“I believed the men who wrote down our stories, for didn’t they always know best? Didn’t they always know true? The men knew – or so they said. The men had always plenty of things to say.” –  ‘Snowqueen’, Foxfire, Wolfskin

Foxfire, Wolfskin and Other Stories of Shapeshifting Women is a powerful little book full of memorable stories, infused with a timeless sense of magic and celebrates our wild side. Within its dreamy, otherworldy words lies a call to action to look at the source of female power and inspiring us to mend our fractured relationship with the natural world.

The stories in Foxfire, Wolfskin offer glimpses of women on the cusp of something new – a transformation either physical or metaphorical as they cut the ties holding them down. They reimagine folktales or elements of folktales for a modern audience, placing female agency centre stage alongside an open invitation to re-connect with an innate sense of spirituality. Complemented by beautiful illustrations by Helen Nicholson, and with a gorgeous cover to boot, this is a book to treasure.

Sharon Blackie is well-known for her brilliant non-fiction, and her first foray into fiction is no different. Here’s what other people have said about her work:

A master of her craft, Blackie weaves beautiful threads of folklore, psychology, history, philosophy, and much more into this remarkable work, reminding the reader of the magic inherent in all of our lives, whether we live in the suburbs, the city, or a remote wind-swept island. I will walk differently through our world after reading this book. — Emily Urquhart, author of Beyond the Pale (on The Enchanted Life)

A deeply evocative and haunting collection… Part rally cry, part warning, part manifesto and all parts enchanting, Sharon Blackie’s Foxfire, Wolfskin is a deeply evocative and haunting collection. Humming with the strength of our immutable voices, each story sings with the transformation that is possible when women take agency of our lives. I want to press this powerful book into the hands of everyone I know and say listen. — Holly Ringland, author of The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart

Sharon Blackie has wrought a new-old magic for our times: glorious, beautiful, passionate myths. They show who we could have been, and they give us a glimpse of a world-that-could-be. — Manda Scott, author of A Treachery of Spies and Boudica

Foxfire, Wolfskin and Other Stories of Shapeshifting Women is published September 26th by September Publishing (9781910463680, h/b, £14.99)