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.
eZine 15, Conte de Fées, has a submission deadline of September 14, 2025. We accept a broad range of original works from recipes to short stories, visual art and music links – and invite you to check the submission guidelines for details.
Submitting your work to austfairytaleszine@gmail.com and receiving the eZine is a members-only perk. Not a member yet? We invite you to join (or re-join)!
In Part 2 of our interview, 2026 keynote speaker Lucy Cavendish discusses her deepening understanding of fairy tales as she grew up, what connects people to them today, and the magic within them. Her even deeper dive will be shared at ‘Witches in Fairy Tales: Wise Women or Evil Enchanters? – our August 15-16 conference in Melbourne.
Book cover for Magickal Faerytales, by Lucy CavendishFaerytale Oracle – by Lucy Cavendish
What draws you to fairy tales today?
In my twenties I discovered the writings of Angela Carter, and her fairy tales. I was so captivated and inspired. They helped me to manage my feelings and my wounds and my confusions at being a young adult woman. The Company of Wolves, the 1984 Neil Jordan movie based on her short story, is an adaptation of Little Red Riding Hood, and is still a favourite. I loved, still love, magickal realism, and I think that is what fairy tales are, to an extent. The magick is often centred in the everyday in the tales. Spinning, but make gold from straw. Grow antlers. A horse’s head that speaks.
Writers like Angela Carter and Marina Warner had a strong hold on my mind, and on beginning to contemplate who the tellers of the tales were, and how the teller shaped the tale, and how the tellings were shaped and reshaped by the cultures they arose from and each era they are told within. I love that so many tales are almost eternal thematically, but they illuminate very different aspects of ourselves and our relationship to nature, to death, to ageing, to desire, to mystery and beauty.
I think fairy tales are the framework for so many stories. I guess I think they are a cultural framework for us too. Tales we all know, but have very different imaginings of within our own imaginations. There is within so many tales a sense of kingdoms and royalty, and the psychology of families, and power relationships. The telling reveals as much about us as the tale.
I don’t know how to articulate it and I am no expert, but they seem to me to shape our thoughts about the world and our place within it. They inform the way we live, as if a life was a story, and we are presented with challenges, and we can draw strength and inspiration from the tales. I think they have influenced my sense of what is good and what is wrong. Yet they have an ambiguity which is beautiful and mysterious and keeps us a little uncertain in the world.
How do you feel about the way witches are perceived in fairy tales, even today?
I accept that part of the archetype of the witch is to be something of an outsider and feared. I think the trope that we are all obsessed with – stealing the life force or beauty of others, like Snow White’s “evil stepmother” – is a little tedious though. I suppose the witch is a kind of repository of all the things we find unacceptable about being a woman. Old? Witch. Want Power? Witch. Impatient and cross at royalty stealing your herbs from your garden? Witch. Irritated at children eating your shelter? Witch.
You, the conference artist, two of the conference organisers and some of the people who will attend are witches. How do you feel the craft is perceived in 2026?
Well, I thought we were on a fairly auspicious trajectory and then… everything changed. Right now, I think we are in a very dangerous place with the rise of Christian nationalism and the spirituality/conspiracy crossover, and I have noticed the word witch being used as an insult more frequently – again. It had faded out slightly. I’m also concerned at a revival of the Satanic panic. It’s scary out there on the internet. I recently had a discussion with a long-term friend about my dislike of the word satanic for criminality and child abuse, as abuse and child sex trafficking occurs across cultures and religions, and it certainly happens within western religious institutions. I think unfortunately people use “witch” and “Satanic” quite interchangeably when what they mean is “wrong” or “evil”. Scapegoating is making a comeback.
And AI is creeping into the craft, which is dystopian and awful, for too many reasons to go into here. But I would like our path and craft to be a force for creativity, humanity and the kind of magick that doesn’t rely upon theft of art, in all of its manifestations.
But back to the resurgence of the witch fear and the witch wound. Fear always does get a makeover and reappears in extreme times, and scapegoats tend to shapeshift a little, but mouthy older women who are independent seem to be back on the most mistrusted list!
Has this changed over time? Were you nervous about being publicly known as a witch when you first came out of the broom closet as the editor of Witchcraft magazine in the nineties?
It has changed. And I was nervous, for sure, but mostly I was nervous that I was using a word which I wasn’t yet worthy of to describe myself with. I think Witchcraft magazine was when I first came out, although I had thought about it a lot and been involved in spiritual activities for a while – tarot studies, meditation, a circle of witchy people for a year and a day.
How does it feel to be the person breakfast show hosts and TV stations call on when they want to interview a witch?
Oh, they have lots of witchy people to call on who are so clever and learned! It’s an honour, and a responsibility, and one I take seriously but lightly. I do understand the time constraints and the kinds of questions. I like to think I am warm and approachable, and I am most of the time, I think. I want to do my best and be authentic. I also try to be someone who reduces fear and superstition while maintaining that sense of wonder and magick. It always strikes me as so odd when people are scared of me, as they have been at some television stations. I guess, culturally, I am pretty free of that fear, but for other people, there are generations of hostility and suspicion to work through. I just try to do my best.
What is the most important role of a witch right now? (I love that you’re speaking up about predators within political and spiritual circles, and giving clear, science-based information about health etc.)
Thank you! Hmm, that’s a big one, because we are all very diverse and I am not sure I can speak on behalf of so many of us. I think for me, while speaking up and out is important, it’s also keeping that connection to nature very real and alive in everyday life, and not losing that or feeling overwhelmed by the sadness that the human world of conflict is conjuring up within so many of us.
Also, I need to be really mindful that we are powerful as we grow older, and should remember to be visible and open and even loud about growing older. Becoming the crone in a visible, audible way, where I take up space and then share that space, is helpful for me as I grow older and maybe is helpful for others too. I think we as witches have enormous symbolic value as creatures who are able to withstand being outside of communities and thus maintaining our independence, but still connecting and being in service to communities. We are wisdom, truth, knowledge and power. We are history’s disservices to women incarnate.
What are you most looking forward to about this year’s Australian Fairy Tale Conference?
I am nervous! I am feeling quite doubtful that I have any special expertise, but perhaps what I am excited most by is being surrounded by like-minded passionate people in our own little coven of faery tale magick. I love that feeling of being in a lovely, wise, magickal space where we appreciate each other’s obsessions!
Lucy Cavendish – author, oracle deck creator, podcaster, witch, surfer and wildlife carer – will keynote our August 15-16 conference in Melbourne, Witches in Fairy Tales: Wise Women or Evil Enchanters? Until then, review our Part 1 interview, check out her books Magickal Faerytales, Spellbound and Witchy Magic; oracle decks including The Faerytale Oracle, Into the Lonely Woods, The Solitary Witch and The Faery Forest, and podcast, The Witchcast. Connect with her at instagram.com/lucycavendish.
For ‘Witches in Fairy Tales: Wise Women or Evil Enchanters?‘, we invite you to submit presentations in a diversity of forms, as this is one of the delights of an AFTS conference. How will you weave a fairy tale witch – male or female, wicked or wonderful – into your presentation?
Talk of 25 minutes, including optional 5 minute Q&A
Performance, 10 minutes max, with optional 5 minute Q&A. For example, storytelling, puppetry, theatre, singing, music, dance.
Panel discussion, 30 minute maximum, including 5 minute Q&A
Workshop, 45 minute maximum including set-up time. For example, art, writing, storytelling, sand sculpture, puppetry, gardening, cake decorating
Case study (or poster display) of a creative process of staging a fairy tale performance
Games or participative activities, 10 minute maximum
Launch of your book, video game, performance
Sales and/or displays of your books, art, puppets, toys, costumes, etc.
New ideas or formats welcome!
Stuck for ideas? Here are suggestions to pursue or inspire!
Create your own original fairy tale of witches and wisdom set in Australia – as a story, song, play, poem, artwork, or other creative medium.
Examine the pagan roots of a fairy tale, before it was re-written by male tellers such as Perrault or the Brothers Grimm. Our keynote speaker Lucy Cavendish has done this in brilliant ways in her book Magickal Faerytales: An Enchanted Collection of Retold Tales.
Map the parallels between the real-life minimising of women’s power to the way it has happened in a fairy tale, such as Cinderella’s magical helper changing from wise and powerful witch to sweet and bumbling fairy godmother.
Weave together a mini-workshop to help people connect with their own fairy-tale witch archetype, or to draw a magical character, write their own tale, or perform a group ritual.
Re-imagine a supposedly powerless princess, who has an animal familiar (very witchy!) and the power to face impossible tasks, with the help and intervention of kindly creatures.
Consider how a powerful fairy-tale witch is showing up in your own life to help you heal, provide wisdom as you approach cronehood, or strength as you become a protector.
Explore the origins of Baba Yaga, often a stereotypical wicked witch in modern tales, whose roots can be traced back to old winter goddesses, and who is connected to deities of the dawn and springtime.
Chart the journey of Jack, of Beanstalk fame, as one who travels to another realm to bring back magical treasure.
Argue the case of a fairy-tale villain. What changed Sleeping Beauty’s Maleficent from one of the good fairies into an evil sorcerer? What motivated the sea witch to agree to the Little Mermaid’s request? Why could the much-maligned ogre not defend against the thief who kept stealing his magical treasures?
Or something completely different! Witches and other magical folk contain multitudes! The sky is the limit, so reach for your broom, because we want to hear from you!
The Australian Fairy Tale Society was established to investigate, create and communicate fairy tales from an Australian perspective. Local Rings and our Magic Mirror (Zoom) gather several times a year to explore specific stories, like a book club for fairy tales. We have an irregular eZine, a YouTube channel, Redbubble merchandise store and an original anthology, with another in progress.
Chat with us, ask questions, read conference blog posts (like this one!) or engage with us on Facebook and Instagram.
Lucy Cavendish, our 2026 keynote speaker, has a multitude of talents and a love of all things faery!
Lucy Cavendish – author, oracle deck creator, podcaster, witch, surfer and wildlife carer – will keynote our August 15-16 conference in Melbourne, Witches in Fairy Tales: Wise Women or Evil Enchanters?
Lucy’s beautiful book Magickal Faerytales and her enchanting deck The Faerytale Oracle, along with the magic she weaves as a witch in this country, make her the perfect person to open the conference and ground us in fairy tale wisdom. In Part 1, she discusses some of her favourite stories, what connects people to them, and the magic that lies within.
What drew you to fairy tales as a child?
I can’t really recall a time before fairy tales. I recollect, faintly, being introduced to them through a mixture of being read aloud to – that was my mum mostly, doing the reading – and films. I have fragmented, delicious memories of being obsessed with the Three Good Fairies from Disney’s 1959 film Sleeping Beauty – Flora, Fauna and Merryweather. So, films were one way – the big screen, as a tiny child, was enormous and magickal and absolutely engulfed me! It made a new world come alive in such an immersive way.
I also had a little 45rpm record of the Fairy Godmother’s song from the 1950 Disney version of Cinderella, and I played it over and over, prancing about with my imaginary wand, tapping the cat’s head and imagining it being able to fly with me upon its back.
But mostly, I dragged books filled with fairy stories off the shelves I could reach, books nearly bigger than myself, and I carried these around, begging my mother to read me the stories. She has wonderful voice skills, my mum, and she did such a great job that I was completely besotted not only with the stories but her vivid changes of voice for each character! She eventually started teaching me to read very early, mostly so I could stop entreating and entrapping her with my demands for fairy tales.
What did you love most about them?
I think fairy tales connected so strongly to me as a child because they were fantastical, and so was my entire world as a child. Everything was new and unknown, so it was magickal, imaginative, and a little scary, utterly filled with wonderment. The tales were frightening, intense, wondrous, hopeful, sometimes very upsetting, and their ideas really challenged me. I am thinking in particular of stories like Hansel and Gretel. The idea of children being abandoned because of starvation really concerned me, and I had a little brother so I could look at us, and wonder how we would fare, all alone in a forest. The tales raised lots of “what-if” questions about injustice, cruelty, theft and kindness that meant I didn’t have to experience everything to begin to understand or grapple with more than I had encountered. They were my teachers, and they grew compassion and empathy within me.
Do you have a favourite fairy tale?
I don’t. I have several I am very attached to, such as Brother and Sister, and I love Little Red Riding Hood. Little Red Riding Hood is just an incredibly exciting, alluring story – dangerous and delicious and full of symbols that will endure. I love parts of others – the opening of Hansel and Gretel is masterful and terrifying, way before we get to the witch’s house.
Do you have a least favourite fairy tale?
No. I have least favourite bits though. I remember at school being very very angry when I read The Little Mermaid, and feeling the strongest impulse to scream when she chose humanity and a so-called soul over her own mermaid self. I detested that she gave up her voice and her mermaidenhood for legs and that with every step with human feet she was stabbed with knives of pain. And I hate that the Little Match Girl dies, but I don’t dislike those stories. I just find children suffering really devastating, and I swear I could feel that match go out in my own hands reading that story as a child. I didn’t care that she went off with an angel, I was horrified that she died. Hans Christian Andersen and I have a slight issue!
Has your perception of them changed from when you were young?
I think I see them differently now. As a little one I was all agog and in the midst of wonderment, and I still have that, but I also have this sense of the weight and the tapestry of them. I know them a little better.
Do you have a favourite fairy tale witch?
Oh, I love the old crone in Vasilisa the Brave. And I love the witch in Rapunzel. I think she’s obviously very wrong, but then no one should have stolen from her herb garden. She’s tragic.
Do you have a least favourite?
Well, I’m not a fan of the witch in Hansel and Gretel, but she is a fabulous monster. I also wonder if she too was starving. But then, why would she not eat her own house? Is she symbolically eating their childhood and innocence and teaching them how to live in a cruel world?
Faerytale Oracle – by Lucy CavendishFaerytale Oracle – Red Shoes, by Lucy Cavendish; artwork by Jasmine Becket-GriffithFaerytale Oracle – Rapunzel, by Lucy Cavendish; artwork by Jasmine Becket-Griffith
You have a beautiful deck, The Faerytale Oracle: An Enchanted Oracle of Initiation, Mystery and Destiny. Was your publisher Blue Angel immediately receptive? And what was the process of working with artist Jasmine Becket-Griffith on it?
Yes, they were very supportive! Jasmine had already created quite a body of work around fairy tales, and we collaborated on some new works for the deck. It was wonderful, such a joyful project for me, and I learned so much.
You also have a stunning book, Magickal Faerytales: An Enchanted Collection of Retold Tales. What was your intention with that?
I had ambitions of reclaiming, or emphasising, the connection to nature and the complexity of the relationship to nature within the stories. Also, there seemed a kind of pagan heart to the stories, although I am not sure I teased that out very effectively, but in some cases I feel satisfied that I did. I wanted to bring out the witchy nature of the stories and use magickal tools as part of them, and have the trees, waterfalls, sacred streams and animals have their magickal energies emphasised, too. I also wanted to write an original tale, which became The Ninth Wave, which closes the book.
How did you choose the stories you retold?
I had some that I wanted to do, like Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel. I like the structure I gave Hansel and Gretel, but it really started with her voice in my head. The opening lines: The forest is said to be beautiful. “Oh, the forest,” people say, speaking from their safe homes and their warm fireplaces, with their round bellies full of food, their family nodding, only half listening. They’ve seen three trees and a flowerbed, and they think they know what nature is.”
Other stories include Rumpelstiltskin, which gave me a lovely opportunity to interweave the magick of knowing someone’s true name; The Goose Girl, with the brave fairy horse, Falada; Cinderella; Snow White and Rose Red; Rapunzel; and Snow White. In the version I wrote, the dwarves transformed into gnomes, her casket is crystalline, and I dared to change the nature of the awakening kiss, which had led to some outrage!
What makes the book extraordinary is that each story also has a beautiful, deeply moving “Discover the Magick of…” section, as long as the tale itself, which includes the history of and wisdom within each story, its pagan, witchy links, a spell, the meaning of some of the symbols, and more. How important was that to you, and did you enjoy the research?
This was suggested to me by Leela J Williams, who I have known for over twenty years now. She was the first editor assigned to the book, and I remember exactly where I was when we chatted for ages on the phone, and she suggested this approach. I thought these would make absolutely wonderful additions, and it gave me the scrumptious opportunity to work lots of smaller details into the stories, as well as lay them out clearly in the magickal section after each tale.
I nearly always enjoy research, the old-fashioned kind in particular. I love scribbling barely decipherable notes on paper as ah-ha moments come to me, or I learn some detail about the origin tale’s approximate location that feels like it just MUST be included. It also helped me decide on the kinds of trees, as an example, that I introduced into some tales. In one tale – I won’t say which one – they caused me agonies of indecision until I finally settled on two trees to represent two parents. Rapunzel is such a rich tale, too, and the diving deep helped me enormously and was immensely satisfying.
What was your reaction to this year’s conference theme?
I thought it was delicious!
Meet Lucy at the Australian Fairy Tale Conference in Melbourne this August. In the meantime, check out her enchanting books, including Magickal Faerytales, Spellbound and Witchy Magic, and oracle decks including The Faerytale Oracle, Into the Lonely Woods, The Solitary Witch and The Fairy Forest. Connect with her at instagram.com/lucycavendish.
Witches in Fairy Tales as gloriously depicted by Cassandra Kavanagh, our 2026 conference artist
Come August 15-16, we’ll be Melbourne-bound for our 2026 conference, Witches in Fairy Tales: Wise Women or Evil Enchanters, as gloriously illustrated by Cassandra Kavanagh. Learn more in part 1 of our interview with this magical creator.
What drew you to fairy tales as a child?
I could read at age four, and the first books I was given were fairy tales. I believed every word. As I was a rather odd child with endless annoying questions, I was constantly sent down to the back of the garden to find the fey folk. I always took a fairy tale book with me to read out loud to the fairies. But the big golden event that was an everlasting shining moment in my life was being taken to an antique bookshop for my fifth birthday. The wonderful, enchanting old woman who owned this magical place showed me her favourite book. It was vast, heavy and old, stitched with gold thread, and the jewel-bright illustrations were protected by sheets of transparent rice paper, edged with gold. Fey-folk, fairies and old gods and goddesses wove their way through the pages like an enchantment. They felt familiar, as if in some other time and in some other life I had sat around a fire and heard these stories that seemed to still sing in my blood and had once warmed me over winter. The book beckoned like a doorway into another realm I belonged to.
What draws you to them now?
Fairy tales tell us who we are, how to be, and, more important still, how not to be. Fairy tales hold powerful reminders that resilience, true love, transformation and redemption are possible. They teach us that actions have consequences, often unforeseen. These time-upon-time tales that are passed down over hundreds, even thousands of years, hold ancient wisdom and warnings. They connect us to people in the past who had important things to tell us that still resonate now.
Do you have a favourite fairy tale?
Such a hard question. I love so many! However, I have always been drawn to Beauty and the Beast, and the numerous variations of the animal bridegroom in fairy tales. In particular, I adore the European stories featuring grey, white or silver wolves.
Friend Not FoeSelkie’s DaughterWolf Within the Woman
Do you have a least favourite?
I received Bluebeard for my seventh birthday and remain traumatised to this day. The story shook me to my bones! The illustrations were oddly beautiful, in stark contrast to their subject matter. The artwork depicting six murdered brides in long flowing gowns hung on meat hooks, while their blood pooled in swirls of pink and crimson beneath their pretty shoes, was truly horrifying. And as an incredibly curious child, I knew I would have disobeyed Bluebeard and opened the forbidden door with the mysterious key!
Tell us about the Illawarra Fairy Tale Ring*
Our Fairy Tale Ring meets on the last Thursday of every month. If I had more powerful magic, I would make it every week! It’s my favourite day of the month. Our amazing Ring Maidens, Pat Simmons and Helen McCosker, make it a truly magical experience. We pick a theme and an artist to study every month, and I am excited and enthralled every time. We all get along, and we are all a bit naughty in the nicest sense of the word! I have finally at long last found my tribe, and the experience is magical and enchanting. The Ring is like a magical box, with all the women-folk as the treasures.
Has being part of the Fairy Tale Ring inspired your art?
The members have been super supportive of my art, but the best is yet to come! I’m so inspired. Expect to see a lot more fairy-tale-inspired art from me! I am definitely going to paint more witches, and I have many that include fairy tale motifs and animals.
How long have you been painting?
I’ve been painting since the age of two, really as soon as I could hold a pencil or a paintbrush!
What inspired your early work?
I was inspired in equal measure by nature and by fairy tales, folklore, myths and legends. My birthday and Christmas presents were always books about these things. I was seriously bullied at school, so I would take my books and my sketch book and paints into the woods behind our house and sit by the stream. There I felt free to be me.
How has your art changed over time?
What has changed is my greater passion to put beauty and light back into a world that seems challenged by dark times. I have a new motivation to spread ancient and time-worn tales to a wider audience through my art – and I have become more passionate about reflecting paganism in my art, because the belief system honours the earth and her seasons while revering the natural environment and everything upon it. The smallest stone is as sacred as the forest.
What are you most looking forward to about this year’s Australian Fairy Tale Conference?
I’m most looking forward to the magic! Gathering with a community that shares and understands your passion is always so exciting, inspiring, heart-warming, soul-stirring and nurturing. The kinship with kindred spirits is a true blessing! I’m looking forward to indulging in my passion for all things fairy tale and witchy! I am also thrilled to extend my interest and learn from others, and of course, share my art.
* The AFTS has many Rings around Australia, including Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, Sydney and Victoria, plus ‘Magic Mirror’ (our online Ring) that all members can attend. More details here, or E: austfairytales<at>gmail.com.
Only a month ago, seventy fairytalers – the largest number to attend any in-person AFTS conference so far – gathered together in Sydney for two glorious days of ideas, insights, inspiration, creativity, collaborations, and connections at Over Water, Under Water, Magical Waters of Fairy Tales.
From the time the whales breached in the ocean outside our window during the welcome to the last mesmerising words of Kate Forsyth’s storytelling, we delighted in a rich and varied program. This succeeded in stimulating fresh, exciting responses – as well as being lots of fun!
Prince Henry Centre at Little Bay was the perfect venue for our water-themed conference, where we were welcomed to country by Aunty Barb Simms, local Bidjigal woman and Aboriginal health worker.
Demelza Carlton’s keynote address took us over water on voyages across the seas to source fresh visions for old fairy tales, and discover new magical tales dwelling under our own Australian waters; an invigorating introduction to all that followed.
Supported by Joe Vandermeer’s technical expertise and unfailing support, we enjoyed talks that varied in perspective from geologist Molly O’Neill, artist Erin-Claire Barrow, Jungian psychologist Lisa Ritchie,
as well as panels that plumbed the depths (Camille Booker, Molly O’Neill, Kell Woods) or sailed wildly – and hilariously – off course (Barbie Robinson’s chairing of a panel that was not about Magic Tears.
There were song performances (Eliane Morel), poetry (Alexandra McCallum), and many storytellers including Laura Fulton, Jill Webster, Jo Henwood, and Kate Forsyth.
We crested waves with a water dragon (Theresa Fuller), sailed across empires (Priti Modyiyer), and were cast low with Andersen’s unrequited love (Dr Kate Forsyth). We played with Dr Louise Phillips, blew bubbles and drew with sparklers while eating home-made AFTS birthday cake (baked by Liz Locksley), and made fairy jigsaws and took mermaid photos.
We dived into the possibilities of creating original Australian fairy tales for the new AFTS anthology West of the Moon, with Laura Fulton and Melanie Hill. The anthology’s cover art is by our own conference artist, Helen McCosker.
We seized the opportunities to buy books, art and merchandise in whimsically-decorated stalls (Granny Fi) and we ate. We ate a lot, thanks to Serene Conneeley and Liz Locksley for supplying the food, and Graham Harman for providing the plates. Most of all, we talked.
The conference gave us the chance to celebrate our community, including AFTS Award winner Spike Deane – a renowned glass artist, graphic designer, and website wizard.
The high attendance is a measure of success, because it was matched by genuine connection, and the authenticity of friendships consolidated by our time together – and those who continued the conversation at each after-conference dinner.
Huge congratulations and many thanks to all the talented presenters and hard-working behind-the-scenes people, and the AFTS members who helped with an early set-up and late pack-down, and to AFTS co-founder Reilly McCarron for sharing her photos with us.
And to You, who make hosting a conference worthwhile.
Serene Conneeley, Jo Henwood, Liz Locksley 2025 Conference Steering Committee
Fairy tale enthusiasts from across Australia and beyond will gather this weekend, June 14-15, in Sydney for our conference, Over Water, Under Water, Magical Waters of Fairy Tales.
For your interest and delight the full program has been revealed, and registrations are still welcome (quickly!) via our conference page. See you at Prince Henry Bay!
The stunning artwork for this year’s conference, Over Water, Under Water, Magical Waters of Fairy Tales, is worth diving deep into to find all the stories and characters that are hidden under water.
If you would like to own this art yourself, you can buy any version of merchandise you choose through the AFTS Redbubble store.
This remarkable painting was created by our own Helen McCosker, who contributes so much to the Illawarra Fairy Tale Ring, including the creation of their logo.
Helen is a children’s author and illustrator from Thirroul, a seaside village south of Sydney. Helen’s picture book, The Night Fish – another watery theme! – was published in 2006 by The Five Mile Press.
As a keen woodworker, she is currently working on a collection of wooden ‘assemblages’ inspired by her love of fairy tales.
Helen continues to share not only her art and depth of knowledge, but the generosity of spirit that inspires other member artists to find new ways of interpreting fairy tales – which is what the Society is all about. You can meet her from June 14-15 at the conference, where she will deliver, Once: How an Exhibition Came to Life.
With just five weeks to go, we’ve released Helen McCosker‘s stunning artwork on conference merchandise at our Red Bubble store.
While there, browse all the other incredible art from our talented members: Lorena Carrington, Erin-Claire Barrow, Debra Phillips, Helen Hewitt, Sue Khoo, Zoya Makarova and more.
Our keynote speaker Demelza Carlton is an internationally celebrated author, who’ll make her only Sydney appearance at our conference, Over Water, Under Water, Magical Waters of Fairy Tales!
Joining her will be acclaimed fairy tale writers Kate Forsyth and Kell Woods, and a range of authors and academics, storytellers and psychologists, artists and other performers, and all the fairy tale enthusiasts from around the country, at a beautiful ocean-facing site in the water-based city of Sydney.
For the full list of presenters and topics, please visit our conference page.
Register now for our June 14-15 conference at Prince Henry Centre, Little Bay, Sydney. (Please note, sessions run 10am-6pm each day.)
We invite all lovers of story to an afternoon of live storytelling to celebrate World Storytelling Day. Thrill to tales of ‘Deep Water’ from Christine Carlton, Jill Webster, Jo Henwood, Kiran Shah and Liz Locksley, our performers from the AFTS Sydney Fairy Tale Ring and Australian Storytellers.
When: Sunday March 23, 1-4pm Where: Kirribilli Neighbourhood Centre, 16-18 Fitzroy Street, Kirribilli, NSW 2061 Tickets: $15 members (AFTS or AS), $20 non-members
Scan the QR code for details and bookings, or visit humanitix.
Brought to you by:
World Storytelling Day celebrates the power and joy of storytelling around the world. The 2025 theme, Deep Water, matches beautifully with our 2025 Australian Fairy Tale Conference theme, Over Water, Under Water, Magical Waters of Fairy Tales. For June 14-15 details, visit our conference page.
Australian Fairy Tale Society 