A collection of fantasy literature chosen from the most popular works of the past 100 years, and including brief biographical sketches of each author.

“The Fantastic Imagination” is a 1893 essay by Scottish writer George MacDonald (1824–1905). A pioneer of fantasy literature, MacDonald was the mentor of Lewis Carroll and influenced the work of many other notable writers including J. M. Barrie, Mark Twain, C. S. Lewis, and J. R. R. Tolkien. This fascinating essay concentrates on writing and imagination, offering expert insights into fantasy and fiction writing by a master of the genre. Highly recommended for fantasy readers and writers alike. Contents include: “George Macdonald, by Richard Watson Gilder”, “Fairy Tales, by G. K. Chesterton”, “The Fantastic Imagination, by George Macdonald”. Other notable works by this author include: “At the Back of the North Wind” (1871), “The Princess and the Goblin” (1872), and “The Wise Woman: A Parable” (1875). Read & Co. Great Essays is republishing this classic essay now complete with an introduction by G. K. Chesterton.

Winner, 2022 Children's Literature Association Book Award, given by the Children's Literature Association Winner, 2020 World Fantasy Awards Winner, 2020 British Fantasy Awards, Nonfiction Finalist, Creative Nonfiction IGNYTE Award, given by FIYACON for BIPOC+ in Speculative Fiction Reveals the diversity crisis in children's and young adult media as not only a lack of representation, but a lack of imagination Stories provide portals into other worlds, both real and imagined. The promise of escape draws people from all backgrounds to speculative fiction, but when people of color seek passageways into the fantastic, the doors are often barred. This problem lies not only with children’s publishing, but also with the television and film executives tasked with adapting these stories into a visual world. When characters of color do appear, they are often marginalized or subjected to violence, reinforcing for audiences that not all lives matter. The Dark Fantastic is an engaging and provocative exploration of race in popular youth and young adult speculative fiction. Grounded in her experiences as YA novelist, fanfiction writer, and scholar of education, Thomas considers four black girl protagonists from some of the most popular stories of the early 21st century: Bonnie Bennett from the CW’s The Vampire Diaries, Rue from Suzanne Collins’s The Hunger Games, Gwen from the BBC’s Merlin, and Angelina Johnson from J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter. Analyzing their narratives and audience reactions to them reveals how these characters mirror the violence against black and brown people in our own world. In response, Thomas uncovers and builds upon a tradition of fantasy and radical imagination in Black feminism and Afrofuturism to reveal new possibilities. Through fanfiction and other modes of counter-storytelling, young people of color have reinvisioned fantastic worlds that reflect their own experiences, their own lives. As Thomas powerfully asserts, “we dark girls deserve more, because we are more.”

When the Fantastic Four are to be given a heroes award, their evil nemesis, Dr. Doom, returns.

"Best moving pictures I ever saw." Thus did one Vaudeville theater manager describe Georges Méliès's A Trip to the Moon [Le Voyage dans la lune], after it was screened for enthusiastic audiences in October 1902. Cinema's first true blockbuster, A Trip to the Moon still inspires such superlatives and continues to be widely viewed on DVD, on the Internet, and in countless film courses. In Fantastic Voyages of the Cinematic Imagination, leading film scholars examine Méliès's landmark film in detail, demonstrating its many crucial connecions to literature, popular culture, and visual culture of the time, as well as its long "afterlife" in more recent films, television, and music videos. Together, these essays make clear that Méliès was not only a major filmmaker but also a key figure in the emergence of modern spectacle and the birth of the modern cinematic imagination, and by bringing interdisciplinary methodologies of early cinema studies to bear on A Trip to the Moon, the contributors also open up much larger questions about aesthetics, media, and modernity. In his introduction, Matthew Solomon traces the convoluted provenance of the film's multiple versions and its key place in the historiography of cinema, and an appendix contains a useful dossier of primary-source documents that contextualize the film's production, along with translations of two major articles written by Méliès himself.

Fantastic Stories of the Imagination was newly revived by Hugo and World Fantasy Award nominated editor Warren Lapine as a webzine in 2014. Fantastic Stories brings you the very best in science fiction and fantasy with a blend of original fiction, reprints, and criticism of the field. Each month a new issue is posted free on the web for all to read at www.fantasticstoriesoftheimagination.com back issues may also be purchased either as e-books or print editions. Collected here are all of the original stories that ran in 2014. "New Beaches" by Daniel Hatch: Power, corruption, and danger rise with the tides. "Invisible Friends" by Steven Sawicki: He's just an all American boy with a dog that loves to drive his car, some talking monkeys, and a few damned aliens. "Invisible Friends Too (Or, I Have No Bananas and Ice Must Cream): by Steven Sawiki: Monkeys, aliens, and Elvis . . . oh my. "Rope Burns" by Kelly McCullough: He had a secret to keep, but then don't we all? "Night of Apophis" by Brenda Kalt: Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die. "Chocolateland" by Shariann Lewitt: When they wanted to eat, to really enjoy a good pig out, they could go to Chocolateland

Fantasy has its roots in reality A magical realm awaits you—an enchanted world of imaginary beings to inspire a treasure of your own extraordinary drawings and paintings. And your journey begins, oddly enough, with the ordinary things that surround you every day. With Creating Creatures of Fantasy and Imagination, discover how to use your own photographs and other true-life inspiration to make fanciful artwork that beautifully transcends reality. Best-selling author Claudia Nice shows you how to build upon real-life references to draw and paint countless creatures from your imagination, including: faeries and sprites elves, brownies, dwarfs and gnomes trolls, ogres, goblins and gremlins dragons, sea monsters and sea serpents centaurs, fauns, satyrs, mermaids and mermen unicorns, Pegasus, phoenixes and griffins Inside this invaluable guide you'll find complete step-by-step instruction and many captivating examples in pen and ink, watercolor and acrylic, plus the legend behind each mythological creature. Let this book be your entry to the realm of fantasy, where the only limit is your imagination!

The warlocks and ghosts of fantasy film haunt our popular culture, but the genre has too long been ignored by critics. This comprehensive critical survey of fantasy cinema demonstrates that the fantasy genre amounts to more than escapism. Through a meticulously researched analysis of more than a century of fantasy pictures--from the seminal work of Georges Melies to Peter Jackson's recent tours of Middle-earth--the work identifies narrative strategies and their recurring components and studies patterns of challenge and return, setting and character. First addressing the difficult task of defining the genre, the work examines fantasy as a cultural force in both film and literature and explores its relation to science fiction, horror, and fairy tales. Fantasy's development is traced from the first days of film, with emphasis on how the evolving genre reflected such events as economic depression and war. Also considered is fantasy's expression of politics, as either the subject of satire or fuel for the fires of propaganda. Discussion ventures into the subgenres, from stories of invented lands inhabited by fantastic creatures to magical adventures set in the familiar world, and addresses clashes between fantasy and faith, such as the religious opposition to the Harry Potter phenomenon. From the money-making classics to little-known arthouse films, this richly illustrated work covers every aspect of fantasy film.