Homecoming 1: Becoming Indigenous
Graham Harvey is emeritus professor of religious
studies at The Open University, UK. He has researched
with Jews, Pagans and Indigenous peoples. Most of his
recent work has engaged with “the new animism”. He
lives in Northumberland and has recently taken on an
allotment in an effort to discover what “retirement”
means.
Beth Mann ‘A native of South West England, I moved
to south western Spain three years ago and have been
seeking a connection to this land ever since. I graduated
from Bath Spa University’s MA in Creative Writing in
2015, and my short stories have been published in the
interdisciplinary journal ‘Revenant’ and ‘Timeless Tales
Magazine’.’
Arie Farnam is from the Blue Mountains of Oregon.
She returned here after 23 years as a newspaper
correspondent in Eastern Europe. Her publications include the dystopian Kyrennei Series and The Children’s Wheel of the Year. She mentors fellow writers, blogs at
www.ariefarnam.com and pursues studies as a Druid.
Talis Kimberley is a prolific Wiltshire-based
songwriter whose work is inspired by folklore, history,
and our relationship with the land. Her eclectic faith-path
is at the heart of all her writing. A fiddler-for-morris and a
crafter besides, Talis performs widely with guitar and
concertina, sharing story-songs with warmth and humour. www.talis.net
Liz Cruse is a Druid. Her commitment to protecting the
land and fostering connection with all beings underpins her practice as Storyteller, Writer and Poet. She has
contributed to Hot Poets – most recently in Sparks (2022).
She works on an organic farm and runs workshops with
older women. She lives in Glastonbury with her cat, Sam.
Sally Forth A journalist by trade and a country
bumpkin at heart, Sally Forth is fascinated by human
psychology, particularly our relationships with each other
and the natural world. That, and the rich history of her
native Tyneside, is the inspiration for much of her work.
She is currently doing an MA in creative writing at
Newcastle University.
Anna Downes ‘I live in the Valleys of South East
Wales. I retired from being a special needs teacher in
further education 6 years ago because of osteoarthritis. I
am 65 years old this year, and have been a member of
OBOD, Bardic Grade for 2 years. I have always written
poetry since winning an Eisteddfod competition in my
school at the tender age of 11. Now, sitting in my garden
looking out over an amazing panoramic view, I am blessed with the inspiration to write of nature and the natural world around me.’
Lucien Wolf is a 20 year old physics student at Leeds
University with an all-encompassing drive for anything
artistic or vaguely interesting, and a strong belief in the
inherent divinity found at the centre of reality. He says this bio may be the most pretentious thing he has ever written, but still stands by it.
Quinn Columba (she/her) is a neurodivergent empty-nester remembering how to daydream, dance and say what she thinks. A really good day involves exploring embodied mystic paths and listening to the Diggy Diggy Hole song (Wind Rose version). She lives in a magical cliff-side cottage with her differently-abled husband of 30 years. Her fantasy novel The Elementist is currently in revision. ladyquinn.enchantress.earth
Susanne Mathies was born in Hamburg, and holds a
PhD in economics and in philosophy. She has been living,
writing and painting in Zurich for many years. Five of her
German language crime novels have been published to
date, most recently Mord im Lesesaal, 2021, and Mord mit
Limmatblick, 2022, both at Gmeiner Verlag, Messkirch,
Germany.
Susan Greenwood has a PhD in anthropology from
Goldsmiths College, where she was a Lecturer on the
anthropology of religion. She has also taught courses on
Shamanic Consciousness and Altered States of
Consciousness at the University of Sussex. More
information can be found on susangreenwood.org.
Gordon MacLellan is a writer, poet and storyteller
whose work explores the relationships between people,
places, passion and wildlife. As Creeping Toad, he works
with community groups to find ways of celebrating those
relationships. Other writings include Old Stones and
Ancient Bones (poems, direct from Gordon) and Sacred
Animals (Green Magic Books, 2023) Find out more:
creepingtoad.blogspot.com / Social media: creeping toad
Jack Wolf is a writer and academic whose first novel
The Tale of Raw Head and Bloody Bones (Chatto and
Windus / Vintage) was published to critical acclaim in 2013. Jack set up Aurochs Underground Press in 2022 in
response to the urgent need to re-evaluate human
relationships to one another and the Earth itself. Jack’s
second novel, Mammoth and Crow, was published by AUP in 2022, along with a poetry collection, Dog Walking
Weather.
Maria Strutz is an artist, printmaker, sculptor and
translator of various subjects. She has an online shop at
https://maria-strutz.onlineweb.shop/ ‘At the core of my
art is a strong connection to nature; the spirits of animals
and plants, landscape, stones, the sea and the elements. My art is about pattern recognition, weaving dreams, stories and images into a whole.’
Carrie Osborne ‘I have a lifelong love of drawing
focusing particularly on themes of nature, mythology and
the human figure. I explore my responses to the natural
world through both images and prose poetry, using mainly pen & ink, watercolour and more recently relief
printmaking. ‘Shield Maiden’ is an original linocut from a
series called ‘Ancestors’ exploring the threads reaching
back and rooting us to our origins.’ Facebook:
@CarrieWordhoardsArt
Homecoming 2: Kin
Philip Shallcrass (Greywolf), is a writer, musician, artist and craftsman, who has been a Pagan since childhood and a Druid since 1974, founding the British Druid Order (BDO) a few years later. An instinctual animist, he has always thought of Iron Age Druids as the ‘shamans’ of much of Northwestern Europe, founding the BDO in part to promote this understanding within modern Druidry. Since 2006 much of his time, when not building roundhouses or making archaic musical instruments, has been devoted to researching, writing, editing and revising distance learning courses for the BDO. In 2023, he published a new, greatly expanded edition of his book, Druidry: A Practical & Inspirational Guide, which includes a rite parts of which featured in the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games. His Greywolf ’s Lair blog can be found at:
www.greywolf.druidry.co.uk
Gordon MacLellan is a writer, poet and storyteller whose work explores the relationships between people, places, passion and wildlife. As Creeping Toad, he works with community groups to find ways of celebrating those relationships. Other writings include Old Stones and Ancient Bones (poems, direct from Gordon) and Sacred Animals (Green Magic Books, 2023) Find out more: creepingtoad.blogspot.com / Social media: creeping toad
Nancy N. Sidhu grew up on 4 ½ acres of wooded land in
Connecticut, USA, and lives in Southern California with her husband. She worked as a teacher and broadcast journalist, and volunteered teaching dance (flamenco and hula), in climate change and solid waste planning, and as an Outdoor Ambassador.
Alison Elliott Married with three daughters I live in Paisley, the town which inspired me to write This. Completing a Masters in Creative Writing has built the confidence I lacked to focus on writing. I have contributed to school textbooks but this is my first creative writing narrative to be published.
Liv Torc is a poet, performer, participation expert, artist and project weaver, who plunders the vast caverns and dormant volcanoes of the human and planetary condition. Her books include Show Me Life (2015), Banana Poems (2021) and The Human Emergency (2021). As a poet Liv has been gigging for over 15 years and in 2022 performed at UN in Paris, appeared on BBCR4 Poetry Please and supported both Roger McGough and Hollie McNish in sell out shows. www.livtorc.co.uk to find out more.
Polly Paton Brown is an artist, writer and lover of the sacred, brings her experience as a trauma therapist working in the arts and eco and animal assisted therapy into all she does as a retreat facilitator. Polly’s work will be featured in Lucy Pearce’s upcoming book ‘The Crow Moon’. She can be contacted via her website www.pollypatonbrownartist.com
Theresa Kelleher is a British Druid, poet and traditional
storyteller. This year she received a Highly Commended Award in the National King Lear Prize 2023 and is the current Champion of the annual Leicester WORD Poetry Slam Competition 2023. Most of her work recognises the kinship and deep connection with all beings. She is currently working on her poetry collection Mystical Tenderness.
Susanne Mathies was born in Hamburg, and holds a
PhD in economics and in philosophy. She has been living,
writing and painting in Zurich for many years. Five of her
German language crime novels have been published to
date, most recently Mord im Lesesaal, 2021, and Mord mit
Limmatblick, 2022, both at Gmeiner Verlag, Messkirch,
Germany.
Liz Williams is a science fiction and fantasy writer living in Glastonbury, England, where she is co-director of a witchcraft supply business. She has been published by Bantam Spectra (US) and Tor Macmillan (UK), also Night Shade Press and appears regularly in Asimov’s and other magazines. She has been involved with the Milford SF Writers’ Workshop for over 25 years, and also teaches creative writing at a local college for Further Education.
Gareth N. Jones is an aspiring writer and photographer. He has travelled widely throughout Southeast Asia, with long stays in the Philippines and most recently in Japan. He is interested in how the environment shapes our identity, particularly in post-industrial landscapes such as the South Wales valleys where he is from.
S.V. Wolfland has published poetry and stories in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia, and Porlock the Warlock, a novel. S.V. has an MA in Creative Writing, is a professional storyteller who has performed at countless events, including regularly at Glastonbury Festival and who lives in the Pyrénées.
Carrie Osborne Working primarily in the visual arts as a picture framer, printmaker and illustrator, I have always had a deep love of language and creative writing, often combining poetry and prose with images in my arts practice. I often write about my own observations and responses to the natural world and the deep connectedness of all living things within in. I am particularly drawn to transitions in nature; seasons of light and dark, dawn and twilight, the cycles of life and death, storm-rise and ebbtide.
Helen Compton is a medical herbalist and lecturer in herbal medicine, undertaking a PhD while caring for her wonderful disabled partner and two neurodivergent sons in the wild greengrey of Yorkshire. Animist paganism has been her spiritual home for 30 years now, and she writes creatively where time allows.
Boann Lambert is an artist, a magical practitioner and co facilitator of ‘Wild Women Retreats’. Her work is intuitively sensitive and is influenced greatly by her spiritual path. Boann is a member of the Order of Bards, Ovates and Druids, which combined with other earth based philosophies has become her spiritual practise. Boann has a passion for developing transformative ritual space. She also teaches sacred art where she lives in Wiltshire. Follow her on Instagram at boannlambertartist
Pinwydd Studio (Andressa Ferrari) I’m a Brazilian artist with a background in academic arts, but my love for old stories, ancient gods, and folk magic slowly shifted me towards pictorial storytelling and the Celtic lands. I currently live in Brittany, where I’ve been developing my practice towards narrative illustration and enjoying the wonder of giving life to the vivid characters, shapes and colours I see whenever words transport through charmed magic casements to the faery lands forlorn… Visit pinwyddstudio.com to see more of my work.
Homecoming 3: Time
Ronald Hutton is Professor of History at the University of Bristol. His research specialises in early modern Britain, British folklore, pre-Christian religion, and modern paganism. He can currently be found online lecturing at Gresham College, where he has been Professor of Divinity since 2022. His many publications include The Triumph of the Moon: A History of Modern Pagan Witchcraft (Oxford University Press, 1999) and Blood and Mistletoe: a History of the Druids in Britain (Yale University Press, 2009). His most recent work is Queens of the Wild: Pagan Goddesses in Christian Europe: An Investigation (Yale, 2022)
Hannah Semple is a long time Pagan and poet based in South Wales, where nature has always been her teacher and inspiration. Her poetry and nature writing can be found at earthmothernaturelover.wordpress.com
Heidi Hanley finds inspiration in the beautiful
landscapes of New England and the wisdom of the Druid path. She hopes her poetry will inspire others to help protect and heal this beautiful, precious planet we call ‘Home’. She posts some of her poetry on Facebook: @heidihanleyauthor and on Instagram: @heidi_hanley
Sharon Shaw lives in Lincolnshire with her husband Alex and their child, Willow. Sharon edits Alex’s book series and audio drama, New Century, and for the last decade they have co-hosted the School of Movies podcast, enabling her to overthink Hollywood franchises and talk at delighted length about neurodiversity in film. The Stag Bar has appeared in anthologies published by the author and by Lincs and Inks.
Gordon MacLellan is a writer, poet and storyteller whose work explores the relationships between people, places, passion and wildlife. As Creeping Toad, he works with community groups to find ways of celebrating those relationships. Other writings include Old Stones and
Ancient Bones (poems, direct from Gordon) and Sacred Animals (Green Magic Books, 2023) ‘Vigil’ was first published in Waiting for the Snow, (Creeping Toad, 2024) Find out more: creepingtoad.blogspot.com Social media: creeping toad
Harriet Sams teaches, mentors, and facilitates archaeotherapy. She co-hosts online conversations with ecological creators, thinkers and writers for the charity Radical Joy for Hard Times, and co-facilitates imaginal workshops for the Climate Psychology Alliance. She writes about interconnected threads such as myth,
archaeology, Earth-based spirituality, environmental art, and climate/ecological chaos. www.nwyfre-earth.co
Nimue Brown is an animist on the Druid path. She’s a longstanding blogger at www.druidlife.wordpress.com and the author of assorted Pagan and Druid titles, published by Moon Books and also self-published. She lives on the Cotswold edge above the Severn River, and talks to everything.
Morgaine Merch Lleued is an Associate Lecturer in Creative Writing, a novelist and poet. Her poetry has appeared in many publications, including The Interpreter’s House, Orbis, The Frogmore Papers, Ink, Sweat & Tears, Antiphon, Bare Fiction and Iota.
Jon Nash is a poet, playwright, theatre director and Druid based in Devon, England. His work explores truth in the digital age, our relationship with the wild during the climate crisis and animism. You can find him at jonnash.uk and on Instagram at @jonnashwriter (for writing) and @undertheashpod (for Druidry).
Nancy M Bell lives in Castor, Alberta. She belongs to the Writers Guild of Alberta and is on the board of the Canadian Authors Association. Publishing credits include poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. Nancy is a horsewoman and a retired equestrian coach. She enjoys fostering rescue animals and gardening. http://www.nancymbell.ca
Liz Cruse is a Druid and lives in Glastonbury with her cat, Sam. Her commitment to protecting the land and fostering connection with all beings underpins her practice as Storyteller, Writer and Poet. She volunteers at Plotgate Community Farm and is on the committee of Plotgate Venture Land Trust.
Viv Rimmer is a member of OBOD and lives in Reading, UK.
Aine King is a London-Irish writer, artist, and theatre- maker now living in Orkney. Her climate crisis play, Burning Bright, won the 2023 David MacLennan Award. https://www.aineking.net
Jennifer Uzzell is an independent researcher who recently completed her doctorate at Durham University on contemporary British Druids and the ritualisation of death which can be read at: etheses.dur.ac.uk/15264/ She is a Druid and is currently Education and Youth Manager for the Pagan Federation, as well as being a consultant in Religious Education. She is also co-owner of a progressive funeral home in the Northeast of England.
Liudmila Nikanorova grew up in Yakutsk and studied at the Universities of Tromso and UiT, Norway. She lectures in religious studies at the Open University, where her research centres on Indigenous religious methodologies, with a focus on Shamanism as practised by the Sakha people of the Sakha republic (Yakutsk). Sakha Moons and the Summer Solstice was previously published on the OU Blog, March 2024.
Jack Wolf’s first novel The Tale of Raw Head and Bloody Bones (Chatto and Windus) was published to critical acclaim in 2013. Jack set up Aurochs Underground Press in 2022 in response to the urgent need to re-evaluate human relationships to one another and the Earth itself. Jack’s second novel, Mammoth and Crow, was published by AUP in 2022, along with a poetry collection, Dog Walking Weather.
Susan Greenwood has a PhD in anthropology from Goldsmith’s College, where she was a lecturer on the anthropology of religion. She has taught courses on Shamanic consciousness and Altered States of Consciousness at the University of Sussex. More information can be found at susangreenwood.org
Wild Soda Workshop is a photographer based in the
South of England. Their work centres around recognising
a sense of the numinous and uncanny in the natural world.