Alyssa Curtayne, Patsy Poppenbeek and Serene Conneeley are our 2026 nominees for the ‘AFTS Annual Award for Inspiration and Contribution to Australian Fairy Tale Culture’.

Read about our nominees, visit their websites and then cast your vote –
noting that only current AFTS members may vote by 10pm July 12.

Alyssa Curtayne
alyssacurtayne.com

Alyssa Curtayne is a storyteller, specialising in folk and fairy tales, and a writer, researcher, creator, indie publisher and podcaster. She’s a former journalist and sub-editor, a former English teacher and a lover of the ability of stories to transform and transport us into our shared humanity.

She’s the author of Yexian: The Chinese Cinderella, as well as several children’s books, and the book and course Write Your Own Fairy Tale. She is the publisher at Rising Spirit: Where Great Ideas Grow, and was part of the AFTS’s salonnieres project with Jo Henwood and Eliane Morel, which became a book and a web series. She has performed stories around the world, and recently created the Lost and Forgotten Fairy Tales Blog. She also interviews experts in the fairy-tale field and posts videos of the interviews – Juliet Marillier was a recent interviewee.

The Australian Fairy Tale Society’s current president also has a podcast series The Heart of Storytelling, and performed a one-hour show about her personal relationship with fairy tales, and linked tales of her lighthouse keeper relatives with selkie myths. A new show in the making, with two other Perth storytellers, will continue to update selkie myths in an Australian context.

Patsy Poppenbeek
ppoppenbeekwritereditor.com.au

Patsy Poppenbeek is a writer and editor, and Ring Leader of the Victorian Fairy Tale Ring. She chaired the committee that produced the first AFTS anthology, South of the Sun: Australian Fairy Tales for the 21st Century, to which she contributed her own story, and also edited many others, while managing such aspects as fundraising, paying authors, and bank reportage. A former English teacher, Patsy holds a masters degree in editing, and her nominator highly recommends her work in this space, particularly her depth of insight, sensitivity and thoroughness as a true fairy editor.

Patsy’s contributions include being a founding and ongoing eZine contributor, member of the Executive Committee, contributions to our national conferences, and has a glowing testimonial from the beta reader of her debut novel, a re-spin of The True Bride.

Serene Conneeley
sereneconneeley.com

Serene Conneeley is the author of the original Australian fairy tale The Swan Maiden, as well as The Snow Queen’s Daughter, The Sun Queen’s Apprentice and The Crow and the Hollow Hill, plus the Into the Mists and Into the Storm trilogies, magical non-fiction books including Witchy Magic, Mermaid Magic and Faery Magic, and two enchanting oracle decks.

She’s been on the AFTS committee for several years, and has co-organised several AFTS Conferences, including the upcoming one in Melbourne, and volunteers much of her time to various AFTS projects. She does a lot of the social media for the Society, and made former president Jo Henwood’s dream of merchandise come true by setting up our RedBubble store.