Year of the Witching

A young woman living in a rigid, puritanical society discovers dark powers within herself, with terrifying and far-reaching consequences, in this stunning, feminist fantasy debut.

In the lands of Bethel, where the Prophet’s word is law, Immanuelle Moore’s very existence is blasphemy. Her mother’s union with an outsider of a different race cast her once-proud family into disgrace, so Immanuelle does her best to worship the Father, follow Holy Protocol, and lead a life of submission, devotion, and absolute conformity, like all the other women in the settlement.

But a mishap lures her into the forbidden Darkwood surrounding Bethel, where the first prophet once chased and killed four powerful witches. Their spirits are still lurking there, and they bestow a gift on Immanuelle: the journal of her dead mother, who Immanuelle is shocked to learn once sought sanctuary in the wood.

Fascinated by the secrets in the diary, Immanuelle finds herself struggling to understand how her mother could have consorted with the witches. But when she begins to learn grim truths about the Church and its history, she realizes the true threat to Bethel is its own darkness. And she starts to understand that if Bethel is to change, it must begin with her.

“This is a beautiful, powerful, important book, and I hugely recommend it.” Seanan McGuire, New York Times bestselling author of The Unkindest Tide

“A dark, dramatic tale of oppression and rebellion, ideology and morality, with a complicated, appealing protagonist caught in a Handmaid’s Tale nightmare.” Louisa Morgan, Author of The Age of Witches

”Grips you by the throat from the very first page and refuses to let go. Gothic, dark, and utterly enthralling, this is a world I wanted to sink into and never leave. I adored this book.“ Emily A. Duncan, New York Times bestselling author of Wicked Saints

“Creepy, compelling, and compulsively readable... blends the terror of the supernatural with the all-too-recognizable human evils of power and dogma.” Fonda Lee, Award-winning author of the Green Bone Saga

”A masterfully eerie, feminist story that binds itself to the reader’s mind and won’t let go.“ Shea Ernshaw, New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep

Alexis Henderson is a speculative fiction writer with a penchant for dark fantasy, witchcraft, and cosmic horror. She grew up in one of America’s most haunted cities, Savannah, Georgia, which instilled in her a life-long love of ghost stories. Currently, Alexis resides in the sun-soaked marshland of Charleston, South Carolina.