On the 26th of September, I was very fortunate to be able to attend the Edinburgh Women’s Fiction Festival at Christ Church Morningside. It was created (Us, 2023) to “uplift and celebrate women-centered books that focus on characters’ life experience […] but not exclusive to women readers. A literary event that focuses on female agency and demonstrates women’s experiences through literature that reflects on real-world ones“

Figure 1: Photo of the Panel ” Spindles and Swords”, Edinburgh Women’s Fiction Festival (Taken by Isabel, 2025).

During the panel “Spindles and Swords”, chaired by Amanda Block with the authors Georgia Leighton and Jean Menzies, one question emerged.

Why are fairytale retellings so popular among female authors nowadays?

Fairy tales are not a new concept; their themes date back centuries. From old texts depicting the instances of fairytale motifs, to the Grimms’ stories, to Disney retellings.

The popularity of Disney’s retellings, such as Cinderella and Snow white, shaped generations.  But fairy tales also need to evolve to fit the cultural and political climate. Emma Herdam (Sarah Shaffi, 2023) states, “ There will always be an appetite for a retelling that offers us a new way into thinking about how we live today […]”.  

It is an important step for female authors to give agency to main characters who were once subverted by more conservative narratives.  As Georgia Leighton (Women’s Fiction Festival, 2025), states in the Q&A section, “I didn’t want a man to save the princess”, which is a common sentiment in fairytales retellings nowadays. Furthermore, by “downplaying the male character’s importance, the male characters have more time to be more complex” (Jean Menzies, Edinburgh, Women’s Fiction Festival, 2025).  

It’s stated multiple times that the most important driving force of the story is the women, although that doesn’t imply that male characters lose all agency in the story. They also serve as a vehicle for the plot’s resolution and are not only seen as the “savior” but an active part of the journey.

So, why are these retellings told over and over again?

Alana Missen (2019), in her blog, compared reading fairy tales to finding comfort.  And the panel attendees also support this statement by admitting that “these fairy tales were a part of their childhood” (Edinburgh Women’s Fiction Festival, 2025). This urge to change the narrative of a beloved but more submissive female character to a more empowering version of herself is reflected on both author’s books.

Furthermore, a complementary reason why they keep getting told over and over again is that they are familiar and fun. People like familiar things. It is a way to grab something familiar and turn it into something slightly different, giving it a different “taste”.

More importantly, the reason why fairy tales keep getting retold and adapted to different media is the need to recontextualise a story to fit the cultural climate of the time. In the case of this panel, both authors needed to increase the female characters’ agency.

It is aimed to give a voice to the voiceless characters of those old fairytales that we all grew to love as children and that shaped us (somehow) as adults.

Why does this panel fit so well with this literary event?

This panel, although not exclusively to this one alone, supports the ethos of the Edinburgh Women’s Fiction Festival. It aims to celebrate and uplift work for women by women, respecting inclusivity and welcomes everyone who loves women’s fiction.

Supports it by touching on subjects like women’s agency and feminism in fairytale retellings.

Bibliography:

Thesis:

Cambell, L. (2019). Feminist Fairy Tale Retellings: A Genre of Subversion. B.A Thesis.

Blog Post:

Missen, A. (2019). Why We Love Reading Fairytale Retellings. [online] The Nerd Daily. Available at: https://thenerddaily.com/fairtayle-retellings-young-adult-books/.

Article

Shaffi, S. (2023). Two sides to a story: why feminist retellings are filling our bookshelves. The Guardian. [online] 24 Mar. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/mar/24/two-sides-to-a-story-why-feminist-retellings-are-filling-our-bookshelves.

Photo:

Photo of the Panel ” Spindles and Swords”, Edinburgh Women’s Fiction Festival (Taken by Isabel, 2025).

Literary Event attended (Primary research)

Edinburgh’s Women Fiction Festival

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