The Heroine’s Journey LosCon 2016, Los Angeles, CA. November 2016. (Hour video presentation, goes with the Powerpoint below)
How Game of Thrones Will End LosCon 2016, Los Angeles, CA. November 2016. (Hour video presentation)
Powerpoints (all available on Slideshare):
The Heroine’s Journey in World Myth and Popular Fantasy Valerie Estelle Frankel, author of From Girl to Goddess: The Heroine’s Journey in Myth and Legend, shows the steps of the journey with art from myth and pop culture. There’s also a free book on the topic called Chosen One: The Heroine’s Journey of Katniss, Elsa, Tris, Bella, and Rey. Great for educators and students!
Self Publishing How do you self publish? Where do you go and what do you do? Discover all the steps here in a clear presentation from author of 50 books Valerie Estelle Frankel.
Promoting Your Book All the steps to promote your book on social media, goodreads, etc. from author Valerie Estelle Frankel. There’s also a Free Guide to Self Promotion
Fantastic Beasts and How Cuddly They Are An exploration of the many adorable animals in Fantastic Beasts and their real-life counterparts. Presented at San Jose Libraries July-Aug 2017
Fantastic Beasts and 1920s Fascination From Downton Abbey, Great Gatsby and Boardwalk Empire to the new Harry Potter prequel Fantastic Beasts, fans are flying back to the 1920s. But what’s the appeal? How does 20s culture reflect our own and what does it reveal about history and its cycles? (Presented at Clockwork Alchemy, May 29 2016, San Jose, CA)
Fantastic Beasts and Fascism How did the 1920s fall into fascism, and how did we start walking down a similar road? How does Rowling’s story of angry Grindelwald and his quest for Wizard Supremacy mirror it? Parallels between then and now. Presented at San Jose Libraries July-Aug 2017
Sherlock’s Symbolism Sherlock’s season four came and went, solving the mystery of the final Holmes sibling. But was it clever or hackneyed? Which classic cases did it flip? And for that matter what about the Victorian episode The Abominable Bride? Come share your loves and hates and discover all the homages, references, and deeper literary significance. Where is Sherlock going? And do we approve? (Presented at Clockwork Alchemy, May 26, 2016, San Jose, CA)
Outlander Myths and Symbols Outlander is much more than a television romance about a World War II nurse and a Jacobite in a fetching kilt. The series has been categorized as a period drama, adventure saga, military history and fantasy epic. Inspired by the Irish legends of Fionn Mac Cumhaill and the prophecies of Brahan Seer, the storyline is also filled with mythology and symbolism from around the world, from the Fair Folk and the Loch Ness monster to wendigos, ghosts, zombies and succubae. The series is also rich with its own symbolism: heather and white roses, the dragonfly in amber, Claire’s blue vase and wedding gown, her wedding rings and pearl necklace. This presentation by Valerie Estelle Frankel (author of five books about the Starz series and novels) untangles the myriad of myths, legends, symbols and literary references found within. Presented July 28, 12-1 Fremont Library
Dressing for Dystopia Let’s consider the costumes of Hunger Games, Shadowhunters, Delirium, Divergent, and the rest of YA dystopias — what do they indicate symbolically and about our culture?
Gender Flipping Considering the nature of gender flipping in the popular series today — what works, what doesn’t, and what does it all say about our response to gender?
Mythic Names in Harry Potter Discover the origins of names in Harry Potter — Greek, Celtic, Norse, Roman and more. Includes Cursed Child!
Teaching with Harry Potter Discover how teachers have used the series to teach medieval studies, classics, mythology, writing, literature, history, philosophy, and even science! by the editor of the book Teaching with Harry Potter.
Hogwarts Professors, Mythic Pantheons Discover how the Hogwarts professors match up with the pantheons — Greek, Roman, Celtic, Norse, Egyptian, and more. Perfect for mythology and Harry Potter fans!
The Heroine’s Journey in Star Wars: The Force Awakens The Heroine’s Journey step by step in Star Wars The Force Awakens
The Heroine’s Journey in Joss Whedon’s Work Buffy, Fray, Dollhouse, Serenity and the comics — discover the heroine’s journey step by step from Valerie Estelle Frankel, author of the book Buffy and the Heroine’s Journey. Presented at WhedonCon.com, May 13, 2016.
Whedon’s Apocrypha Sugarshock, X-Men, Runaways, Superman/Batman, Parenthood, Roseanne, The Office, YouTube shorts, and all the tiny projects with which Joss Whedon has been involved.
Steampunk and Dieselpunk Superheroes The rise of retrofuturism has introduced a fantastical new line with the DC Bombshells — heroines without the men, all set in World War II. Their aesthetic and clever adaptation mirrors the best of steampunk rewriting. There’s also Gotham by Gaslight, JLA: Age of Wonder, The Golden Age, Batman: Leatherwing, Batman/Houdini, and more. Marvel has offered their own retellings, in the alt-Battleworld, with J. Michael Straczynski’s Golden Age-style The Twelve, and with even earlier fantasies back to 1602: Witchhunter Angela. Who’s doing it right, and how steampunk are these stories? (Presented at Clockwork Alchemy, May 28 2016, San Jose, CA)
Valerie Estelle Frankel's Author Page 