Witch trials in Newcastle and North Berwick: in conversation with A.D. Bergin and Naomi Kelsey
Join us at Dunbar Library on Thursday, 27th February, at 7.30 pm, when we'll be joined by authors A.D. Bergin and Naomi Kelsey to discuss their historical fiction novels The Wicked of the Earth and The Burnings, set during the Newcastle and North Berwick witch trials.
This event will include a Q&A, followed by a book signing.
Please book one ticket per person via this page. Copies of both books are now available for collection from Night Owl Books, or delivery, if you would like to read them in advance of the event, or can be collected from the signing table on the night.
About The Wicked of the Earth:
October, 1650, traumatised Parliamentarian spy James Archer returns north seeking his sister Meg, missing in the aftermath of Newcastle’s recent witch trials.
Aloof, enigmatic Elizabeth Thompson draws him to investigate the ongoing killing of women who had worked to free the accused.
But when Elizabeth herself becomes hunted, the only chance of escape lies in Archer setting himself as bait.
Telling the true story of Britain's largest witch trial, and the extraordinary all-female campaign to free the accused, The Wicked of the Earth is perfect for readers of Andrew Taylor, S G MacLean, S J Parris, or C J Sansom.
Paperback, 336 pages, published November 2024.
About The Burnings:
Nothing scares men like witchcraft…
1589. Scottish housemaid Geillis and Danish courtier Margareta lead opposite lives, but they both know one thing: when a man cries “witch”, no woman is safe. Yet when the marriage of King James VI and Princess Anna of Denmark brings Geillis and Margareta together, everything they supposed about good, evil, men, and women, is cast in a strange and brilliant new light.
For the first time in history, could black magic – or rumours of it – be a very real tool for women’s political gain? As the North Berwick witch trials whip Scotland – and her king – into a frenzy of paranoia, the clock is ticking. Can Margareta and Geillis keep each other safe? And once the burnings are over, in whose hands will power truly lie? Inspired by the incredible true story that set 16th-century Scotland and Denmark alight, The Burnings is 2023’s most bewitching debut novel, by a multi-awardwinning new star of historical fiction.
Paperback, 448 pages, published May 2024.
Event details:
Venue: Dunbar Library, Bleachingfield Community Centre, Dunbarn, EH42 1DX
Event: 19:30 - 20:30
Doors: 19:15
About A.D. Bergin:
A. D. Bergin was born in Northumberland and raised on Tyneside. He graduated from Cambridge University with a first class degree in History, since when he has continued to collect true stories and tall tales as an archaeologist, historian, researcher, postman, roofer, builder and barman.
About Naomi Kelsey:
Naomi Kelsey is the author of The Burnings, and the winner of two Northern Writers’ Awards and of the HWA Dorothy Dunnett Competition 2021. Her fiction has been published in Mslexia magazine and shortlisted for several further awards including the Bridport Prize and the Bristol Prize. By day she is an English teacher in Newcastle, where she lives with her husband and their two children.
FAQs
- Will I be sent an e-ticket before the event?
Please note that we will have a guest list on the door on the night of the event, and you will not be sent an e-ticket for it - simply let us know your name/the name of the person who booked your ticket when you arrive, and we'll check you in!
A note on Covid precautions: if you feel unwell on the day, please err on the side of caution, and please take a lateral flow test before attending, if you can.