The Scriptorium: Witches - Workshop

Following on from a successful series of faerie- tale inspired creative writing classes, author, poet, folklorist and spoken word storyteller Bernadette Russell invites you to explore the rich otherworld of witches. This class includes considering the lives of real-life witches of antiquity such as Marie Laveau, Mother Shipton, La Voisin and Isabel Gowdie amongst many others. We will also use witches from literature and folklore as inspiration:  Baba Yaga, Morgan Le Fey, Circe, and the Witches of Endor. This creative writing class will invite playful exploration of spells, incantations, familiars, and broomstick flying as well as serious contemplation of the power of witches, women, and words. 

The classes honour both the oral and literary traditions of storytelling, so the class includes listening to a retelling of an ancient tale of a witch of the woods, after which participants will be invited to both tell and write their own pieces, with lots of prompts, free writing, and timed exercises.

This workshop is for anyone interested in magical writing and the power of words, spoken, and written, and is open to both seasoned writers and those with little or no writing experience. There will be no sharing of the work, so attendees are free to explore and experiment with their ideas safely.

Bernadette Russell is co-director of arts organisation White Rabbit. A published author, playwright, theatre maker and spoken word storyteller, she hosted the award-winning storytelling salon 'Are You Sitting Comfortably?' for ten years at Arts Admin in East London. She is currently storytelling at Butser Ancient Farm.

She has previously told stories at many venues including the National Theatre, Southbank Centre, and the Royal Albert Hall. She is an alumnus of the School of Myth and studies folklore at the Woodland Bard School and with Dr Sharon Blackie. She has taught creative writing and storytelling for over twenty years.

Photo Credit: Mallory Johndrow/Unsplash