Tag: storytelling

And also, Paranatellonta

Voorleesweek

Minerva Cerridwen

[scroll down for English]

Hallo!

Blijf voorlezen!

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!

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!

Minerva Cerridwen

(scroll down for English)

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!

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

And also, Neurodiversiverse, Paranatellonta

Award for The Neurodiversiverse

Minerva Cerridwen

Hi!

I’ll continue the quick flash update style of my previous post, since I have a lot of short messages.

1) Great news about The Neurodiversiverse: Alien Encounters, the anthology which includes my short story “The Space Between Stitches”: it has won the Silver IBPA Book Award in the category Neurodivergent Communities!

2) In the first week of June, I’ve participated in Workshop Week for the third year in a row. It’s always so much fun to learn new techniques that I will no doubt apply to postcards soon. Here’s a tiny glance at the pieces I learned to make with teachers Type Affiliated, Mabz Brisson, Shayda Campbell, Aurelia Thomson, Lindsey Bugbee, Julie Marriott, and Terry Runyan. You can still follow my artsy explorations on my Instagram.

This image shows small versions of the results of 7 Workshop Week projects: a handlettering piece saying "wishing you a very happy father's day", 2 floral pieces, a grandmotherly character, a hummingbird with flowers, a floral cat, and a swallow filled with calligraphy.

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.

Handdrawn portrait of a smiling white person with horns in the colours of the ace flag, glasses with purple tentacle details, long brown braided hair, a green t-shirt, rainbow scaled dragon wings, a couple of purple tentacles, and lots of purple flowers all around. Stars are scattered over the atmospheric green background.

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. 

That’s all for today!

Have a wonderful summer!

Minerva

 

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

Banner for "Refuge" - 10 years of Paranatellonta
Paranatellonta

TEN YEARS of Paranatellonta!

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”.

Banner for "Refuge" - Paranatellonta

Banner for "Scrutiny" - Paranatellonta

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!

Paranatellonta, Rise

Flash Fiction: Rise!

Minerva Cerridwen

Hi!

It’s that time of the year when the stories are being announced that will be part of the Queer Sci Fi Flash Fiction Contest anthology. The theme this year was “Rise”, once again prompting authors to write a story of 300 words, and I’m proud to say I submitted a story called “Ace-tral Projection” and it was selected. This is the fifth year in a row I have a story in the contest anthology! Everyone who’s friends with me on Duolingo knows I do love a good long streak.

You can read the full list of anthology picks via this link – and you may notice that my friend and co-writer LS Reinholt’s story “Flood” made it in there too! *high fives*

In other news, Fie and I posted the 359th edition of Paranatellonta yesterday—remember there’s a new post on the 1st and 15th of every month. Our next edition, on August 15, will be very special, and not just because 360 is a nice round number—we will celebrate that Paranatellonta will have existed for 10 years!!! Keep your eyes peeled. In the meantime, you can go read the latest editions via the main page (click on the “[time] ago and x notes” line under a post to enlarge both its photo and text, or click the “Random post” button at the top to be catapulted up to ten years back in time). As ever, everything Paranatellonta is free to read. Enjoy!

Love from rainy Germany, where I’ve been having a very cosy autumnish holiday in the middle of summer (but also some sunny hobbit adventures on mountains),

Minerva

And also

A Bookstr Interview and Lots of Art

Minerva Cerridwen

Wow, have I really not written any blog posts since February? Oops…

Well, hello! Time sure is flying, and lots of things are in the works, though none of them have come to the point of any Big Announcements yet. If anyone is making lists of skills writers need, don’t forget to add “having patience”.

I’m writing to you today because I gave an interview! Book website Bookstr asked me and 4 other asexual authors all the same five questions about the reasons why we write and our experiences, and I found it very interesting to read the answers of the others as well. You can read the full interview via this link. Enjoy!

I also wanted to tell you that I participated in Workshop Week last week and made quite a lot of art! You can see all the results on my Instagram; I learned new techniques for handlettering, watercolour painting, portraiture, and sketching flowers, and had a lot of fun with all that! I’ve already been applying what I learned to some new cards today.

Tonight I participated in the end-of-schoolyear performance of my spoken-word Storytelling class, and I’m very happy with how it went. I can feel how much I learned and improved since we started last September, and can’t wait to see how our skills will evolve as the class continues. Even in my writing, I can feel its influence.

I hope to be back soon with some publishing news. Fingers crossed!

Love,

Minerva

Clarity

Clarity: Release Day!

Minerva Cerridwen

The Clarity anthology is out today!

Cover of "Clarity"

This anthology is packed with 120 stories under 300 words each, all with a speculative element and queer characters. One of these stories is my little piece “Secundum Artem”.

You can buy the book in ebook, paperback, AND hardcover format, via: Amazon – Apple – Barnes & Noble – Kobo – Smashwords – Scribd – Vivlio, or add it on The StoryGraph or Goodreads.

Congratulations to the winners, judges’ picks, and honorable mentions of Queer Sci Fi’s Annual Flash Fiction Contest!

The winner announcement can be found here, judge’s picks were announced here, honorable mentions here, and the full list of stories in the book is on this page.

Enjoy all the queer flash fiction!

Love,

Minerva

P.S. Inktober is going well! I managed to draw something every day so far, and am happy with my result today, so I’m throwing it in here as a little extra: