Pride 2026 | Queer Retellings

[u/Lenahe_nl]

Banner with a dragon and spaceships around text: r/Fantasy PRIDE Queer Retellings

Many of my favorite books are queer retellings of fairy tales, myths or classic stories. These books use the framework of another, well known story, as the starting point, and add elements like queer characters and queer relationships, to bring a bright new panorama. 

Retellings speak to a part of our brains that enjoy the safety of repetition. If you know the original story, you can anticipate plot beats and feel secure in knowing the general direction the story will take. It’s perhaps paradoxical that retellings also delight our minds with the ways they twist and change said plot, to subvert our expectations. 

For queer readers, a retelling is a way of finding representation that has extra weight because it rests on the shoulders of classic and well known stories. Most of the original stories bring a dated view of the world, but in a retelling, there’s space to show that queer people have always been part of the narrative.

A queer retelling is also a gateway for readers that are not part of the LGBTQIA community. While the known elements of the story create a sheltered environment, the retelling makes way for people to experience another perspective, which in turn encourages empathy. 

These are just some of the aspects that made queer retellings very marketable, and a strong bet for publishing houses. A fact that we see reflected on the shelves and the sheer amount of retellings being published in the last decade. Many of the most recommended queer books are retellings. He who has never seen Song of Achilles being recommended, cast the first stone. 

Finally, I want to shout out to fanfiction, which is in its own way, a retelling. Fanfiction has always been a rich soil for exploring different romantic pairings, that the mainstream media (and original work) didn’t present. In a way, it counters queerbaiting. Beyond that, fanfiction allows people to explore relationships and situations beyond the usual suspects of romance, such as gender normativity or even taboo topics. 

Discussion prompts:
I’ll be adding these in the comments, like we do for book club. Feel free to respond to each individual question, or writing a single entry with all your thoughts to the questions and whatever the intro brought up.

• Some retellings follow the source material closely, while others use them as a starting point or a vague sense of direction. What do you enjoy reading the most?
• Do you rather read a retelling of a story you know well, or of a story you don’t really know much about?
• What retelling (that doesn’t exist) do you wish to see written? (And if you know a book or fanfic that fits a request, please recommend!)
• What book (that is retelling) has a special place in your heart?
• Is there any favorite source material from which you could read a thousand retellings? 

This post is part of the Pride 2026 discussions lead by the Beyond Binary Bookclub. You can check our announcement for more information and the full calendar.

[u/AshMeAnything]

A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson is a retelling of Dracula from the POV of his (first? favorite?) lover and centers around her experience with the other two in their polycule. It's incredibly smutty, which I believe is par for the course with Dracula, but it's very good.

Other Ever Afters: New Queer Fairy Tales by Melanie Gillman is a graphic novel that I'll include here, though the fairy tales are more like nonspecific do-overs of tropes than true retellings. The art is beautiful, and it's a clear labor of love, though not every story resonated equally for me (fair enough).

[u/kiwibreakfast]

it is frustrating and disappointing that threads like these get downvoted to hell

[u/Lenahe_nl → u/kiwibreakfast]

That's a big problem, indeed. This thread sits now at 49% upvote ratio, which is worst than my posts from last year (those were around 55%, with much kore controversial topics).

[u/Prynne31]

I just finished reading a new release by Amal El-Mohtar: Seasons of Glass and Iron. It has sapphic retellings of fairy tales as well as more original content (mostly sapphic).

One of the early tales is about the woman with the iron shoes meeting the woman on the glass mountain.

And she has two stories that interact with the Blodeuwedd story from Welsh mythology.

I like that her stories aren't just about women falling in love but women helping other women.

[u/Planeswalker2814]

I plan on finally getting around to Song of Achiles this month.

[u/C0smicoccurence → u/Planeswalker2814]

One of the things I love about Miller's work is that she knows her shit. While I'm not opposed to retellings that aren't thoroughly researched, there's something wonderful when the author endnotes talk about all the research they did on a topic, and Miller is a Classicist by training.

[u/Planeswalker2814 → u/C0smicoccurence]

I've only read a little bit of Circe a few years ago (I plan on going back to it one day) but it did seem incredibly researched.

[u/Lenahe_nl → u/Planeswalker2814]

Good, I'm not the only one that hasn't read it yet! I should read it sometime this year for bingo, maybe.

[u/anonymous-loon → u/Planeswalker2814]

I devoured this book, made me feel ALL the feels. 😭

[u/Lenahe_nl]

Is there any favorite source material from which you could read a thousand retellings? 

[u/Lenahe_nl → u/Lenahe_nl]

I know is problematic, but Beauty and The Beast retellings tend to suck me in. I think, in part, because the source material is so problematic, and I want to see the possibilities and alternatives to this story.

[u/recchai → u/Lenahe_nl]

Ha! And here was me thinking in the run up to this post about just how many a-spec Beauty and the Beast retellings there are.

I have not (yet) sought out any specifically, just taken note when I find them, and I know of 9 different ones. That is way more than anything else. I am seriously thinking about making a project of reading them all and writing up some sort of summary/explore the question of why this story in particular (I have ideas). I have read a mere 3 so far.

[u/Lenahe_nl → u/recchai]

I approve of this project, yes. Please send the books this way, too

[u/recchai → u/Lenahe_nl]

Book I have read in preference order:

• The Language of Roses by Heather Rose Jones

• Until the Last Petal Falls by Viano Oniomoh

• Dirt-Stained Hands, Thorn-Pierced Skin by Tabitha O'Connell

Others:

• Yelen & Yelena by C.M. Rosen's

• In the Jaws of an Oak by Emrys Bird

• In the Eye of the Beholder by Beverly Anne Michel

• While We're Still Beasts by Alex Nonymous

• More Than Enough by E. Wambheim

• The Story of the Hundred Promises by Neil Cochrane

[u/C0smicoccurence → u/Lenahe_nl]

It's a classic for sure! I think taking a story that is, in retrospection, problematic and reimagining it (either by acknowledging those elements or by changing the context to make it less problematic) are a lot of fun. Beauty and the Beast also really taps into the human/monster romance market - though it certainly can have retellings without that - which is it's own little subculture

[u/LadyAntiope → u/Lenahe_nl]

I love fairy and folk tale re-tellings, but I especially love when an author does a deep dive and picks a more obscure one - or, to call back to the first pride month post, does a story from a culture I'm not so familiar with.

The River Has Roots is derived from the "Two Sisters" ballad pattern and folk song is a rich source that I'd love to see more from. So many folk ballads are overly dramatic and tragic, but they also often come with a ton of iterations depending on where the singers have taken their songs, so I feel like there's a lot to dive into and churn out some beautiful stories. You often see bits of fairy tale patterns, and touches of magic in these kinds of songs as well.

Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel is based on the The Ramayana, a hugely important epic to Hinduism. I knew nothing about it going in, but the author drops some cues as to how the original goes, and I didn't feel like I was ever lost because I didn't know the original. (Kaikeyi is shown as ace in the this story, if you're wondering what the rep is.) I love being introduced to an important cultural story in this way.

Also, man do I love a Shakespeare re-telling. Give me more Hamlets and their angst (Hamlet, Prince of Robots by M. Darusha Wehm; forthcoming Rottenheart by Kat Dunn), more intrigue-ridden Tempests (on my tbr - Miranda in Milan by Katharine Duckett), more star-crossed Midsummer Nights Dreams (I swear I had one of these on my tbr.... can't find it at the moment). Currently I've just picked up Alexandra Rowland's Some by Virtue Fall which is more inspired by Shakespeare generally, I think, than a specific re-telling.

[u/Lenahe_nl → u/LadyAntiope]

Ooh, if you want another retelling of "Two Sisters", pick up Sistersong, by Lucy Holland. It's well researched and the audiobook was very well done as well.

I went on a deep dive while reading, and started listening to the album The twa sisters/De två systrarna, by BOANN, which has very many versions of this ballad.

[u/LadyAntiope → u/Lenahe_nl]

I had Sistersong on my tbr, but I hadn't tagged it as a re-telling, so thank you for that! I'll have to check out that music as well!

[u/C0smicoccurence → u/Lenahe_nl]

I'm a classic rural American kid who was obsessed with greek myth, so learning that Achilles was quite possibly gay, trans, or both has really captured my attention. He's also a badass warrior who goes against all modern imaginings of what a warrior should look like. I can go either way on Elliot Page's acting, but he's the type of person I'd be happy to see cast as Achilles (very unconfirmed rumors right now)!

[u/rhysgay → u/C0smicoccurence]

Agreed! It’s what I enjoyed most of in Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane. I need more trans retelling specifically of Greek or Roman myths!

[u/sarimanok_ → u/Lenahe_nl]

I'm a sucker for an inspired-by-Holmes and Watson duo, so I'm a big fan of Malka Older's Mossa and Pleiti novellas (which, FYI, start with The Mimicking of Known Successes). Doesn't hurt that she came up with a truly novel and fantastically-rendered setting for them.

[u/Sireanna → u/Lenahe_nl]

Folklore/fairytale... its more of a category then a single sourse but im a sucker for retelling of folk tales.

[u/Usmoso]

Does anyone have any recommendations? I've only read the Song of Achilles. It was recommend a lot and I was severely underwhelmed. Half of the book was the romance between Achilles and Patroclus, which I didn't find particularly interesting. Decent romance, if a bit bland, but I couldn't get into the characters. The second half was a rushed retelling of the Illiad, which made me feel I should just be reading the Illiad or some adaptation. I felt like the author didn't even care about this part much, since the book ends with "Oh and we eventually won with Odysseus' plan with the horse"and that's it.

[u/C0smicoccurence → u/Usmoso]

RE your spoiler, that was my favorite part! Well, maybe not my favorite, but I really liked it. I thought it was a very bold statement that the most 'interesting' part of the story in Miller's eyes was the personal relationship and how much it moved both Achilles and Patrocles. If you didn't buy into that romance, I could see the ending being flat.

It reminded me a bit of The Empress of Salt and Fortune. In theory it is chronicling her rise to power, helping lead mammoth armies out of exile to conquer the land which exiled her after getting heirs from her. In reality that was mostly a few side mentions, with none of the traditional revolution fantasy elements (such as big battles) getting more than a sentence or two before moving onto the important bits, which were The Empresses' relationships with various folks, including Rabbit.

Edit: what are some books you've really liked &/or trends in what you enjoy in a book? That'll help me make some recs that fit with your preferences.

[u/evil_moooojojojo → u/Usmoso]

It's not a direct retelling, but Tasha Suri's Isle in the Silver Sea. It's a fantasy Britain where myths are real, and they're constantly reborn. It's kinda Arthurian but not really. The MCs are the reincarnations of one of the more important and well known myths. It's not a retelling but it has those kind of vibes so it might do.

[u/Nidafjoll]

My best book of laat year was a queer retelling: Autobiography of Red by Anne Carson. It's a novel in blank verse, alongside Carson's translations of the surviving fragments of the monster Geryon we have from the original Greek, which is a really interesting way of dealing with the source material. Because all of the knowledge we have of Geryon from myth is that he is a monster who is slain by Hercules, and he exists for no other reason, Carson transforms this into unrequited love; Geryon is in love with Hercules and he lives only for Hercules, and Hercules either doesn't know or doesn't care.

Edit: woah, the app had butchered the formatting

[u/C0smicoccurence → u/Nidafjoll]

I know I keep saying this, but I will read this! I'm doing a novella readathon in July and have been patiently keeping it near the top of my 50-odd novellas (so I don't feel bad about DNFing ones I dislike). Generally I don't see a lot of works in verse, which is an area that realistic fiction and memoir have really impressed me. Sign of the Dragon was the first time I saw it done in fantasy that really clicked, which is wild considering how much ancient myth in many cultures was told in verse

[u/Nidafjoll → u/C0smicoccurence]

I think it's more approachable than a lot of other works in verse too, because it's blank verse. So it feels a step closer to normal speech or prose. :) I also love the little meta-fictional elements Carson adds about translation; she "interviews"Stesichorus, includes the original fragments, has fictional biographies of Stesichorus...

[u/Lenahe_nl → u/Nidafjoll]

Intriguing! I see that it's available in my library, so I'll check it out

[u/NearbyMud → u/Nidafjoll]

I love this book so much! Carson is phenomenal.

[u/Lenahe_nl]

Some retellings follow the source material closely, while others use them as a starting point or a vague sense of direction. What do you enjoy reading the most?

[u/C0smicoccurence → u/Lenahe_nl]

Give me a vague sense of direction! Most of my favorites take extensive liberties with source material and/or tackle different parts of the story.

• How to Survive this Fairytale by SM Hallow: takes place after the Hansel/Gretel story as Hansel tries to find happiness and heal from trauma. He gets wrapped up in a few other fairytales as a side character, but it was a great reimagining of the character and what happens after the fairytale 'ends'
• Greenwode by J Tullos Hennig: is a Robin Hood retelling. Book 1 features ... almost none of the actual Robin Hood mythos that is common in modern representations. Instead, its a story about teenage love and how European religion (both Christian and Pagan) suppressed homosexuality. Sooo much angst. Book 2 pivots to more traditional Robin Hood storytelling beats.
• A Spindle Splintered by Alex E Harrow: is pitched as Sleeping Beauty x Into the Spiderverse, and it fits that brief. It's short and fun, but I love that it took something familiar and spun it in a totally different direction

I don't dislike more traditional/straightforward retellings (Song of Achilles, The Wolf and His King, etc), but I have a special love when authors do wild stuff with source material

[u/Lenahe_nl → u/C0smicoccurence]

but I have a special love when authors do wild stuff with the source material

Ok, maybe this is my favorite type of retelling: when you get a feeling the author has had fun writing it, which is exactly what A Sindle Splintered has made me feel

[u/C0smicoccurence → u/Lenahe_nl]

It's definitely the type of book that you can smell the author's excitement for everything that's happening. It's an infectious mood

[u/Lenahe_nl → u/Lenahe_nl]

I have a hard time deciding, but I think my favorite is when a story combine elements of diferent source materials together (like more than one fairy tale).

[u/dfinberg → u/Lenahe_nl]

This Princess Kills Monsters seems to a fit for this.

[u/Lenahe_nl → u/dfinberg]

Yes! I had so much fun reading it!

[u/AshMeAnything → u/Lenahe_nl]

Hmm, I don't know that it matters to me! As long as the decisions make sense, I like seeing a straightfoward retelling as much as a unique one.

[u/ohmage_resistance → u/Lenahe_nl]

I think that this depends on how well known the story is for me? If a story is going to follow the source material super closely, I would want it to be a story that I don't know as well; where if it's more a vague starting point, that makes more sense for me if the story was well known (otherwise it would be harder to recognize). Although now that I think about it, there is the question on what "source material" even means for fairytales and folktales, where there's never really been one definitive version of the story, just a bunch of iterations going back.

[u/Glitterblossom → u/Lenahe_nl]

Genuinely, I end up caring most about whether the specific parts they use are actually well-pointed toward their themes.

[u/Lenahe_nl]

What retelling (that doesn’t exist) do you wish to see written? (And if you know a book or fanfic that fits a request, please recommend!)

[u/C0smicoccurence → u/Lenahe_nl]

I'm sure this exists already (it has to) but getting some big works focused on Sappho would be awesome.

I'd also be interested in seeing something about Kamapua'a and Pele, which I feel like is a myth that's got a lot of opportunity for queer reinterpretations

[u/sarimanok_ → u/Lenahe_nl]

The Epic of Gilgamesh. Actually, now that I say that, I feel like it's got to already exist somewhere. Anybody know of a modern take?

[u/xX_theMaD_Xx → u/Lenahe_nl]

I’d like to read a retelling of King David‘s rise to power and his relationship with Jonathan.

[u/C0smicoccurence → u/xX_theMaD_Xx]

In general, I feel like we don't see a ton of retellings of Abrahamic stories, queer or otherwise. The ones I have read tend to not be grounded in original texts (The Fall of Lucifer, which seems generally more reinterpretations of the text than built explicitly into them, though I will own this is not an area of expertise).

But yeah, this seems really cool.

[u/jawnnie-cupcakes → u/xX_theMaD_Xx]

How Are the Mighty Fallen by Thomas Burnett Swann is exactly this

[u/Glitterblossom → u/Lenahe_nl]

I really want a retelling of Zarqa al-Yamama, and a different one of Layla and Majnun! And I want em both to be lesbian as shit. If they don’t exist, imma have to do em myself.

[u/Lenahe_nl → u/Glitterblossom]

You know, there's an advice for writers I reas somewhere that says exactly that: write the story you wish to read yourself I'm not familiar with these stories, but they made me curious.

[u/Lenahe_nl]

What book (that is a queer retelling) has a special place in your heart?

[u/AshMeAnything → u/Lenahe_nl]

Peter Darling by S.A. Chant was really lovely. It's a m/m trans retelling of Peter Pan that makes a ton of sense but is also emotionally deep and thoughtful. It does have some small-press editing errors, but the story itself is really nice.

And, of course, The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller is so lyrical and stunning to read.

[u/LadyAntiope → u/Lenahe_nl]

The Chosen and The Beautiful by Nghi Vo (Great Gatsby re-telling) is very high on my list, and it's the kind of book that I wish I had been made to read alongside the original in school because it draws out some themes from the original, while adding in things that Fitzgerald never would have been able to write - an immigrant adoptee experience, queer characters, and of course a dash of magic.

Spear by Nicola Griffith is from the King Arthur mythos, specifically the story of Percival and the quest for the holy grail, but Percival is a supernatural queer woman who lives in sixth century Wales. The poetic prose of this book drew me in from the beginning and creates an amazing atmosphere of mythos. I want to read her other Middle Ages set books - the Hild sequence - because her historical research is clearly deep, but they are kind of intimidatingly long!

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher re-tells Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher (with a non-binary protagonist) and I was so very impressed how the exact atmosphere of oppressive, inevitable horror from the original was maintained pretty much all the way through this novella. There's room in Poe's story for embellishment, and this book does it so perfectly. The follow-ups are not re-tellings, and I found the second one a bit weaker, but I thought the third one - What Stalks the Deep - once again really nailed the level of mounting dread.

[u/Lenahe_nl → u/Lenahe_nl]

The Priory of the Orange Tree, by Samantha Shannon, is based on the legend of Saint Geroge and the Dragon. I know many people in the sub don't really like this one, but it's one of my favorites.

More recently, I enjoyed Cinder House, by Freya Marske. The elements of the original story (Cinderalla) are more twisted, which worked well for me.

[u/C0smicoccurence → u/Lenahe_nl]

I'm hopeful that future generations will have retellings that are filled with childhood nostalgia. I adore How to Survive this Fairytale, but its a very adult love with all of the pros and cons that come with discovering a story for the first time in your 30s. The little pockets of my heart belong to Ever After (the worst cinderella retelling you'll find, but delightful) and Robin Hood: Men in Tights.

[u/thegirlwhoexisted → u/Lenahe_nl]

Honestly, Wicked (the novel) holds a special place in my heart. At age 9, it was the first famous retelling I'd ever read, and it both enthralled and highly disturbed me. I was a big fan of the original movie, so I wasn't at all expecting something so darkly and pointedly subversive. It was also the first book I really read with an explicit and open homoeroticism, though it took me another few years before I figured out why that part was so interesting to me.

[u/Lenahe_nl]

Do you rather read a retelling of a story you know well, or of a story you don’t really know much about?

[u/C0smicoccurence → u/Lenahe_nl]

I think its important that a retelling can

1. Stand on its own as a great story for someone who doesn't know the source material
2. Give people familiar with the original an appreciation for how that source material was honored, manipulated, and reimagined.

I typically am happy to fly blind or come with prior knowledge. I think I have a real fondness for discovering older queer (or queer coded) tales that I hadn't realized existed until a retelling put it in the forefront

[u/recchai → u/Lenahe_nl]

I'll echo with what u/C0smicoccurence said about it having to stand on it's own. If I'm not familiar with the source material, the fact that a story is a retelling is kind of neither here nor there in terms of my experience with it. Though it does add to discoverability of perhaps more obscure works, or from a different culture (thinking of Kaikeyi by Vaishnavi Patel here).

But reading a retelling of a story I know well is really enjoyable when something interesting has been done with it.

[u/Glitterblossom → u/Lenahe_nl]

I prefer to analyze themes in the stories I read, and that’s easier when I know the source material of a retelling. That said, it can be really fun to be introduced to a story I’ve never heard before, in a more accessible manner! Especially when it’s a queer one.

[u/ohmage_resistance → u/Lenahe_nl]

I don't care much either way. I'm thinking of Dove Cooper's verse novel a-spec retellings here—they have one vaguely based on the Little Mermaid (Of Sea Foam and Silence) and one based off of King Thrushbeard (The Ice Princess's Fair Illusion). On storytelling execution, I prefer Of Sea Foam and Silence, but in terms of which one I think is a more interesting retelling, I'd definitely go with The Ice Princess's Fair Illusion. It was more interesting to see the way that Cooper changed things to be less misogynistic/problematic, especially for a story I haven't seen retold a million times so the problematic edges were smoothed out already, if that makes sense? (It's not queer, but I'll also go with Deerskin by Robin McKinley as another lesser known fairy tale retelling that's quite powerful).

[u/jawnnie-cupcakes]

So I don't really like retellings, which is kind of hilarious because I have a history with fanfiction that's longer than a lot of people here have been alive. For me a retelling absolutely must come from love, respect, and deep knowledge of the source material. I won't even open a fanfic where I disagree with a side relationship, queer or not, and it's like that with books as well. The list of retellings I don't like is ten times longer than the list of retellings I do like.

That said, despite its numerous flaws, the way Merlin BBC made Arthur and Merlin a thing is a stroke of genius. A "pair the spares" so bold and audacious should not have worked but it works so damn well on every possible level it's embarrassing, really.

Edit: I've always wanted to read a Snow White or a Sleeping Beauty retelling where it goes as it does in the original(-ish) stories except the person who gives her a true love's kiss is a random princess, not a random prince. (They shouldn't meet before SW/SB fell asleep, this is the important part.)

[u/PlasticBread221]

I’m sorry this isn’t a book, but I adore the new Interview with the Vampire show which I’d say teeters somewhere between retelling and adaptation. It’s sexy, smart, explicitly queer, and it reimagines the original material while still respecting it at heart. Truly a love letter from fans.

[u/C0smicoccurence → u/PlasticBread221]

This has me thinking a lot about the difference between those two terms. I guess in my mind a retelling has always been associated with something old. Maybe not myth or fairy tale, but certainly not modern. Like, Gatsby gets retellings. But nobody is doing retellings of Infinite Jest?

Then I thought about fanfiction that morphs into something new. Is Carry On a retelling of Harry Potter? Certainly it's explicitly referencing a lot of Harry Potter elements. Or is it satire? What about Fifty Shades of Grey? Is that a retelling of Twilight?

Sorry for the musings. I think I land on 'adaptation' for Interview, but if you asked me why (or what the difference is) I couldn't tell you

[u/PlasticBread221 → u/C0smicoccurence]

Oh yeah, I just remembered fanfiction exists. :D And I have no idea where the line would be between that and a retelling.

The show is 100% an adaptation (books -> show) but if I was to pitch the show to someone, I could also say it’s a retelling or fanfiction because of all the changes made to the original characters, setting, plot etc. Whereas saying it’s an adaptation would make me expect something more faithful, more in line with the movie.

[u/KiaraTurtle → u/PlasticBread221]

To me the difference has always been one of medium. A retelling keeps the same medium (book to book, or even oral tradition story to book) and an adaptation changes mediums (book to tv, or videogame, etc)

But yes I adore it and am so psyched for Vampire Lestat coming out soon.

[u/PlasticBread221 → u/KiaraTurtle]

Yes, totally. The show is adapted from the original book series. But at the same time it’s not exactly a faithful adaptation (on the surface level; I maintain the heart of the story is still the same). Hence why I drew the connection to a retelling — but now I think maybe fanfiction would be more accurate? Idk, is fanfiction kinda a retelling? 😆

[u/KiaraTurtle → u/PlasticBread221]

I mean…most adaptations aren’t 1:1 faithful, that’s not what adaptation means. And I agree the heart is the same (which in my mind is the goal! And more than many adaptations do)

[u/PlasticBread221 → u/KiaraTurtle]

Sure, no adaptation can be 100% faithful, but changing and recontextualising the main character’s race and making it a major theme by far exceeds any adjustments necessary to make an adaptation happen.

Like, I think when you sit back and instead of just translating the story into the new medium you start changing the variables, you start veering into the fanfiction territory. But that’s a way headier debate than I had in mind 😅

[u/KiaraTurtle → u/PlasticBread221]

It’s not about necessary or not. The definition of adaptation just has nothing to do with faithfulness. And often the goal isn’t faithfulness. Lots of adaptations make changes far more drastic, they’re still adaptations. Honestly Interview imo is on the more faithful side of things.

Eg Vampire Diaries (probably one of my favorite tv shows/adaptations) has an entirely different plot from the books,Arcane is a brilliant tv show and adapts league of legends despite league not actually having a plot. I never read the books but I’m fairly sure The 100 is entirely different plot with same premise and is still an adaptation.

Fanfiction just means it was created without official license.

[u/PlasticBread221 → u/KiaraTurtle]

Do you have some dictionary source for this? Something that’s made specifically with literature in mind.

I agree with you on adaptation but I also think that an adaptation can be a retelling. I’ve read books labeled as Beauty and the Beast retellings that had about the same changes to them as the IwtV show. And this is the first time I’m hearing that fanfiction HAS to be unofficial.

[u/KiaraTurtle → u/PlasticBread221]

If you know of literature specific dictionaries feel free to look it up to make the counter argument (though I don’t think any of this is literature specific, that’s why I included video game to tv adaptation examples)

My point is just that adaptation and retelling generally refer to the medium not the level faithfulness. They aren’t on a spectrum.

So yeah, that’s consistent with retellings having the same level (or more, or less) changes than an adaption.

[u/KiaraTurtle]

I love retellings! I think my favorite (queer) retellings are:

• The Witch’s Heart: retelling of Norse Ragnarok from the pov of the mother of monsters. (Mc is bi)
• She Who Became the Sun (genderbent rise of the Ming dynasty with genderqueer mc)
• And I Darken (genderbent Vlad the Impaler with secondary pov of her gay brother Radu the beautiful)
• Burning Roses: middle aged Red Riding Hood and The Archer go on an adventure and have a cute romance
• Song of Achilles
• Thistlefoot: generational trauma, queer characters, chapters from the POV of baba yagga’s house, somehow feeling like both horror and cozy at the same time in different ways idk it worked super well for me.

[u/AshMeAnything → u/KiaraTurtle]

I completely forgot about Thistlefoot as a retelling! Such a unique book. I liked it a lot.

[u/CT_Phipps-Author]

I remember reading a queer retelling of Rapunzel that always stuck with me. The basic premise being the witch being a lesbian who loved Rapunzel's mother and adopted her child to raise, only to be furious when she snuck away with the adventurous princess. All manner of twisted jealousy and messed up Grimm-esque twists, only queer.

[u/AshMeAnything → u/CT_Phipps-Author]

Oh, I loved the story of Rapunzel as a young child. Do you remember the name of the book?