Magic Mirrors: The Seen and the Unseen

5-8 June 2020  AUD$30

Our conference for 2020 is being held online. With physical distancing, we will gather on Zoom and Facebook. 

Watch this space for updates

Register here.

View the conference time table here

The Australian Fairy Tale Society was established to investigate, create, and communicate fairy tales from an Australian perspective.  We are an interdisciplinary group that includes writers, illustrators, musicians, storytellers, academics, teachers, librarians, puppeteers, and other fairy tale enthusiasts from all over Australia, and even overseas.  Sharing our different viewpoints, stimulating ideas from different perspectives, as well as our shared enthusiasm for fairy tales, is why we love to gather together and our annual conference is the only time we can all do that.  The result is a conference unlike others – stuffed with performance, art, discussions, and rich intellectual insights.

Our theme this year is Magic Mirrors: the Seen and the Unseen, where for the first time we will focus on the visual.  The imagery of fairy tales is as potent as any spell, whether through the power of the words to conjure magic or the art that can present those words to our sight.

How appropriate then that in 2020 our conference will be entirely visual – using Zoom to see each other and our creations.  Rather than spending one whole day in the conference we will spread the experiences over seven sessions from Friday night 5 June to Monday 8 June, 9.30-11.30am and 2-4pm Australian Eastern Standard Time.  All who register for only $30 will receive Zoom links to the sessions to click on at the right time.

There will be so much to enjoy in this new way, starting with Kathleen Jennings, internationally renowned illustrator who is our Keynote Speaker.  You will participate in book launches and panel discussions of artists, Fairy Tale Ring Leaders, and other modes of sharing fairy tales, starting with a Virtual Cocktail Party on the Friday night.   You will enjoy performances of fairy tales by master Storytellers, and respond to activities we can do online.  We will also celebrate what the AFTS has achieved:  the creation of the new Anthology of Australian Fairy Tales, the Annual General Meeting, and the AFTS Award.

The Australian Fairy Tale Society was established to investigate, create, and communicate fairy tales from an Australian perspective.  We are an interdisciplinary group that includes writers, illustrators, musicians, storytellers, academics, teachers, librarians, puppeteers, and other fairy tale enthusiasts from all over Australia, and even overseas.  Sharing our different viewpoints, stimulating ideas from different perspectives, as well as our shared enthusiasm for fairy tales, is why we love to gather together and our annual conference is the only time we can all do that.  The result is a conference unlike others – stuffed with performance, art, discussions, and rich intellectual insights.