An exploration of the work women do together.
Covens. Girl bands. Ballet troupes. Convents. In all times and places, girls and women have come together in communities of vocation, of necessity, of support. And wherever women gather, magic happens. Female farmers change the way we grow our food. Online beauty communities democratise the intricacies of skincare. Teen girls invent phrases that enter the urban lexicon, and choose our next pop superstars.
Patriarchal societies have long been content to uphold men’s and boys’ clubs, while viewing groups that exclude men as sites of rivalry and suspicion. In this deeply personal exploration of what women make together, Sam George-Allen delves into workplaces, industries and social groups to dismantle the cultural myth of female isolation and uncover evidence that these groups are formidable.
Thoughtful, intimate, and convincing, Witches is a long-overdue celebration of the power and pleasure of working with other women.
2019 - 2020
‘Principles of Permaculture’, Island 159 May 2020
‘Inconceivable: in defence of childfree women like me’, Marie Claire 31 Jan. 2020
‘Where the Male Gaze Doesn’t Go: On YouTube’s Universe of Make-Up Tutorials’, LitHub 13 Jan. 2020
‘The Power of Make-up’, Primer 9 Oct. 2019
‘Shelf Reflection,’ Kill Your Darlings 4 Mar. 2019.
‘Waking from a Dream,’ Kill Your Darlings 20 Mar. 2019.
‘Seasons of the witch: as women we nurture the riches of earth, food and health,’ The Guardian 9 Apr. 2019.
‘I found myself suddenly and furiously envious of another woman's success,’ Whimn 8 Mar. 2019. Extract.
‘Bookmark this,’ The Guardian 17 Mar. 2019.
‘The Beauty Bond,’ Sunday Life 24 Mar. 2019.
‘Between the lines with Sam George-Allen,’ Sydney Writers Festival 20 Mar. 2019.
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2014 - 2018
‘Community and solitude,’ Hot Chicks With Big Brains 7, 2018
‘Something good is gonna happen,’ The Wheeler Centre 2 Feb. 2018.
‘A luxury of choice,’ Griffith Review 56, 2017
‘How a little dirt can keep you calm,’ Headspace 16 Jan. 2017.
‘The higher the hair the closer to god,’ Overland, 17 Nov. 2016, with Emma Doolan
‘Foreword,’ BNE Girls. Marano & Roche, 2016.
‘On beauty: body,’ Kill Your Darlings, 11 Oct. 2016.
‘On beauty: hair,’ Kill Your Darlings, 27 Jul. 2016.
‘On beauty: eyes,’ Kill Your Darlings, 9 May 2016.
‘On beauty: skin,’ Kill Your Darlings, 15 Mar. 2016.
‘Crackers! #5: The garden,’ The Lifted Brow, 28 Dec. 2016.
I Put A Spell On You, Spineless Wonders, 2015.
‘On the hierarchies of an Australian strip club,’ Literary Hub, 8 Jun. 2015.
‘Literary sexting,’ The Wheeler Centre, 11 Jun. 2014.