Deborah Noyes: On the Power of Many Voices Converging
Deborah Noyes is the author of nonfiction and fiction for young readers and adults, including Lady Icarus, Ten Days a Madwoman, A Hopeful Heart, The Magician and the Spirits, and The Ghosts of Kerfol. She has also compiled and edited the short story anthologies Gothic!, The Restless Dead, and Sideshow. Follow her on Instagram.
Deborah Noyes
Photo by Lisa Goodfellow
In this interview, Deborah discusses how reading screenplays helped her navigate writing her graphic novel, An Outbreak of Witchcraft, her advice for other writers, and more!
Name: Deborah Noyes
Literary agent: Jill Grinberg, Jill Grinberg Literary Management
Book title: An Outbreak of Witchcraft: A Graphic Novel of the Salem Witch Trials
Publisher: Little Brown Ink
Release date: June 4, 2024
Genre/category: Teen graphic novel
Previous titles: Ten Days a Madwoman: The Daring Life and Turbulent Times of the Original “Girl” Reporter, Nellie Bly; The Magician and the Spirits: Harry Houdini and the Curious Pastime of Communicating with the Dead.
Elevator pitch: Drawn from primary sources, a narrative nonfiction graphic novel visually imagines the haunting details of the Salem witch trials.
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What prompted you to write this book?
The “unsolved mystery” aspect of the witch trials. My best friend, a documentary filmmaker, was working on a streaming series about Salem around the same time, and we compared notes often. She pointed me to the incredible Salem Witch Trials Documentary Archive and Transcription Project at the University of Virginia—a database of trial transcripts and other primary source materials, and I was struck by the immediacy of the voices of the people who lived this American tragedy. I wanted to shape and distill the transcripts into a cohesive narrative that would make the trials vivid, real, and accessible for younger readers. At heart, it’s a courtroom drama; but a lot took place off-stage, “between the lines,” which left room for me to focus on characterization.
I also really wanted to write a graphic novel—this is my first—and the visual possibilities seemed limitless. I was truly lucky to be paired with an artist who understood both the drama and the nuance.
How long did it take to go from idea to publication? And did the idea change during the process?
Complicated question because the book started with one publisher and ended with another, but the idea of creating a visual narrative persisted, along with my commitment to stick close to the trial transcripts while building a cohesive storyline. My earliest project files reach back to early 2018, so that gives you an idea. The book releases June 2024. It’s been a journey!
Were there any surprises or learning moments in the publishing process for this title?
I had written picture book texts and edited graphic novels for years, so I thought I knew how to do it—use words as architecture, not ends in themselves. But I had a lot to learn, mostly about what and exactly how much to leave out. For the writer, graphic novels are a study in withholding. It’s a visual medium, and panels (like picture book thumbnails) are stern teachers. I learned to love the challenge of distilling, choosing only the most important words.
Were there any surprises in the writing process for this book?
As a fledgling graphic novelist, I found reading screenplays a huge help. They turned out to be the model I needed for seeing story as a camera (or an artist) might, blocking out action, and hearing dialog as real speech and not a sneaky vehicle for exposition.
What do you hope readers will get out of your book?
Since so much of the book is drawn straight from trial transcripts, I wanted readers to feel the power of many voices converging—and still leave room for the reader to interpret what those voices were reporting.
If you could share one piece of advice with other writers, what would it be?
If you write long-form, never choose a subject or premise that you aren’t insanely curious about. That curiosity will stay you through what can be a long, long process from conception to publication. For the same reason, avoid trends. By the time your book comes out, that ship will have sailed …
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