… Witch Week, when there is so much magic around in the world that all sorts of peculiar things happen…
— from Witch Week by Diana Wynne Jones
Welcome to the fifth annual Witch Week, an opportunity to celebrate our favorite fantasy books and authors. The inestimable Lory of Emerald City Book Review initiated this in 2014, inspired by Diana Wynne Jones’ book called, naturally, Witch Week. This is a fantasy set between Halloween and November 5th, Bonfire Night, marking the day in 1604 when Guy Fawkes was caught preparing to blow up Parliament.
Chris at Calmgrove and I have volunteered to co-host the event this year, and therefore posts will be appearing on both our sites; you may comment on either or both blogs. This year we’re focusing on Feminism+Fantasy, in honor of the late Ursula K Le Guin, and we hope you might feel inspired to join in by linking up your own posts about books related to this theme.
The goddesses of publishing have joined the celebration, for The Books of Earthsea: The Complete Illustrated Edition (Saga Press, 2018; illus. Charles Vess) goes on sale TODAY (in the US). I need to replace my well-worn 1980s Earthsea paperbacks, so I’m rewarding myself with a visit to the nearest bookstore to grab a copy before they disappear.
You may also wish to join in the readalong of Le Guin’s final Earthsea novel The Other Wind; or comment on posts in response to points raised; or simply enjoy the reviews and posts.
Here’s what we’ve planned:
Wednesday October 31st, Day 1: Top Ten Kick-Ass Heroines by Marlyn Beebe
Thursday November 1st, Day 2: Sword-for-hire by Lizzie Ross
Friday November 2nd, Day 3: The Women of Witcher by Piotrek and Ola
Saturday November 3rd, Day 4: A Famous Witch by Lory Widmer Hess
Sunday November 4th, Day 5: discussion of Ursula Le Guin’s The Other Wind
Monday November 5th, Day 6: The Genius of Ursula K Le Guin by Tanya Manning-Yarde
Tuesday November 6th, Day 7: Wrap-up and looking ahead to next year
Do please add your comments below and any links to your reviews on this theme — we’d very much like to see what you’ve all been reading — and feel free to respond to guest posts. However you participate, we hope you enjoy the week as much as we have putting it together!
Lizzie Ross 
I’m debating with myself whether I should attend a free event in Cardiff on Monday 19th November dedicated to UKLG, feminism, Tehanu and her poetry: https://cardiffbooktalk.org/2018/10/30/booktalk-event-19-november-ursula-le-guins-a-wizard-of-earthsea/
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I hope you can go, but if it’s anything like getting me to Brooklyn (and that’s just 14 miles away), I can understand why you might hesitate.
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I usually accompany the local choral society on a Monday, which is why I hesitate, though I’m not indispensable, I know! I do occasionally drive to Cardiff (50 miles away, 75 minutes by car) for orchestral rehearsals so that’s not particularly a consideration. So a 50:50 chance I’ll go! 🙂
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If you go, I’ll hope for a report on your blog. It looks like a great program, well aligned to what we’ve organized for Witch Week.
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Will do!
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I am so glad you and Chris decided to pick this up. This is only my second year participating but it’s a lot of fun! Here is my contribution: https://bookalogue.wordpress.com/2018/10/31/witch-week-2018/. I’m looking forward to the week and to reading the line up of posts that are planned. I’m also going to have to check out Kenning Magic sometime in the near future. 🙂
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We’re happy to be doing this, BJ, and also quite pleased that you’ve joined us. If you do read Kenning Magic, I hope you’ll let me know what you think.
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Will do!
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