Halle Merrick

About the researcher

Halle Merrick (she/they) is a YA writer, often of Sapphic witches existing in times and worlds that do not care for Sapphics or witches. Her work has been published in lit mags including Icebreakers Lit, Filter Coffee Zine, and Toil & Trouble Literary Magazine.   They are the founding editor of Haunted Words Press, a digital and print literary magazine that publishes tales of the gothic, the peculiar, and the downright spooky for middle grade and young adult readers. They have run writing workshops for young people in Cornwall, as well as delivering guest lectures on literary magazines and getting published in them, working with local libraries, The Writers’ Block, and Falmouth University.   While she would very much like to live in a haunted house with a legion of ghost cats one day, she has other things to do first. They can be found on her Twitter @halle_merrick, her Instagram @hallemaem, her website hallemerrick.com, or emailed at hallemaem@gmail.com.  

Research interests

Magic, Witchcraft, & the Occult, Queer Literature & Media, Queer History, Creative Writing, Young Adult Media, Women’s Stories in History & Mythology 

Halle

PhD abstract

Thesis title

Sapphic Witchery in Contemporary Queer YA

Abstract

How might the UK’s historical persecutions of both witches and queer identities inform the depictions of Sapphic YA witches in contemporary YA fantasy literature? Combining occult studies, queer studies, and young adult literature, this research will explore why the connection between witches and queer identities is so strong in young adult literature in recent years. It will look at how it is informed and influenced by real-life practices of witchcraft, the witch trials, and history’s changing perception of queer identities. Specifically, it will explore the similarities between the interrogations of the accused during the witch trials, and the invasive conversion therapy practices in the 20th Century in the UK. This research will culminate in a Sapphic-led YA witch novel, The Isle of the Imperfect, exploring a world where magic is outlawed and those who possess it are sent to an island for ‘rehabilitation’. Those who return are once again able to be ‘useful’ members of society, with no trace of the magic they once possessed. As our protagonist journeys to the Isle for her own rehabilitation, she discovers the truth behind their methods, and what ‘rehabilitation’ really means for the Isle’s inhabitants.  

Qualifications

Year Qualification Awarding body
2023 MA Professional Writing   Falmouth University 
2022 BA(Hons) Creative Writing Falmouth University 

Committee memberships

  • Contemporary Women’s Writing Association 

Professional engagements