A fairy tale is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic, enchantments, and mythical or fanciful beings. In most cultures, there is no clear line separating myth from folk or fairy tale; all these together form the literature of preliterate societies. Fairy tales may be distinguished from other folk narratives such as legends and explicit moral tales, including beast fables. Prevalent elements include dragons, dwarfs, elves, fairies, giants, gnomes, goblins, griffins, merfolk, monsters, talking animals, trolls, unicorns, witches, wizards, magic, and enchantments.
"Sleeping Beauty", also titled in English as The Sleeping Beauty in the Woods, is a fairy tale about a princess cursed by an evil fairy to sleep for a hundred years before being awakened by a handsome prince. A good fairy, knowing the princess would be frightened if alone when she wakes, uses her wand to put every living person and animal in the palace and forest asleep, to awaken when the princess does.
"Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins. Her lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and published by French novelist Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont in 1756 in Magasin des enfants to produce the version most commonly retold. Later, Andrew Lang retold the story in Blue Fairy Book, a part of the Fairy Book series, in 1889. The fairy tale was influenced by the story of Petrus Gonsalvus as well as Ancient Greek stories such as "Cupid and Psyche" from The Golden Ass, written by Lucius Apuleius Madaurensis in the second century AD, and "The Pig King", an Italian fairytale published by Giovanni Francesco Straparola in The Facetious Nights of Straparola around 1550.
Garth Richard Nix is an Australian writer who specialises in children's and young adult fantasy novels, notably the Old Kingdom, Seventh Tower and Keys to the Kingdom series. He has frequently been asked if his name is a pseudonym, to which he has responded, "I guess people ask me because it sounds like the perfect name for a writer of fantasy. However, it is my real name."
Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve was a French novelist influenced by Madame d'Aulnoy, Charles Perrault, and various précieuse writers. Villeneuve is particularly noted for her original story of La Belle et la Bête, which was published in 1740 and is the oldest known variant of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast.
Terri Windling is an American editor, artist, essayist, and the author of books for both children and adults. She has won nine World Fantasy Awards, the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award, and the Bram Stoker Award, and her collection The Armless Maiden appeared on the short-list for the James Tiptree, Jr. Award.
Caroline Stevermer is an American writer of young adult fantasy novels and shorter works. She is best known for historical fantasy novels.
The Hero and the Crown is a fantasy novel written by Robin McKinley and published by Greenwillow Books in 1984. It is the winner of the 1985 Newbery Medal award. This story focuses on "Aerin Dragon-Killer", also known as "Aerin Firehair", the heroine who is introduced as a legendary character in The Blue Sword. The book narrates Aerin's evolution from the shy, retiring daughter of the King of Damar to the heroic queen who protects her people from the demonic Northerners.
Gail Carson Levine is an American author of young adult books. Her first novel, Ella Enchanted, received a Newbery Honor in 1998.
Rose Daughter is the second retelling of the fairy tale Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley, published in 1997 by Greenwillow Books, a imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. Rose Daughter has been republished in both print and digital editions, the last iteration from 2016.
Spindle's End is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty by author Robin McKinley, published in 2000.
Midori Snyder is an American writer of fantasy, mythic fiction, and nonfiction on myth and folklore. She has published eight novels for children and adults, winning the Mythopoeic Award for The Innamorati. Her work has been translated into French, Dutch, Italian and Turkish.
Ann Downer was an American writer, principally of fantasy novels for children and young adults, as well as short fiction and poetry.
Kate Forsyth is an Australian author. She is best known for her historical novel Bitter Greens, which interweaves a retelling of the Rapunzel fairy tale with the true life story of the woman who first told the tale, the 17th century French writer Charlotte-Rose de Caumont de La Force.
Briar Rose is a young adult novel written by American author Jane Yolen, published in 1992. Incorporating elements of Sleeping Beauty, it was published as part of the Fairy Tale Series of novels compiled by Terri Windling. The novel won the annual Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature in 1993. It was also nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel.
Gregory Frost is an American author of science fiction and fantasy, and directs a fiction writing workshop at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. He received his Bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa. A graduate of the Clarion Workshop, he has been invited back as instructor several times, including the first session following its move to the University of California at San Diego in 2007. He is also active in the Interstitial Arts Foundation.
Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of Beauty and the Beast is a 1978 novel written by author Robin McKinley. It was her debut book, retelling the classic French fairy tale La Belle et La Bete. Almost 20 years later, McKinley returned to the same material with her 1997 novel Rose Daughter. Beauty was the 1998 Phoenix Award honor book. It was the 1966 -1988 Best of the Best Books for Young Adults.
Deerskin is a dark fantasy novel by Robin McKinley, first published in 1993. It is based on an old French fairy tale by Charles Perrault called Peau d'âne. It was nominated for the Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature.
Silver Birch, Blood Moon is an anthology of fantasy stories edited by Terri Windling and Ellen Datlow. It is one of a series of anthologies edited by the pair centered on re-told fairy tales. It was published by Avon Books in May 1999. The anthology contains, among several other stories, the Pat York short story "You Wandered Off Like a Foolish Child To Break Your Heart and Mine", which was original to the anthology and was nominated for a Nebula Award for Best Short Story. The anthology itself won the 2000 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology.
