"Folk fantasy brings our cultural code to life": blogger Irina Skugar on new reading trends

A meeting of the Literary Club "What to Read?!" at the National Centre RUSSIA explored why adults are once again drawn to fairy tales and how Slavic fantasy has become one of the leading book trends. Literary blogger, philologist and writer Irina Skugar explained how the popularity of fairy tales is linked to a sense of returning to childhood, why folk fantasy "brings our cultural code to life", and the role that social media and Leah Arden's books have played in its success.

"The popularity of fairy tales stems primarily from the sense of returning to childhood and the past that they provide. You feel at ease because you are immersing yourself in plots and characters that have been familiar since childhood," Irina Skugar noted.

For today's readers, such stories become "a ticket back to childhood" — a way to remember their grandparents reading fairy tales to them while seeing familiar characters "from a new, more adult perspective". The blogger also added that folk fantasy in particular has become one of the most prominent genres in popular literature in recent years. According to her, the genre began to develop especially rapidly over the past five or six years, with a genuine boom emerging around 2020, when Slavic fantasy became extremely popular on social media: bloggers began creating content devoted exclusively to the genre, while entire fandoms and communities emerged.

"Folk fantasy has become so popular because it brings our cultural code to life. When we read works like these, we immerse ourselves more deeply in our own roots, history and familiar imagery. These are stories about us, our heroes, myths and beloved fairy tales," the expert emphasised.

Answering a question about specific books, the philologist named Leah Arden as one of the key authors: her novels attract readers with their vivid romantic storylines and distinctive visual aesthetic, which lends itself easily to social media trends. Summing up, Irina Skugar emphasised that interest in Slavic fantasy has already moved beyond a temporary "hype wave": it is an established trend that, in her view, will only continue to grow, driven by new books, screen adaptations and the increasing number of readers drawn to stories that combine the magic of childhood fairy tales with an adult exploration of their own culture.