When we muse about monsters, we often reflect on ourselves. If you’re tired of re-reading Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and are looking for a literary read that features a monster or focuses on monstrousness, we have your summer reading set. The reads featured here use magical realism to create narratives that are layered, nuanced, and occasionally […]

With more than 45 years of experience, Ellen Datlow is unquestionably one of the most impactful editors working in fantasy, science fiction, and horror today. She’s acquired numerous short pieces for magazines and anthologies and has been recognized for her work by many literary institutions. She’s received three Shirley Jackson Awards, three Bram Stroker Awards, […]

For queer people, our existence is its own form of magic. Living as our most authentic selves in a world that encourages us not to – through stripping us of community and autonomy – is a way to rebel against such conformity. Throughout the month of June, we raise flags and dance in parades to […]

There are a lot of independent publishing ventures in the world of fantasy publishing. So many, in fact, that it can be difficult to know which are legitimate, long-lasting businesses and which are going to leave your twenty-dollar book order unfulfilled. It’s exhausting to sort through lists of independent publishers only to discover that they’re […]

Science, Magic, and Power: The Bruising of Qilwa and Contemporary Portrayals of Magic in Media In Naseem Jamnia’s 2022 fantasy novella, The Bruising of Qilwa, magic weaves through the narrative. In Jamnia’s world, magic has many disciplines and each specialization requires intense study with masters. Characters experiment with it in laboratories and write research texts […]

Do you love magic, but don’t typically read fantasy? Fantasy isn’t everyone’s favorite genre, but the presence of magic in a book isn’t the genre-defining trait it once was. Literature-lovers rejoice: there’s enchantment to be found in the everyday world (of fiction). Ghosts, curses, and unexplainable encounters have found their way into literary fiction, allowing […]

What does it mean to be a witch? How does one get started with witchcraft? This list is geared towards answering these questions. If you’re ready to look deeper into witchcraft’s history and complicated relationship with society, take a look at these fascinating nonfiction musings from a few brilliant minds. They may also help point […]

Over the years, many witches have told their tales of awakening in memoir form. While the backgrounds and settings of these narratives are all richly unique, what they share is a theme of reclaiming one’s power by embarking on an underworld journey that ultimately releases them to eschew cultural pressures and tap into their own […]

The word “witch” conjures a plethora of images: trick-or-treating children in pointy hats, a woman with a green face riding a broom, a trio of hags chanting over a cauldron. There are many interpretations of witches, and many many hundreds of books about witches, both real and fictional. Typically, fictional books about witches, or “witch […]

What makes a story a fairy tale retelling? Some faithfully recast characters that we know well in modern-day settings, like the characters in Helen Oyeyemi’s Gingerbread, who live in present-day England and use toxic gingerbread to travel to a distant, mystical land. Other retellings are set in the past and use the fairy tale as […]

Have you been hearing that witchy call lately? Maybe the plethora of witch-themed paraphernalia and tchotchkes has been catching your eye more and more. Maybe you’ve started noticing witchy book titles and folklore when browsing stores and libraries. Or maybe you’ve been lingering outside longer, even in the cold, just to breathe with the wind. […]

Susanna Clarke’s debut novel sets the bar for world-building literature and alternative history cloaked in the mystique of Britain’s ancient magical practices. Of course, we’re talking about 2004’s Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell. Set during the Napoleonic Wars in 19th-century England, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell tells the tale of two rival magicians with opposing […]

If you’re familiar with the term “dark academia” (think bookshelves, libraries, stormy nights, beveled windows, ivy-covered buildings, flickering candles), you know that loving books often comes with the vibe or aesthetic of practicing magic. Bibliophilia is practically a requirement to being an occultist. The smell of paper, the feel of pages flipping through fingers, and […]

Magical realism is when elements of the fantastic, the otherworldly, the “unreal” slip into day-to-day life. “Unreal” is in quotes because reality is subjective, and good literature’s purpose is to present a variety of perspectives and challenge our notion of what’s “normal” and “accepted.” When used like a lens with a blurring effect, magical realism […]

Disney’s recent release of the live-action Snow White has us reflecting on the age-old tale of beauty, moral goodness, and purity. As Maria Tatar points out in The Classic Fairy Tales (Norton, 2nd edition, 2017), nearly every critical interpretation of the tale “identifies a stable core that turns on some kind of rivalry between mother […]

Why is the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale so compelling? In a world where we can easily feel like we’re going through the motions, a tale that reminds us to “wake up” and begin participating in our own lives seems timelier than ever. Sleeping Beauty also appeals because of its commentary on the transition from childhood […]

Is love more powerful than magic? (Are the two mutually exclusive?) In witch romance books, love and magic are often pitted against one another (see classic precedents like Alice Hoffman’s Practical Magic). The best books about witchy romances put a spotlight on the struggles modern women face as they juggle self-identity with the pursuit of […]

Have you always wondered about fairies (faeries, or “the fae”)? Were you one of those kids who played in the backyard or the woods, talking to imaginary friends, and collecting treasures from nature as if they were gold? These book recommendations are for the brave souls who step off beaten paths and walk the margins […]

At the start of this tale, one Smoky Barnable sets off to marry Daily Alice—but first, he has to find her. Edgewood is off the beaten path, much like Little, Big itself—no ordinary dwelling place. The upstate New York mansion has three hundred and sixty-five stairs, seven chimneys, fifty-two doors, twelve (“twelve what? There must […]