Elizabeth Pepper founded The Witches Almanac in 1971 as a means to provide a source of good information to the quickly growing magical communities in the United States and Canada. Elizabeth, whose own Basque witchcraft tradition was rich in lore and myth, knew that witchcraft was at a crossroads that the paltry amounts of literature needed remedy. The community immediately embraced The Witches Almanacs wit, conversant, and sophisticated style, with it appealing to general readers as well as hard-core Wiccans. Andrew TheiticElizabeths literary heir, as well as a prominent member of the New England communityhas continued, as well as expanded, the mission of The Witches Almanacs. For both of the publishers The Witches Almanacs has been a labor of love. The Witches Almanac 50 Year Anniversary Edition is an anthology of articles spanning the five decades that the almanac has been published.