Tag: Monstrosity

August 1, 2025

An Interview with Medieval Monster Studies Scholar Asa Mittman

I had the wonderful opportunity to interview Medieval Monster Studies scholar Asa Mittman about his research into medieval marginalia, maps and monstrosity, and the othering of bodies in the middle ages. I don’t often interview folks outside of Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy for speculating Canada, but I thought my conversation with Dr. Mittman might be of interest to many...

Categories Interviews/On Air Comments: 0

December 9, 2023

An Interview with Chadwick Ginther About Shared World Fiction and Sword and Sorcery

I had a wonderful opportunity to revisit and chat with Chadwick Ginther about his recent work, especially focussing on his recent Sword and Sorcery Work, Lovecraftian horror, creating a shared world story, and creating magical geographies in his fiction. Chadwick Ginther is the author of two short story collections: Khyber: Sinister Tales of Sword and Sorcery in a Shared World...

Categories Interviews Comments: 0

November 21, 2023

An Interview with Simon Bacon About Vampires and the Monstrous

In this episode of Speculating Canada, I interview independent scholar and researcher Simon Bacon about the monstrous, and, particularly, about the figure of the vampire in folklore and popular culture. Simon Bacon is an independent scholar based in Poznań, Poland. He has written and edited 30+ books including Becoming Vampire (2017), Eco-vampires (2019), Nosferatu in the 21st Century (2023), 1000...

Categories Interviews/Videos Comments: 0

December 15, 2019

‘Twas The Night Before Krampus

‘Twas The Night Before Krampus A review of Sam Beiko’s Krampus Is My Boyfriend By Derek Newman-Stille  As a folklorist, the figure of Krampus has fascinated me for years. Krampus is the devilish companion of St Nicholas and while the saint passes out gifts to good children, Krampus passes out beatings to the bad ones. He’s got a Pan-like look...

Categories Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 0

March 9, 2019

Chrysalis

Chrysalis  A review of Lena Ng’s Love Transcendent in We Shall Be Monsters (Renaissance Press, 2018) By Derek Newman-Stille Lena Ng’s Love Transcendent is a belle mort tale of transformation. Exploring the Ancient Greek image of the soul represented as a butterfly, Ng explores the idea of death itself as a process of beautiful transformation, as a chrysalis in which...

Categories Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 2

June 6, 2018

Poor Monster

Check out my review of a Frankenstein story by Charles de Lint, set in his created city Newford. “Pity The Monsters” is a story that is as much about poverty, institutionalization, and family violence as it is about monsters.

Categories Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 0

June 2, 2018

First Couple of Rows Might Get Glittered

First Couple of Rows Might Get Glittered. A review of Buffy The Vampire Slayer the Musical: Once More With Feeling at The Theatre on King in Peterborough, Ontario. Produced by Eryn Lidster, directed by Samantha Mansfield. By Derek Newman-Stille. I fell in love with the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode “Once More With Feeling” when I was doing my undergraduate degree....

Categories Other Reviews Comments: 0

February 27, 2018

Fitting In

Fitting In A review of Lisi Harrison’s Monster High (Hachette Book Group, 2011) By Derek Newman-Stille Lisi Harrison’s Monster High is a series adapted from the doll brand by Mattel of the same name. Her novel adaptation, aimed at a teen rather than pre-teen audience as the dolls would suggest illustrates the adaptability of narratives around dolls and toys. Although...

Categories Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 0

October 22, 2017

Truths in Fiction

Truths in FictionA review of Kate Story’s “Where Will The Seas Roll Up Their Thunder” in Those Who Make Us: Canadian Creature, Myth, and Monster Stories edited by Kelsi Morris and Kaitlin Tremblay (Exile, 2016) By Derek Newman-Stille In “Where Will the Seas Roll Up Their Thunder”, Kate Story speaks through a voice that is underused in fiction in generally,...

Categories Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 0

October 20, 2017

Here Be Monsters

Here Be MonstersA review of Michal Wojcik’s “A New Bestiary” in Those Who Make Us: Canadian Creature, Myth, and Monster Stories edited by Kelsi Morris and Kaitlin Tremblay (Exile, 2016) By Derek Newman-Stille Michal Wojcik’s “A New Bestiary” is a posthuman tale about body modification. In this near future fiction piece, Mojcik presents a world where people are remaking themselves...

Categories Fiction Book Reviews Comments: 0