Check your fairy godmothers at the door

Salon's Laura Miller has posted an article about the National Book Award's stipulation barring "collections and/or retellings of folk-tales, myths, and fairy-tales" from entering the contest. I had no idea this rule was in place—and, interestingly, none of the current National Book Foundation staff seem to know why it was thought necessary in the first place.

I know this is small of me, but I hope Robin McKinley—an American author who has written several (admittedly excellent) reworked fairy-tales but refuses to allow fanfiction based on her books—is aware of this rule and is irritated by it.