Children’s Fantasy

Ursula K. Le Guin: In Memoriam

I was saddened this morning to hear about the death of Ursula K. Le Guin, one of the giants of fantasy literature, and an author I have written about and taught for many years. I was asked to write a…

By Dimitra Fimi | 24th January 2018 | Children's Fantasy, Fantasy Literature, Myth and Folklore, Ursula K. Le Guin, Worldbuilding | No Comments |

New article on J.R.R. Tolkien’s Father Christmas Letters in The Conversation

I had a new (festive) article published yesterday on the The Conversation, titled: “J.R.R. Tolkien’s Christmas letters to his children bring echoes of Middle-earth to the North Pole”. In this article I discuss the letters from Father Christmas Tolkien sent…

By Dimitra Fimi | 22nd December 2017 | Children's Fantasy, Children's Literature, Christmas, Invented Languages, Myth and Folklore, The Hobbit, Tolkien | No Comments |

Alan Garner’s The Owl Service has its 50th anniversary today!

One of the books I’ve worked with very closely during the last few years is Alan Garner’s The Owl Service. Garner’s creative re-use of the tale of Lleu, Blodeuwedd, and Gronw from the Welsh Mabinogion made it a prime candidate…

By Dimitra Fimi | 21st August 2017 | Academic Teaching, Alan Garner, Books, Celtic Myth, Children's Fantasy, Children's Literature, Fantasy Literature, Myth and Folklore, Welsh myth an folklore | No Comments |

How Social Media Has Helped my Research (or, the kindness of strangers!)

This is a title I never thought I’d write! But, having finished another book (submitted exactly a year ago today!) I’m in that reflective mood again, thinking back to some important moments and turning points. Researching and writing a monograph…

By Dimitra Fimi | 1st May 2017 | Books, Celtic Myth, Children's Fantasy, Children's Literature, Fantasy Literature, Interviews, Irish myth and folklore, Lloyd Alexander, Media, Welsh myth an folklore | No Comments |

Literary Tourism: Wales, Land of Legends

Literature Wales (http://www.literaturewales.org/) launched today their new literary tourism website: Land of Legends – http://www.landoflegends.wales/. This was a project funded by Visit Wales (http://www.visitwales.com/) and I was delighted to have been one of the consultants on literary connections of specific…

By Dimitra Fimi | 12th April 2017 | Celtic Myth, Children's Fantasy, Children's Literature, Fantasy Literature, Folklore, Literature Wales, Media, Myth and Folklore, Welsh myth an folklore | No Comments |

The book is out! (plus “extended” table of contents!)

This week, the e-book version of my new monograph, Celtic Myth in Contemporary Children’s Fantasy, was released. This is my first experience of the braver new world of simultaneous e-book and hardback publication. The hardback won’t be out there for…

By Dimitra Fimi | 12th March 2017 | Books, Celtic Myth, Children's Fantasy, Children's Literature, Fantasy Literature, Henry Neff, Irish myth and folklore, Lloyd Alexander, Myth and Folklore, Welsh myth an folklore | No Comments |

First impressions count? On academic book covers

Should you care whether your academic monograph or edited collection has an appealing cover? Does it matter? And can you/should you get involved? My answer to all of the above is yes! I know there are brilliant academic books out…

By Dimitra Fimi | 12th December 2016 | Books, Celtic Myth, Children's Fantasy, Children's Literature, Fantasy Literature, Tolkien | No Comments |

An interview with Henry Neff: Celtic myth, liminal times and fantastic creatures

My forthcoming monograph, Celtic Myth in Contemporary Children’s Fantasy, examines a number of ‘Celtic’-inspired works of fantasy literature, including Henry Neff’s The Tapestry. The Tapestry is a series of five fantasy novels that create an alternative world of ambitions scope, and…

By Dimitra Fimi | 8th December 2016 | Books, Celtic Myth, Children's Fantasy, Children's Literature, Fantasy Literature, Folklore, Henry Neff, Interviews, Myth and Folklore, Worldbuilding | No Comments |

Solving a little puzzle in Lloyd Alexander’s Welsh research

A couple of weeks ago I blogged about one of the main authors I have included in my forthcoming monograph (Celtic Myth in Contemporary Children’s Fantasy): Lloyd Alexander. Lloyd Alexander’s fantasy world of Prydain is modelled upon a particular vision…

By Dimitra Fimi | 17th October 2016 | Books, Celtic Myth, Children's Fantasy, Children's Literature, Fantasy Literature, Lloyd Alexander, Myth and Folklore, Welsh myth an folklore | No Comments |

A Beginner’s Guide to Researching Lloyd Alexander’s Prydain

Well, my new book (third book, but second monograph) is due to appear in the new year from Palgrave Macmillan. It is titled Celtic Myth in Contemporary Children’s Fantasy: Idealization, Identity, Ideology and it explores the creative uses of ‘Celtic’ myth (mainly…

By Dimitra Fimi | 25th September 2016 | Books, Celtic Myth, Children's Fantasy, Children's Literature, Fantasy Literature, Lloyd Alexander, Myth and Folklore, Welsh myth an folklore | No Comments |