Greetings, and mòran taing for taking the time to read my newsletter. This is the April 2026 edition of Folkbyte, and I'm writing it as I begin preparing an academic paper titled "Passion, Empathy, and Action: A Critical Introduction to The Climate Fiction Writers League," which I'll be delivering at the International Society for Folk Narrative Research conference in Reykjavik this year.

Dispatches from the Word Mines

Well, the "Religion" and "Ritual" chapters of The Storyteller's Guide to Folklore are beasts, coming in at over 4500 words each. This is unsurprising, given the subject matter, but I was still sad to cut the material below from the "Ritual" chapter. Long-time subscribers to the Folkbyte newsletter and before it, the Folklore & Fiction dispatch and podcast will recognize the material from the November 2019 edition of the latter, titled "What is a ritual?" It's revised for the book here, so I thought I would share it with you.