The Alabama Writers’ Forum
The Alabama Writers’ Forum, a partnership program of the Alabama State Council on the Arts, works to cultivate our state’s literary culture. We do that through supporting writers at all stages. We encourage our young writers to find their creative voice through the Father Goose Poetry Festival for Kids!–and through our Alabama High School Literary Arts Awards. We support the work of our state’s literary community through our Alabama Authors Directory, First Draft magazine, and other programming and opportunities for writers across the state. And we celebrate our state’s rich literary legacy through the Alabama Writers Hall of Fame. We are, above all, a community of writers united by our desire to advance the literary arts in Alabama. If that describes you — join us! There are many ways to get involved.
The Carver and the Queen
The Carver and the Queen By Emma C. Fox Owl’s Nest Publishers, 2023 Hardcover: $20.99 Paperback: $12.99 Genre: Historical Fantasy, Young Adult Reviewed by Lynn Lamere Emma C. Fox’s The Carver and the Queen is reminiscent of a classic medieval fairy tale yet amplified with plot twists and intriguing characters. Right away, fifteen-year-old orphan Petr finds himself facing a public whipping in a new village for losing three of the master’s cows while shepherding the herd. However, Petr is an exceptional boy, and he does not lose the livestock because of a lack of maturity or discipline. Instead, Petr is quite gifted, and it is his talent for playing his zhaleika (a Slavic wind instrument also known as a “folk clarinet” or hornpipe) that causes his lapse in judgment. While tending his herd, Petr’s music attracts a woman who wears a crown and dresses in a long-bejeweled robe of green silk. When confronted about the livestock he loses, he tells the bailiff that the otherworldly woman asked him to play more, promising she could make him into something. [...]
