Conte de Fées – French for fairy tale – was coined by the salonnières; the brilliant, subversive and scandalous women who gave birth to the literary fairy tale genre in the salons of Louis XIV’s Versailles.

The term refers to a folklore genre featuring magical elements, mythical creatures, and often a moral lesson, defined by late seventeenth century French authors including Marie-Catherine d’Aulnoy, Charlotte-Rose de La Force and Henriette-Julie de Murat. Can you create something just as magical, rebellious and thought-provoking as these women?

AFTS members Jo Henwood, Alyssa Curtayne and Eliane Morel created the web series Salonline based on their stories – watch on our Youtube channel – as well as an e-book of the same name, available on the AFTS website and from e-book retailers.