NON-FICTION
★ BOOKS
Dream Book. Short Story Collection. Fox Spirit Books (April 2015).
“You will want to savor every word, every page and read this book over and over. The warmth and peacefulness these stories bring to the reader feels like a big, comfortable blanket on a cold wintry day” — The Pagan & the Pen
“K. A. Laity’s efforts make Finnish mythology and folklore relevant today in ways that resonate with the modern reader. She mates myth and womanhood exquisitely. In short, her work is fabulous.” — FinNALA
Read the short story “Palakainen”!
Rook Chant: Collected Writings on Paganism and Witchcraft. Women’s League of Ale Drinkers, June 2012.
“ROOK CHANT is a delicious in-gathering, a magpie’s nest of shiny new things about subjects old, gnarled and powerful. Sit with it, relish it and be bound likewise into a breathing tradition that puts Potter et. al. to shame. It is a charm well-sung and a talisman.”
Meditations on Hávamál: Translations & Interpretations. Project in progress at Witches & Pagans.
★ ESSAYS
“Introduction to Shamanic Writing.” Magic on the Edge 2.0. Ed. Taylor Ellwood. Megalithica Books. Forthcoming.
“Shamans vs Aliens.” Inanna’s Ascent: Reclaiming Female Power, ed. Trista Hendren. Girl God, July 2018.
“Moore v Albarn: ‘Between the Angels and the Apes.’” Thought Bubble Comics Forum. 26 September 2012.
“Rite Here: Ritual, Performance and the Magick of Place.”: [Alan Moore performance piece to be published in untitled anthology of comics writing, edited by Stephen R. Bissette] forthcoming .
“Casting the Writer’s Spell.” Women Writers, Women’s Books. 8 July 2012.
“Finnish Charms: Appropriating Folk Magic from the Kalevala and Kanteletar.” Mythic Imagination Magazine (May 2011). Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“London Demons: Cursed, Trapped and Haunted in William Heaney’s [Graham Joyce’s] Memoirs of a Master Forger [2008].” 21st Century Gothic: Great Gothic Novels Since 2000. Ed. Danel Olsen. Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 2011. 410-417.
“Heofen rece swealg: Neomedievalism and Spectacle in Grendel: Transcendence of The Great Big Bad.” Studies in Medievalism 22 (2009): 15-25.
“Me and Margery Kempe.” Wild Violet VII.2 (2008). Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“The Virgin Victim: Re-imagining a medieval folk ballad in The Virgin Spring and Last House on the Left.” Folklore/Cinema: Popular Film as Vernacular Culture. Eds. Sharon R. Sherman and Mikel J. Koven. Logan, UT: Utah State UP, 2007. 180-196.
“Up on the Roof: Understanding an Anglo-Saxon Healing Practice.” Societas Magica Newsletter 18 (Fall 2007): 1-8. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“The Sorcerer.” Icons of Horror and the Supernatural. Ed. S. T. Joshi. Greenwood Press, 2006. 565-589.
“Living the Mystery: Sacred Drama Today.” The Journal for the Academic Study of Magic 3 (2006): 263-276. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012). Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“Mr. Punch in Literary Space: Post-Apocalyptic Performance Ritual in Riddley Walker.” Puppetry International Magazine 19 (Spring and Summer 2006): 26-30. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
★ REVIEWS
Róisín Dubh by Curley/McHugh/Byrne/Daly. Comic review. A Knife and A Quill. 18 May 2012.
Women in Science Fiction and Fantasyby Robin Anne Reid, ed. Book review. Femspec 10.2 (Dec 2010): 100-102.
Women and the Divine: Touching Transcendence by Gillian Howie and J’annine Jobling, eds. Book review. Femspec 10.2 (Dec 2010): 103-105.
Women and Medieval Epic: Gender, Genre, and the Limits of Epic Masculinity by Sara S. Poor and Jana K. Schulman, eds. Book review. Journal of Medieval Religious Cultures 36.2 (2010): 256-258.
Faust: My Soul Be Damned for the World by E. A. Bucchianeri. Book review. Journal of Folklore Research (Mar 2010).
The Mindscape of Alan Moore. DVD review. Up Against the Wall 10 (December 2007). Also reviewed for New Witch 17 (June 2008). Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
The Magical Self: Body Society and the Supernatural in Early Modern Rural Finland by Laura Stark. Book Review. Journal of Folklore Research (Sept 2007).
“Jodorowsky Box.” DVD Review. Up Against the Wall 8 (September 2007). Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
Historical Dictionary of Witchcraft by Michael D. Bailey. Book review. Journal for the Academic Study of Magic 3 (2006): 321-323.
Anglo-Saxon Propaganda in the Bayeux Tapestry by Meredith Clermont-Ferrand. Book review. English Language Notes 43.3 (2005): 84-89 .
“‘Celebrating Pale Hecate’s Offerings: My Favorite Witchcraft Films.” Film reviews. The Beltane Papers 27 (2002): 52-53. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“Magic as Performance Art: The Ritual Art of Alan Moore.” The Seeker Journal 14.4 (2002): 8-9. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
★ COLUMN/CONTRIBUTOR
History Witch for Witches & Pagans (June 2012-present)
★ NOTES
“The Headless Saint.” Polite Company (20 Dec 2010).
“A Taste of Ancient Finland.” New World Finn 7.1 (Autumn 2006): 1. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“Reaching into the Past.” Finnish Connection 19.4 (Fall 2006): 13.
“Trancing with Tara.” The Beltane Papers 38 (Summer 2006); 35-36, 43-44.
“Feeding the Spirit in Exile.” The Beltane Papers 37 (Spring 2006). Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“Coming Together from Many Nations: The Conference on Women and the Divine.” Beltane Papers 36 (Autumn 2005): 41-42 . Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“Casting the Circle: Ritual and the Body of the Goddess.” Circle 94 (Summer 2005): 19-20. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“Ancient Texts and Venerable Tales.” Celebrating the Pagan Soul. Ed. Laura Wildman. Citadel Press, 2005.
“The New Medievalism: Visual Rhetoric and Christianity in Modern Films.” The Beltane Papers 33 (2004): 48-49, 64.
“Where are all the Pagan Punks?” New Witch 4 (2003). Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“The Sound of Magic: The Kantele.” The Beltane Papers 31 (2003): 30-31, 62. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“Holy Maidenhead! Or How Our Medieval Foremothers Were Sold Virginity.” The Beltane Papers 27 (2002): 39, 61. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“Taking the Goddess to Class.” The Seeker Journal 14.3 (2002): 3-4. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“Awaiting on You All: George Harrison 1943-2001.” The Seeker Journal 14.1 (2002): 9-11. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“Anglo-Saxon Yule.” The Seeker Journal 13.12 (2001): 4-5. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“Walking Among the Elders.” Circle 82 (2001): 6-7. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“An Early Witch Trial.” The Seeker Journal 13.11 (2001): 7-8. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“A Most Unusual Totem Animal.” Circle 81 (2001): 21. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“Music is Praise.” The Seeker Journal 13.8 (2001): 3-4. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“Teaching Medea.” The Beltane Papers 25 (2001): 10-11. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“Goddess, Waiting.” The Seeker Journal 12.12 (2000): 5-6. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
★ TRANSLATIONS
“Against the Water Elf Disease.” Translation. The Bayou Review (2003): 35. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“Anglo-Saxon Charm Against a Wen.” Dual-text translation. The Seeker Journal 13.5 (2001): 12-13. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“Against a Swarm of Bees: An Anglo-Saxon Charm.” Dual-text translation. The Seeker Journal 13.3 (2001): 11. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
“Erce: Earth Goddess, An Anglo-Saxon Charm.” Dual-text Translation. Avalon Rising 1.3 (1999): 14-15. Reprinted as “Erce: Earth Goddess.” The Seeker Journal 13.2 (2001): 18-19. Reprinted in The Pagan’s Muse. Jane Raeburn, ed. Citadel Press, 2003. Reprinted in Rook Chant (2012).
FICTION
★ BOOKS
Unquiet Dreams. Story collection from Tirgearr Publishing (4 Oct 2012).
Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car,
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star,
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams;
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams.
Come away, O human child!
To the waters and the wild
With a faery hand in hand,
For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand. ~ from WB Yeats’ “The Stolen Child”
“Kate Laity’s Unquiet Dreams is the long, deep plunge in the coldest quarry in the woods; the lingering look under the rotting wood at all the writhing life there; the stare into the abyss until one realizes something is staring back.” — S. R. Bissette
Owl Stretching. Novel from Immanion Press (September 2012). Available in paperback or ebook.
“It was in the fourteenth year of the war that Simon woke up…”
Shamans v. Aliens! It’s an alternative history/science fiction/urban fantasy/shamanistic retelling of the Descent of Inanna/great American road trip that takes in Albany, the Berkshires, Kripalu and Boston. I pull off the impossible task of making Worcester glamorous and exciting. There’s a dead cat whose ashes need to be taken to Mount Auburn Cemetery, aliens and a 300 year old magpie. I started writing this novel when Kurt Vonnegut died and I was thinking how dispiriting it was to realise there would be no new sad but funny novels from him. I hope it’s got a little of his spirit.
Pelzmantel and other Tales of Medieval Magic. Novel plus three bonus short stories and an essay on medieval magic. Immanion Press (June 2010). Available as an ebook, too.
“Laity is a very remarkable sorceress indeed.” — Elizabeth Hand
“Laity’s storytelling is magic in itself. The language is beautiful and weaves vivid pictures for the reader’s imagination.” — Matrifocus Magazine
Watch the trailer! Read an excerpt!
Unikirja [Dreambook]. Short Story Collection. Aino Press (April 2009). Now available as an ebook!
“You will want to savor every word, every page and read this book over and over. The warmth and peacefulness these stories bring to the reader feels like a big, comfortable blanket on a cold wintry day” — The Pagan & the Pen
“K. A. Laity’s efforts make Finnish mythology and folklore relevant today in ways that resonate with the modern reader. She mates myth and womanhood exquisitely. In short, her work is fabulous.” — FinNALA
Watch the trailer! Read the short story “Palakainen”! Buy it for your Kindle!
Jane Quiet. Comic book. Story by K. A. Laity; Designed and illustrated by Elena Steier.
“Algernon Blackwood and Dennis Wheatley, make room: Kate and Elena are here, and their heroine Jane Quiet is taking no prisoners in the occult wars.” — Steve Bissette
“Jane Quiet is my kind of woman: smart, sexy (it’s the smart that makes her sexy), fearless when fighting monsters…and, well, she doesn’t say a lot but she knows how to kick monster ass!” — Philip Nutman
Watch the animatic! See the latest panels online!
★ SHORT WORKS
“The Willimantic Frogs.” Short story. Broad Spectrum: The 2012 Broad Universe Sampler. 30 Oct 2012.
“The Price.” Short story. Tales of the Nun and Dragon. Ed. Adele Wearing. Fox Spirit Books: 10 September 2012.
“Horse Clock.” Short story. Burning Bridges: A Renegade Fiction Anthology. Ed. Heath Lowrance. Renegade: April 2012. Free at Smashwords / 99¢ at Amazon: 100% of authors’ proceeds will be donated to Literacy for Incarcerated Teens.
“It’s a Curse.” Short story. Drunk on the Moon: A Roman Dalton Anthology. Ed. Paul D. Brazill. Dark Valentine Press April 2012. Available as an ebook or in print.
“Fear and Loathing in Deptford.” Short story. Women’s League of Ale Drinkers 1 (Oct 2010): 29-40. Reprinted at the World SF Blog (Feb 2012).
“High Plains Lazarus.” Short story. Rotting Tales. Ed. Jessy Marie Roberts. Pill Hill Press, 2010.
“Lachrymae Draconis.” Short story. Realms 2 (Spring 2010): 3-12.
“A Case of Dead Faces.” Short story. Nocturnal Illuminations. Ed. Kerry Morgan. Pagan Imagination (Jan 2010): 73-84.
“Kali.” Poem. Talking to Goddess. D’vorah J. Grenn, ed. Lilith Institute, 2009. 216.
“Kantele.” Short story. Kippis 1:1 (Winter 2009): 41-50. Collected in Unikirja.
“The Princess and Her Pig.” Poem. New Fairy Tales 1 (Oct 2008): 18-19.
“Eating the Dream.” Short story. Femspec 8.1/2 (2008): 108-117. Winner of the Femspec 2nd Five Years Creative Writing Award for Fiction, 2010. Reprinted in The Best of Femspec’s First Ten Years Creative Writing Awards Anthology (2012).
“Tangled up in Some Sort of Cerulean Hue.” Short story. Ephemera 3 (Dec 2007): 49-52.
“Raising Lempi.” Short story. Circle 100 (Winter 2007): 31-33. Collected in Unikirja.
“Palakainen.” Short story. New World Finn 7.2 (Apr-Jun 2007): 4-6. Reprinted: Mythic Passages (Feb 2009). Collected in Unikirja.
“On Buffalo Bayou.” Short story. New Texas Review (2005): 92-108.
“Vipunen.” Short story. New World Finn 5.3 (Jul-Sep 2005): 22-24. Reprinted: Mythic Passages (Jul 2007). Collected in Unikirja.
“Sun Thief.” Short story. Marion Zimmer Bradley’s Sword and Sorceress XXI . New York: DAW Books, 2004. 133-142. Collected in Unikirja.
“Kerttu.” Short story. New World Finn 4.2 (Apr-Jun 2004): 7-9. Collected in Unikirja.
When Little Joe the Krampus Met. Chapbook with The Joey Zone (Dec 2003).
“Sacrifice.” Short story. New World Finn 3.2 (Apr-Jun 2002): 22-23.
“Wordgeryne.” Short story. Lovecraft’s Weird Mysteries 5 (Jun 2002): 42-46.
The Willimantic Frogs. Chapbook (May 2001). Reprinted: Broad Universe Anthology (2012), forthcoming.
“Sinikka Journeys North.” The Beltane Papers 25 (2001): 14-19. Reprinted: Mythic Passages (Feb/Mar 2004). Collected in Unikirja.
“Walpurgisnacht.” The Seeker Journal 13.5 (2001): 6-9. Reprinted: The Pagan Activist, Jan 2007 and in Pelzmantel.
K. A. Laity 