ABOUT THE WORKSHOP

Writing The Modern Fairy Tale

The fairy tale is an ancient storytelling mode rich with modern possibilities. Magic, unique logic, parable, impossible romance, evil villains, magical creatures, unexpected heroes—all tools for telling stories in fiction, poetry, drama, and even nonfiction. In this multi-genre writing workshop, we’ll analyze both age-old and contemporary examples of the fairy tale, and apply fairytale techniques to our own writing. With assistance from the scholarly essay "Fairy Tale is Form, Form is Fairy Tale" by Kate Bernheimer, we will cover the differences between folk tales, myths, parables, legends, and other types of stories adjacent to the fairytale. Representative authors include Edwidge Danticat, Ilya Kaminsky, Hieu Minh Nguyen, Kiki Petrosino, Linda Hogan, and others.

ABOUT THE POET

Khadijah Queen is the author of eight books of poetry and prose, including Anodyne (Tin House 2020), winner of the William Carlos Williams Award, and Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (Legacy Lit/Hachette August 2025), a memoir about her family, her time in the U.S. Navy in the 1990s, and brief histories of women at sea. In 2025 the Foundation for Contemporary Arts recognized Queen’s work with the Cy Twombly Award in Poetry. Born near Detroit and raised in L.A., she teaches literature and creative writing at Virginia Tech and Antioch University Los Angeles. She is currently finishing a new poetry collection and is, slowly, working on several other prose projects. You can subscribe to her Substack or find her on BlueSky. 

ACCESSIBILITY

Accessibility is a core value for Split This Rock. We strive to provide programs, materials, and communications that allow people within the disability community to engage fully. Zoom auto-captions will be provided. Written versions of poem prompts and poems used for discussion will be provided via screen share, the chat, or links. 

Let us know of any accessibility questions or accommodation requests via the workshop registration form or by emailing [email protected] with "ACCESS REQUEST" in the subject line by Wednesday, January 28th. Given our ongoing funding challenges, we cannot promise accessibility services, but will do our best to provide accommodations.

ABOUT SPLIT THIS ROCK

Split This Rock is the only national organization with a mission to integrate poetry and social justice. We materially support poets who are often excluded and underrepresented in the literary landscape, particularly those who are BIPOC, LGBTQ, disabled or chronically ill, and/or working class. With strong commitments to racial, gender, economic, and disability justice, we work to expand the horizons of inclusion and assert the transformative power of language to bear witness to injustice and provoke social change. We believe poetry acts as an agent for change by revealing the diversity and complexity of human experience, reflecting on daily lives and struggles, considering personal and social responsibility, and envisioning a better world. Learn more at Split This Rock's website.