The When Words Collide festival has released its tentative final program, so I thought I'd share my itinerary:
Friday 3 PM - Canmore - Fairytales, Fables and Folklore Remade
C.S. MacCath, Carol Parchewsky, Jim Jackson, Ron Oswald [PM]
Fairytale remakes, historical reimaginings, using themes from the past to create a new story. What is being done in today's Young Adult fiction, and how can past inspiration be made new again?
Saturday 1 PM - Canmore - Deconstructing the Fairy Tale
Adam Dreece, Erin Weir, Mike Rimar, C.S. MacCath [PM]
Fairy tale, folklore and mythic retellings are a popular storytelling device– some might say too popular. How do you pull it off in a way that feels fresh and interesting? This panel discusses how to fracture the fairy tale and reveal a mother lode of inspiration to galvanize your writing.
Sunday 2 PM - Waterton - Conducting Archival and Ethnographic Research
C.S. MacCath
Archives exist for the purpose of collecting, preserving, and disseminating documentary information about individuals, businesses, religious organizations, governments, and other entities. People themselves are important sources of knowledge as well, from boat-building techniques passed from father to son in rural Newfoundland to quantum physics theories studied by experts in the field. Because of this, both archival and ethnographic research can be valuable to writers. This presentation will provide you with basic best practices for conducting both. We'll be looking at ethical and technical considerations, ways to get the most out of your visit to an archive, and approaches to in-person interviews.
I'll also be at the autograph session on Saturday evening and the shared author table at some point during the weekend TBA. Looking forward to seeing my writer tribe again!
Dr. Ceallaigh S. MacCath-Moran holds hold B.A. in Celtic Studies from the University of Toronto, an M.A. in English and Creative Writing from the University of Maine, and a PhD in Folklore from Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador. She is also an author, poet, and musician under the name C.S. MacCath. Her long-running Folklore & Fiction Project integrates these passions with a focus on folklore scholarship aimed at storytellers, and she brings a deep appreciation of animism, ecology, and folkloristics to her own storytelling. You can find her online at csmaccath.com, folkloreandfiction.com, and linktr.ee/csmaccath.
© 2025 Dr. Ceallaigh S. MacCath-Moran. All rights reserved unless Creative Commons licensing is specifically applied. To read the full "Copyright Statement and Usage Guide," visit https://csmaccath.com/copyright.