Autumn Events
Once Upon a Witch: The Witch Figure in Fairy Tales and Folklore
Wednesday, October 14
12 pm - 2 pm
STACKTx in the ByWard Market, Ottawa
A conversation with fairy-tale author and scholar Tish Black about the witches of fairy tales and folklore, from their chicken-legged huts to their gingerbread houses.
Hosted by N.G. Avant for WitchSchool.ca.
Tricks, Treats, and Turnips: The Origins of Halloween Traditions
Wednesday, October 28
7 pm
Lowertown Brewery, Ottawa
A day to honour the dead or a day to TP your neighbour’s house? From Christian and Celtic origins, All Hallows’ Eve has changed its meaning, traditions, and symbols over the centuries. Our pillowcases full of candy would confuse the ancient Romans honouring their martyrs, but might delight the Celts who would offer it to the fairies. Exploring traditions of harvests, death, and monsters, folklore scholar and fairy tale author Tish Black brings the past and present together to help us understand Halloween’s spooky origins and 12-foot skeletons.
Take Back the Witch: An Evening of Witchy Fiction
Thursday, October 29
6 pm - 8 pm
Indigo Pincecrest, Ottawa
Explore the treatment of witches in history and fiction with local authors N.G. Avant (Witchy Women: Hammer) and Tish Black (Ebony, Blood, and Snow). The witch is central to their stories, with unique inspirations: N.G. researched the witch trials, and Tish studies fairy tales and folklore. Join these witchy women for a discussion of their books, the history of witches and women, and how they reclaim the witch in their writing. The evening includes readings from the authors’ latest books, an author discussion, and a Q&A with attendees, followed by time to shop, talk, and read tarot with the authors and attendees.
Tipsy Scholars Ottawa
I regularly lecture on fairy tales and folklore at Tipsy Scholars events in Ottawa. Tipsy Scholars hosts engaging, thought-provoking lectures by experts, professors, and storytellers in Ottawa bars.
Previous Lectures:
The Women Who Defined Fairy Tales (and History Forgot)
June 17, 2026
A Who’s Who of the fairy tale literary salons of 1690s Paris. At the center is the Queen Bee, Madame d’Aulnoy, a woman with a mysterious past who coined the term “fairy tale.” Surrounding her are accomplished women writers celebrated at court, crowned by the Académie Française, and entangled in scandals from political intrigue to accusations of lesbianism.
In the background is Charles Perrault, who dismissed fairy tales as unworthy of serious literature, yet lives on as Mother Goose, while the women who shaped the genre are largely forgotten. This talk brings the Salonnières back into focus, giving them and their work their fair due as the true creators of the literary fairy tale.