How an Anthology of Angry Witches Came to Be by Jamie Ryu and M.B. Thurman
When we first conceptualized our vision for Curses, Charms & Other Enchantments: Bewitching Stories of “Hysterical” Women, there was one thing we agreed on immediately: this would not be a light-hearted witchy romp. Of course, there is a place for those kinds of stories, and we love to escape into new realities, but this isn’t the time for that. Not for us anyway.
Now is the time for rage, for empowerment. It is time for us to stand up for what we believe in and what we’re fighting for. Curses, Charms & Other Enchantments is a direct response to the challenges that women are facing both in the United States and worldwide. Instead of curating exclusively cozy romances or lusty scenes, we’re centering stories that are, at their core, a response to oppression. That’s why we’re donating a portion of the profits to Planned Parenthood and the Joyful Heart Foundation.
The seeds of this really started back in 2022, when Roe v. Wade was overturned. People call that a landmark decision, and it truly was a marker of a regression in so much of the progress that had been made for all marginalized communities. Since then, there have been countless policies enacted seeking to police women’s bodies, increasing support for policies which would make it more difficult for women to vote, a rollback and attack on DEI initiatives, a relentless assault on immigrant communities in the United States, and a growing number of book ban policies—especially targeting the LGBTQ+ community.
We were both horrified and disgusted to see this wave of conservatism and authoritarianism sweep over the world. That was part of what Contrarian Publishing, the house Jamie founded in 2024, was a response to. M.B. began strategizing on how to utilize her platform to responsibly speak up, to share information, and to make sure to be a safe space for marginalized folks. Her third novel, Forged, was born partially out of the anger and frustration at the state of the world. It was that same anger that led us to the themes for Curses, Charms & Other Enchantments.
We didn’t want feel-good stories. We didn’t want sweet. We wanted rage. We wanted authors to let their emotions out. We wanted to take a term that for hundreds of years was used to persecute innocent victims and reclaim it, infuse it with our own power. We asked for stories of feminine love, rage, and empowerment.
And authors delivered. We saw similar themes and sentiments across many of the submissions we received. Authors wrote about women standing up for one another, women getting back at abusive male partners, women loving women, and women coming into and embracing their powers. More than 70% of the submissions we received addressed the oppression women face at the hands of men. It was clear that the authors who submitted were as angry as we were, and we wanted to stay true to that vision.
And we think we did. Curses, Charms & Other Enchantments is full of stories about women overcoming challenges, persevering against great odds, and reclaiming their lives.
As Curses, Charms & Other Enchantments comes out into the world, we encourage all readers to reflect on where their dollars are going, which values the stories they support represent. Reading is undoubtedly a political act, and books are political tools. If they weren’t, the Senate wouldn’t have just introduced a book banning bill. If any of what we’ve written speaks to you, buy the book, buy books from authors in marginalized communities, call your representatives when you oppose bills that infringe on our freedoms and rights, donate to the amazing nonprofits fighting for us. Vote. And stay angry.
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Curses, Charms & Other Enchantments: Bewitching Stories of “Hysterical” Women
Fear the hunter, never the witch.
A spirit wanders the Scottish moors, desperate for answers. An empress and her mistress seek revenge in the Chinese Imperial Court. A Black freewoman scavenges for truth in the bodies of Confederate soldiers. A damsel flees to a convent to escape a knight-in-obsessive-armor.
Across every manner of time and place, women have been labeled crazy. Hysterical. Witches.
To be labeled as a witch was once a death sentence. Persecuted for existing and condemned if they dared speak out of turn, women were unjustly hanged and burned in the name of patriarchal justice. The label remains a way for those in power to discredit and disenfranchise empowered women.
But there is power in defiance. There is power on reclamation. There is power in embracing one’s inner witch.
With a foreword by M.B. Thurman, Curses, Charms & Other Enchantments presents nine stories of feminine love, rage, and empowerment, all imbued with the magic of witchcraft—tales of cursed women, charming smiles, and enchanted ever-afters.
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Category: On Writing
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