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Worlds Without End Roll-Your-Own Reading Challenge

Once Upon a Time…

Once Upon a Time…

If science fiction asks us, "What if?" then fairy tales, folklore and mythology tell us what may have once been. All stories, in one way or another, whilst looking to the future or telling about our past, are perhaps more concerned with our present. Tales of warning, of morals, or sharing wisdom are always contextual. Which is why here we have "Once Upon a Time..." - the 2026 Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Fairy Tale Reading Challenge.

For this challenge read any science fiction, fantasy and horror which has been influenced by fairy tales (including retellings and originals), foklore, and mythology.

Potential sources of books include the sub-genres on BookTrackr

  • Fairytale Fantasy
  • Fairytale Horror
  • Mythic Fiction (Fantasy)
  • Mythic Fiction (Horror)
  • Mythic Fiction (SF)

Or maybe consider the Mythopoeic Award nominees and winners, but how you choose your books and define the challenge is up to you!

Challenge Details
Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror
Challenge Span: January 2026 – December 2026

Reading Levels
Select your reading level below. You can adjust your level up or down at any time during the challenge.

 A gentle story before bed = 3 books + 1 reviews
 Gather around the fire... = 6 books + 2 reviews
 Your story travels far and wide = 9 books + 3 reviews
 The Master Storyteller becomes a legend = 12 books + 6 reviews

Note: You must be a logged in member of WWEnd to join this challenge. Join WWEnd

bazhsw

bazhsw

The Changeling
Cinder
The Hallows
Little, Big
Midnight Robber
Snow White Learns Witchcraft
Tea with the Black Dragon
5
4
3
2
1
dalex

dalex

Cinder House
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries
The Magician's Daughter
The Somewhat Wicked Witch of Brigandale
A Sorceress Comes to Call
Thistlefoot
Upon a Starlit Tide
Uprooted
1
DeirdriuWRS

DeirdriuWRS

All the Flavors:  A Tale of Guan Yu, Chinese God of War in America
The Bloody Chamber
Discount Armageddon
The Path of Thorns
Piranesi
The Red Tree
Sleep Like Death
5
4
3
2
1
Engelbrecht

Engelbrecht

3
2
1
finminer

finminer

Children of Blood and Bone
Dhalgren
The Everlasting
A Far Better Thing
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
The Knight
Little, Big
The Melancholy of Untold History
The River Has Roots
A Stranger in Olondria
Throne of the Crescent Moon
Wearing the Lion
Hneite

Hneite

Katabasis
Modern Classics of Fantasy
Numamushi:  A Fairy Tale!
Piranesi
Starling House
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
jontlaw

jontlaw

12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
lanawritenow

lanawritenow

The Everlasting
The Isle in the Silver Sea
Travel Light
3
2
1
Momosnyx

Momosnyx

12
11
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
piibald

piibald

The Drowning Girl
In the Forests of Serre
Once Upon a River
The Raven & The Reindeer
She Made Herself a Monster
Snake-Eater
Sour Cherry
The Wolf and His King
1
Weesam

Weesam

Beyond the Woods:  Fairy Tales Retold
The Buried Giant
Daedalus Is Dead
Dark Moon, Shallow Sea
The East Wind
A Hawk in Silver
Hiddensee
In the Forest of Forgetting
Looking Glass
Nightshade & Oak
Princess Floralinda and the Forty Flight Tower
The River Has Roots