Do gay fairy tales exist? How about bisexual fairy tales? Trans fairy tales? Asexual fairy tales? If you did a survey of the most well-known fairy tales you’d answer no. But that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. My name is Em Chandler (she/they), I’m currently the Vice-President of the AFTS, and I adore the odd, dusty, and overlooked; especially when it comes to fairy tales. And I’m here to tell you queer fairy tales do exist.

“But if queer fairy tales exist, where are they? What are they?”, I hear you ask…

Well, that is another story for another day. And I promise I will tell it to you. Just wait until June.

For as long as there have been stories, storytellers have been reimagining and interpreting those same stories. That includes queer storytellers. As here in Victoria (my home state) it is soon to be Midsumma Festival – our annual LQBTQIA+ festival, let’s have a look at a fraction of the retellings made so far.

English storyteller and author, Kevin Walker (he/him), has a delightful volume called Queer Folk Tales. Drawing from his own repertoire of stories, he adapts and reimagines queer folk tales, fairy tales, legends and myths. I love revisiting The Blue Rose in this collection. It’s a beautiful story about love and truly seeing someone, so I’m surprised this is the first queer version I have come across! If you know of others, let me know. (Though despite popular belief, the original is not Chinese but a 19^th century literary fairy tale. But it’s been shared so much as a ‘folktale’ I wonder whether that really matters now…).

Everything Under the Moon is absolutely beautiful anthology only published last year. And best of all, over 50% of the authors are Australian! Edited by Michael Earp (they/them)*, like Queer Folk Tales above, some stories are set in once upon a time, others modern day, some even science fiction but each is delight to behold. I was kindly sent a review copy (which I received on behalf of the AFTS). A full review should appear in our next E-Zine, but don’t wait until then – I cannot recommend it enough. The book is physically beautiful, and the tales even more so. Picking one favourite is an impossible task, but… If The Shoe Fits by Lili Wilkinson and Moonfall by Alison Evans are still dancing in my head after the most recent reread. Wonders await no matter of these magic beans you chose.

Kissing the Witch: Old Tales in New Skins is a collection of thirteen interconnected tales by Emma Donoghue (she/her) exploring Cinderella, Snow White, Beauty and the Beast and more with a decidedly queer and feminist lens. I adore that a character from each proceeding story becomes the narrator of the next in this collection. Each new fairy tale adding depth and complexity to the next, and vice versa.  

But we’re not limited to short stories, there’s novels too. Cinderella is Dead by Kalynn Bayron (she/her) takes the Cinderella tale we’re most familiar and says, “what if it was true, and what would the world look like 200 years later”? Dystopian, fast paced, and a wickedly good re-examination of the tale we all know. One thing I love especially is that Bayron hasn’t set out to say the Cinderella narrative is bad – but how the narrative can be twisted and used by those in power.

The Magic Fish by Trung Le Nguyen is a semi-autobiographical graphic novel. Tiến Phong is a second generation American Vietnamese teenager, and its through fairy tales he helps his mother learn English. But he’s also struggling to tell his mum about his sexuality. So, fairy tales step in once again. It’s a stunning narrative with gorgeous illustrations, and fantastic use of colour too.

There’s theatre too! The Story Keepers is a play/emerging children’s theatre ensemble that retell and perform overlooked fairy tales, especially queer fairy tales. Yes, this is a shameless plug, because I’m the director and writer! Three fairy tales, none of which you will have heard of, from Iceland, Germany, and Catalan, and all funny, enchanting and queer. Perfect for everyone 5+. If you’re Victoria based, we’ve got shows on February 3^rd and 4^th for Midsumma. Details and tickets here: https://www.midsumma.org.au/story-keepers. And while I’m doing a shameless plugs, I’ve written my own queer retelling of Cinderella – The Midnight Princess – and its been included in a new anthology, Out-Side: Queer Words & Art from Regional Victoria (It’s being launch on February 11^th https://www.facebook.com/events/1104647510583022).

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This list is barely the start, a needle in a haystack of diverse, brilliant, wildly different approaches to rediscover, reimagine, and reclaim fairy tales for queer people. There are a thousand and one queer fairy tales to explore, and I strongly encourage that you do. If you want a helping hand delving into queer folktales shared and collected from the oral tradition, I’m happy to give it to you. In June.

Do you think you can wait??

* For more information about the editor of “Everything Under the Moon”, ‘Take me to your reader’ will be interviewing Michael Earp on 24 February 2024.