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The Real vs. The UnrealSurely you're aware of QB's two main blogrolls--The Real & The Unreal. But do you know the difference between the two? The Real focuses on all real aspects of the imaginary, the nostalgic, and the otherworldly. Think journalistic and scholarly writing. Then The Unreal focuses on all the unreal aspects. That's the creative stuff (and fluff). Illustration: Want to see a painting? Go to The Unreal. Want to read an essay about a painting? Go to The Real. QB founder, Christine Stoddard, came up with the idea of juxtaposing and occasionally confusing The Real and The Unreal when she first started this webmagazine. She thought it celebrated QB's fantastic subject matter. Then, rather recently, whilst reading some obscure YA fantasy fiction, Christine came across the following quotation: "The girl stiffened, biting back a cry. Her dream. Had the worlds of real and unreal begun to overlap?" -Child of Faerie, Child of Earth by Josepha Sherman (Walker and Company, 1992) Can you imagine Christine's delight in discovering that a fellow writer had phrased this dichotomy the exact same way? She immediately bookmarked the page and called Managing Editor, Josephine Stone, to deliver the news. After a moment of silence, they shared their elation over the phone. Such finds must be appreciated. *Christine will soon be releasing a reading list specializing in YA fantasy lit from the '80s and '90s. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Don't forget about our fashion show!It's coming up...  The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
One of Those New-fangled Blogs Eye-catching images, copy you actually want to read, new finds--all on our Tumblr. Here's a quail call to Ashley Mullins, our Social Media Manager, for keeping it up to-do-date!
The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Explanation for Our ExistenceYou'll see the complaint on forum after forum--there's a shortage of high-quality folklore & fairy tale websites & blogs. The few that do exist tend to update infrequently, or, at some point, their creator stopped updating them altogether (usually sometime in the late '90s.) Many folklore blogs come out of university English or Anthropology departments. Their images are minimal and their text is long and dry in too small a font. Fairy tale blogs tend to be personal endeavors, often started by teenage girls and middle-age women. These bloggers usually post pretty art, but not much else. Often they don't bother to comment upon an image beyond a sentence or two. Sometimes they don't even credit the artist. More often than not, these blogs seem like early incarnations of Tumblr pages.
We're not trying to put anyone down. We're just trying to explain that we felt it was our civic duty to make a beautiful yet entertaining and informative cultural anthropology blog that focused on the imaginary, the nostalgic, and the otherworldly. We recognized that it was too large of a project for a single person, that it deserved a whole team of writers, artists, and scholars-in-training. Here at Quail Bell, we're trying to make folklore & fairytales accessible in a modern way. We're bringing dedicated contributors, a sense of aesthetics, a touch of humor, and solid research to the game. You let us know if we fall behind. The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Our Mama HenSo who exactly runs Quail Bell Magazine? The answer is Quail Bell Press & Productions, our parent company. Quail Bell is a fledgling arts & communications firm based in Richmond, VA. Currently, here are some of the services we have available (though we're still expanding our offerings):
The website for Quail Bell Press & Productions, QuailBell.com, will be launched this fall--with samples!
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Interview us! Review us!We finally have a press kit. Learn about our mission, history, staff, events, advertising rates, and more.  The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
What's a Quail Bell(e)? Photo by Sean Anthony McGhee Quail Bell(e)s are beautiful, unconventional women whose unique looks truly pay tribute to the imaginary, the nostalgic & the otherworldly. They are the poster dames for Quail Bell Magazine. We have these lovely ladies model for our well-known Photo Tales, as well as for non-fiction articles in The Real blogroll (especially ones about beauty & fashion).
The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Snapshot Cultural Anthropology"Richmond, Virginia is a pretty unique place, and I’m not just saying that because it’s my home. The people are what make the small-ish city the strange and wonderful place that’s home to the Quail Bell nest. Though I don’t usually advocate stereotyping people, sometimes it’s the only way to tell the truth.
Let’s start with the University of Richmond preps. These students can be further divided into two categories: those on scholarship and those who have incredibly rich parents. U of R is an expensive school, and few people are crazy enough to take out loans and attend. Whether the U of R attendee is lucky enough to have a full ride or lucky enough to have wealthy parents, he or she will probably be pretty preppy (and maybe a little pretentious). But not thoroughly unlikeable! Richmond is also home to a fairly prominent set of yuppies, many of whom occupy the Museum District, an appropriately named, high-end area. They are young, working professionals with college degrees–many from VCU or U of R– who can most often be found in couple form, living together but not necessarily married. Despite the fact that it honors Confederate Civil War generals, these semi-liberal people often reside on gorgeous Monument Avenue, and they support their homes and affinity for Ralph Lauren with fashionably dull, corporate jobs. If you added up all of the preps and yuppies, though, you would find a number small in comparison to the hipsters. VCU’s art and liberal arts programs have attracted these people in droves. Hipsters ride their bikes everywhere, wear cut-offs and Vans, and eat at such places as Galaxy Diner and The Black Sheep. Hipsters are incredibly picky about music and will insist they listened to popular bands before they became popular. There you have it: Richmond stereotypes. What do all three of these people have in common, though? Pride for their kind and for their city. And in my opinion, it doesn’t get much better than that." -As told by QB Editorial Assistant, Julie DiNisio The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Flirting with EtsyWe've heard it before. We make pretty--or at least interesting--things. Our magazine is full of all kinds of 2D and 3D art. And as mentioned in our previous blog post, The QB Crew constantly creates even outside of their work for Quail Bell Magazine. Well, this is obviously a win-win situation. You like our stuff and we have too much of it just lying around. That's why we decided to open up our Etsy store! Soon we'll be offering all your favorite drawings, photos, collages, and more right in our Etsy store. You'll also find QB fan merch, like clothes and gifts. We'll even sell some of the lovely goodies you see in our Photo Tales and videos. Everything will nod to the world that is Quail Bell. We're finally turning our universe into a tangible one. Example? Below's a poster that our Art Director, Virginia Nickerson, made for an event we held earlier this summer. We sold prints of the poster at Richmond, VA's First Friday Artwalk, the city's monthly celebration of the arts. Now you can claim your very own cardstock copy of this lovely collage featuring vintage illustrations. For more weird and elegant creations, visit our store! Help keep your favorite magazine in business.  The Breadcrumbs widget will appear here on the published site.
Rex and the Clever KnightEver wonder what The QB Crew does in their spare time? They keep creating. Or they do research for their creations. Or they hang out with folks and talk about creating. Right now Executive Editor Christine Stoddard is working on a book with a Richmond-based writer & attorney (who'd like to remain anonymous until the book is published). The book is called Rex and the Clever Knight. It's a very Quail Bellish children's storybook told in rhyming poetry and illustrated with a series of original collages. Since the book's just about finished, Christine and her writer friend are beginning to shop around for publishers. This will be Christine's second book, after Once Upon a Body (Six Gallery Press), which will be released in summer 2012.  |
About UsWelcome to our staff blog, where you can learn more about The Quail Bell Crew. HistoryChristine Stoddard conceived the idea for Quail Bell in late 2009 after writing a children's story by the same name, and launched the website as a college blog in 2010. In June 2013, Christine and former art director Kristen Rebelo officially launched Quail Bell Magazine as a global web magazine. Read our editorial mission statement to learn more.
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© Quail Bell Press & Productions, 2024. Founded by Christine Stoddard. Based in Brooklyn. Contact us.
