reviewer and tech goddess, Elizabeth Genco, is lending us her expertise in the enterprise. I want to take this opportunity to thank Thomas Harlan for being the best host any web-guest could want. Thomas facilitated the inception of the website in 1997 and has for the last nine years generously offered us a home. We can't thank him enough for all that he has done for us.
If all goes well, we should be back on line by tomorrow evening (though I have a feeling as in any move, we may be unpacking surprise boxes and moving the furniture around a bit for a few days afterward).
Oy voy! We are wringing our hands over here. The Endicott Studio website is currently down due to a server malfunction. No doubt some hob has been chewing through the wiring again. (Ok...did I just date myself with that "wiring" crack?)
We hope to be back on line soon...soon (she whispers to herself, clinging perilously to the word.)
In the meantime, you might consider visiting our E-postcard site and sending out some cool free postcards that combine poetry and art collected from the website. (We started the project as part of a celebration for April's National Poetry Month.) There's also some of Terri's children's art--pretty sweet stuff. And since I am not coding the summer issue today, I just might have some time to make a few new ones!
Welcome to the Endicott Studio's new weblog where we look forward to providing our Endicott readers with announcements, reviews, links and the occasional brief essay on the world of myth and folklore. We plan to phase out our Bulletin Board over the next six months and I shall be importing many of the important links and discoveries from that board to this blog. We will continue to offer brief book reviews and of course, welcome comments from our readers.
Neil Gaiman: M Is for Magic
This is a collection of previously published short stories, ostensibly for young adults but fun for all. Neil Gaiman narrates the audio version, and his skill at reading aloud makes the anthology a real treat. (J. Bluth)
Donna Gillespie: Lady of the Light
A compelling novel of Pagans and Romans; rebellious barbarians rattling the gates of the Empire -- and the indomitable warrior woman who stands on the threshold of both worlds. Great historical details, fierce battles, and intrigues, all properly seasoned with the right amount of fantasy. This is the sequel to
The Light Bearer. (M. Snyder)
Michael Swanwick: The Dragons of Babel
This is a wonderful serpentine of a book, constantly coiling back on itself and changing. It skillfully interweaves various mythologies and allusions, to an effect that is both jarring and beautiful. A compelling read, and gorgeously written, I highly recommend it. (K. Howard)
Brian Barker: The Animal Gospels
This gorgeous poetry collection draws on animal imagery, folklore and myth to explore cultural history and contemporary life in the American south. Powerful work. (T. Windling)
Peter Hoeg: The Quiet Girl
Hoeg's latest is a thoroughly interstitial novel: part literary thriller, part urban fantasy, part post- catastrophe sf, set in near-future Copenhagen and told in rich, labyrinthine prose. This fascinating, atmospheric story may be my favorite of Hoeg's books since his haunting, best-selling Smilla's Sense of Snow . (T. Windling)
Oh Jung-hee: The Bird
The fantasy in this book is imaginary rather than actual (the heroine's brother believes that he can fly, like his cartoon hero Astroboy), and Jung-hee's use of folklore is sparing (but powerful nonetheless). This beautifully written Korean novel explores family dysfunction and violence against children in ways far beyond the cliche, examining the passage of its young heroine from abused girl to abuser. It's a simply amazing read. (T. Windling)
Jonathan Carroll: Glass Soup
Like many mythic fiction readers, I'm a big Jonathan Carroll fan--despite the fact, or maybe because of the fact, that I find his books so disturbing. Somehow I missed the publication of Carroll's Glass Soup, published last autumn. Good lord, this writer just gets better and better. The novel is a sequel to White Apples, and like the former is odd, outrageous, hilarious, infuriating, and occasionally profound. Carroll wrestles with some big themes here: the nature of love, the nature of religious belief, the nature of life and death itself. (T.Windling)
Jeanette Winterson: Tanglewreck
Time has lost its moorings. Time tornadoes are ripping through London, depositing artifacts from centuries past and stealing people from the present.... So starts the story of eleven-year-old Silver, who has been living with her selfish aunt ever since her family vanished under suspicious circumstances -- until the strange Abel Darkwater shows up looking for a missing clock called the Timekeeper, purported to control all of Time. I've long been a fan of Winterson's writing, and so I wondered what her first book for children would be like. Ultimately, there's a big adult life message in the story...nevertheless it's a fun read, full of quirky characters and adventures. [Read a longer review here.] (J. Bluth)
Ekaterina Sedia: The Secret History of Moscow
a wry political satire of Moscow in the 1990s with a richly imagined underworld, populated by Russia's iconic fairy tale figures -- from the smallest of the domovoi (house spirits) to the powerful Koschey the Deathless. Readers will find this novel thoroughly engaging -- whether one is new to Russian history and folklore or already well versed in both. [Read a longer review here.] (M. Snyder)
Ellen Kushner: The Golden Dreydl
This children's novel is charming, fast-paced, filled with imagery and characters from Jewish folklore(including riddles! my favorite), and sparkles with the author's considerable humor. [Read a longer review here.] (M. Snyder)
Libba Bray: The Sweet Far Thing
This novels completes the trilogy that began with A Great and Terrible Beauty and Rebel Angels: gothic-tinged, Victorian-era historical fantasy for Young Adults. Reviews for this book have been mixed, but I found it to be a satisfying conclusion to Bray's engrossing story. The book isn't perfect: the magical elements are sometimes sketchy, and the language is occasionally anachronistic -- but Bray's particular talent is in creating complex characters full of all the strengths and flaws of real people. If, like me, you tend to go for character-driven novels over plot-driven novels, give this intelligent and thoughtful book a read. (T.Windling)
Kelly Link & Gavin Grant: The Best of Lady Churchill's Rosebud Wristlet
I adore this collection of fabulous tales and poems (among other things) from the pages of LCRW. If somehow you've missed this quirkly, edgy, trail-blazing little 'zine these last ten years, here's a good place to get a taste of all the delights you've been missing. The anthology contains excellent, wide-ranging work from Jeffrey Ford, Karen Joy Fowler, Karen Russell, Sarah Monette, Theodora Goss and numerous others -- including fairy tale works by Nan Fry, Lawrence Schimel and Kelly Link. (T. Windling)
Ted Chiang: The Merchant and the Alchemist's Gate
New from Subterranean Press: this time-travel story set in Baghdad fuses the lyricism of Arabian Nights tales with an incisive and thoroughly modern meditation on the nature of past and future. Chiang, a fiercely intelligent writer, uses the stories-within-stories literary technique to powerful effect. (T.Windling)
Randall Silvis: In a Town Called Mundomuerto
This is a rather lovely little magical realist novel, set somewhere in South America, exploring the tragic side of myth and folklore when it devolves into mere superstition. (T.Windling)
Michael Swanwick: The Dog Said Bow-Wow
New from Tachyon Publications: a collection of 16 terrific stories--ranging from fantasy to sf--from this innovative, award-winning author. (T. Windling)
Giambattista Basile: The Tale of Tales
Finally, an edition of Basile's influential Lo cunto de li cunto, one of the very earliest known collections of literary fairy tales (published in Naples in the 17th century), translated by fairy tale scholar Nancy Canepa. If you're interested in the roots of fairy tales, don't miss this important and surprising volume. (T. Windling)
Neil Gaiman: The Absolute Sandman, Vol. 2
This gorgeous volume contains two never-reprinted stories, including one which will make you think a little more kindly of Desire, the also never-reprinted "The Sandman: A Gallery of Dreams," and the original script and pencils for Chapter Two of "Season of Mists." Oh, and issues 21-39 of "The Sandman. If you haven't yet met the Endless, introduce yourself (K. Howard).
Sarah Monette: A Companion to Wolves
In the harsh north, the men and their wolves stand as shields, protecting the towns from the predations of the trolls. Though the wolfbond is viewed with suspicion and hatred, Njall defies his father to honor his calling. The strength of that bond, and the meaning of honor are movingly explored in this powerful and exciting book (K. Howard).
Nathalie Mallet: The Princes Of The Golden Cage
An engrossing tale of intrigue, murder, fratricide, and magic--all delivered by a likeable young prince, caught in the path of destruction. Set in an imaginary Persia, Mallet's tale is a fun cross between the Arabian nights, classic fantasy, and a twisty murder mystery. Looking forward to more adventures of the young Prince Amir, coming in 2008.(M. Snyder)
Michael Scott: The Alchemyst (The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel)
This book was so much fun to read. The plot is compelling and there is always one more secret to discover. Scott does a fabulous job of incorporating elements of a multitude of different mythologies. I am eagerly awaiting the sequel. (K. Howard)
