Tag: queer art

Conventions and Events, Paranatellonta

Paranatellonta 400!

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.

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

And also, Conventions and Events

Publicatie “Presentatie” & Queer Winter Market

Minerva Cerridwen

Scroll down for English – scrol naar beneden voor Engels.

Hallo!

Deze keer begin ik eens in het Nederlands, want dit gaat over mijn tweede officiële publicatie in het Nederlands! Hoera!

Ik heb een wedstrijd gewonnen die georganiseerd werd door Vermeylenfonds en Creatief Schrijven vzw, met als thema “Schrijf je lijf”. Je kan mijn gedicht “Presentatie” hier lezen en het hele nummer van het magazine DNG hier bekijken. (Het gedicht staat op bladzijde 3; bladeren kan met het pijltje naar rechts.)

Cover of DNG 2024 04

Ik maak van de gelegenheid gebruik om jullie er ook aan te herinneren dat ik deze zondag, 15 december 2024, aanwezig zal zijn op de Queer Winter Market in ‘t Werkhuys, Zegelstraat 13, 2140 Borgerhout, van 13:00 tot 18:00 uur. Je kan onder andere postkaartjes en boeken komen kopen (The Dragon of Ynys, The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters, en meer!) – en natuurlijk ben je ook welkom om gewoon gezellig een babbeltje te slaan of een boek te laten signeren. Hopelijk zie ik jullie daar!

Hello!

I won a contest organised by Vermeylenfonds and Creatief Schrijven vzw, on the theme “Schrijf je lijf” (“Write your body”). You can read my poem “Presentatie” here and see the entire issue of DNG magazine here (Dutch only; the poem is on page 3, and you can flip through the pages by using the arrow on the right).

While I’m here, I’d like to remind you that I’ll be at the Queer Winter Market in ‘t Werkhuys, Zegelstraat 13, 2140 Borgerhout, from 13:00 to 18:00, on this Sunday, December 15th, 2024. You can come and buy greeting cards, books (The Dragon of Ynys, The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters, and more!)—and of course you’re welcome to just come in and say hi or to have a book signed. I hope to see you there!

Minerva

And also, Conventions and Events

Sneak Peek at the Mystery Card, Queer Winter Market, and NovemberVers

Minerva Cerridwen

Scroll down for Dutch – scrol naar beneden voor Nederlands.

Hi!

Woosh, time is flying by! December is fast approaching, so I thought it would be fun to give you a sneak peek at my new holiday card, which you can order directly from me!

Sneak peek of the mystery holiday card

All the information on how to buy this holiday card and/or the other designs is in this post. Feel free to contact me directly if you want help, more information, or just a chat about how dragons are great companions to celebrate the end-of-year holidays with!

If you’d rather buy your cards live, I will be at the Queer Winter Market in Antwerp on Sunday, December 15, 2024! The market will take place in ‘t Werkhuys, Zegelstraat 13, 2140 Borgerhout, from 1:00 PM until 6:00 PM. There will be lots of wonderful queer art, and I’ll be bringing cards, books, and more!

Poster by Queer Market Antwerp:

Queer Winter Market Poster

For my readers who understand Dutch, I’ve participated in NovemberVers this month. NovemberVers is a project organised by Vanessa Daniëls and Creatief Schrijven, which encourages writers to create a piece of poetry on every day of November. I managed to post a new poem every day and will continue to do so until November 30. You can read all of the results via this page on Azertyfactor (Dutch only). Enjoy!

And soon I will be able to share news about a new publication in Dutch… Stay tuned, and happy winter!

Minerva

Hoi!

Wauw, de tijd vliegt! December komt er alweer aan, dus ik dacht dat het leuk zou zijn om jullie al een eerste detail van mijn nieuwe feestdagenkaartje te tonen.

Sneak peek of the mystery holiday card

Je kan het kaartje rechtstreeks via mij bestellen. Alle informatie daarover is te vinden in deze post (in het Engels), waar je ook de andere ontwerpen van mijn kaartjes voor de feestdagen kan zien. Je mag mij zeker ook meteen een berichtje sturen zodat ik je in het Nederlands kan helpen, meer informatie geven, of zodat we gewoon even kunnen babbelen over wat een leuk gezelschap draken zijn tijdens de eindejaarsfeesten.

Als je je kaartjes liever offline komt kopen, dan kan dat op de Queer Winter Market in Antwerpen op zondag 15 december 2024! De markt zal plaatsvinden in ‘t Werkhuys, Zegelstraat 13, 2140 Borgerhout, van 13:00 tot 18:00 uur. Er gaan heel wat toffe queer kunstwerken te vinden zijn en ik breng mijn kaartjes, boeken, en nog meer leuke dingen mee.

Poster gemaakt door Queer Market Antwerpen:

Queer Winter Market Poster

Deze maand heb ik deelgenomen aan NovemberVers, een project van Vanessa Daniëls en Creatief Schrijven dat schrijvers aanmoedigde om dagelijks een stukje poëzie te schrijven. Ik heb elke dag van november een nieuw gedichtje gepost en zal dat ook blijven doen tot en met 30 november. De resultaten kan je allemaal via deze pagina op Azertyfactor lezen. Veel plezier!

En binnenkort kan ik nieuws delen over een nieuwe uitgave in het Nederlands … Nog even geduld en een fijne winter!

Minerva

And also

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like…

Minerva Cerridwen

Wait—what??

Am I the only one who’s freaking out about it being mid-October again already?

Well, that means the winter holidays will be upon us in just two shakes of a lamb’s tail, so here’s my reminder that you can order my holiday card designs again this year! I’ll have 3 available designs: the colourful “Holiday, Holly and Tree” and the whimsical “Creatures’ Winter Wreath”, both designed in 2023—and a brand new handdrawn black-and-white design this year, currently known as the Mystery Card!

“Holiday, Holly and Tree” – designed by Minerva Cerridwen in 2023
“Creatures’ Winter Wreath” – designed by Minerva Cerridwen in 2023
Mystery Card – designed by Minerva Cerridwen in 2024 – there will not actually be a question mark on this card

All these cards will be folded A6 cards (that is 10.5 cm x 14.8 cm, when folded). The inside of the card is left blank so you can add your own message to your loved ones.

Are you curious about the Mystery Card yet?

The reason why I’m doing a Mystery Card is that I like to surprise the people I send a card myself. Last year my solution was to make a second design for myself, but this year I thought it would be fun to throw a little mystery into the mix. What do you think?

Prices for my holiday cards

Table of prices: please feel free to contact me for a price calculation if you can't see the table.
Price table for my holiday cards.

How to order your cards

Orders can be placed directly via my Paypal, but please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or want me to calculate the exact price for your order. Just let me know how many cards you want, whether to include envelopes or not, and your address. (Please don’t forget to include your country!)

If you order directly, please specify the following in your order:

  • how many cards you want of each type:
    • Holiday, Holly and Tree (per 1), e.g. “10x holiday tree card”
    • Creatures’ Winter Wreath (per 1), e.g. “5x wreath card”
    • Mystery Card (per 1), e.g. “3x mystery card”
  • Don’t forget to specify whether you want envelopes as well. (€0.50 per envelope)
  • Specify your address. If no other address is specified, I will assume your Paypal address is the correct address for shipping.

If you want to place an order of 30 cards or more, best get in touch with me first so we can look into the best shipping option for your area.

I hope my cards will once again bring a little cheer around the world!

Not in the holiday mood yet?

I get it, we’re still looking forward to Halloween! My all-season set of 10 postcards designed in 2023 is still available too (click here).

Mind, though, that it’s probably a good idea to order your cards early to make sure you’ll be able to send them in time for the holidays.

Thank you, and enjoy your autumn!

Minerva

And also, Projects by Friends

The Chosen Ones

Minerva Cerridwen

Hi!

Be the Sea author Clara Ward summarised it this way:

The tentacles wave! The crab claws clap! All the Sea Creatures celebrate together as some are chosen for postcards, some remain paper-free, and all are friends because Minerva made them special Sea Creatures! (Did I just tack a Hopepunk ending onto a Chosen Ones narrative? Maybe?)

In other words: after running the Sea Creatures poll for over a month, we have now decided which of these Creatures will be represented on the Be the Sea Kickstarter reward postcards. Thank you very much to the 45 people who voted!

Even with your help, it was a tough choice. In the end there were 4 Sea Creatures with the same number of votes who competed for the last 2 spots on a postcard. We of the Be the Sea Kickstarter team have seriously discussed our options, taking into account the varieties of Sea Creatures and the balance in styles within the set of postcards. Considering this was “just” a stretch goal reward for this Kickstarter, you can imagine how much work Chris is doing with all the actual rewards. A round of applause for him, please.

Yes, I do expect you to be clapping in front of your computer screen or at your phone now. Don’t be shy. Extra cheering is encouraged; Chris will feel the love.

Now, the Chosen Sea Creatures are:

Floral Sea Horse, Dites-moi Hermit Crab, The Dragon at the Bottom of the Sea, Rainbow Tardigrade, Crochet Non-Binary Jellyfish, Watercolour Octopus, Flower-spotted Moray, and Galaxy Angelfish.

Image showing the 8 chosen postcards

Do you like our final selection? Did your favourites make it? Let us know in the comments!

You can still visit all of the Sea Creatures from the campaign on this page.

And you can still add as many sets of postcards as you like to your Be the Sea: Audiobook and Hardcover Editions order via Backerkit! Also check out the Atthis Print Bundle and Atthis Digital Bundle options; these both include my book The Dragon of Ynys. The Print Bundle includes a pack of Sea Creature postcards at no extra cost. What are you waiting for?

Thank you all for joining me on this Sea Creatures journey! It has been an exciting adventure.

Love from Minerva, the Be the Sea team, and all of the Sea Creatures!