Bluebird signs Seren Hawley-Plows’ The Ancient Ways
Bluebird has acquired The Ancient Ways: A Year of Folklore Traditions and Rituals to Reconnect with Nature by Seren Hawley-Plows.
Associate publisher Jodie Lancet-Grant acquired world all-language rights from Oscar Janson-Smith, with publication scheduled for September 2026.
The description reads: “Told through the pagan wheel of the year, The Ancient Ways explores how nature changes throughout the seasons, looking at solstices, equinoxes, legends and festivals and how these stories and traditions can help you deepen your connection with nature. Discover megalithic sacred sites where crowds still gather to see the sun rise and fall through doorways of the past. Meet Eostre, goddess of the spring and dawn or the Cailleach, queen of winter and the Green Man, a personification of the wild. Celebrate festivals like Beltane, a summer celebration of fire and fertility or Samhain, the festival of the dead and precursor to modern Halloween.
“Hedgewitch Seren Hawley-Plows weaves these myths and stories together beautifully with tools and inspiration of how to bring the power of ancient tradition into a modern world and help you find magic in the wilds of nature. With stunning two-colour illustrations by Joe McLaren, seasonal recipes and practical advice, whether you live in a sleepy village or a bustling city, The Ancient Ways takes you on a journey of untamed landscapes, old communities and connection.”
Hawley-Plows was raised as a hedgewitch, traditionally known as a wise woman who is connected with nature. She was taught herbalism and ancient practices from an early age by her parents and their community and spent much of her youth travelling around festivals, full moon gatherings and attending ceremonies at sacred sites. She began to retell tales, myths, forgotten knowledge and ancient practices as short informative videos on Instagram (@hedgerow_healing).
She said: “Growing up in the new-age traveller community threw me into an appreciation and fascination with nature, folklore and history from an early age. I have always loved the changing of the seasons or foraging for a plant at a certain time of the year, or visiting a sacred site on a solstice dawn. I realised very early on that these snippets of folklore and traditions can truly help us to regain a balance with the world around us. This book holds so many of these ancient rituals that reconnect us to nature, and I hope that others will now get the same joy and connection out of reading it that I had with writing it.”
Lancet-Grant said: “Seren Hawley-Plows has brought so much wisdom, knowledge and joy to The Ancient Ways. This is a collection of stories, folklore and nature traditions to truly treasure and I am delighted to be publishing it for Bluebird.”
