Fantasy: Realms of the Imagination

The British Library is running a new exhibition, Fantasy: Realms of the Imagination, from 27 October until 25 February 2024: 'From epic visions to intricately envisaged details, we celebrate some of the finest fantasy creators, reveal how their imagined lands, languages and creatures came into being, and delve into the traditions of a genre that has created some of the most passionate and enduring fandoms.'

It features books from across the timespan of fantastic literature and also includes fairy tales and folk tales from around the world. As well as books, the displays include posters, board games, costumes and related ephemera.

An essay collection, Realms of Imagination, Essays from the Wide Worlds of Fantasy, edited by Tanya Kirk and Matthew Sangster, accompanies the exhibition and is published on 1 November.

There's a series of events linked to the exhibition, including 'A New Coven: Witches in Contemporary Fiction' on 4 November; Tales of the Weird on 14 November; Twenty First Century Tolkien on 9 January; and Mervyn Peake, Writer and Artist on 24 February.

The library note that: 'The illustration in our poster artwork was created by hand by Sveta Dorosheva especially for the Fantasy: Realms of Imagination exhibition and contains 65 references to different fantasy novels, characters and creators. Explore the illustration further by taking a look at a guide to the illustration based on notes by the artist.'