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When delving into contemporary fairy tales, it's important to consider what gets to count as a fairy tale. What elements and structure make a piece of contemporary creative writing or art identifiable as a fairy tale? The thing is, there's isn't really a consistent definition for what counts as a fairy tale. In many ways, we know one when we see one, and definitions by fairy tale scholars are extremely varied. All that said, here are a few introductions to a definition of fairy tales to get your feet wet:

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DEFINING THE FAIRY TALE

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→ "WHAT IS A FAIRY TALE," from Sur La Lune Fairytales

 

Sur la lune is a one-stop-shop for fairy tale studies, stories, and illustration. This is a link to their article offering a definition of fairy tales.

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→ "FAIRY TALE IS FORM, FORM IS FAIRY TALE," essay by Kate Bernheimer

 

Kate Bernheimer, one of the "living masters of the fairy tale" according to Tin House, argues that the fairy tale is distinguished by four structural elements: flatness, abstraction, intuitive logic, and normalized magic. Essay can be found in The Writer's Notebook  (2009) from Tin House.

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→ OXFORD COMPANION TO FAIRY TALES, edited by Jack Zipes

 

The editor of this book, Jack Zipes, is a key figure in fairy tale scholarship. His introduction chapter to fairy tales here  argues that defining fairy tales by their formal structure (as does Bernheimer) ignores the fairy tales' origins in the oral tradition and that instead fairy tales are distinguished by their themes and motifs. 

 

The rest of the book, while not exclusively focused on contemporary fairy tale authors and artists, is an excellent introduction to several of the big name authors, artists, and scholars in the world of fairy tales.

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→ FAIRY TALES TRANSFORMED?: TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY ADAPTATIONS & THE POLITICS OF WONDER by Cristina Bacchilega

 

Cristina Bacchilega is a scholar of gender in post-modern fairy tales. Here, Bacchilegg explores 21st century adaptations of fairy tales in the realms of film, tv, literature, and translation. She considers how, and if, fairy tale renditions have been changed by the 21st century, as well as the web of influences fairy tale adaptations carry.

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COMMON FAIRY TALE THEMES & MOTIFS

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→ AARNE-THOMPSON-UTHER (ATU) INDEX

 

This is an index of folktale types, with fairytales well included. The Aarne-Thompson-Uther Index (ATU Index for short) is often used by folklorists in close conjunction with the Thompson Motif-Index, listed below. Stories are categorized by loose plot frame (e.g. "Cinderella") with frequent plot pairings noted (e.g. "destitute parents abandon children"). Note that this mostly covers European fairy tales.

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→ STITH THOMPSON'S MOTIF-INDEX OF FOLK-LITERATURE

 

Stith Thompson (the same Thompson as of the ATU Index above) built on the work of his mentor Antti Aarne to create the Motif-Index. The Thompson Motif-Index of Folk-Literature is regularly used in tandem with the ATU Index by folklorists. Think of the motifs as a sub-units of a plot. For example, the CInderella story (ATU folktale type) often includes the motifs of "helpful birds" and "King (prince) accidentally finds maiden and marries her." Note that this mostly covers European fairy tales.

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