The Short Story Supper Club with Racontesse

 

Thank you to everyone who came to sup and share bonhomie at our table. We appreciated all of your generous comments and useful suggestions.

For those of you who couldn't join us, come sit by the fire with us…

Click on the link below for a small, but beautifully formed, recap of our talk, which highlights some of our process and influences while collaborating on the story.

https://www.sarahgrayracontesse.com/post/the-heart-of-a-heartless-world

 

"Wow! This week really was a feast for the eyes. We were all enthralled as the brilliantly creative artist Alodie Fielding opened her sketchbook and allowed us a peek at her process. Alodie and I have collaborated on all three of my short story collections with beautiful results, so it was an absolute thrill sharing in her inspirations at the Short Story Supper Club.

Before we got to rifle through Alodie's sketchbook, she enlightened us with a brief history of the illustrated story. It all started with chapbooks. These became popular in the 1500s and remained so until the 19th century. They were usually roughly-made 40 page pamphlets, which shared all manner of content from children's stories to bawdy songs and gossip. Often they included a wonderful, if crudely rendered, woodcut." - Sarah Gray

Some feedback from our talk:-

"Such an informative and absorbing way to spend an evening. I was inspired by what
the speakers talked about and by the slides illustrating their work, as well as by the
readings. Thank you to all involved."

"Enjoyed it very much! The story sounds fabulous, I really want to read it. Beautiful
illustrations and so interesting to hear about their history – the speaker did a great job
of presenting them in such a short time. Well done to the author and the artist for doing
their best to rescue this beautiful artform from oblivion!."