Hi, I’m Tish.
Author of the forthcoming Ebony, Blood, and Snow: New Stories from Old Tales.
How did Snow White’s mother become so vain? What if Cinderella didn’t go to the ball? When does the maiden become the monster?
Inspired by familiar fairy tales, author Tish Black’s debut short story collection takes the tales in new directions and rewrites history: Little Red hunts wolves, Gretel helps the witch, and Bluebeard’s wife gets revenge. These transgressive stories challenge readers’ ideas of what the tales could mean to them. There’s more to learn from fairy tale heroines than how to be eaten, rescued, or married.
These unconventional heroines fight the patriarchy with no time for romance; instead, readers will find tales of revenge, sisterhood, political revolt, and independence. In the lead story, a beautiful woman with hair as black as ebony is given to a king with blood-red lips, but it’s with her chambermaid that she finds true love. When tragedy strikes, her values change. Exploring why Snow White’s mother chose beauty over her daughter, “Ebony” leads to her decision to send the huntsman. In “Thistle,” a princess cursed to sleep lives a lonely life until the witch who cursed her reveals the true story of what her parents have done to them both. Rapunzel escapes the tower on her own in “Plum” and then joins a radical group trying to take down a misogynist monarchy.
Conveying the radical feminism of Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chamber and the defiance of Emma Donoghue’s Kissing the Witch, Black’s collection of thirteen tales redefines the fairy tale heroine.
Here on Substack, I share my self-publishing author journey and my love of fairy tales and folklore.
Video Essays
I brought my curiosity for fairy tales and film together for a series of video essays exploring fairy tale film adaptations with the goal of exploring what both the tales and films can tell us about ourselves and our culture while introducing media criticism and film theory.
Tiny Tales
In 2,200 characters or less, I write original tales inspired by a photo. Originally an Instagram project (hence the character limit), it has created some of my favourite stories, so I share them here as well.
Elsewhere online, find me talking about fairy tales and their tellers on Instagram, and TikTok.
