HOW TO SURVIVE THIS FAIRYTALE
Releases 1/16/25
Ebook Preorder Now Available!
HOW TO SURVIVE THIS FAIRYTALE asks the questions I’ve always wanted to know of fairytales but was too afraid to ask: Who are the characters in fairytales, when they’re not busy escaping witches or undoing spells? Who do they love? What are their dreams, and what keeps them going? Do they know when they’ve messed up? Do they know they’re inside a story? S.M. Hallow takes us on a magical journey fraught with beauty and danger in equal measure, with gorgeous prose to match.
Tina S. Zhu,
WYRMHOLE Editor
S. M. Hallow’s debut, How to Survive This Fairytale, is a brilliant remix of classic fairytales—Hansel and Gretel, Snow White, Red Riding Hood, and more. If what does not kill you makes you stronger, what kills you over and over makes you angrier. Come for the enchantment; stay for the revolution!
Jacob Slichter,
Drummer for Semisonic
& Author of So You Wanna Be a Rock & Roll Star
What a delicious read this is, at once a delightful bouquet of stories and also a conversation, one that is actively dancing with the reader the whole time, pulling us in slyly, asking us to join in.
Aimee Bender, author of The Butterfly Lampshade, longlisted for the PEN/Jean Stein Award
Full of simple yet passionate lyricism à la The Ghosts of Rose Hill by R.M. Romero, How to Survive This Fairytale is a study in choices— the good, the bad, and the unavoidable. S.M. Hallow skillfully waves together recognizable fables and creative spins on old classics to tell a stunning story about the all-too-human desire to love and be loved in return."
Haley Strassburger,
book reviewer and educator (@spoonie.reads)
As of May 2024, I’m represented by Laura Zats! Learn more about my journey: