Enchanted Times

Synopsis

Enchanted Times was first published in 2009. It is an ongoing series of A5 (/half-size) zines written by Su Mwamba, featuring revisionist short story versions of traditional fairy tales and other related features. The Enchanted Times Mini zine is released at random intervals between issues, featuring previews of and alternative perspectives on the stories to be featured in the next full-size edition. The short stories/flash fiction tend to veer from the traditional happy ending while the supplementary features and Mini editions are of a more light-hearted nature.

The Enchanted Times has also spawned a number of additional related mini-zines including Once Upon a Haiku and the Goblin Market Coupon Book (featuring ads & offers from Enchanted Times sponsors).

Enchanted Times

#1 (November 2009)

FREE GIFT Pre-enchanted needle and thread

PROJECT Baba Yaga Intuition Doll kit

PROJECT Baba Yaga Escape kit, pre-enchanted tags

PROJECT Princess and the Pea cross stitch chart

PROJECT Red Riding Hood cross stitch chart - adapted from illustration by Jennie Harbour

STORY Baba Yaga Still at Large

STORY Lost and Found - the Princess and the Pea revisited

STORY Look Before You Leap - the Frog Prince revisited (full story available online, see external links below)

OTHER Letters to the Editor

OTHER Small ads

#2 (August 2010)

FREE GIIFT Pre-enchanted nettle yarn

PROJECT Six Swans / DIY weaving loom postcard

EDITORIAL Big Bad Wolf / Judging a Book by its Cover

INTERVIEW Cinderella Sweeping, Cinderella's Weeping

STORY The Ugliest Duckling

STORY Splinter Part 1 (piecework)

OTHER The Mirror book review supplement

OTHER Letters to the Editor

OTHER Small ads

#3 (May 2011)

FREE GIFT Magic beans

PROJECT Hansel & Gretel in cross stitch

PROJECT 'The millet reached the sky' - a counted thread embroidery pattern

STORY Always pay the piper - the Pied Piper of Hamelin's 'confession'

STORY Just Desserts - a melange of the Gingerbread Man and Hansel & Gretel tales

FEATURE He said, she said - Red Riding Hood witness statements, sourced by guest reporter Penelope Harris

OTHER Fast-As-You-Can Weight Loss Plan - gingerbread recipe & advertisement feature; mini-zine available online, see external links

OTHER Runaway Snack Attack - an open letter from the Magical Objects Restoration Society, forwarded by Onyx Mail Services

OTHER The Mirror book review supplement

OTHER Small ads

Enchanted Times Mini

#0.5 - peas in our time (July 2011)

EDITORIAL announcement of the royal engagement including

first public appearance of the bruised Princess

a warning from the Enchantments Protection Agency regarding a proliferation of blemish agents on the black marketplace

a few words with the Queen's Gardener, Herr Mendel, about varieties of Pea

PROJECT revised chart for Princess & Pea cross stitch pattern previously available in Enchanted Times #1

OTHER Small ad from an Enchanted Times sponsor

#3.5 vol. i - Spin! (June 2011)

FEATURE A letter to the Queen from Mr R. Stiltskin's solicitor regarding non-payment of bill for services

OTHER Small ads from Enchanted Times sponsors offering related services

printed on recycled paper embedded with flecks of golden straw

#3.5 vol. ii - Cover up! (July 2011)

FEATURE Reprint of postcard received from an Enchanted Times reporter on location in the Big City, including a heavily censored message regarding a scandal involving the Emperor

EDITORIAL A consideration of the corrupt practices of City Bureaucracy

OTHER Small ads from Enchanted Times sponsors

#3.5 vol. iii

Express delivery! (July 2011)

FREE GIFT A mini-sheet of Enchanted Realms postage stamps/labels (mail art)

EDITORIAL A special edition announcing the Enchanted Express Mail Services (EEMS) decision to make Enchanted Realms postage stamps available cross-border into the real world & consideration of EEMS' potentially controversial sponsorship deals

FEATURE Design notes on the new Enchanted Realm postage stamps

OTHER Small ads from Enchanted Times sponsors

External links

Enchanted Times journal

updates on & between issues

Look Before You Leap

full story, as told in Enchanted Times #1

The RatCatcher of Hamelin

Enchanted Times #3 cover story, in e-zine form

Fast-As-You-Can Weight Loss Plan

Enchanted Times #3 advertisement feature, in e-zine form

Spin!

Enchanted Times #3.5 vol i. online preview e-zine (shorter version)