Call for Entries

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 07:01:29 -0400

Eastern Heathens, an anthology of fiction inspired by Asian folklore.

We love Asian folklore. We grew up listening to Chinese legends, Arab fairy tales, Malay ghost stories and Indian sacred epics, and their fabulous images have continued to inhabit our imaginations ever since.

But as adults, we’re sometimes bugged by the moralistic, simplistic way these fables are told. We’re aching to hear these tropes subverted, perverted or simply adapted to reflect our times.

So, we’ve decided to reinvent our heritage. We’re putting together ‘Eastern Heathens’: an anthology of short stories based on folklore from our continent. We’re looking for intelligent, imaginative myths, retold for adult connoisseurs.

We’d like you to base your story on a pre-existing Asian folktale. To help you out, we’ve included a list of our favourite traditional stories and sagas below. (Do feel free to interpret a story that’s from a culture other than your ‘own’.)

Our deadline is 31 January 2012. Entries should be in prose; poetry will not be accepted. Please include your name and your contact information in your submission. Also include the title of the original folktale that’s inspired your story, as well as a brief summary of that folktale for our reference.

E-mail easternheathens@gmail.com for enquiries and submissions.

Yours sincerely,

Amanda Lee and Ng Yi-Sheng

Editors

Our (Non-Comprehensive) List of Fairytales

Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:30:00 -0400

Here’s our list of fairy tales, fables, ghost stories, myths, legends, and sacred tales, classified according to land of origin. Many of the stories are available online; others can be found in folktale collections in libraries. Feel free to use these, or any of your own choice outside of this list.

MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE/INDONESIA

Sang Nila Utama and the founding of Singapore

Badang, the strongman

Lancang Kuning

Siti Zubaidah

Singapura Dilanggar Todak (The Legend of the Swordfish and Bukit Merah)

Puteri Gunung Ledang

Bawang Putih, Bawang Merah

Sangkuriang

Prince Panji

Keong Mas, the Golden Snail

Legend of the Pontianak

Legend of the Penanggalan

Sang Kancil, the Clever Mousedeer

Hang Tuah

Dang Anom

Pak Pandir, the Village Fool

Mahsuri, the Maiden of Langkawi

The Dragon of Mt Kinabalu

Dewi Sri, the Rice Goddess

Bangsat and the King of the Crocodiles

Rangda and the Barong

The Tale of Sisters’ Islands

The Tale of Kusu Island

CHINA

Pan Gu creates the world

Nü Wa creates humans and repairs the sky

Hou Yi shoots the sun, Chang’er flies to the moon

Nian and the Story of Chinese New Year

The Canonisation of the Gods

The Legend of Ne Zha

The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl

Hua Mulan

Lady Mengjiang and the Great Wall

The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea

Journey to the West (aka Monkey)

Liang Zhu: The Butterfly Lovers

Lady White Snake

The Magic Paintbrush

The Fox Fairy (and anything from Strange Tales of Liaozhai)

The 24 Paragons of Filial Piety

The Dragon King’s Daughter

Mulian Rescues his Mother From Hell

Tales from Justice Bao (e.g. the Civet for a Crown Prince)

Ma Zu, the Sea Goddess

Tales of Ji Gong

INDIA

Tales from the Ramayana

Tales from the Mahabharata

Tales from the Life of the Buddha

Tales from the Panchatantra

Sukhu and Dukhu

Tenali Raman the Jester

Tales of Akbar and Birbal

The Mongoose and the Jackal

Tales of Supandi

WEST ASIA

Scheherezade

Aladdin

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Sinbad the Sailor

The Fisherman and the Jinni

Tales of the Mullah Nasruddin

The Tale of the Hunchback

Rostam

The Seven Wise Princesses

JAPAN

Izanami and Izanagi

Amaterasu and Uzume

Issun-Boshi, the One-Inch Boy

Momotaro the Peach Boy

Tokoyo

Urashima Taro and the Turtle

Kiyohime

Hanasaka Jiisan, the Old Man Who Made the Cherry Blossoms Bloom

The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (aka The Moon Princess)

The Rabbit in the Moon

O-Jizo San, the Grateful Statues

The Magic Tea-Kettle

The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya

KOREA

The Story Bag

The Mirror and the Villagers (aka The Bridegroom’s Shopping)

Janghwa and Hongryeon

Heungbu and Nolbu

Chunhyang

The Disowned Student and the Field Rat Spirit

The Three Princesses and the Land-Below-the-Earth

PHILIPPINES

Alitaptap, the Princess who became Fireflies

Ibong Adarna

Bernardo Carpio

Juan Tamad

Lam-Ang

Maria Makiling

The Creation of the Pineapple

The Creation of the Banana Tree

The Creation of the Durian

The Creation of the Rose

THAILAND

Nang Nak Phrakhanong

Manohra, the Kinnari (Bird Maiden)

VIETNAM

Tam and Cam

The Hundred-Knot Bamboo Tree