photography – Minerva Cerridwen

Voorleesweek

28 November 2025 Minerva Cerridwen

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Hallo!

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.

Linkjes: Dag 1 – Dag 2 – Dag 3 – Dag 4 – Dag 5 – Dag 6 – Dag 7

Er volgt zowel morgen als overmorgen om 16 uur nog een nieuw filmpje! Die zullen ook toegevoegd worden aan mijn Voorleesweek-playlist op YouTube.

Vandaag was het natuurlijk ook weer tijd voor een nieuw Paranatellonta-filmpje! Jawel, meer voorleesvreugde.

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.

Love,

Minerva

Paranatellonta

Happy Halloween!

31 October 2025 Minerva Cerridwen

[scrol naar beneden voor Nederlands]

HelloooOOOooo!

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!

If you’re looking for nice and spooky seasonal reads that contain my stories or poems, I’d recommend Darkling’s Beasts & Brews: Poetry with a Drink on the Side (2018; ebook currently available for free), Neon Horror (2020), or Skulls and Spells (2022).

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.

If you’re looking for a beautiful calendar for 2026, Ulla Thynell, the cover artist of The Dragon of Ynys, has you covered! (Ha, covered.) Order her beautifully illustrated wall calendar now from Atthis Arts!

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 op zoek bent naar griezelige boeken die mijn verhalen of gedichten bevatten, dan raad ik in het Engels de volgende titels aan: Darkling’s Beasts & Brews: Poetry with a Drink on the Side (2018; ebook momenteel gratis verkrijgbaar), Neon Horror (2020), en Skulls and Spells (2022).

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!

Ik wens je een heel gezellige herfst!

Minerva

Paranatellonta

Fijne Week van het Nederlands!

4 October 2025 Minerva Cerridwen

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Hiep hiep, het is de Week van het Nederlands!

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.

Foto van de gewonnen pen

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.

See you there!

Minerva

Paranatellonta

Paranatellonta on YouTube!

21 September 2025 Minerva Cerridwen

Hi!

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.

Thank you, and happy autumn!

Minerva

Conventions and Events, Paranatellonta

Paranatellonta 400!

15 April 2025 Minerva Cerridwen

Dear friends,

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:

1) The Neurodiversiverse is a finalist for the IBPA Book Award in the Neurodivergent Communities category. The winners will be announced at the IBPA Book Award Ceremony on May 16 in St. Paul, Minnesota.

2) Atthis Arts’ catalogue came out, so if you work at a bookstore or want to see a beautifully illustrated list of this kind publishing house’s books, you can do so here. Of course this includes my novella The Dragon of Ynys, and anthologies Community of Magic Pens and Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove, which each contain one of my short stories.

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.

Photo of the set of Sea Creature postcards.

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.

Enjoy spring,

Minerva

Paranatellonta

TEN YEARS of Paranatellonta!

15 August 2023 Minerva Cerridwen

Hello!

It’s a day of celebrations: Paranatellonta is 10 years old!

The little project in which Fie takes a photo twice a month to inspire a ten-sentence story by me is still going strong! Back in 2013, we were inspired by Erin Morgenstern and Carey Farrell’s Flax-Golden Tales, of which there were 261. That sounded like quite a lot when we started, and to be honest, it still does—but today we are at our 360th edition!!!

Of course, we have a special edition for you to mark this anniversary. Just like for the fifth anniversary, we have asked none other than Ava Kelly to be our guest photographer and author. Ava’s photo inspired my 10-sentence story “Scrutiny”, and Fie’s photo inspired Ava’s 10-sentence story “Refuge”.

Click on the banners to be taken directly to both new Paranatellonta pieces, or click here to see all three of today’s new posts, including the introduction of our anniversary edition.

The banners were also created by Ava Kelly.

Ava Kelly is a nonbinary speculative writer and engineer. Secretly a pile of cats in a trenchcoat, Ava’s goal is to bring into the world more tales of friendship and compassion, dedicated to trope subversion, stories that give the void a voice. Romanian living in Norway, Ava is an avid explorer of culture and its reflection upon life and creativity, both in art and in tech design. Among their works are the award-winning novel Havesskadi, the short story A Sudden Displacement of Matter (part of the Lambda-nominated anthology Trans-Galactic Bike Ride: Feminist Bicycle Science Fiction Stories of Transgender and Nonbinary Adventurers), and the illustrated dual language book of nonbinary fairy tales Alia Terra – Stories from the Dragon Realm.

Thank you for yet another wonderful collaboration, Ava!

You can always read and watch all editions of Paranatellonta for free here. Enjoy, and let us know what you think!

Ink, Paranatellonta, Skulls & Spells, the dragon of ynys

Quick post-holiday update

1 August 2021 Minerva Cerridwen

Hello!

As I was away to be surrounded by the true fairy tale forests of Germany, I’m a little behind on sharing news and thought I’d do a quick update.

Rolling pins

Rainbow Crate’s The Dragon of Ynys fandom item from their April 2021 box, the adorable rolling pin with the dragons, cupcakes, swords, and hearts print, is now available via their website until stock runs out. Shipping from the US, you can find the link here.

Skulls & Spells

Queer horror anthology Skulls & Spells had a successful run on Kickstarter and is fully funded! Celebrations! It even reached two stretch goals. A big thank you to everyone who supported it!

Ink Anthology

The cover for Ink has been revealed here. The book will release on August 10, 2021 and you can preorder your copy via Amazon, Apple, and Kobo.

Paranatellonta

It’s August 1, so Fie and I just posted a new photo and story combination! It’s our 311th edition and this month marks the 8th anniversary of the project. Read the newest Paranatellonta here.

Thanks for reading! Have a great day.

Paranatellonta

Paranatellonta 300

15 February 202115 February 2021 Minerva Cerridwen

by Fie

by Minerva

Today, Fie and I have posted the 300th edition of Paranatellonta! A real milestone for our photography-and-storytelling project, which has been going since August 2013.

To celebrate, we have both created a painting for the other to write a ten-sentence story about. You can see the paintings accompanied by their stories by following the links below:

Painting by Fie – story by Minerva: click!

Painting by Minerva – story by Fie: click!

We hope you enjoy this edition and perhaps check out some older Paranatellonta posts!

Have a great week!

Paranatellonta

Five Years of Paranatellonta!

15 August 201815 August 2023 Minerva Cerridwen

In 2013, Fie and I started a new project. Fie wanted a good reason to take more pictures and I wanted to find more writing inspiration, and then Fie discovered Erin Morgenstern’s Flax-golden Tales. This was a wonderful idea: one photo every week, to inspire a ten-sentence story. We decided to try it out and see how long we’d keep it up.

Five years later, we’re still going strong! Granted, after 221 stories we’ve lowered the frequency to one Para edition every 2 weeks, as Real Life – and Real Publications! – began to take up too much of our time. But it’s still a pleasure to discover a new picture every time and see in which direction imagination will take its story.

To celebrate that pleasure, we’ve got a special edition for you. Fie and I are joined by author and photographer Ava Kelly.

Ava’s publication history began over two decades ago. Starting with poetry and flash fiction, Ava has gradually moved toward lengthier works, but often returns to shorter stories. Beyond storytelling, they are an artist specializing in conceptual photography. Ava has had various live VJ performances, several art shows, and their words have been immortalized as song lyrics.

Check out the result of our collaboration!