This is an enchanting illustrated book of fairy tales – but not the kind you read to children at bedtime. They are strictly for the grown-ups. Often dark, the stories visit places where things don’t end happily ever after, where a single decision can haunt you forever. But there are also tales to make you laugh out loud, stories of sweet revenge and scenes of sheer delight in the world of magic and the fey.

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All the stories, lyrics and poems have something in common, a contemporary edge. Even those set in earlier times have a modern sensibility that reflects the 21st century and celebrates Australian landscapes, characters and voices.

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Discover stories from emerging talent and leading award-winning Australian writers including Carmel Bird, Sophie Masson, Cate Kennedy and Eugen Bacon, along with artwork by foremost illustrators such as Lorena Carrington and Kathleen Jennings.

So if you’re ready – once upon a time …

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◊ Carmel Bird ◊ Cate Kennedy ◊ Cindy-Lee Harper ◊ Patricia Poppenbeek ◊ Nola Wernicke ◊ K.Z. Barton ◊
Gabi Brown ◊ Clare Testoni ◊ Lindy Mitchell-Nilsson ◊ Danielle McGee ◊ Eugen Bacon ◊ T.D. Luong ◊ Rebecca-Anne C. Do Rozario ◊ Jaquim Duggan ◊ Anezka Sero ◊ Louisa John-Kroll ◊ Reilly McCarron ◊ Sophie Masson ◊ Kathleen Jennings ◊ Muriel Cooper ◊ Ella Lamb ◊ Ronnie Wavehill ◊ Carolyn Eldridge-Alfonzetti ◊ Marianna Shek ◊ Danielle Wood ◊ Natalie Cooke ◊ Zoya Nojin ◊ Kathryn Gossow ◊ June Perkins ◊ Jennifer Lehmann ◊ Jackie Kerin ◊ Rachel Nightingale ◊ Anne E. Stewart ◊ Monique Mulligan ◊ Erin-Claire Barrow ◊ Leife Shallcross ◊ Angie Rega ◊ Yvette Ladzinski

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