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Hello everyone. The workshops for the fall section of Intersections: Science Fiction, Fairy Tales, and Myth filled up fast. I only have ONE seat left for the 6:30-9 pm (MST) session on Thursday night.  The dates we will be meeting online are 9/12, 9/19, 9/26, 10/3, 10/10, 10/17, 10/24, 11/7, and 11/14. (NOTE: This ends up being in mid-morning the following  day [Friday] for participants in Australia.) We will be working with six fairy tales, and participants will be getting a second round of critique on two to three of those stories during the portfolio weeks. Time is running out. I hope you’ll join us. It’s going to be fun!

On a side note, if there is enough interest, I may open up another morning or afternoon section on Thursday or Friday. TBD

Week 1 (9/9-9/15): Introductions, Into the Dark Wood (prompts), Module 1 discussion.
Week 2 (9/16-9/22): “Firebird” & Bioluminescence, Module 2 discussion.
Week 3 (9/23-9/29): Swan Maidens & Migratory Pathways, Module 3 discussion.
Week 4 (9/30-10/6): “Pied Piper” & Viruses, Module 4 discussion.
Week 5 (10/7-10/13): “The Nightingale” & Automatons, Module 5 discussion.
Week 6 (10/14-10/20): “The Goose Girl” & Future of Facial Recognition, Module 6 discussion.
Week 7 (10/21-10/27): “Hansel and Gretel” & Genetic Trauma.
Week 8 (10/28-11/3): NO WORKSHOP
Week 9 (11/4-11/10): Portfolio Presentations
Week 10 (11/11-11/17): Portfolio Presentations

Registration for the Fall session of Intersections: Science Fiction, Fairy Tales and Myth opens on July 15. There will only be three sections available; time and day for workshops will be determined according to participant availability.

The Fall workshop will be ten weeks long and include six modules. The maximum word count will be 3,000 words for each module. The portfolio will include 2-3 revisions (10K max) and these sessions will take place over the course of two weeks. Workshops will begin the second week of September and will run through mid-November. There will be no workshop during the week of the World Fantasy Convention (Oct. 28-Nov. 3). The price is $500 with a 10% discount for returning participants.

The modules for Fall 2019 will be:

We have all heard of Baba Yaga at some point — in art, literature, even gaming.  But Russian lore talks about a lot of interesting witches and sorcerers, about going on life-changing quests and completing impossible tasks.  However today we will be looking at one in particular — a certain immortal sorcerer who murdered a prince over and over again until he was defeated.  I am, of course, talking about Ivan and Koschei the Deathless.

Their story begins with Ivan’s parent’s death.  Ivan’s sisters marry wizards disguised as birds and, after discovering how lonely it is being, well, alone, Ivan sets out to find them.  He meets Marya — a warrior woman — along the way whom he marries.  However, Marya sets off to war, warning Ivan to not open a specific door.  Which, no surprise, he does.  Ivan discovers an old, withering man, draped in a dozen chains, begging for water.  Ivan brings him barrels of it, which the man uses to revive himself, shedding his disguise, breaking his chains, and revealing himself to be none other than Koschei the deathless.  Koschei swears he will kidnap Marya for revenge and disappears, leaving Ivan alone in the now empty room.

This is where the crazy adventure begins.  Ivan finds them, saves Marya, only to be caught by Koschei’s faster horses and then murdered.  Each time he is killed, however, one of this sisters’ husbands save him until eventually they tell him of a faster horse he can find if he only visits Baba Yaga.  So, Ivan sets off to Baba Yaga’s house, survives and passes her three tests, and obtains his incredibly fast horse.  He then sets out to save Marya and, eventually, kill Koschei the Deathless once and for all.

Their story is one of adventure, death, and impossible tasks.  Koschei the deathless could not defeat Ivan in the end, despite being all-powerful and immortal.  And though he was defeated in the end, he will live on in stories as the evil sorcerer, waiting to send the young hero on his quest of self discovery.

For more reading on Ivan and Koschei the Deathless (sources):
https://www.slavorum.org/koshchei-the-deathless-legend-of-immortal-slavic-villain/
https://www.ancient-origins.net/myths-legends-europe/slavic-legend-immortality-koschei-deathless-002717
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZdhJ9e8NzQ

“East of the Sun and West of the Moon” is the third entry in The Blue Fairy Book. This Norwegian fairy tale was originally collected by Peter Christen Asbjørnsen and Jørgen Moe. It is Aarne–Thompson type 425A, Search for the Lost Husband. It is related to both the tale of “Cupid and Psyche” in The Golden Ass and to “Beauty and the Beast.” Beauty and the Beast is usually given its own subcategory as 425C which has the same name as the tale. East of the Sun and West of the Moon is usually placed in 425A: The Animal Bridegroom (Thompson 1945). You can read the entire fairy tale for free at Patreon.

Other related entries include She Sees Him by Candlelight, The Golden Age of Illustration, Riding the Wind, and The Troll Bride. Enjoy!