The Worst Witch
Each book covers one term at the school. There are two terms each year: the Winter term, from September to January, and the Summer term, from March to July. In "First Prize for the Worst Witch", the most recent book, Mildred is in the Summer term of her fourth year.
The author Jill Murphy began writing "The Worst Witch" at the age of 15, while still at school, and based many points of the stories on her own school experiences at Ursuline Convent in Wimbledon, England, with Singing becoming Chanting, Chemistry becoming Potions and so on. Recalling how she got the idea for the story, she said: "My two friends and I used to come home in our dark uniforms, looking very scruffy at the end of the day – my dark plaits sprouting tufts, with lost hair ribbons. My Mum used to say 'Look at you all. You look like the three witches!' and it gave me the idea for a witch's school – so that it was exactly like my school, but with a subtle touch of magic. All the characters are based on my school friends (and enemies) and teachers." Murphy concluded the first book at the age of 18, but failed to achieve a publishing deal, causing her to "put it in a drawer" and decide to "concentrate on other things instead." After working as a nanny and in a children’s home, Murphy had a phone call from a small publisher interested in the book. "The Worst Witch" was finally published in 1974, when Murphy was 24.
Umineko When They Cry
The first game of the "Umineko When They Cry" visual novel series, titled "Legend of the Golden Witch", was first released on August 17, 2007 at Comiket 72. The second game "Turn of the Golden Witch" was released on December 31, 2007 at Comiket 73, and the third game "Banquet of the Golden Witch" was released on August 16, 2008 at Comiket 74. The fourth game "Alliance of the Golden Witch" was released on December 29, 2008 at Comiket 75. The first game in the "Umineko no Naku Koro ni Chiru" series, entitled "End of the Golden Witch", was first released on August 15, 2009 at Comiket 76. The sixth game "Dawn of the Golden Witch" was released on December 30, 2009 at Comiket 77. The seventh game "Requiem of the Golden Witch" was released at Comiket 78 on August 14, 2010. The eighth game "Twilight of the Golden Witch" was released at Comiket 79 on December 31, 2010. A fan disc titled "Umineko no Naku Koro ni Tsubasa" was released the same day as "Twilight". A second fan disc titled "Umineko no Naku Koro ni Hane" was released at Comiket 81 on December 31, 2011. MangaGamer released the Windows games on Steam.