Description
Witches have long captured our imagination: feared figures of folklore, victims of persecution, and now, powerful symbols of resistance and transformation. In this captivating panel, authors Molly Aitken, Michael Stewart, and Kirsty Logan explore the spellbinding world of witchcraft in fiction.
From the legacy of the witch trials to the reclaiming of the witch as a feminist icon, they’ll discuss how history, myth, and magic inform their work. Expect a rich discussion full of dark enchantment, ancestral echoes, and the enduring power of storytelling to challenge, heal, and inspire.
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About the Authors
Kirsty Logan
Kirsty Logan is the author of nine books, and a recipient of Lambda, Polari, Saboteur, Scott and Gavin Wallace awards. Her work has been optioned for TV, adapted for stage, exhibited in galleries and distributed from a Vintage Wurlitzer cigarette machine. She lives in Glasgow with her wife, baby and rescue dog.
Dr Michael Stewart
Dr Michael Stewart is an acclaimed, multi-award-winning writer whose books include Ill Will: The Untold Story of Heathcliff, Walking the Invisible: Following in the Brontës’ Footsteps, Black Wood Women and King Crow. He is Director of the Brontë Writing Centre and creator of The Brontë Stones.
Molly Aitken
Molly Aitken is the author of Bright I Burn a New Yorker and BBC Best Books of 2024. Recently shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature Encore Prize. Molly’s first novel, The Island Child was longlisted for the Authors’ Club Best First Novel Award. Molly’s short fiction has been dramatised for BBC Radio 4 and appeared in Ploughshares, for which she won the Alice Hoffman Prize for Fiction 2023. In 2025, Molly has also been shortlisted for the Royal Society of Literature Encore Prize. Molly is a PhD student in Creative Writing and History at Sheffield Hallam University.
About the Chair
Jared Shurin
Jared Shurin is the editor of The Big Book of Cyberpunk, The Djinn Falls in Love, The Best of British Fantasy, and many others. He has spent over twenty years developing communications strategies for governments, global businesses and the third sector. His dedication to literature also includes founding a small press, serving as the director of a literary award, and editing the occasional anthology.
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