Fija Callaghan: An Introduction
A Q&A welcoming the newest addition to the Storied Imaginarium
As part of the process of restructuring Storied Imaginarium, we will be expanding our course offerings offered through Teachable. If you haven’t already, we hope you’ll sign up for the free Snow White Sampler. We will be releasing a brand-new, four-week course—co-taught by Carina Bissett and Fija Callaghan—will be offered in an asynchronous format through Teachable. We will be announcing this new course this weekend. (We can’t wait to share it with you!) In the meantime, please welcome Fija Callaghan to the Storied Imaginarium team.
Your debut collection Frail Little Embers is scheduled for release in February 2025. Can you tell us a bit about your work?
Yes, it’s very exciting! I know we’ve all been through some tough times lately, so I try to write stories that give people hope in times of darkness. I use folklore and fairy tales as an accessible lens to examine challenging topics and present them in a way that shows our potential to overcome. In Frail Little Embers you’ll find foxes, apple trees, handmade teapots, masquerade masks, hot chocolate that opens a door to the land of the dead, several witches of various dispositions, and books with the power to heal a broken heart.
In addition to being an author of short fiction, you are also a poet. Is there a difference in your creative process in the two genres?
Fiction takes longer! I’ve noticed that my best poetry, the pieces I’m most proud of, emerge more or less fully formed in a small space of time. The poems I spend ages prodding at and adjusting never seem to be quite as powerful. Fiction, on the other hand, is a more involved process; it’s equal parts excavation and mechanical engineering. Then, if I’m lucky, it gives the illusion of being entirely effortless.
Where do you draw inspiration for your work?
Everywhere! My short story “One Hundred Words For Loss” (forthcoming in FLE) is about learning to open your eyes to the myriad tiny wonders around you every day. This is something we understand instinctively when we’re children, but that we somehow talk ourselves out of. That said, I also draw heavily from folklore, fairy tales, and the juxtaposition of urban and wild landscapes.
Who are your favorite authors? Are there any stories or poems you’d like to recommend?
Some of my favourites are Joanne Harris, Sarah Addison Allen, Theodora Goss, Terri Windling, Neil Gaiman, and Holly Black. They all use fairy tales and folklore in such wonderfully creative ways. Neil Gaiman isn’t best known for his poetry, but “The Fairy Reel” is excellent. I’ve often recommended Theodora Goss’s “Christopher Raven” as a brilliant example of speculative historical fiction, and I’ve been deeply inspired by the gustatory magic of Joanne Harris’s Chocolat and Sarah Addison Allen’s Garden Spells.
The Storied Imaginarium was built on generative workshops based on fairy tales, folklore, and myth. Do you have any favorites you’d like to share? Have they influenced your own work as source material? If so, how?
I have a special fondness for shapeshifter tales. They’re so often about the oppression of wildness — whether that’s from societal constraints or our own internalised stigmas. There are a few shapeshifter stories in Frail Little Embers, and they tend to find their way into my poetry as well. I think we’re drawn to selkies, werewolves, kitsune, and so forth because we’ve become so disconnected from that part of ourselves. These stories provide us with a way back.
You’ve been instructing writers on the basic skills for a number of years. What is your philosophy on the fundamentals of story structure? What are your areas of expertise?
I find story structure completely and utterly fascinating. The fact that cultures around the world independently developed similarly structured stories, with similar archetypal frameworks, suggests an astonishing truth: that stories come from us, from our inherent neurological makeup, rather than our environment. Story structure is written into our basic human instinct.
I know that a lot of new writers are a little cautious about story structure because they worry they might produce something formulaic. It’s an understandable fear, but it’s also unwarranted — story structure simply helps us resonate with our reader’s base storytelling instincts and form a deeper connection.
Creating community is part of the mission at Storied Imaginarium. As a “digital nomad” writer, do you have any insight you’d like to share on the support of a community that spans across the globe?
One of the very few (only?) good things to come out of the coronavirus pandemic was the erosion of geographical barriers. You could sit on the east coast of Canada or the west coast of Ireland or the urban hub of Hong Kong and take writing classes in Amsterdam, London, or New York. This would have never been thought possible as recently as a decade ago. There are more opportunities for transcontinental human connection than ever before, and the concept of “find your tribe” is suddenly within reach in a whole new way. It’s an amazing time to be an artist.
Can you share your approach to instruction in the online workshop model?
My role is to be a guide through the “dark woods” of storytelling. I want to give writers the tools to find their way from a seed of an idea to a fully fleshed piece of work.
Often this is really about giving them the courage to trust in their own voice. Then, once they’ve developed even a tiny bit of that trust, I help them convey that voice in the clearest and most authentic possible way. Generally this involves sifting through the raw material of ideas and notes and rough drafts and finding the real story buried inside — carving away everything that’s not David, so to speak.
As a writer and educator, you have a lot on your plate. What’s next? What can we expect to see from you in the coming months?
At the moment I’m hard at work on a novel, as well as developing a few exciting courses for Storied Imaginarium. I also have stories and poems forthcoming in Gramarye, The Orange and Bee, Abyss & Apex, and Corvid Queen, so keep an eye out!
Where can readers learn more about you and your work?
You can find out what I’m up to at www.fijacallaghan.com. I regularly share news about upcoming projects and courses, as well as advice for aspiring writers. There are also some stories and poems available to read for free (and who doesn’t love free stuff?)!
Fija Callaghan is a storyteller and poet who has been recognised by a number of awards, including winning the SFPA poetry prize in 2024 and shortlisting for the HG Wells Short Story Prize in 2021. Her writing can be found in Seaside Gothic, Gingerbread House, Howl: New Irish Writing, and elsewhere. Her debut collection is forthcoming from Neem Tree Press in early 2025. Originally from the Cascadia region, she now lives in Dublin, Ireland with her books.