ADRIAN VAN YOUNG—STRAW INTO GOLD: HOW TO WEAVE FAIRY TALES INTO YOUR FICTION

Once upon a time--but when?! And they all lived happily ever--never! The fairy tale, that most venerated form among all fantastical narratives, has been with us from the start, though in truth fairy tales are far more than just bedtime stories for children, fodder for Disney adaptations, or bleak German cautionary tales with unaccountably violent endings. Fairy tales transport us to wondrous realms with a twisted logic all their own. They’re scary, and oddball, and achingly human. Not to mention the fact that they provide us with a unique and valuable framework through which to observe the complexities of our own modern world in all its absurdity, its heartbreak, and its horror. Through group discussion, targeted writing prompts, and examining excerpts from some of the original Grimms’ Fairy Tales (and sure, maybe one by Franz Xaver von Schönwerth), as well as the fiction of Angela Carter, Kelly Link, Carmen Maria Machado, Victor LaValle, Brian Evenson, and Ludmilla Petrushevskaya, among others, this craft session with story writer and novelist Adrian Van Young (adrianvanyoung.com) will focus on revisiting, adapting and incorporating fairy tales and their archetypes to suit a modern adult readership. Spread your dragon’s wings and soar!