Month: June 2016

A Magical Conference & A New Committee!!

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Good afternoon, fairy tale enthusiasts,

Well, yesterday’s conference was simply… ENCHANTING!!!

The quality of the presentations was truly exceptional and the vibe in the room was one of warmth and inclusivity. I couldn’t have wished for a better day!

A HUGE thank you to all of our presenters:

Keynote speaker Jackie Kerin
Catherine Snell
Jo Henwood (who saved the day by offering a story in place of one of our unwell storytellers!)
Angie Rega
Nicola Burke
Robyn Floyd
Louise Fowler-Tutt
Kirstyn McDermott
Jeremy Shub
Diana Lovett

And many healing fairy wishes for our 2 presenters who couldn’t make it due to illness, Roslyn Quin and Eliza-Jane Henry-Jones.

Also, thank you to Lorena Carrington and Zeinab Yazdanfar for their gorgeous display tables (with help from the beautiful Louisa John-Krol, who also enchanted us all with her chiming fairy-scarf-wand!)

Special thanks also go the Glen Eira Council staff, Robyn Floyd and her friend Phillippa for putting in so much work with the catering, photographer Dave Jacobson, and Michelle De Stefani.

We also had our AGM during lunch and elected the next committee – woo! It is my great honour to introduce your 2016/2017 committee for the Australian Fairy Tale Society:

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President: Catherine Snell

Vice President: Louisa John-Krol

Treasurer: Catherine Snell

Secretary: Penelope Clay

Ordinary Member: Jo Henwood

Ordinary Member: Gypsy Thornton (our fabulous overseas committee member in L.A, sadly not pictured above due to the giant ocean between us – we love you, Gypsy!)

Ordinary Member: Thang Luong

What a great group of people! I have all the faith in the world in them and I wish them all the very best for the year ahead.

I also wanted to say a huge thank you to the 2015/2016 committee: Catherine Snell, Sue Clancy, Nike Sulway, Jo Henwood, Gypsy Thornton, Joe Vandermeer, and Rebecca-Anne Do Rozario. It has been a true honour to serve on the committee with you all.

You’ll be hearing from the new committee soon with photos from the day and audio recordings of the presentations. Stay tuned!

This is Dr Belinda Calderone… signing off! 🙂

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Our 3rd Annual Conference is THIS Weekend!

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Instagram banner of FINAL APPROVED Australian Fairy Tale Society 2016 Conf Program

‘Into the Woods’ is a phrase that has become closely linked to the fairytale genre. It conjures up all manner of fairytale images, such as roguish wolves waiting behind trees and lost children stumbling upon gingerbread houses. But how does it translate into the Australian fairytale tradition? The third annual conference will explore what happens when we venture … ‘Into the Bush’, and will include academic papers, readings, music and storytelling performances.

(from the City of Glen Eira website)

This year, we are having our conference in the lovely state of Victoria, at the Glen Eira Town Hall in Caulfield. You can check the great presentations we have lined up HERE.

It’s also a great opportunity to have a full day of rubbing elbows with fairy tale enthusiasts and experts of all kinds, over cups of tea and delicious offerings during the breaks too.

In addition, we’ll be live tweeting, and posting on Facebook and Instagram using #aftsconf2016. Feel free to join the conversation by using the hashtag, whether you’re at the conference or following along from afar.

Hope to see you there! (Psst! Make sure to register before Sunday!)