DEAD GOOD TALKS – SHAPESHIFTERS, BEASTS AND THE MODERN WITCH

A Dead Good Festival event

Friday 30th October
6:30pm–9:30pm
Bar Nothing, 17 Cliff Terrace, Cliftonville, Margate, CT9 1RU

 £15

Talks -Books -Double Bill!

THE BOOK OF BEASTS: RECLAIMING ANIMAL WISDOM

With Elizabeth Sulis Kim

In conversation with Tree Carr

Presented by the Samhain Society and The Margate Bookshop

Join us as we dive into a modern bestiary with an ancient heart. With authors Elizabeth Sulis Kim and Tree Carr to guide us, we’ll meet twelve emblematic animals from Elizabeth’s newly published book that can restore our relationship with the natural world.

Steeped in folklore, mythology, magic and religion, The Book of Beasts tells the story of our shapeshifting relationships with animals, from reverence to persecution, friendship to fear, awe to indifference. It asks us what we actually know about the creatures we share this world with – and offers us a different way of living together.

The conversation will set a course across the globe and through time, from our deep past into the future, bringing together the animals which have captivated us for millennia.

There will be an opportunity for audience questions, and an interval for buying signed copies of Elizabeth’s book

MEET THE AUTHOR

ELIZABETH SULIS KIM

Elizabeth Sulis Kim has written for publications including Mslexia, Ambit, Fiddler's Green, Hellebore, BBC Culture, The Guardian, and The Independent.  

In 2020, her novel was shortlisted for Penguin’s #WriteNow. She is the editor of Cunning Folk Magazine and the anthology Spiritus Mundi, published by Liminal 11. 

Her debut narrative non-fiction book, The Book of Beasts: Reclaiming Animal Wisdom was published by Chatto & Windus in August 2026. Her next book, The Art of Folklore, will be published by Frances Lincoln in March 2027.

@elizabethsulis

MEET THE CHAIR

TREE CARR

Tree  will chair the talk with Eliazabeth.

Tree Carr is a published author, TEDx speaker, transpersonal psychology therapist and Death Doula whose work explores dreams, magic, death, consciousness, creativity and the unseen. 

Author of eleven books spanning dreamwork, witchcraft, tarot, counterculture and death, she has spoken at Tate Modern, the Barbican, the Freud Museum, Breaking Convention, NYU and the Royal College of Art. 

Tree teaches dreamwork, lucid dreaming and consciousness studies at the College of Psychic Studies.

@tree_carr

…followed by…

THE WITCHES PANEL

Presented by the Samhain Society

What does it mean to be a witch in the 21st century?

Not the witch of the Halloween costume. Not the witch of the crystal shop cliché. Not the sanitised, Instagram-friendly version of witchcraft.

We mean real, living witches — people who practise, question, challenge, create, organise and navigate the world through a magical lens.

Join us and our panel of practising witches as they explore the relationship between witchcraft and activism.

We’ll talk about systemic misogyny, patriarchy, capitalism, colonialism, queer liberation, racism, marginalisation and oppression — and ask what it means to use witchcraft not simply as a spiritual practice, but as a way of understanding, challenging and resisting the systems around us.

We'll explore questions like:

Why has the witch historically been so threatening?

Is witchcraft inherently political?

What can witch persecution teach us about marginalisation today?

How can magical practice build community, resilience and resistance?

Ultimately: what kind of world are witches trying to create?

 You can read our ticket terms and conditions here. 

MEET THE WITCHES

TREE CARR

Tree Carr is a High Priestess Witch, ritualist, dreamworker, Death Doula, transpersonal psychology practitioner and author. Her work explores magic, dreams, death, consciousness, altered states and the unseen. 

Co-creator of WITCH with Charlotte Church, she creates rituals, ceremonies and workshops through Samhain Society and other cultural spaces. 

Tree teaches witchcraft, dreamwork and consciousness studies, drawing on decades of experience across mysticism, psychology, storytelling and the arts..

@tree_carr

HANNAH GRAVES — CULTMOTHER TAROT

Hannah Graves, aka Cult Mother, is the founder of Cult Mother Tarot; a vibrant tarot community built around cards, conversation, learning and collective exploration.

Through tarot education, astrology, rituals and deep-dives, Hannah brings a contemporary, irreverent and inclusive approach to the cards.

Her work asks us to look beyond the traditional meanings of tarot and consider how these ancient symbolic systems can help us navigate the very modern world we're living in.

@cultmothertarot

KELLY-ANN MADDOX

Kelly-Ann Maddox is a counsellor, card slinger, wordsmith and witch whose work centres on spiritual rebellion, self-knowledge and forging your own path.

Author of Rebel Witch: Carve the Craft That's Yours Alone and Witch in Darkness: Magick for Tough Times, Bad Days and Moments of Total Catastrophe, she challenges rigid ideas about witchcraft, encouraging personal, experimental and meaningful practice.

Her work explores witchcraft as a tool for navigating difficult times, breaking cycles and and refusing to conform.

@kellyann_maddox

YSHA — THE ACTIVIST WITCH

Ysha / The Activist Witch is a queer, decolonised, intersectional witch, tarot practitioner, researcher and educator based in Wales.

A non-binary, autistic person of colour with Italian and Egyptian heritage, their work explores witchcraft through feminism, anti-capitalism, queer liberation and social justice.

They are active in grassroots organising and founded the international Witches for Palestine project, exploring witchcraft as a practice rooted in collective liberation.

@activist.witch

DESIREE DIAZ — SACRED WISE MAGIC

Desiree Diaz, founder of Sacred Wise Magick, is an intuitive healer and practitioner weaving together nature, plant spirit connection, ritual, energy work and modern witchcraft.

Her practice explores relationships with plants, the body, ancestry, intuition and the natural world, alongside ceremonial and community-based work.

Rooted in deep respect for the living world, Desiree explores meaningful ways to bring magical practice into contemporary life.

@sacredwisemagick

HAZEL - HEX TAROT

Hazel is a practising witch and medium whose nature-based practice draws on traditional British and European approaches to mediumship and divination.

She founded Hex Tarot in 2016 and works internationally, offering professional palm reading, tarot reading, astrology and apparel. In 2022, she created her own oracle deck, The Magickal Folklore Lenormand, bringing together her love of folklore, magic and divination.

Hazel lives in Wales with her family.

@hex_tarot