Who were the true victims of the infamous 17th century European witch trials? While people may once have believed it was the poor men who fell victim to the witches cruel seduction and vicious enchantments, in the 21st century it is clear that the innocent women who were accused, tortured and murdered were the true victims. It is their stories that need to be told and Anya Bergman is one of the many authors who are now doing just this. 

At the 2023 Edinburgh Women’s Fiction Festival, Anya Bergman shared the inspiration behind her latest novel on a panel titled ‘Witcherature’. Bergman’s latest novel, The Witches of Vardø, is a historical fiction book about the Norwegian witch trials in the 1600s.  At the festival, attention was drawn to the rise of Witcherature as a genre and how it grew alongside the #MeToo movement, highlighting the fiction markets response to the growing awareness of the need to tell and listen to women’s stories. In an article on Bergman’s talk at the Hay Festival, Jack Strange (2023) states that it is the ‘reclamation of executed and trialled women that Anya wanted to tackle with this work’. The emphasis on reclaiming women’s stories coincides with the #MeToo movement and the push to listen to and believe women. This demonstrates how the publishing industry can both influence and be influenced by societal issues and changes.

Bergman stated that she was drawn to writing about the witch trials of Vardø while living in Norway after reading translated confessions from the women accused of witchcraft in the 1600s. She acknowledged the political and cultural significance of the witch trials being linked to Denmark’s occupation of Norway and the targeted attacks on Sámi women in particular. The importance of giving voice to the stories of marginalised women seemed to be something that Bergman appeared to be very passionate about, as well as ensuring the stories were given the proper respect they deserved and were not sensationalised. 

Bergman’s novel was published by Manilla Press, an imprint of Zaffre Publishing Group, owned by Bonnier Books. Bonnier’s International Highlights Catalogue evidences an identified a market for Witcherature novels due to the vast variety of historical fiction witch books on their lists, including titles such as The Last Witch of Scotland by Philip Paris and The Invocations by Krystal Sutherland. Moreover, their Backlist Catalogue features even more of these titles, including The Familiars by Stacey Halls and Witches Steeped in Gold by Ciannon Smart. There is a clear interest in and demand for Witcherature in the current fiction market and Bonnier are evidently catering to this. 

Alongside Bergman on the panel were other Witcherature authors Stacey Thomas and Danielle Devline, published by HQ and Birlinn Limited respectively. Not only does this show a glimpse of the vast variety of Witcherature novels that are being produced, the fact that there was a panel at the festival solely dedicated to witches in literature highlights the popularity and importance of these books to readers, writers, and publishers alike. 

The rise in the genre of Witcherature coinciding with the #MeToo movement and other women’s right’s movements was no coincidence. By combining history, fact, and fiction, authors such as Bergman are able to tell the stories of the women whose stories deserve to be heard. 

Bibliography:
Bergman, Anna., Thomas, Stacy. (2023). Edinburgh Women’s Fiction Festival. 2023. Anya Bergman & Stacey Thomas On Witcherature. [Conference] 7 October 2023. Edinburgh: Morningside United Church.
Bonnier Books UK. (2023). International backlist catalogue. [Online]. Bonnier Books UK. Available at: https://www.bonnierbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Backlist-Catalogue-2023.pdf  [Accessed 10 October 2023].
Bonnier Books UK. (2023). International highlights catalogue. [Online]. Bonnier Books UK. Available at: https://www.bonnierbooks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/BBUK-Highlights-Jan-June-2024.pdf [Accessed 10 October 2023].
Strange, Jack. (2023). How ‘witcherature’ is giving voices back to women. [Online]. Brecon & Radnor Express. Available at: https://www.brecon-radnor.co.uk/news/entertainment/how-witcherature-is-giving-voices-back-to-women-617902 [Accessed 10 October 2023].

Image from: https://www.edwomensficfest.co.uk/event-details-registration/anya-bergman-stacey-thomas-on-witcherature [Accessed 10 October 2023].