The list for the Popular Culture Association and American Culture Association recently shared a call for papers on fairy tales:

The new millennium has born witness to a multitude of reinventions. Various mythological creatures have been reinvented, vampires, werewolves, and zombies to name but a few. Fairy tales also have been recreated in an ever increasing number in recent years. Graphic novels like Grimm Fairy Tales, movies such as Red Riding Hood, the upcoming Snow White and the Huntsman,
and Beastly, as well as TV shows like Once Upon a Time and Grimm have emerged into popular culture. But why are these creations manifesting themselves now? What makes people crave fairy tales and their “happy” endings in such an increased number today? This will be the first book that will focus on this particular manifestation and its significance in popular culture.

The original literary fairy tales were written versions of old folk tales. The original folk tales were often used as a way to explain things in nature and as cautionary tales for younger people, not always children. The first literary fairy tales followed this tradition but were mainly for adults and later tailored for children. While the folk tales changed with time, literary fairy tales, as written works, maintained their course. However, the new adaptations have moved back to a mature audience. Why the shift back to an adult audience?

Considering that fairy tales, whether written or oral, are a part of nearly every culture in the world, the vast majority of people have been exposed to them in one form or another. And while these tales have been the subject of many articles, books, and collections, the number of adaptations hitting the market today, though, is surprising and very worth exploring.

Due to the popularity and familiarity of the tales, not only the layman, but also people inside many academic fields, who are concerned with such works, will find this book more than interesting. Given that this book will consist of a collection of handpicked essays concerning various aspects of these diverse adaptations of the literary fairy tales, an assortment of readers should find this book and its topic of great interest.

While our interests are broad and inclusive, we are particularly interested in papers that discuss fairy tales in contemporary popular culture (TV shows, movies, graphic novels, advertising, toys, video games, popular literature, etc), revisions and adaptations of fairy tales, and pedagogical uses of and approaches to fairy tales. Still, we are interested in as wide an array of papers as possible, so please do not hesitate to send a submission on any fairy tale related subject may it be on cultural significance, on gender, aspects of masculinity and femininity, theory, etc.

Interested writers should submit a two-page synopsis of their proposed chapter that clearly indicates:

. The research question
. The methodology or theoretical lens
. The findings
. A bibliography of at least 5 sources

Please send your abstracts to: Fairytale.Collection@gmx.de

Deadline: 1st June 2012

For questions please contact Fairytale.Collection@gmx.de.