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I can't remember much about it but I believe it was something that told a story about becoming a wizard or something to that nature. I keep thinking it's So You Want to Be a Wizard but that's sitting on my shelf and isn't it. At the end of the book there was this whole ritual thing and a mail-in form you could send to get an official wizard certification or something like that. It even involved finding a staff and feathers and all sorts of witchcraft-like practices that were set up more for kids. I probably read the story in the early 2000's but I don't know when it was published.

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    I wonder if this wasn't only in the hard cover first edition of So You Want to be a Wizard?
    – Zeiss Ikon
    Commented Apr 20, 2023 at 15:56
  • I have no way to check that unfortunately. As it is, I don't recognize the first edition hardcover's art so I don't know.
    – Dorian
    Commented Apr 20, 2023 at 16:06
  • That, at least, we can fix.
    – DavidW
    Commented Apr 20, 2023 at 16:08

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I think this is likely to be The Book of Wizardry: The Apprentice's Guide to the Secrets of the Wizards' Guild, published in 2003.

Tongue-in-cheek and deliciously droll, "Cornelius Rumstuckle" is the fictional narrator of The Book of Wizardry. Now featuring a new cover, this highly entertaining guide to wizardry makes genuine magical ideas accessible to young adults.

Brennan's fun wizard training manual is filled with interactive activities: how to make a wand and other wizard tools, discover your Wizard's name, switch on Wizard's Power, read the future in the Wizard's Oracle, and more. Those who successfully complete the Wizard's Adventure and crack the code in this book can become an accredited member of the Wizard's Guild.

I read this as a child, probably shortly after publication, and specifically remember one of the tasks involving collecting feathers.

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  • This looks insanely familiar, going to do a bit more research before I accept but I think this might be it!
    – Dorian
    Commented Apr 20, 2023 at 16:18
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    This was definitely it! In fact I even found an article talking about it as well as other books that influenced someone in learning witchcraft as a child! patheos.com/blogs/byathameandstang/2018/05/… It straight up states that if you complete the adventure in the book you could have the "guild" send a packet of cool shit. It's not a mail in form at the back of the book like I thought but it's hidden in the adventure. PS: It really doesn't help that they put "So you want to be a wizard?" on the back of the book lol
    – Dorian
    Commented Apr 20, 2023 at 16:31
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    I very nearly wrote up a story identification question about this book a few years ago, so your question was like déjà vu. I'd found it by myself at the time because I had vague memories of the name 'Cornelius' and that was enough for Google to help me out.
    – KernelPanic
    Commented Apr 20, 2023 at 16:56

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