Time certainly flies. Although it has been nearly four years since we last chatted with Alix E. Harrow, she has quickly become one of our very favourite guests. This week we are delighted to welcome her back. Her novel The Everlasting is currently nominated for both the Hugo and World Fantasy awards, and her excellent first collection of short stories, The Slantwise Histories, will be published in October.

In a lively discussion, we touch upon reading and writing short fiction as opposed to novels, the myriad ways fairy tales have been used from the Brothers Grimm on, the challenges and rewards of writing novels that differ so dramatically from one another (in Alix’s case, The Ten Thousand Doors of January, The Once and Future Witches, Starling House, and The Everlasting), and navigating the expectations of both readers and publishers.

As ever, Alix’s insights are both sharp and delightful.