So I’ve been knee-deep in a week of literary festivals and prizes. Pretty fun way to make a living compared to doing experiments and running a business!
First up was the Appledore Book Festival, a gorgeous week of literary events in the church and village hall, run by a group of pals in the North Devon town. I say ‘pals’ – it’s pretty much the brainchild of Horrible Science author Nick Arnold, his family and their fellow villagers, who decided to club together to save their library.
If you wondered what David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ might look like, this is it. Instead of a closed library or a measly handout, now they have a festival which attracts big names, like Jacqueline Wilson, Norman Tebbit, Stella Rimington, Robert Goddard and many more. Also, in this year’s school programme, me…
And yes, the library is saved!
Thanks to everyone at Appledore and especially to lovely stewards Karen and Polly who drove me around four schools over two days.
The following week it was off to Shoreditch for the StarLit festival – a quietly spoken, thoughtful reading group from Year 9 at Petchey Academy, to discuss ‘Invisible City’, the book they’re reading right now. Then off up north to Ilkley with Lisa Edwards and Alison Green, two publishers from Scholastic Childrens Books UK, for more author events.
Lisa took the other half of the Horrible Science duo, Tony de Saulles, and I to brunch at the famous tearooms of Betty, where scrambled egg and bacon muffins fortified us both for author events.
I know mine isn’t very good. But it’s for charidee. A friend asked me to get some illustrations on postcards for an auction at New College School, in aid of the Princes Trust.
In other news, the week was dominated by exciting announcements in the world of bookish prizes. Including TWO announced by the little Mexican girl!
So in part 2 tomorrow there will be a Nobel prize winner, a young poet and TWO school librarians of the year.
