Thursday, 19th March
7pm – 8pm
Join us for an evening with authors Sally O'Reilly and Anna Caig to discuss their new historical novels, both of which reclaim the witch in fiction and explore the parallels between troublesome women and wolves in the sixteenth century — sources of fear, hunted, and associated with the Devil.
Sally's book, Hagtale, is a Macbeth origin story which retells the Shakespeare play from the perspective of the witches, and focuses on their role as custodians of the natural world.
Anna’s novel, The Wise Witch of Orkney, follows Elspet Balfour, a wise woman with an impossible mission disguised as a lady-in-waiting at the court of the witch hunting King James VI.
Both Sally and Anna are happy to openly and honestly discuss their writing journeys, as well as how they balance writing with all life's other demands.
Tickets are just £5, including a welcome drink on the evening. Book and ticket options are also available – select your preferred ticket when booking to guarantee you a copy on the day.
Book your ticket using the form below or by calling in to store. A limited number of copies of the book will be available to purchase on the day.
About the authors
Sally O’Reilly is the author of four novels, published by Penguin Books, Myriad Editions/Picador US and Scribe UK/Australia, and the nonfiction guide How to be a Writer (Piatkus). Sally has freelanced for the Guardian, Sunday Times and Evening Standard and worked as a senior lecturer in creative writing at the Open University. Now a full-time writer, her stories celebrate lost and forgotten women’s voices. An avid reader all her life, she has retained her childhood fascination with magic and the supernatural.
Anna Caig is obsessed with the hidden voices of women and a compelling underdog story. Luckily, history offers plenty of these. She’s inspired by the glimpses into a woman’s life we get before the historical record moves onto something considered much more important. What was happening in these gaps?
Anna grew up in Halifax, now lives in the ‘howling wilderness’ of the Peak District and has worked in marketing for over 20 years. She grew up reading indiscriminately: Agatha Christie, Stephen King, Dumas and the Brontës happily coexisted in precarious piles on her bedside table.
