On September 21, Trinity Western University professor Dr. Monika Hilder will launch her new fiction book on fairy tales, Narnian and other fantasy stories, Letters to Annie: A Grandmother’s Dreams of Fairy Tale Princesses, Princes, & Happily Ever After. In the voice of a grandmother writing to her granddaughter over the first 25 years of her life, Dr. Hilder invites us into a dual coming-of-age story—that of young Annie as well as that of her Omi—as they grow their relationship.
Over the course of 33 letters, Letters to Annie explores how to live a meaningful life.
“The best fairy tales teach us that we live in community, and that we are offered countless gifts to help us on our way,” said Dr. Hilder.
Join Dr. Hilder as she discusses the influential genre of fairy tale, reads from her book, and talks about how life and literature come together at the book launch of Letters to Annie: A Grandmother’s Dreams of Fairy Tale Princesses, Princes, & Happily Ever After.
Join the book launch on Sept. 21, 2022
Book launch - RSVP
About the book
Why do we love fairy tales? Are they good or are they bad? How can fairy tales teach us to live well—in step with moral principles? Help us find courage and hope when life seems bleakest, when our dreams fail? Trinity Western University English professor Dr. Monika Hilder explores the moral and spiritual wisdom in some of the best fairy tales, Narnian and other fantasy stories. Her new fiction book Letters to Annie: A Grandmother’s Dreams of Fairy Tale Princesses, Princes, & Happily Ever After (2022) inspires us to live into our deepest life questions. With a wealth of spiritual and literary insights, these 33 letters leave us richer and more able to navigate the challenges, sorrows, and joys of life with wisdom, courage, and love.
From the reviews of Letters to Annie:
“A sincere, engaging, and thought-provoking look at life through the lens of fairy tales.” —Kirkus Reviews
“There is a wise and generous, gracious and kindly way that Monika weaves together the perennial wisdom of multiple fairy tales, the layered life lessons packed into such tales, and the careful knitting together of Biblical insights and fairy tales in this must-read of a book.” —Clarion: Journal for Religion, Peace & Justice
“It’s a love letter written for all of us. . . .” —Author Carolyn Curtis, Women and C.S. Lewis
“Letters to Annie is a kind of imaginative tonic.” —Professor Laura N. Van Dyke, Trinity Western University
“. . . Hilder draws her readers into—and incites us toward having too!—a truly meaningful life.” —Authors Matthew and Joy Steem, Radix Magazine
Book launch events
Wed. Sept. 21, 2022, 7 p.m.
In-person or online
Trinity Western University
Norma Marion Alloway Library – Glass room
22500 University Drive
Langley, BC V2Y1Y1
RSVP: Sign up on Eventbrite to join the book launch on Sept. 21. The evening will include light refreshments, Q&A, a book draw, and book signings.
Sat. Oct. 22, 2022, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
House of James
2743 Emerson Street
Abbotsford, BC V2T 4H8
About Monika Hilder
Monika B. Hilder is an author, professor, and speaker who specializes in Fantasy and Children’s Literature, with a particular focus on the writings of C.S. Lewis and other Inklings-related writers, and on educating for the moral imagination. 
Her newest fiction book is Letters to Annie: A Grandmother’s Dreams of Fairy Tale Princesses, Princes, & Happily Ever After (2022). She has published fiction, poetry, drama, articles, and a three-volume study of C.S. Lewis and gender: The Feminine Ethos in C.S. Lewis’s Chronicles of Narnia (2012), The Gender Dance: Ironic Subversion in C.S. Lewis’s Cosmic Trilogy (2013), and Surprised by the Feminine: A Rereading of C.S. Lewis and Gender (2013). She is co-editor of The Inklings and Culture: A Harvest of Scholarship from the Inklings Institute of Canada (2020).
Monika has appeared on CBC Radio and has spoken at conferences across Canada, in the United States, England, Scotland, and Romania. She received her Ph.D. from Simon Fraser University, and she is Professor of English at Trinity Western University and co-founder and co-director of the Inklings Institute of Canada. As the first Canadian-born member of her family, Monika explores the meaning(s) of homeland, the plight of the refugee, and identity—in short, the importance of story.
About Trinity Western University
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is Canada’s premier global Christian liberal arts university. We are dedicated to equipping students to discover meaningful connections between career, life, and the needs of the world. Drawing upon the riches of the Christian tradition, seeking to unite faith and reason through teaching and scholarship, Trinity Western University is a degree-granting research institution offering liberal arts and sciences as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media, and culture. It has four locations in Canada: Langley, Richmond-Lansdowne, Richmond-Minoru, and Ottawa. Learn more at www.twu.ca or follow us on Twitter @TrinityWestern, on Facebook and LinkedIn.
For media inquiries, please contact: media@twu.ca.
Image by Rob Wingate on Unsplash.