Are you sitting comfortably? Then I’ll begin…
Once upon a time the small seaside town of Felixstowe had its very own book festival. Authors talked to packed-out audiences, aspiring writers gleaned pearls of wisdom from workshops, vintage tea parties were held and bedtime stories were read. The sun shone as people from Felixstowe and beyond spent a whole weekend sharing a love of books. From crime to historical fiction, short stories to blogging, the written word was celebrated in all its glorious facets. And they all lived happily ever after… in eager anticipation of the next Felixstowe Book Festival.
And so here we are, February 2014 and plans for the second Felixstowe Book Festival are really shaping up. Meg Reid, the festival’s creator and director, has been working tirelessly to line up an exciting array of speakers and events for your delectation. She has been joined in this task by several willing volunteers including yours truly. I’m Hannah, the festival intern and my role involves doing all sorts of bits and bobs to organise the festival. One of the main things I have been doing is the social media (website, Twitter, Facebook, this blog). These are the best ways to keep up to date with the latest news so be sure to like us here or follow us here!
This is the first of many posts on this blog leading up to the festival on 28th and 29th June. Subscribe or check in regularly to keep up with festival developments and to read exciting guest posts about all things bookish. In the mean time I recommend perusing our Speakers page to see who will be coming in June. We have some confirmed events already up on our Events and Children’s pages but more will be posted imminently. To whet your appetite further I can reveal that this year the hugely popular crime genre will be well-represented, the vintage tea party will return with a Suffragette theme and Landguard Fort will be hosting an exciting multi-arts event commemorating World War One and literature from the period. Writers get ready to flex those muscles as our adult short story competition is returning and a children’s poetry competition will be accompanying it. Details of these will be available soon.
Finally, funding events such as these is a real challenge. If you feel able to sponsor us or know an organisation that would, then please do get in touch with Meg: meg@megreid.co.uk.
Keep reading!
Hannah Rowe
(Festival Intern)