Zoe Venditozzi
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Zoe Venditozzi | |
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| Alma mater | University of Glasgow |
| Known for | Author, Campaigner for posthumous pardons for witches of Scotland |
Zoe Venditozzi (born 1975) is a writer and podcaster[1] living and working in Scotland. Born in Lancashire, England,[2] she was raised in a small village in North East Fife and studied at the University of Dundee[3] and the University of Glasgow.[4] She won the Not the Booker Prize awarded by The Guardian newspaper in 2013 for her first novel Anywhere's Better Than Here.[5][6] She led a Witches of Scotland campaign with Claire Mitchell KC,[7][8][9] teaches creative writing workshops[10] 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.[11][12] 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[13] and Paisley Book festivals.[14]
Mitchell and Vebditozzi co-wrote How to Kill a Witch: A Guide For The Patriarchy'[15] 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.[16][17] and at an Edinburgh launch, she wore an outfit styled in the Witches tartan.[18] In 2022, she and Claire Mitchell were made Doctors of Laws by the University of Dundee in recognition of their work [3]
