Unsettling Wonder

We have a new online journal with a fairy tale inspiration. You can read about Unsettling Wonder on its site, but I enjoyed the genesis story at the general editor's blog which you might not have as readily seen elsewhere. (I'm a few days late with the announcement.) Good luck to the publication and thank you to everyone making it happen. We can always enjoy an extra place to share fairy tale love.

From John Patrick Pazdziora's blog, The Paradoxes of Mr Pond:

Remember how I was doing a read-through of the Grimm’s Kinder- und Hausmarchen? Well, the new iteration of Unsettling Wonder is almost completely not at all like that. Except that I got the idea while I was doing the Grimm read through. There were all these strange and funny little tales that no one ever talks about, all these weird little folktale variants.

So I wanted to make a place where the more offbeat, less exploited tales could be re-discovered. And, as other friends and editors came on board, including my long-time blogalectic sparring partner, Jenna St. Hilaire, I thought—making this could be a lot of fun.

The new Unsettling Wonder is a publishing imprint of Papaveria Press that includes both an online journal and various print publications. It lives at www.unsettlingwonder.com, and the website will have not only the journal, but regular posts from the editors and guest writers about folklore and fairy tales—including artist and author interviews, book reviews, and so on.

As the marvellous Katherine Langrish, UW’s folktale editor I’m happy to say, wrote at her blog:

Unsettling Wonder has only just been born, and in the way of fairytale parents we, its founders, are still looking it proudly, scratching our heads and wondering what it will make of life. Has it been born in a caul, or under a lucky star? Will its godmother be the Fairy of Good Fortune, or the sinister black-cowled figure of La Muerte? Is it even a child, or just a bristly half-hedgehog? Anyway, do come to the christening!

And Unsettling Wonder is accepting submissions. Our first issue is themed on Wonder Voyages; you can find the formal call for papers here.