Literary Coven: Book Club

Monsters are sometimes devilish, always supernatural, equally feared and desired, a dangerous blend of wit and will, especially since monsters can also initiate. Perhaps this monstrous initiation is an admission, and the reason society has historically tried to cage these creatures, or at the very least, hide them somewhere far, far away.

Some of the most talked about monsters in mythology and art are the Sphinx, Chimera, Minotaur, and the Python of Delphi. Dragons, merfolk, gorgons, vampires, the fae folk, and some goddesses were also said be be monsters, hideous as they were wicked.

Echidna. Medusa. Lilith. Pop culture paints these women as mischievous and mad, deliverers of woe and ruin. But the old tales tell a different truth. Medusa, originally a young maiden, was assaulted for her beauty. Lilith, priestess of the wild, was shamed for her sensuality. Echidna, the serpentine mother of destruction, delivered oracles.

In “The Resurgence of the Monstrous Feminine,” author Hannah Williams writes that:

“The female body has been codified as disgusting, defective – leaking, bleeding, oozing – from time immemorial. She limps, incomplete and half-finished, across Aristotle’s theories, a deformed ‘monstrosity’ and a ‘misbegotten man’; stalks through the Talmud on Lilith’s jackal-feet, flying through the night on her bird wings to sate her demon’s appetite; drags her heavy body through Greek mythology, crowned with curls of snakes. She’s simultaneously too-much and less-than; little more than an underdeveloped man, a foetus too weak to grow entirely, pale and fragile as an orchid.”

Monsters are not always the villains, but when provoked, they will bite back.

The serpent closed in, closer and closer, its lethal promise igniting something deep within Abitha’s breast: the primordial need of every creature that has ever been hurt by another—the need to bite back.

- Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery, Brom

Despite their pointy teeth and seemingly endless hunger, the monster is not such a terrible thing to be, at least according to Ocean Vuong in his series for The New Yorker. “From the Latin root monstrum, a divine messenger of catastrophe, then adapted by the Old French to mean an animal of myriad origins: centaur, griffin, satyr. To be a monster is to be a hybrid signal, a lighthouse: both shelter and warning at once.”

So, my fellow feral ones, if lately you feel more monster than machine, if you’d rather be barefoot, horned, and hunted than a toothless expectation, if you mark time according to the birds nesting in your backyard and the moon’s face on any given night, if, instead of a machine, bound by routine, of man-spun skin, you cast your lots with the serpents and the stars, then call yourself a monster, the one who bites back.

On Sunday, December 7th, 12pm EST, join Kristin & Caitlyn for an hour-long gathering dedicated to Slewfoot and the monsters within! Together, you’ll reflect on the plight of Samson, Abitha, and the Wildfolk, consider some of the symbols in this story, and use your pens to release the monsters from their cages. This meeting of magical minds is free for paid subscribers (thank you for your support!). Upgrade to paid to receive full access to the Literary Coven Book Club and RSVP to the live gathering.

Thanks for reading “The Ones Who Bite Back” from the Pointy Hat Press book club! Pointy Hat Press is a place for fairy tales and folklore, reimagined. Follow us on Substack and Instagram, sign up for our Moon Letters, and consider adding our original fairy tales to your library. You can also find us telling stories and talking about our latest creative quests on the Pointy Hat Press podcast.

It's Time to Become a Monster...

Pointy Hat Press — Mon, 13 Oct 2025 17:58:24 GMT

Welcome back to the Literary Coven Book Club. Throughout the month of October, the Literary Coven is reading Brom’s Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery, a spellbinding novel about a woman who befriends the wild to escape the shackles of Puritan New England. Read on for a collection of creative prompts and spells to inspire your literary quest. It’s time to become a monster…

The most talked-about witch hunts in American history revolved around the Salem Witch Trials, a series of persecutions that erupted in colonial Massachusetts during the 17^th century. Over 200 souls were accused, most of them women (although some men and children were also imprisoned), and of the 200, 25 people were charged and hanged for conspiring with the devil.

If you want a complete breakdown of the tragic circumstances leading up to the Salem Witch Trials, check out this article or this podcast episode, but even without knowing the names of the accusers (initially, most were young girls), the strange afflictions they endured, and the mass hysteria that forever changed a small Puritan village, it’s likely not surprising to hear that most of these ‘witches’ were not consorting with evil or casting spells. They were regular folk whose only crime was being born during an era of weaponized superstition and religious takeover.

The witch no. 1” lithograph, Joseph E, 1892

Witch hunts were not confined to one location, and during the 14^th-18^th centuries alone, an estimated 50,000-100,000 ‘witches’ were murdered throughout Europe and colonial America. Although these witch hunts were deemed legal and a way to weed out evil from a community, they were mostly a means to disempower women, outsiders, those who worked with plants and worshipped nature and spirit as one and the same.

Barbara G. Walker writes that:

“Early in the Middle Ages, almost anything women did could be described as witchcraft because their daily lives invoked the Goddess with a thousand small ceremonies as well as the larger ones connected with major holidays. Martin of Braga (an archbishop who lived from 520–580 AD) said women must be condemned for ‘decorating tables, wearing laurels, taking omens from footsteps, putting fruit and wine on the log in the hearth, and bread in the well, what are these but worship of the devil? For women to call upon Minerva when they spin, and to observe the day of Venus at weddings and to call upon her whenever they go out upon the public highway, what is that but worship of the devil?’” (The Women’s Encyclopedia of Myths & Secrets)

In Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery, readers follow the story of Abitha, a young English woman who was sold to a man in colonial America. Her husband, Edward, is kind and isn’t concerned that his new wife is a cunning woman. However, when Edward dies suddenly, Abitha becomes a widow and therefore, a target for her greedy brother-in-law, Wallace. Wallace wants the land Abitha inherited when Edward died, and he will stop at nothing to make sure it’s his.

However, what Wallace doesn’t know is that Abitha has captured the attention of the wildfolk and their horned ‘father,’ Sampson. Reminiscent of the wee ones from fairy folklore, the wildfolk appear part human and part animal. They are hybrid creatures, guardians of the sky, forests, and creeks.

The wildfolk call themselves the ‘children’ of Sampson, an otherworldly beast (also known as Slewfoot) that has recently awakened after a period of amnesic slumber. Like the wildfolk, Sampson appears devilish. Seemingly straddling two worlds, he is part man, part creature, sometimes a slayer, and sometimes the horned god of the wild. In light of his dual nature, Sampson struggles with who he’s told to be, and who he wants to be. Although the wildfolk insist Sampson’s purpose is to drive away the humans (because the humans are stealing their magick), Abitha believes otherwise.

“She paused in her work and stared into the trees, wondered how she was supposed to carry on with the very Devil at her doorstep, then she wondered why she kept insisting he was the Devil. Was it because he had horns and hooves? Had her mother not taught her that there were many spirits living in the forest—some kindly, others wicked? Her mother spoke that the church claimed them all to be devils, but that these spirits were here long before Christianity arrived. Abitha thought how hurt, lost, and confused he seemed, and that didn’t strike her as the Devil she’d heard so much about.”

Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery

The devil is one of the most famous villains in fairy tales and folk stories, as well as in real-life superstitious notions. Usually, the devil is recognized by its twisted horns and forked tail, but the devil, like other monsters, has a tendency to change, to shapeshift both externally and internally. Debra Higgs Strickland writes that “monstrosity is defiant. This is arguably its most fundamental characteristic. From classification to physical integrity to gender roles; from location and control to contemporary literary conventions, monsters defy everything, and everything about them is mutable, from their appearances to their very names.” (Introduction: The Future is Necessarily Monstrous)

Guided by Abitha, Sampson, the wildfolk, and our own mutabilities, it’s time to become a monster…

Creative Mediumship: Prompts for the Monster Within

Creative mediumship is the practice of treating our creative world as a doorway. It’s intuitive art-making and channeled writing. It’s summoning music through our dreams for a new song or score. If we’re weaving stories into tapestries, crafting desk altars for our muses, or ritualizing our creativity alongside our magical world in a way that makes us feel alive, we’re already engaged with this practice. Creative mediumship is befriending the inherently weird and wondrous parts of ourselves and letting the language of mystery guide our quill.

“It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another.”

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

Poetically speaking, monsters can be the urges that possess our bodies. They can be whispers that transform us into werewolves during full moons, or yearning vampires beneath the smiling crescents. Sometimes, becoming a monster rouses us from the trance of routine. It can safeguard our liberties, reshape our desires, and inspire our quills, so this month, the monster is our muse.

To harness our inner monsters as creative companions, respond to the prompts below, inspired by Slewfoot. If you’re a writer, use the following prompts as writing warm-ups or as inspiration for your next channeled writing session. If you’re a painter or artist, ritualize these prompts as starting points for intuitive artmaking. Use them as guided meditations, cast them as dream spells, or incorporate them into your magical or creative practice as you see fit.

Prompt 1:

Automantic Writing: Grab your journal and set a timer for at least 20 minutes. Keep your pen moving until the timer goes off, crafting an essay, poem, or piece of prose that explores the following: Based on your favorite fairy tales and stories, combined with October’s read, what does it mean to be a monster? How does your monstrosity hinder you? In what ways does this strangeness protect you? Describe the body of your inner monster. Does it have wings? Teeth? Claws? Scales? Does it appear more human than animal? Is it of mythical origin? Where does this creature live, and what might happen if you followed it home?

Prompt 2:

Symbols & Cartomancy: Using the Folklore Oracle Deck from Hadas Knox, we asked Slewfoot and the wildfolk about their needs. We wanted to know what is required to be a monster? Here’s what they said:

The first card revealed that a monster requires mourning. It asked us to consider what must be grieved in order to become a monster? As the wheel turns to the dark months, what will be composted to make space and nourish this new creature?

The second card motioned toward the broomstick, one of the witch’s beloved tools and sometimes, her chariot through the night sky. The broomstick says: search for the cobwebs, both within and without.

The third card arrived with a handful of salt, a household item that lines thresholds and draws boundaries around our sacred spaces. Salt is a protective symbol, traditionally used to ward off fae folk, malevolent ghosts, and beasts. But sometimes, like ‘witches’ experienced in Salem, our attackers aren’t devilish or demonic but familiar. In an era of witch hunts, what elements of your inner monster desire protection? What parts of your inner monster provide protection for others?

Our fourth and final card—a mouthful of berries alongside a message that is both sweet and thorny: In a world of shapeshifters and beautiful monsters, how do you practice discernment?

“Was I, then, a monster, a blot upon the earth, from which all men fled and whom all men disowned?”

Mary Shelley, Frankenstein: The 1818 Text

Prompt 3:

Art Witchery: This final prompt is a visual spell for exploring mediums such as collage, painting, sketching, crafting, sculpting, or some other form of creative assemblage. Although we happen to be drawn to the texture of physical art, you can also lean into digital spells with help from Photoshop or Canva, or create a mood board via Pinterest. Using your preferred medium, bring your monster from the unconscious into the material world, focusing on the shape of its body, how it moves, and what name you’d give your monster. Check out the images above and below to see Caitlyn’s inner arachnid.

If you incorporate these prompts into your magical or creative practices, please tag the Literary Coven or Pointy Hat Press!

Thanks for reading “It’s Time to Become a Monster: The Shape of Survival in an Era of Witch Hunts” from the Pointy Hat Press book club! Pointy Hat Press is a place for fairy tales and folklore, reimagined. Follow us on Substack and Instagram, sign up for our Moon Letters, and consider adding our original fairy tales to your library. You can also find us telling stories and talking about our latest creative quests on the Pointy Hat Press podcast.

A Tale of Bewitchery

Pointy Hat Press — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 22:20:11 GMT

It’s official, the Book Club is back for October!

Calling all book witches and wyrd women — throughout the month of October, the Literary Coven Book Club is reading Brom’s Slewfoot: A Tale of Bewitchery, and you’re invited to join!

As we journey through the book, we’ll share some musings, creative prompts, and rituals to enchant our reading experience. Together, we’ll do some bibliomancy, intuitive writing, and summon our inner monsters and mysterious magic.

Plus, and will be hosting a live gathering at the end of October to write together and share final reflections!

If you’re a paid subscriber to the Literary Coven, you’re already part of the Book Club (hooray!). Free subscribers will receive some of the perks (a handful of creative prompts and rituals), but will need to upgrade to paid to participate in the end-of-the-book gathering and writing circle.

See you there, book witches.

Thanks for reading “A Tale of Bewitchery: October’s Book Club.” The Literary Coven Book Club is a new offering from Pointy Hat Press. Pointy Hat Press is a place for fairy tales and folklore, reimagined. Follow us on Substack and Instagram, sign up for our Moon Letters, and consider adding our original fairy tales to your library. You can also find us telling stories and talking about our latest creative quests on the Pointy Hat Press podcast.

Visual Spells & Literary Spellcraft

Pointy Hat Press — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 11:26:36 GMT

Welcome to the Book Club. Throughout the month of August, the Literary Coven is reading V. E. Schwab’s Bury Her Bones in the Midnight Soil, an enchanting, sapphic novel about three women and a hunger uniting them across distant timelines.

If you’re new to August’s Book Club, start with week 1’s betwitching prompts, Hunger is a Garden, then head over to our conversation from week 2, Bibliomancy: Divination with Fiction.

To celebrate our third week of August’s Book Club, we’re casting spells.

In a recent conversation, “What is a Spell?”, we mentioned that the witch's spell comes from the Germanic spel, defined by “talk, storytelling, gossip, and sermons. Spel is also a derivative of gospel, which translates to 'good tale.'”

But a spell can also be a story, says Pointy Hat Press co-founder Kristin Lisenby, a story that takes on new viewpoints, new voices, and new meanings as we journey across the pages of our craft.

In his 16th-century poem, “The Faerie Queen,” Edmund Spenser describes a spell as a special kind of verse or charm, which some might call the Gospel, or the Word.

Joseph Campbell says magic (specifically, the spell called dance) might look like “Poem-fragments, dance-fragments, scenery-fragments, music-fragments, charged with a continuous hypnotic spell, phosphoresce in a sleep landscape, where mysteriously motivated personages come and go.”

A spell can be a story, a fragmented landscape, or a mirror, reflecting what we want, how we see ourselves, and the echoes we send out into the world. Word Witch Danielle Dulsky says words can enchant and believes that every spell is a prayer.

Sometimes, a spell begins as a what-if, a wondering that slips from our tongue and sows itself beneath our feet. Occasionally, that what-if has wings, claws, or paws, and other times, it's formless. Because a spell can also be a remembering – an invitation to play, swap secrets with the inner little witch, and wrap ourselves in the folds of nostalgia.

Spells can start as what-ifs and memories, rising up like newly awakened ghosts. These ghosts can be our muses, they are the ancestors, writers, artists, and magick-makers of yesteryear who survive via the dusty books and fairy tales decorating our altars. In this sense, spells can be spectral, seen by only a select few, dutifully haunting the gardens of our creative past, present, and what will be.

For this week’s Book Club bewitchement, think back to what you’ve read so far in Bury Her Bones in the Midnight Soil — is there a line, passage, or section of dialogue that stands out to you? Did you underline a fragment of poetic prose, or was there a scenario that prompted your own hunger? Did you read something that made you feel seen? Did you find words that rang familiar, or that left you angry, curious, or nostalgic?

Here are a few passages we highlighted:

María sits on the floor beside the widow’s remains, and feels a moment of—not of regret, but disappointment. At being left, even though she knows it was her doing. She knows, as well, something is wrong. No, not wrong, just—strange. Out of place. As if a piece of her has been ripped away, but something new has grown up just as quickly in its wake, so that she doesn’t feel the absence. Something new, and yet familiar, some version of her that has been buried for a long, long time, and has at last been watered, tended, given leave to bloom. She reaches out and runs her fingers through the ash. Knows she should feel horrified. But as she rises to her feet, all she feels is hungry.
“We are the roses that grew in the midnight soil,” he says, eyes bright as candles now. “Our thorns are sharp enough to prick. We are watered by life, and with its bounty, our roots grow deep, our blooms unmarred by age. In fact, for us, time fortifies, renders us more noble. We are no monster, no mean thing. We are nature’s finest flower.”
And yet, as Charlotte climbs into the carriage, she cannot help glancing back at the grand and empty house. “Won’t you miss it?” Sabine settles beside her on the velvet bench. “I miss the last cherries of the season. I miss chocolate melting on my tongue. I miss the way sun used to feel against my skin in spring. I don’t miss walls and doors. Besides,” she says, sliding her arm through Charlotte’s, “others stay put, and wither in their boxes. We draw up our roots, and find new ground in which to grow.”
One by one she spits the cherry pits into her palm, until the small stones look like bloody teeth. It should repulse her, but it doesn't. They have always been her favorite fruit. In fact-she scans the fields beyond the walls and decides that she will have one tilled, and turned into a cherry orchard. And then, because she does not want to wait, she passes through the gates, and spends the next hour pressing pits into the soil in the nearest olive grove, burying them like secrets just beneath her feet.
Some people keep their heart tucked so deep, they hardly know it’s there. But you have always worn it like a second skin. It will make your life harder. But it will also make it beautiful.

If no passages stood out to you, use bibliomancy to choose a passage at random.

Caitlyn’s visual spell inspired by August’s Book Club

Once you’ve selected the line or words that strike you as magical, turn them into a visual spell.

Pointy Hat Press co-founder, Caitlyn Barone, crafted a visual spell through mixed media collaging (collaging, watercolor, pen and ink, etc). Inspired by the ritual of speaking our desires aloud, she chose the line:

If you see a thing you want…

“All you have to do is ask,” whispers the widow.

- V. E. Schwab, Bury Her Bones in the Midnight Soil

Even if you don’t consider yourself an artist, adding a few visual spells to your journal or grimoire creates texture, tangibility, and intrigue to your creative process. There are many avenues to craft visual spells outside of collaging. You might consider channeled or intuitive drawing, crafting a physical altar, decorating your desk or workspace with found objects that indulge your hunger, or simply filling a blank page with the doodles and delights running through your mind.

We’d love to see your favorite passages turned into art, so make sure you tag Pointy Hat Press and the Literary Coven in your visual spells!

And then, join us on Friday, August 29th, at 2pm EST for a virtual gathering with final reflections, questions (we have so many!), and writing shares. This meeting of bookish minds will be held via Zoom and will conclude August’s Book Club. Upgrade to paid to RSVP.

See you there, witches.

Thanks for reading “Bibliomancy: Divination with Fiction” from the Pointy Hat Press book club! Pointy Hat Press is a place for fairy tales and folklore, reimagined. Follow us on Substack and Instagram, sign up for our Moon Letters, and consider adding our original fairy tales to your library. You can also find us telling stories and talking about our latest creative quests on the Pointy Hat Press podcast.

Bibliomancy

Pointy Hat Press — Thu, 21 Aug 2025 18:59:57 GMT

Welcome to the Book Club. Throughout August, the Literary Coven is reading V. E. Schwab’s Bury Her Bones in the Midnight Soil, an enchanting, sapphic novel about three women and a hunger uniting them across distant timelines. Read on for a collection of bewitching prompts and spells to begin your literary quest.

If you’re new to August’s Book Club, start with week 1, Hunger is a Garden.

Here at Pointy Hat Press and Little Witch Books, we're tapping into magical worlds through books, scripted spells, and literary spellcraft. Perhaps you call it word witchery or intuitive writing, but literary spells are vehicles built from your words. Poetry, storytelling, dream journaling, bibliomancy, or putting pen to paper for ten minutes a day can be a spell when paired with an intention. Sometimes, literary magick involves naming our spectral muses and crafting odes from their memory. Word spells can be solo endeavors, but also collaborative.

Magickal practitioners have relied on bibliomancy (divination with books) for thousands of years. In the ancient Roman world, they called it ‘sortes,’ and although the art has evolved, much of the practice remains the same:

In place of tarot cards, pendulums, or a scrying mirror, a book is your oracle.

Step 1: Establish a question. Do you have a question about the past, present, or future? Are you looking for guidance in matters of love, learning, or magick? There is no question too taboo or tricky – speak from the heart.

Step 2: Choose a book. Or better yet, let the book choose you. In the past, bibliomancers used holy books like the Bible, Torah, Quran, the Vedas, or the Falnama: The Book of Omens. In place of a religious text, we can also look to poetry, storybooks, or writings that deal with mythology, nature, esoteric knowledge, or another aspect that relates to your question.

Step 3: Let your finger lead. While focusing on your question, intuitively open the book and let your finger slide over the pages until you feel called to stop. Read the first sentence and paragraph where your finger lands – this is the answer to your question.

Step 4: Reflect and record. Occasionally, what the oracle shares is straightforward, but sometimes, we need a moment (or several) to mull over the response. Reflect on the message and record your first impressions in a journal or grimoire.

Like all divinatory methods, there are many ways to approach bibliomancy. As we incorporate more readings into our craft, we’ll begin to see patterns and ideas calling from the pages of our favorite books.

For the second week of August’s Book Club, let’s do some bibliomancy. Using only the pages you have read (to avoid spoilers), intuitively flip through the book until you feel called to stop. Run your finger down the page, and wherever your finger stops is your message. Use those first few words as a starter or anchor phrase for a poem, essay, or piece of channeled writing.

Share your bibliomancy message in the comments below or in the Literary Coven chat!

Thanks for reading “Bibliomancy: Divination with Fiction” from the Pointy Hat Press book club! Pointy Hat Press is a place for fairy tales and folklore, reimagined. Follow us on Substack and Instagram, sign up for our Moon Letters, and consider adding our original fairy tales to your library. You can also find us telling stories and talking about our latest creative quests on the Pointy Hat Press podcast.

Hunger is a Garden

Pointy Hat Press — Sat, 09 Aug 2025 18:38:06 GMT

Welcome to the Book Club. Throughout August, the Literary Coven is reading V. E. Schwab’s Bury Her Bones in the Midnight Soil, an enchanting, sapphic novel about three women and a hunger uniting them across distant timelines. Read on for a collection of bewitching prompts and spells to begin your literary quest.

If you're a writer, use the following prompts as writing warm-ups or as inspiration for your next channeled writing session. If you're a painter or artist, ritualize these prompts through intuitive artmaking. Use them as guided meditations, cast them as dream spells, or include them in your magical or creative practice however you see fit.

Hunger is a Garden

In the novel “This is How You Lose the Time War,” Amal El-Mohtar writes that, “Books are letters in bottles, cast into the waves of time, from one person trying to save the world to another.”

I like to think that Caitlyn pulled our current read from the stormy summer seas, when a call for the hungry girls bobbed to the surface. Because (even if you’re only a few pages in) you’ve probably realized that August’s book club is a love letter for fiery hearts and ravenous women, the parts of ourselves that long for more, be it something sweet, something ancient, or an entire garden of yet-to-be-named desires.

“You have a healthy appetite,” he says, and she knows he means despite her shape. María may be lean, but it is not for lack of appetite. No, she has always been hungry. Even when the crops were good, the winter kind, and there was no shortage of food in Santo Domingo, and she could eat as much as she pleased, she never felt full. Her mother always wondered where it went. Her father, when he was alive, liked to joke that she had an extra stomach. María would chew stems of grass in the field, suck on cherry pits until they were pebbles, lacking any taste, and at night, the plates would be empty, her brothers leaning back in their chairs, content, and she would long for more, wish the satisfaction lingered past the time it took to taste it.

“Bury Her Bones In The Midnight Soil,” V. E. Schwab

Maria is the first protagonist we meet in the first 100 pages of Bury Her Bones in the Midnight Soil. Maria is a curious child with a restless spirit. She yearns for the freedom her brothers possess, the right to wander, explore, and come and go as she pleases—freedoms not given to women in 16th-century Spain.

As the years pass and Maria’s halo of copper curls shines bigger and brighter, Maria learns to use her peculiar beauty as currency. And then, one day, Maria meets a widow, Sabine, a name that Maria later adopts as her own.

María finds herself holding the name, like a cube of sugar, on her tongue, in the days between their meetings. Dwelling on how strange and sweet it tastes.

“Bury Her Bones In The Midnight Soil,” V. E. Schwab

At one point, Sabine tells Maria that a name is like a dress; it might be by nature pretty or plain, but it is the person wearing it who matters most.

María considers the widow’s words while looking through her apothecary and insists that if names were dresses, hers simply doesn’t fit.

“So take it off,” Sabine says blithely, handing her the lavender as if it were a torch. “Who would you be? What name would better suit you?”

Prompt 1:

Hold up your name like a dress, what does it look like? If you take that dress off and put on another gown, this one slinkier, shinier, different in every way than the other, what might it look like? From which materials would this outfit, your alternate identity, be held together?

“I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor, and another fig was Ee Gee, the amazing editor, and another fig was Europe and Africa and South America, and another fig was Constantin and Socrates and Attila and a pack of other lovers with queer names and offbeat professions, and another fig was an Olympic lady crew champion, and beyond and above these figs were many more figs I couldn't quite make out. I saw myself sitting in the crotch of this fig tree, starving to death, just because I couldn't make up my mind which of the figs I would choose. I wanted each and every one of them, but choosing one meant losing all the rest, and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black, and, one by one, they plopped to the ground at my feet.”

Sylvia Plath, “The Bell Jar”

If our names can be dresses, our identities interchangeable, then our hunger can also be a garden, a place where our desires bloom and die back depending on the season, a temple boundaried by possibility and heart-shaped fruits.

In the novel The Girl Who Soared Over Fairyland and Cut the Moon in Two, Catherynne M. Valente writes that “At the bottom of philosophy, something very true and very desperate whispers: Everyone is hungry all the time. Everyone is starving. Everyone wants so much, much more than they can stomach, but the appetite doesn't converse much with the stomach. Everyone is hungry and not only for food - for comfort and love and excitement and the opposite of being alone. Almost everything awful anyone does is to get those things and keep them.”

Prompt 2:

Bury Her Bones in the Midnight Soil is dedicated to the ones who hunger— for love, for time, or simply to be free. As we move through this book over the next month, name the thing or things that you’re craving at this very moment. Reshape those hungers as the pieces that make up a garden, a house, or some sort of otherworldly ecosystem dependent not only on your attention, but your interest in what commands its appetite. Give this place a name, design a symbol to represent it, and map the doorways into and out of the ravenous wild.

Thanks for reading “Hunger is a Garden” from the Pointy Hat Press book club! Pointy Hat Press is a place for fairy tales and folklore, reimagined. Follow us on Substack and Instagram, sign up for our Moon Letters, and consider adding our original fairy tales to your library. You can also find us telling stories and talking about our latest creative quests on the Pointy Hat Press podcast.

Welcome to the Book Club!

Pointy Hat Press — Fri, 01 Aug 2025 16:44:20 GMT

Calling all book witches and literary folk – Pointy Hat Press is hosting its first book club!

During the month of August, the Literary Coven will be reading V. E. Schwab’s Bury Her Bones in the Midnight Soil, an enchanting, sapphic novel about three women and a hunger that unites them across distant timelines.

Each week, we’ll be sharing bewitching creative prompts and practices to inspire our reading experience and divine with our symbolic muses. And for our paid subscribers, we’ll also have a live discussion at the end for final reflections and writing shares! Join us!

Thanks for reading “Welcome to the Book Club!” The Literary Coven Book Club is a new offering from Pointy Hat Press. Pointy Hat Press is a place for fairy tales and folklore, reimagined. Follow us on Substack and Instagram, sign up for our Moon Letters, and consider adding our original fairy tales to your library. You can also find us telling stories and talking about our latest creative quests on the Pointy Hat Press podcast.