The Narelle Oliver Lecture 2026
Shapeshifting Stories: The Fascinating History of Fairy Tales with Dr Kate Forsyth
‘I am famously fascinated by fairy tales – I love their wild beauty and their hidden claws.’
In this engaging and eye-opening talk, Kate explores her own fascination with fairy tales, their long, dark history and hidden meanings, and why they continue to speak so potently to so many people. Fairy tales are the oldest of all narrative arts, expressing in symbolic language some of the most significant crises of human life, the desires and fears we all share. Kate will share some of the ways she draws upon their mythic power in her own work, and gladly answer any questions you may have about ways to use fairy tales in narrative therapy, storytelling, and your own creative endeavours.
About Dr Kate ForsythDr Kate Forsyth is an award-winning author, poet, and storyteller. Her most recent novels include Psykhe, a feminist reimagining of the ancient myth of ‘Eros and Psykhe’; Beauty in Thorns, a reimagining of ‘Sleeping Beauty’ told in the voices of four women of the Pre-Raphaelite circle of artists and poets; The Wild Girl, the story of the forbidden romance behind the Grimm brothers’ fairy tales which was named Most Memorable Love Story of 2013; and Bitter Greens, a retelling of ‘Rapunzel’ which won the 2015 American Library Association award for Best Historical Fiction. Books for children include Kate Forsyth’s Long-Lost Fairy-Tales, illustrated by Lorena Carrington, which was an Honour Book in the 2025 CBCA awards.
This session is aimed at teachers, teacher-librarians, librarians, parents and any adults with an interest in Children’s Literature.
Price: Members of Book Links $30, non-members $35 Food and drink provided.
Time: Monday 11 May. Food and drinks from 6pm. Lecture start sat 7:00 pm.
This annual lecture is named in memory of Narelle Oliver, to acknowledge her contribution to children’s literature and her work as a founding member of Book Links. The Narelle Oliver Lecture seeks to raise the profile of children’s literature, to stimulate discussion and disseminate the results of current research on children’s literature.
