(Art by Melissa Nucera)

“It’s a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no knowing where you might be swept off to.”

― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings

Dangerous it may be, but unbelievably it is time to go out of our doors for the tenth year in a row, to experience those stories which, in spirit at least, begin with those four magic words…

Once Upon a Time.

Ten years! I cannot believe that I have been hosting this event for a decade. Time does indeed fly.

Monday, March 21st (my wife Mary’s birthday) marks the official start date of the tenth annual Once Upon a Time Challenge. This is a reading and viewing and gaming event that encompasses four broad categories: Fairy Tale, Folklore, Fantasy and Mythology, including the seemingly countless sub-genres and blending of genres that fall within this spectrum. The challenge continues through June 21st and allows for very minor (1 book only) participation as well as more immersion depending on your reading/viewing/gaming whims.

Don’t like the word “challenge”? We have something special just for you.

Come away, and I’ll tell you more…

“I felt a curious thrill, as if something had stirred in me, half wakened from sleep. There was something very remote and strange and beautiful behind those words, if I could grasp it, far beyond ancient English.”

~J.R.R. Tolkien, on reading the Cynewulf lines about the star Earendel

Now, for the particulars:

The Once Upon a Time X Challenge has a few rules:

Rule #1: Have fun.

Rule #2: HAVE FUN.

Rule #3: Don’t keep the fun to yourself, share it with us, please!

Rule #4: Do not be put off by the word “challenge”.

While this event retains the word “challenge” from its earliest days, the entire goal is to read good books, watch engaging television shows and films, play immersive games and most importantly, visit old friends and make new ones. There are several ways to participate, and I hope you can find at least one to your liking:

This is really as simple as the name implies. It means you are participating, but not committing yourself to any specific number of books. By signing up for The Journey you are agreeing to read at least one book within one of the four categories during March 21st to June 21st period. Just one book. If you choose to read more, fantastic! If not, then we have still had the pleasure of your company during this three month reading journey and hopefully you have read a great book, met some interesting people, and enjoyed the various activities that occur during the challenge. It has always been of utmost importance to me that the challenges that I host be all about experiencing enjoyable literature and sharing it with others. I want you to participate. Hence, The Journey.

Read at least 5 books that fit somewhere within the Once Upon a Time categories. They might all be fantasy, or folklore, or fairy tales, or mythology…or your five books might be a combination from the four genres.

Read at least one book from each of the four categories. In this quest you will be reading 4 books total: one fantasy, one folklore, one fairy tale, and one mythology. This proves to be one of the more difficult quests each year merely because of the need to classify each read and determine which books fit into which category. I am not a stickler, fear not, but I am endlessly fascinated watching how folks work to find books for each category.

Fulfill the requirements for The Journey or Quest the First or Quest the Second AND top it off with a June reading of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream OR a viewing of one of the many film versions of the play. Love the story, love the films, love the idea of that magical night of the year and so this is my chance to promote the enjoyment of this farcical love story.

This quest involves the reading of one or more short stories that fit within at least one of the four genres during the course of any weekend, or weekends, during the challenge. Ideally you would post about your short story readings on Sundays or Mondays, but this is not strictly necessary.

Stories are not just limited to the printed page. Many entertaining, moving, profound or simply fun stories are told in the realm of television and film. To participate in this quest simply let us know about the films and/or television shows that you feel fit into the definitions of fantasy, fairy tales, folklore or mythology that you are enjoying during the challenge.

This category was added for the first time last year. More and more console and computer games are allowing players to immerse themselves in story, be it the story created by the game designers or those the player experiences in her or his own imagination. Additionally, table top gaming has seen a rise in popularity, in part because of the excellent TableTop YouTube show hosted by Wil Wheaton. Solo or multiplayer gaming, be it on a screen or on your table top, is a terrific way in which to engage the genres highlighted by this challenge and it would be a shame to miss out by not including gaming in our event.

April 30th is International Tabletop Day. It would be a great day to set aside time to game with friends and then post about it for Once Upon a Time X.
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The art for this year’s challenge may look familiar to those of you who have taken part in Once Upon a Time for many years. It is one of my favorites from the first nine years and I couldn’t resist bringing it forward from year four to celebrate the tenth anniversary of this challenge. The image, sans the title, is the work of Melissa Nucera. Melissa’s art has been a part of Once Upon a Time for many, many years and it only seemed right to use it again this year. Thank you, Melissa, and surprise! Be sure to check out the great things she has in her Etsy shop.

For those of you who want banners, here are some of various sizes:

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If you do reviews for any of the things you read, watch or play, please visit the Review Site and post your links there so we can come and visit you and see what you have to share.
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Over the years various well meaning, and not so well meaning, people have tried to dismiss this kind of literature as childish, no longer relevant, escapist, etc.

Terri Windling, in her marvelous essay “On Tolkien and Fairy Stories” writes:

“It was only in the nineteenth century that magical literature and art was pushed into the nursery — ironically, at a time when adult interest in them could not have been higher. Prior to this, ancient epics and myths held a central place in the literary arts, while their country cousins, folk and fairy tales, were told to young and old alike. When fairy tales moved from the oral to the literary tradition, they did so as adult stories.”

The literature that falls into these categories speaks to me in a way that no other literature does. I think it is all the history. Ancient folklore and mythology inform so many types of stories and there is something very special about those fantasy stories that in some way build upon that foundation. They are not kids stories to me. They never were. But they do retain the magic that they had when I was a child. And I am thrilled that it is that time of year for us to share these stories with one another.

Welcome to the 10th annual journey that is Once Upon a Time.

If want to join us, please leave either a link to your blog or a direct link to any sign up post you do (not necessary for participation). Also, if you don’t have a blog, please feel free to join. It is not a prerequisite.