Monoray triumphs in nine-way auction for Katharine Mary Briggs' folklore dictionary

Monoray has acquired Briggs’s Dictionary of Fairies, a new edition of Katharine Mary Briggs’ "dictionary of folklore creatures and tales", illustrated by Fee Greening.

Commissioning editor Mala Sanghera-Warren acquired world rights from Olivia Davies at United Agents, in a nine-way auction, and will publish the book in hardback on 11th September 2025.

"This new edition of one of Briggs’ seminal works is a dictionary of folklore creatures and tales, illustrated in rich detail with beautiful black and white line drawings by artist Fee Greening," the synopsis says. "From brownies to Shetland selkies, Cornish spriggans to Nuckelavee (the most horrid of monsters in all of Britain), Briggs’s Dictionary of Fairies is a treasury of stories, songs and creatures passed down from one generation to the next."

Sanghera-Warren said: "Katharine Briggs’s short dictionary of fairies is an absolute gift to anyone who loves folklore, and it is a complete treat and pleasure to be publishing such a beloved author on the list, who wrote with such infectious passion and a wicked sense of fun. The cherry on top of the cake has been working with the brilliantly talented Fee Greening on her stunning illustrations."

Briggs was the president of The Folklore Society, which presents an annual award in her honour. "Briggs was an outstanding scholar and a wonderfully entertaining writer," said Sophia Kingshill of The Folklore Society. "Everyone at The Folklore Society is delighted to bring her work to a new audience, with the extra appeal of Fee Greening’s imaginative and beautiful drawings."

Greening added: "It has been a dream of mine to bring Katharine Briggs’ words to life. Her meticulous archive underpins so much of my work and has inspired many other writers and artists whom I admire. It has been an absolute privilege to immerse myself in her fantastical world and I have been levitating with joy for the entire process."