Witch trials topic of Scottish podcasters’ talk at Citizens
Courtesy of the Washington County Bar Association
Two Scottish authors and podcasters will be at Citizens Library in Washington on Wednesday, Oct. 22, to talk about 16th century witch trials.
Zoe Venditozzi and Clair Mitchell, the hosts of the “Witches of Scotland” podcast and the authors of the newly published book, “How to Kill a Witch: The Patriarchy’s Guide to Silencing Women,” will discuss the grim, absurdly bureaucratic process of identifying, accusing, trying and executing women as witches. They explore the workings of a patriarchal system designed to weaponize fear and oppress women.
“How to Kill a Witch” uses trial transcripts, witness accounts and the documents that established the legal grounds for the witch hunts and Scotland’s Witchcraft Act of 1563.
Venditozzi lives in North East Fife, Scotland, and has worked in education for more than 20 years. She won the Not the Booker Prize from The Guardian newspaper in 2013 for her first novel, “Anywhere’s Better Than Here.” Mitchell works as a criminal defense lawyer in Scotland, with a focus on constitutional and human rights and sentencing questions.
Their podcast has had more than 160,000 downloads, 20% of which are from the United States. Their work led to the first minister of Scotland issuing a formal state apology in 2022 to all those accused of witchcraft in Scotland – the first time in 300 years there had been any formal recognition of those who were wrongly accused. Also in 2022, Venditozzi and Mitchell were made doctors of laws by Scotland’s University of Dundee in recognition of their work.
The one-hour seminar will start at 5:30 p.m., followed by a question-and-answer session. Mitchell and Venditozzi will sign copies of their book, which will be available for purchase.
The event is free and open to the public, but registration in advance is advised by using the following link, washlibs-citizens.libcal.com/event/15208560, or by calling Citizens Library at 724-222-2400, ext. 222.
The program is being co-hosted by Citizens Library, the Washington County Bar Association and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) Abroad. CLE credit will be available for lawyers for an additional fee by contacting the Washington County Bar Association at 724-225-6710 or sending an email message to weba@washcobar.org.