Van 22 tot en met 30 november is het in Vlaanderen en Brussel Voorleesweek, een initiatief van Iedereen Leest, i.s.m. Boektopia, VRT, Kind & Gezin, Boekhandels Vlaanderen en de bibliotheken. Daar sta ik natuurlijk helemaal achter en ik wilde dan ook graag iets doen om deze Voorleesweek te vieren.
Zelfgeschreven gedichten voorlezen, dat leek me wel een idee. Twee of drie filmpjes, dacht ik eerst, gespreid over de week. Maar jullie kennen mij natuurlijk al: zodra ik bezig was, vond ik toch genoeg gedichten in mijn oogst van NovemberVers 2024 die ik leuk genoeg vond om met jullie te delen en nu heb ik een filmpje gemaakt voor élke dag van de Voorleesweek. Ze zijn kort, tussen 30 seconden en 2 minuten. Echte voorleessnacks! Geniet ervan.
Ik heb deze keer gekozen voor de meest recente Paranatellonta-editie, nummer 414: “De zonsondergang tegemoet”. Het verhaaltje werd geïnspireerd door het Finse sprookje waar ik op dit moment in de les storytelling aan werk, dat ik leerde kennen in het door Ulla Thynell geïllustreerde boek Nordic Tales. De originele titel kan vertaald worden als “De bruid van het woud: het verhaal van een muisje dat een prinses was”, maar mijn muisje is een prins geworden. Voor wie mijn storytelling-versie graag wil horen en in Hasselt geraakt, is er op 9 december om 18 uur een toonmoment in lokaal 313 van Knst. Hasselt.
Op maandag 1 december zal je de 415de editie van Paranatellonta in het Engels kunnen vinden op paranatellonta.tumblr.com!
Geniet van alle voorlees- en vertelkansen.
Liefs,
Minerva
Hi!
In Flanders and Brussels, the Week for Reading Aloud is celebrated from November 22 until November 30, so the text above announces a series of YouTube Shorts I’ve made with Dutch poems that I wrote last year for the NovemberVers challenge. An English speaker told me they loved the way it sounds in spite of not understanding the words, which I found very flattering, so if you like, you can check out the playlist here!
Of course there’s also a new Paranatellonta video in English today, which you’ll find via this link.
This time I’ve chosen the most recent edition of Paranatellonta, number 414: “Into the Sunset”. The story was inspired by the Finnish fairy tale I’m currently working with in Storytelling class. I got to know this story in the book Nordic Tales illustrated by Ulla Thynell. The original fairy tale is called “The Forest Bride: the Story of a Little Mouse Who Was a Princess”. However, my little mouse became a prince.
This Monday, December 1, you’ll find the 415th edition of Paranatellonta on paranatellonta.tumblr.com!
Enjoy every opportunity to read to others and tell your stories.
Seasonal greetings from Fie and me at Paranatellonta! The special Halloween edition is up on YouTube now—go watch it if you dare. And of course there’ll be a new photo-and-story combination online tomorrow at paranatellonta.tumblr.com!
Should you happen to be at World Fantasy Con in Brighton this weekend, please go say hi to my friends from Atthis Arts! To know where to find them, best check E.D.E. Bell’s Bsky.
And finally, as Halloween passes, it’s already about time to order Christmas cards… Here’s your gentle reminder that you can order them from me!
I hope you’re having a cosy autumn!
Minerva
HalloooOOOooo!
Veel spookseizoensgroetjes van Fie en mij bij Paranatellonta! De speciale halloweeneditie staat nu online op YouTube – ga maar kijken als je durft. Natuurlijk zal er morgen ook een nieuwe combinatie van een foto en een verhaaltje in het Engels online staan op paranatellonta.tumblr.com!
Als je dit weekend op World Fantasy Con in Brighton zou zijn, ga dan zeker dag zeggen tegen mijn lieve vrienden van Atthis Arts! Om hen te vinden, check je best het Bsky-account van E.D.E. Bell.
Als je graag een mooie kalender zou willen voor 2026, dan moet je bij Ulla Thynell zijn, die de cover voor The Dragon of Ynys creëerde. Haar prachtig geïllustreerde muurkalender is nu verkrijgbaar bij Atthis Arts.
En ten slotte, nu Halloween bijna voorbij is, is het alweer tijd om aan kerstkaartjes te beginnen denken. Ik herinner je er graag aan dat je die ook bij mij kan bestellen!
Gisteren ging ik al meespelen met dicteespel De Schrijfwijzen en won ik met mijn derde plaats een mooie Poëtische Parkerpen, waar ik heel blij mee ben! Het was een gezellige avond.
Aangezien de Nederlandstalige kant van mijn Paranatellonta-YouTubekanaal toch ook een beetje een terugkeer naar mijn moedertaal betekent, postte ik speciaal voor de start van deze Week van het Nederlands al een nieuwe editie. Die kan je hier bekijken: het is de 401ste editie van Paranatellonta, getiteld “Ratatosk op rust”.
Vergeet niet om je te abonneren op mijn YouTubekanaal zodat je steeds melding krijgt wanneer er een nieuwe video verschijnt. Op dit moment ziet het er haalbaar uit om om de 2 weken een nieuwe video te plaatsen, waarschijnlijk op vrijdagen, dus de volgende video’s zullen normaal gezien op 17 en 31 oktober verschijnen. Ik zit alvast boordevol ideeën voor die halloweeneditie …
Wees ook zeker niet verlegen om een reactie te plaatsen op YouTube, want dat is de grootste motivatie om nieuwe edities te blijven maken!
Tot snel!
Minerva
Now, for my English-speaking friends:
Hi!
As making the Paranatellonta YouTube videos not only in the original English but also in my native Dutch feels like a celebration of the Dutch language to me, I found myself creating a new edition sooner than I had initially expected. Neatly in time for the Week of the Dutch Language!
The second edition of Paranatellonta on YouTube is online now, featuring the 401st Paranatellonta story, “The Retirement of Ratatoskr”. Watch it now here and don’t forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel, as that will be the best way to be alerted of every new video. At this moment it looks feasible to have a new video online every two weeks, probably on Fridays, so look out for them then. Please do let me know what you think in the YouTube comments, as that’s the most motivating thing for me to keep making new editions!
I’m already full of ideas for the Halloween edition, though of course there’ll still be another one before that, on the 17th of October.
In the last few Paranatellonta editions we already hinted at it, and here it finally is: our big news!!!
From now on, Paranatellonta is also going to appear in audio format on YouTube! Every edition will appear both in English and in Dutch on this channel.
The first set of videos gives you the two parts of the 400th edition of Paranatellonta. I’m embedding the English version in this post. You can find the Dutch videos via this link.
To be alerted of new videos, please subscribe to the channel. Comments, likes, and shares with friends are of course most welcome!
Fie and I hope you’ll enjoy this new chapter in the Paranatellonta adventure. New photo-and-story combinations will of course keep appearing on every 1st and 15th day of the month.
While I’m here, I’d like to give a shout-out to my friends at Atthis Arts. The Kickstarter for the audiobook of their comedic noir novella Hornytown Chutzpah by Andrew Hiller is in its last day. Please check it out! I’m very curious about this book myself.
Atthis Arts has also worked hard to support the African Translation Project, which also has only one more day to fund the translation of the final book, published by Paivapo Press. I donated a poem to this project myself, which you can buy here, or you can get the entire Art Shop Bundle to support the African Translation Project here.
Atthis Arts will also be present at Seattle WorldCon 2025, August 13-17. If you’re going, they’d love for you to pay them a visit and say hi. And of course there will be books to buy at their table!
3) Yesterday was the 15th day of the month, so of course Fie and I also posted a new edition of Paranatellonta – number 404!
4) In May, I had my Storytelling exam, allowing me to mark my third year at Knst academy as successful. I’m continuing the Storytelling course next year with great enthusiasm! If you’re in the area of Hasselt, you can start your first year in September with the same brilliant teacher, on Mondays from 19:00 until 21:00. (Mind that this course is taught in Dutch.) Info via this link, scroll down to “Storytelling 18+”.
5) Ulla Thynell, the artist who created the cover of my novella The Dragon of Ynys, will have a book out with Atthis Arts soon! Faraway Dreaming is an art book and story of forest, peace, and a calming night journey. Dragons, hills, and magic to soothe your soul. I know I’m ordering several, both to keep and as gifts. The Kickstarter is already successful, so the book is definitely happening! Rewards start from $1. Go take a look!
6) Speaking of cool artists affiliated with Atthis Arts, Dhiyanah Hassan made this amazing handdrawn dragon fairy portrait of me! I’m still so delighted with how it turned out; I really feel seen. You can commission your own portrait from Dhiyanah via this link.
7) I’m looking forward to a week in Denmark in July! I’m sure it will bring lots of inspiration and relaxation. And I’m going to see the H.C. Andersen House, which feels extra special as my first published story ever, Match Sticks, was inspired by one of his fairy tales.
2025 started horribly for me and my family. My mother passed away in January, far too young and without warning. My world was flipped upside down and I’m still trying to find my footing, so writing a blog post hasn’t been at the top of my priorities.
However, today is a very special day that I do want to give some attention: Fie and I have just posted the 400th edition of our photography and flash fiction project, Paranatellonta. You can check out this festive double edition here (post 1) and here (post 2). As ever, you can read all editions of Paranatellonta for free, so please come and join our celebration!
While I’m here, let me add a quick flash of positive things that happened in the past months:
3) Also at Atthis Arts, fairy tale Wishing Well, Wishing Well by Jubilee Cho (1998-2024) came out last week. If you liked The Dragon of Ynys, you’ll want to check this one out! Author royalties are donated to Los Angeles-area efforts dedicated to directly supporting LGBTQIAP+ people in crisis.
4) If you backed the Be the Sea: Audiobook and Hardcover Editions Kickstarter and selected a physical reward, your set of Sea Creature postcards should have arrived by now. I’m very proud of how they turned out! You can still buy other postcards designed by me via this site.
5) Finally, if you’re in my area, you can come and listen to me telling a story in Dutch on the stage of Alden Biesen’s International Storytelling Festival on the evening of April 26! My performance is part of the Tales & Ales Festival, on the “open podium” for new talent sometime between 19:00 and 20:00. Don’t hesitate to contact me if you’re able to come listen and want more information! You do need a ticket for all of the Tales & Ales Festival.
I wish you a magical new year, full of wonder and inspiration. Don’t let the atelodemiourgiopapyrosaurus rush you! (The link brings you to the 393rd edition of Paranatellonta, which was posted on January 1, 2025.)
Now it’s time for the reveal of the Mystery Card, of which I’d given a sneak peek back in November. You can get it for yourself via this page.
The transportation device of a tiny flame-shaped alien called Ibb breaks down on planet Earth. Ibb meets a human and discovers the species’ problem-solving talents. Both main characters of this story are non-binary and the book focuses on neurodivergence, including but not limited to ADHD, anxiety, and autism.
Published in anthology Queens in Wonderland, No Bad Books Press, February 2024, USA. Edited by Theresa Halvorsen and Chris Bannor.
Available formats: paperback and ebook.
This re-imagining of classical elements from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass into a brand-new, queer story about self-acceptance is a wild ride. It doesn’t require knowledge of the Wonderland universe, but knowing your Lewis Carroll may spark some extra smiles.
3: Short stories in Paranatellonta Issues 369-392
Self-published on paranatellonta.tumblr.com, each photo-and-story combination is available to read for free.
Paranatellonta is a photography and flash fiction project running since August 2013, posted on the 1st and 15th day of each month. Fie takes a photo which inspires a ten-sentence story written by me, Minerva Cerridwen. The project itself was inspired by Erin Morgenstern and Carey Farrell’s Flax-golden Tales (2009-2014).
Issues 370, 380, and 390 were special editions where we swapped roles, meaning that for those issues, I took the photo and Fie wrote the short story.
4: Work as a Fan Artist
As a friend of author Clara Ward and a fan of their novel Be the Sea (Atthis Arts, 2024), I got to work on the successful Be the Sea: Audiobook and Hardcover Editions Kickstarter campaign last summer and made a piece of fan art for the book for every day of the campaign. Check out the 26 Sea Creatures of the Day, 8 of which have been made into postcards as backer rewards. There’s crochet, drawing, painting, and origami creatures, and even a Double Chocolate Cookie Fish.
I got home safely on Tuesday evening, and it’s Saturday now, but sometimes you need to let the waves calm down before you start writing about them or the ink will run.
Anyway, this is the report of my first Worldcon! I left home on the morning of Wednesday, August 7, to start on my 10-hour journey by train. It really was more relaxing than travelling by plane, and barely seemed to involve any waiting thanks to Siân, who was so sweet as to meet up with me for a cup of tea in London even though I would only be there for under 2 hours. It was wonderful to meet her in person, and I am very proud and grateful that she allowed me to add her beautiful fore-edge-painted hardcover of The Dragon of Ynys to my hoard!
Here it is, displayed leaning on the yarn hoard I acquired later…
And thus my trip had already become magical before I was even close to Scotland!
The journey went smoothly. I thought I’d be using the 4.5-hour trainride between London and Glasgow to finish preparing for my panels, but it turns out that I do fall asleep in high-speed trains, so the final preparations would end up happening late at night in the hotel room and in the Quiet Space at the con itself. I did get to see some nice Shire landscapes and some gorgeous hills and/or mountains on the way; I’m grateful that my friend Mattea had advised me to look out of the window more often!
After checking in at the hotel, where I was sharing a room with theAva Kelly, we had a nice dinner and some time just to settle in. We decided to have an easy morning, too, before we headed for the Scottish Exhibition & Conference Centre. I still had to get registered, and in the late morning on Thursday there was a bit of a queue… Luckily, Emily and Chris from Atthis Arts came and found Ava and me in the queue, so we could hug and talk, and what must have been over an hour of queueing just flew by!
And then I was really there! At Worldcon!!! Ready to show off this gorgeous copy of my book (and my convention badge) to everyone!
And Atthis Arts was beautifully present at Waterstones too.
I walked Ava to the greenroom so I’d know where to find it myself the next day, and from that point on I was either listening to panels or finding my way to the next one. I attended “Engineering Solutions to People Problems” with moderator A.T. Greenblatt and panellists Ann Gry, Ava Kelly, Wole Talabi, and Robert (nojay) Sneddon. Up next was “Surviving Late-Stage Capitalism as a Creative” with moderator Terri Ash and panellists Erica Holcomb, Miles Cameron, Sarah Langan, and E.D.E. Bell. Next we were at the Group Book Launch, where Gregory A. Wilson got to present Atthis Arts title Heretic, the third book in his fantasy trilogy. And thus the whole day had been filled with Atthis Arts-related activities, and with so much joy!
On Friday it was time for the very first panel I would be speaking at myself: “Introduction to Cosy SFF” with fellow panellists Rachel Gutin and Yilin Wang, moderated by Caitlin Rozakis. It went well, and Atthis Arts friend Clara Ward even described it as one of the nicest and indeed cosiest panels they had ever listened to. A big thank you to Caitlin, Yilin, and Rachel for making my first panel experience so welcoming!
Knowing that I had survived being on a panel once, I wasn’t really nervous for the other panels anymore, and I went and listened to a panel in the very next time slot, titled “Learning from COVID – An International Perspective”, moderated by Ava Kelly, with panellists Iain Kennedy, Keren Landsman, Sabine Furlong, and Sam Scheiner. Not the most cheerful subject to celebrate my first panel with, but it was still interesting, and after that Ava and I went for lunch and a short walk around the Dealers Hall, and then I was heading for the greenroom again for my second panel, “Great Heroes in Children’s Literature”, moderated by Grace A.T. Worm, with fellow panellists Caitlin Rozakis, H.G. Parry, and Sharon Sheffield. Again, these people were so nice to talk with. The convention honestly felt like one big book club session, because so many people there have more or less the same set of interests, and I feel so lucky about the panels I got! Being on the same panel twice in one day, Caitlin and I realised we had a lot in common, and I will definitely be reading her novel Dreadful soon—it sounds right up my street.
“Introduction to Cosy SFF” with Caitlin Rozakis, Rachel Gutin, Yilin Wang, and Minerva Cerridwen. Esme Addison was scheduled to be on this panel too, but sadly couldn’t make it to the convention.
“Great Heroes in Children’s Literature” with Grace A.T. Worm, Caitlin Rozakis, Minerva Cerridwen, H.G. Parry, and Sharon Sheffield.
Finally I attended the panel “Fanfic or Re-imagining?” moderated by Ava Kelly, with panellists F.D. Lee, Gabi GL, Genevieve Cogman, and Seanan McGuire, and after that we had a nice little Atthis Arts dinner party thanks to Chris and Emily!
After such a long day, Ava and I made the (perhaps surprisingly) wise decision of taking another easy morning on Saturday, so we could take our time for breakfast and prepare for our events of the day. There was just one for each of us, but sadly they were at the same time—someone really should invent a way to be in several places at once for conventions like this! Though I suppose providing replays of some of the panels is already a good step in that direction. And I was lucky enough to hear Ava’s practice version of their academic presentation “Digital Necromancy: Ethical Implications of Virtual Life After Death”, so I didn’t fully miss out either.
Before it was time for the presentation and the panel, all of the Atthis Arts people were meeting up outside to celebrate Chris’ 50th birthday! Emily managed to herd everyone together, Clara brought a cake and chocolates, and I met new Atthis Arts author Joyce Chng, whose book Wolf’s Path will be out in March 2025. But it really was extremely windy, so Ava and I soon fled inside to spend some time in the convention’s Quiet Space. Singing the song that I’d written for Chris would have to wait for another opportunity. Somehow, the fates actually decided to start playing the right song when we were out for dinner on Monday evening, so that turned out great!
My dragon panel, “The Purpose of Dragons” moderated by J E Hannaford, with fellow panellists Eliza Chan, L.R. Lam, and Paolo Bacigalupi, was in one of the big halls. Getting to speak about what I love most in front of so many people gave me such a rush! We really had a lot of fun on this panel, and I think it sparked new story inspiration for most of us. After the panel, I sold the final two copies of The Dragon of Ynys present at the convention (aside from my own pretty painted one, which obviously wasn’t for sale! Mine!!!), to two very kind Dutch-speaking people. It was strange to be speaking Dutch in this setting! When I came out of that panel, I was skipping over purple clouds and rainbows; it really had gone as well as I could have hoped. Thanks to Eliza Chan for the photo of the dragon panel, and thanks to Ava Kelly for the other 4 photos of panels in this post!
“The Purpose of Dragons” with L.R. Lam, Paolo Bacigalupi, J E Hannaford, Eliza Chan, and Minerva Cerridwen.
Of course I wouldn’t be going there alone!
Sunday was a very busy day for me: I was on Stroll with the Stars at 9:00, walking to the Tall Ship Glenlee. (Photo source: The Unicorn – Glasgow 2024 Newsletter, Issue 7.) I was happy to find time for a cup of tea before my first panel of the day, “Reality Bites: Escapism in SFF”, moderated by J A Mortimore, with fellow panellists Julia Rios, M H Ayinde, and Phoenix Alexander. This was another really fun talk, and I loved that I’d kept bumping into J A Mortimore before this panel, as she was the one checking me in for most of my panels in the greenroom (leading to the question: “How many panels are you on??!” “I don’t know how this happened either!”).
Stroll with the Stars at the Tall Ship Glenlee. Photo from The Unicorn, Issue 7.
“Reality Bites: Escapism in SFF” with J A Mortimore, Julia Rios, Minerva Cerridwen, Phoenix Alexander, and M H Ayinde.
My final panel of Worldcon 2024 was “Flash Fiction: The Art of Storytelling in Under 1,000 Words”, moderated by Stephen Granade, with fellow panellists Aimee Ogden, Istvan Vizvary, and Örjan Westin (@MicroSFF). This interesting and inspiring panel led me to writing a new welcome post on Paranatellonta, in which I’m linking to the flash fiction recommendations that were mentioned in the panel discussion. Of course there was also a new Paranatellonta edition on the 15th—that’s number 384!
After the Flash Fiction panel, Ava and I finally finished our walk around the Dealers Hall, where we’d also had a lovely chat with the owner of The Portal Bookshop earlier that day. They had anthology Love & Bubbles (James & Rossman, 2018) on display! I signed my story in the three copies they had. If you’re near York (or ordering online from anywhere in the UK), please consider getting your books by Portal.
“Flash Fiction: The Art of Storytelling in Under 1,000 Words” with Stephen Granade, Minerva Cerridwen, Aimee Ogden, Örjan Westin, and Istvan Vizvary.
“Love & Bubbles” on display among lots of other great books in The Portal Bookshop booth in the Dealers Hall.
Then it was time for a quick dinner and to go outside and queue for the Hugos ceremony in the Armadillo. I thought it was so cool to actually be in the room where that yearly celebration of the SFF genre happens!
Cute friends in the Hugos queue: Clara Ward, Ava Kelly, and Emily Bell! I was wearing the adorable dragon hat Clara made for me; it proved far more useful already than either of us would have expected in August! That’s Scotland for you. (Can I have that weather back now, please?)
With my final panel behind me, Monday was an easy day for me, enjoying the words of others and learning from them. I had been planning to attend “Can We Turn the Machines Off?” moderated by Ava Kelly, but by the time I arrived, the room was already full! I still had time to figure out where else I could go in that time slot, and I ended up listening to “Finding Story in the Landscape”, moderated by Kathleen Jennings, with panellists Ai Jiang, Garth Nix, Terri Windling, and Tiffani Angus. That way I unexpectedly got the chance to take up my book club friend Aline’s recommendation of listening to a panel with Terri Windling! And I have to repeat it again: it was interesting and inspiring!
Afterwards I rushed to have a quick lunch and then to the book launch, where Clara Ward was presenting Be the Sea. And then it was time to attend my final panel: “The Art and Craft of Literary Translation”, moderated by Denis Taillandier, with panellists Hildur Knútsdóttir, Igor Rendić, Yaroslav Barsukov, and Yilin Wang.
Suddenly it was over! The convention had rushed by so fast, and I’d love to do it all again someday. We had a lovely final evening with Atthis Arts, and on Tuesday morning it was time to start the journey back to Belgium. Luckily, whenever I feel sad about it being over, I can dive into the hoard I brought home! (Along with the plan to buy more books that had already sold out at the convention by the time I had time to go look for them. And with the beautiful yarn I showed in the pictures at the top, which I’d preordered from Third Vault Yarns and picked up at the convention.)
My convention badge with all the ribbons I collected! Ava Kelly’s Dragon Realm (avakellyfiction.com), #SupportBoldIndies (edebell.com), My First Worldcon, Programme Participant, Nerds of a Feather Flock Together, I Kudos Fanworks (AO3), I Get My Books By Portal (Portal Bookshop), and Cast of Wonders.
Loot: all the cards and bookmarks I picked up at Worldcon, together with the souvenir book, the Hugos programme, a sticker sheet with bees, and my convention badge.
Loot: My friends know me well! Aside from the adorable dragon hat depicted in the Hugo queue photo above, I got to bring these perfect gifts home. “Oracle Gretel” is a chapbook by Julia Rios which was given to the panellists of “Reality Bites: Escapism in SFF”. It’s lovely and will be cherished!
(Disclaimer: if your gift is not in this photo, know that I still very much appreciate it, but I was being chaotic during unpacking and forgot to add it to the photo.)
More loot: We hadn’t even reached the convention when I’d already seen that baby dragon in St Enoch shopping centre in Glasgow. By the end of the convention it was still calling for me, so I had to go pick it up.
I am now the proud owner of a BE THE SEA totebag!
… and of a The Neurodiversiverse totebag!
The Neurodiversiverse totebag was a Kickstarter reward—in case you missed it between all my Worldcon news, anthology The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters has now come out and includes my neurodivergent alien teleportation story “The Space Between Stitches”! Get it here.
P.P.S. The tagline for this convention was “A Worldcon for Our Futures”. If you are, indeed, in the future reading this, and you’re preparing for your first convention yourself, feel free to contact me or leave a comment or some questions here that would help with your preparations!
Minerva Cerridwen 