Many contemporary novels and short stories draw inspiration from fairy-tales, folk tales, and mythology. In this class, we will read excerpts from works that grapple overtly with fairy tale traditions, such as The Bloody Chamber, and others that are more loosely inspired, such Helen Oyeyemi’s Boy, Snow, Bird, and Joyce Carol Oates’ Beast. Discussion will include identifying the core characteristics of fairy tales; how to balance taking inspiration from fairy tales with your own unique story ideas; the benefits and drawbacks of using traditional structures; frequently recurring topics in fairy tales such as gender, sexuality, violence; how to subvert traditional tropes; and more. The goal of the class is to write and workshop two fairy-tale inspired stories.

Instructor: Arshia Simkin

Dates: Begins Monday, October 12, 2026 and runs every Monday for six weeks

Time: 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Location: 230 Fayetteville St., Raleigh*

Level: Beginner and above

8 spots max [Just a few spots left!]

$615: true price

$349: base price

$374, $399, $449: donate an extra $25, $50, or $100 to our scholarship fund

(Returning students receive 10 percent off).

A note on pricing:  the “true price” reflects the true cost of the class, which includes paying a fair wage to our staff and instructors, rental fees for the Redbud headquarters and for the community spaces where we host our classes, website and administrative/commerce fees, outreach and advertising to spread the word about our offerings, and the coordination and administration for our community classes, which serve people who could not otherwise access creative writing. We’re not a university or a large corporation and that means we don’t have an operating budget we can rely on; we’re proud to be a small, local, women- and minority-run business that is passionate about bringing the transformative power of the arts to our community. Your tuition helps Redbud with the critical work of keeping the arts accessible to the public. 

We also offer students a chance to donate to our scholarship fund. At check-out, you will be given the option of choosing a donor price. If you choose one of these prices, the extra $25, $50, or $100 will go towards scholarships for students who would not be able to afford our classes otherwise.  Thank you in advance for considering making a contribution to inclusivity and access!

Read the fine print, including our refund policy, here.

(*A note about parking downtown: The closest public parking garage is the Moore Square Parking Deck, which is a two-minute walk. During the daytime, this garage is free for the first two hours; after that the rate is $3 an hour. For evening classes beginning at 6 p.m., you can use the two free hours of parking at the Moore Square Parking Deck; parking in the deck is free after 7 p.m. (The Wilmington Street Station Parking Garageis another nearby public parking garage that is a 5-minute walk. You can find more information about free two-hour parking in downtown Raleigh here.)