Join us on Tuesday, October 3rd at 7pm PT when Diana Helmuth joins us to celebrate the release of her book, The Witching Year, with Lauren Parker at 9th Ave!
Launch Event with Author Reading, Conversation, and Audience Q+A, with Tarot Readings provided by Lauren Parker!
Masks Encouraged for In-Person Attendance
Or watch online/Livestream link available soon
Praise for The Witching Year
"[Helmuth's] wry tone will charm readers, and those who have taken on similar spiritual quests will relate to the author's desire to know if she's 'doing it right.' Aspiring witches and readers itching to learn more about the occult will find inspiration and amusement." -Publisher's Weekly
"I made it to p. 8 before my pen was out, taking notes in the margins. Helmuth's book is a witty crash course in witchcraft cloaked in the guise of a compelling memoir about one woman's quest for spiritual fulfillment. This is a valuable read for the blushing witch-curious among you." --Frances Denny, author of Major Arcana
"Before I started reading this book, I had a limited and warped view of wicca, sort of like Diana's mom who asked when she was going to start sacrificing animals. But thanks to The Witching Year, I got an entertaining crash course in this tradition. Diana is a wonderful guide, and her journey is thoughtful, funny, simultaneously open-minded and filled with doubt, and dare I say it, magical. I rooted her on as she learned her first hex, summoned the elements, and sprinkled spices around her house." --AJ Jacobs, bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically
About The Witching Year
A skeptic's year-long quest to find spiritual fulfillment through modern Witchcraft, perfect for fans of A.J. Jacobs and Mary Roach.
Diana Helmuth, thirty-three, is skeptical of organized religion. She is also skeptical of disorganized religion. But, more than anything, she is tired of God being dead. So, she decides to try on the fastest growing, self-directed faith in America: Witchcraft.
The result is 366 days of observation, trial, error, wit, and back spasms. Witches today are often presented as confident and finished, proud and powerful. Diana is eager to join them. She wants to follow all the rules, memorize all the incantations, and read all the liturgy. But there's one glaring problem: no Witch can agree on what the right rules, liturgy, and incantations are.
As with life, Diana will have to define the craft for herself, looking past the fashionable and figuring out how to define the real. Along the way, she travels to Salem and Edinburgh (two very Crafty hubs) and attends a week-long (clothing optional) Witch camp in Northern California. Whether she's trying to perform a full moon ritual on a cardboard box, summon an ancient demon with scotch tape and a kitchen trivet, or just trying to become a calmer, happier person, her biggest question remains: Will any of this really work?
The Witching Year follows in the footsteps of celebrated memoirs by journalists like A.J. Jacobs, Mary Roach, and Caitlin Doughty, who knit humor and reportage together in search of something worth believing.
About Diana Helmuth
Diana Helmuth is a nonfiction author. Before delving into writing, she studied anthropology and Arabic at UC Berkeley and went on to moonlight in Silicon Valley's startup land as an operations manager for several seed-stage companies. Her first book, How to Suffer Outside, won a National Outdoor Book Award, and her freelance work on travel, millennial cultural trends, and nature journalism can be found in various books and online magazines. When she's not writing, she helps produce the occasional podcast. Helmuth was born and raised in Northern California.
About Lauren Parker
Lauren Parker is a writer, zinemaker, and visual artist in Oakland, California. She's a graduate of Hiram College's Creative Writing program and has written for the Toast, Strange Horizons, The Racket, Xtra Magazine, Catapult, and Autostraddle. She's the winner of the Vachel Lindsay poetry prize, is the author of the poetry collection We Are Now the Thing in the Woods from Bottlecap Press, and a forthcoming deck of spells with Simon & Schuster. Find her at laureneparker.com.
show less
Launch Event with Author Reading, Conversation, and Audience Q+A, with Tarot Readings provided by Lauren Parker!
Masks Encouraged for In-Person Attendance
Or watch online/Livestream link available soon
Praise for The Witching Year
"[Helmuth's] wry tone will charm readers, and those who have taken on similar spiritual quests will relate to the author's desire to know if she's 'doing it right.' Aspiring witches and readers itching to learn more about the occult will find inspiration and amusement." -Publisher's Weekly
"I made it to p. 8 before my pen was out, taking notes in the margins. Helmuth's book is a witty crash course in witchcraft cloaked in the guise of a compelling memoir about one woman's quest for spiritual fulfillment. This is a valuable read for the blushing witch-curious among you." --Frances Denny, author of Major Arcana
"Before I started reading this book, I had a limited and warped view of wicca, sort of like Diana's mom who asked when she was going to start sacrificing animals. But thanks to The Witching Year, I got an entertaining crash course in this tradition. Diana is a wonderful guide, and her journey is thoughtful, funny, simultaneously open-minded and filled with doubt, and dare I say it, magical. I rooted her on as she learned her first hex, summoned the elements, and sprinkled spices around her house." --AJ Jacobs, bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically
About The Witching Year
A skeptic's year-long quest to find spiritual fulfillment through modern Witchcraft, perfect for fans of A.J. Jacobs and Mary Roach.
Diana Helmuth, thirty-three, is skeptical of organized religion. She is also skeptical of disorganized religion. But, more than anything, she is tired of God being dead. So, she decides to try on the fastest growing, self-directed faith in America: Witchcraft.
The result is 366 days of observation, trial, error, wit, and back spasms. Witches today are often presented as confident and finished, proud and powerful. Diana is eager to join them. She wants to follow all the rules, memorize all the incantations, and read all the liturgy. But there's one glaring problem: no Witch can agree on what the right rules, liturgy, and incantations are.
As with life, Diana will have to define the craft for herself, looking past the fashionable and figuring out how to define the real. Along the way, she travels to Salem and Edinburgh (two very Crafty hubs) and attends a week-long (clothing optional) Witch camp in Northern California. Whether she's trying to perform a full moon ritual on a cardboard box, summon an ancient demon with scotch tape and a kitchen trivet, or just trying to become a calmer, happier person, her biggest question remains: Will any of this really work?
The Witching Year follows in the footsteps of celebrated memoirs by journalists like A.J. Jacobs, Mary Roach, and Caitlin Doughty, who knit humor and reportage together in search of something worth believing.
About Diana Helmuth
Diana Helmuth is a nonfiction author. Before delving into writing, she studied anthropology and Arabic at UC Berkeley and went on to moonlight in Silicon Valley's startup land as an operations manager for several seed-stage companies. Her first book, How to Suffer Outside, won a National Outdoor Book Award, and her freelance work on travel, millennial cultural trends, and nature journalism can be found in various books and online magazines. When she's not writing, she helps produce the occasional podcast. Helmuth was born and raised in Northern California.
About Lauren Parker
Lauren Parker is a writer, zinemaker, and visual artist in Oakland, California. She's a graduate of Hiram College's Creative Writing program and has written for the Toast, Strange Horizons, The Racket, Xtra Magazine, Catapult, and Autostraddle. She's the winner of the Vachel Lindsay poetry prize, is the author of the poetry collection We Are Now the Thing in the Woods from Bottlecap Press, and a forthcoming deck of spells with Simon & Schuster. Find her at laureneparker.com.
Join us on Tuesday, October 3rd at 7pm PT when Diana Helmuth joins us to celebrate the release of her book, The Witching Year, with Lauren Parker at 9th Ave!
Launch Event with Author Reading, Conversation, and Audience Q+A, with Tarot Readings provided by Lauren Parker!
Masks Encouraged for In-Person Attendance
Or watch online/Livestream link available soon
Praise for The Witching Year
"[Helmuth's] wry tone will charm readers, and those who have taken on similar spiritual quests will relate to the author's desire to know if she's 'doing it right.' Aspiring witches and readers itching to learn more about the occult will find inspiration and amusement." -Publisher's Weekly
"I made it to p. 8 before my pen was out, taking notes in the margins. Helmuth's book is a witty crash course in witchcraft cloaked in the guise of a compelling memoir about one woman's quest for spiritual fulfillment. This is a valuable read for the blushing witch-curious among you." --Frances Denny, author of Major Arcana
"Before I started reading this book, I had a limited and warped view of wicca, sort of like Diana's mom who asked when she was going to start sacrificing animals. But thanks to The Witching Year, I got an entertaining crash course in this tradition. Diana is a wonderful guide, and her journey is thoughtful, funny, simultaneously open-minded and filled with doubt, and dare I say it, magical. I rooted her on as she learned her first hex, summoned the elements, and sprinkled spices around her house." --AJ Jacobs, bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically
About The Witching Year
A skeptic's year-long quest to find spiritual fulfillment through modern Witchcraft, perfect for fans of A.J. Jacobs and Mary Roach.
Diana Helmuth, thirty-three, is skeptical of organized religion. She is also skeptical of disorganized religion. But, more than anything, she is tired of God being dead. So, she decides to try on the fastest growing, self-directed faith in America: Witchcraft.
The result is 366 days of observation, trial, error, wit, and back spasms. Witches today are often presented as confident and finished, proud and powerful. Diana is eager to join them. She wants to follow all the rules, memorize all the incantations, and read all the liturgy. But there's one glaring problem: no Witch can agree on what the right rules, liturgy, and incantations are.
As with life, Diana will have to define the craft for herself, looking past the fashionable and figuring out how to define the real. Along the way, she travels to Salem and Edinburgh (two very Crafty hubs) and attends a week-long (clothing optional) Witch camp in Northern California. Whether she's trying to perform a full moon ritual on a cardboard box, summon an ancient demon with scotch tape and a kitchen trivet, or just trying to become a calmer, happier person, her biggest question remains: Will any of this really work?
The Witching Year follows in the footsteps of celebrated memoirs by journalists like A.J. Jacobs, Mary Roach, and Caitlin Doughty, who knit humor and reportage together in search of something worth believing.
About Diana Helmuth
Diana Helmuth is a nonfiction author. Before delving into writing, she studied anthropology and Arabic at UC Berkeley and went on to moonlight in Silicon Valley's startup land as an operations manager for several seed-stage companies. Her first book, How to Suffer Outside, won a National Outdoor Book Award, and her freelance work on travel, millennial cultural trends, and nature journalism can be found in various books and online magazines. When she's not writing, she helps produce the occasional podcast. Helmuth was born and raised in Northern California.
About Lauren Parker
Lauren Parker is a writer, zinemaker, and visual artist in Oakland, California. She's a graduate of Hiram College's Creative Writing program and has written for the Toast, Strange Horizons, The Racket, Xtra Magazine, Catapult, and Autostraddle. She's the winner of the Vachel Lindsay poetry prize, is the author of the poetry collection We Are Now the Thing in the Woods from Bottlecap Press, and a forthcoming deck of spells with Simon & Schuster. Find her at laureneparker.com.
read more
Launch Event with Author Reading, Conversation, and Audience Q+A, with Tarot Readings provided by Lauren Parker!
Masks Encouraged for In-Person Attendance
Or watch online/Livestream link available soon
Praise for The Witching Year
"[Helmuth's] wry tone will charm readers, and those who have taken on similar spiritual quests will relate to the author's desire to know if she's 'doing it right.' Aspiring witches and readers itching to learn more about the occult will find inspiration and amusement." -Publisher's Weekly
"I made it to p. 8 before my pen was out, taking notes in the margins. Helmuth's book is a witty crash course in witchcraft cloaked in the guise of a compelling memoir about one woman's quest for spiritual fulfillment. This is a valuable read for the blushing witch-curious among you." --Frances Denny, author of Major Arcana
"Before I started reading this book, I had a limited and warped view of wicca, sort of like Diana's mom who asked when she was going to start sacrificing animals. But thanks to The Witching Year, I got an entertaining crash course in this tradition. Diana is a wonderful guide, and her journey is thoughtful, funny, simultaneously open-minded and filled with doubt, and dare I say it, magical. I rooted her on as she learned her first hex, summoned the elements, and sprinkled spices around her house." --AJ Jacobs, bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically
About The Witching Year
A skeptic's year-long quest to find spiritual fulfillment through modern Witchcraft, perfect for fans of A.J. Jacobs and Mary Roach.
Diana Helmuth, thirty-three, is skeptical of organized religion. She is also skeptical of disorganized religion. But, more than anything, she is tired of God being dead. So, she decides to try on the fastest growing, self-directed faith in America: Witchcraft.
The result is 366 days of observation, trial, error, wit, and back spasms. Witches today are often presented as confident and finished, proud and powerful. Diana is eager to join them. She wants to follow all the rules, memorize all the incantations, and read all the liturgy. But there's one glaring problem: no Witch can agree on what the right rules, liturgy, and incantations are.
As with life, Diana will have to define the craft for herself, looking past the fashionable and figuring out how to define the real. Along the way, she travels to Salem and Edinburgh (two very Crafty hubs) and attends a week-long (clothing optional) Witch camp in Northern California. Whether she's trying to perform a full moon ritual on a cardboard box, summon an ancient demon with scotch tape and a kitchen trivet, or just trying to become a calmer, happier person, her biggest question remains: Will any of this really work?
The Witching Year follows in the footsteps of celebrated memoirs by journalists like A.J. Jacobs, Mary Roach, and Caitlin Doughty, who knit humor and reportage together in search of something worth believing.
About Diana Helmuth
Diana Helmuth is a nonfiction author. Before delving into writing, she studied anthropology and Arabic at UC Berkeley and went on to moonlight in Silicon Valley's startup land as an operations manager for several seed-stage companies. Her first book, How to Suffer Outside, won a National Outdoor Book Award, and her freelance work on travel, millennial cultural trends, and nature journalism can be found in various books and online magazines. When she's not writing, she helps produce the occasional podcast. Helmuth was born and raised in Northern California.
About Lauren Parker
Lauren Parker is a writer, zinemaker, and visual artist in Oakland, California. She's a graduate of Hiram College's Creative Writing program and has written for the Toast, Strange Horizons, The Racket, Xtra Magazine, Catapult, and Autostraddle. She's the winner of the Vachel Lindsay poetry prize, is the author of the poetry collection We Are Now the Thing in the Woods from Bottlecap Press, and a forthcoming deck of spells with Simon & Schuster. Find her at laureneparker.com.
show less
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