Zoe Venditozzi

Zoe Venditozzi
EducationUniversity of Glasgow
Known forAuthor, Campaigner for posthumous pardons for witches of Scotland

Zoe Venditozzi (born 1975) is a writer and podcaster living and working in Scotland. Born in Lancashire, England, she was raised in a small village in North East Fife and studied at the University of Dundee and the University of Glasgow. She won the Not the Booker Prize awarded by The Guardian newspaper in 2013 for her first novel Anywhere's Better Than Here. She led a Witches of Scotland campaign with Claire Mitchell KC, teaches creative writing workshops and is a teacher of Support for Learning.

Despite growing up in Fife, Venditozzi knew very little of the history of witches in the area before launching the campaign. Scotland, and Fife in particular, was prone to witch hunts. Historians at the University of Edinburgh have created a database survey of Scottish Witchcraft to record the men, women and their trials. Venditozzi gained a high profile as part of the Witches of Scotland campaign and is an invited speaker at Scottish literary events such as the Soutar and Paisley Book festivals.

Mitchell and Vebditozzi co-wrote How to Kill a Witch: A Guide For The Patriarchy' drawing on experiences of their campaign for official recognition of the miscarriage of justice in Scotland's historical witch trials. The book was launched in May 2025. and at an Edinburgh launch, she wore an outfit styled in the Witches tartan. In 2022, she and Claire Mitchell were made Doctors of Laws by the University of Dundee in recognition of their work

References

  1. ↑ "Podcast". Witches of Scotland. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  2. ↑ "Zoe's tale has a happy ending". Retrieved 2023-03-01 – via PressReader.
  3. 1 2 "University to honour Eilish McColgan, Witches of Scotland campaigners and Malawi Vision Champion | University of Dundee, UK". www.dundee.ac.uk. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  4. ↑ "Zoe Venditozzi". Books from Scotland. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  5. ↑ Venditozzi, Zöe. (2012). Anywhere's better than here. Dingwall: Sandstone. ISBN 978-1-908737-06-9. OCLC 794296883.
  6. ↑ "Not the Booker prize 2013: Anywhere's Better Than Here by Zoe Venditozzi". The Guardian. 2013-09-23. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  7. ↑ "Witch apology would 'send powerful signal'". BBC News. 2022-01-07. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  8. ↑ Alex, Michael; er (3 April 2021). "'Accused, tortured, strangled and burned': Top Dundee-based lawyer fighting for victims of Scotland's witch mania". The Courier. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  9. ↑ "Zoe Venditozzi". Hachette UK. 2023-01-31. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  10. ↑ "Scottish Writer Zoe Venditozzi: Writing Improves Mental Health". Kaunas University of Technology. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  11. ↑ AFP, French Press Agency- (2022-02-16). "Some fight for Scotland's witches, forgotten witchcraft victims". Daily Sabah. Retrieved 2022-02-20.
  12. ↑ "'The V&A Dundee is the best building in Scotland... it shows ambition'". The Herald. 2025-05-06. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  13. ↑ "Soutar Festival line-up revealed". Culture Perth and Kinross. 2022-03-21. Retrieved 2022-07-15.
  14. ↑ Plimbley, Elle. "Resurrecting Scotland's Witches with C. J. Cooke and Zoe Venditozzi". Paisley Book Festival. Retrieved 2022-07-15.[dead link]
  15. ↑ "HOW TO KILL A WITCH by Claire Mitchell, Zoe Venditozzi | Waterstones". www.waterstones.com. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  16. ↑ "The Witches of Scotland: Zoe Venditozzi and Claire Mitchell for How to Kill a Witch at Greenside Church". Topping & Company. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  17. ↑ "Claire Mitchell KC & Zoe Venditozzi". www.boswellbookfestival.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-05-30.
  18. ↑ Kuta, Sarah. "See the New Tartan Pattern Created to Honor Women Accused of Witchcraft in Scotland Between 1563 and 1736". Smithsonian Magazine. Retrieved 2025-05-30.