Category: Events

#TopTenTuesday Literary Festivals: We’ll Meet Again

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Top Ten Tuesday newTop Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme created by The Broke and the Bookish and now hosted by Jana at That Artsy Reader Girl.

The rules are simple:

Each Tuesday, Jana assigns a new topic. Create your own Top Ten list that fits that topic – putting your unique spin on it if you want. Everyone is welcome to join but please link back to That Artsy Reader Girl in your own Top Ten Tuesday post. Add your name to the Linky widget on that day’s post so that everyone can check out other bloggers’ lists. Or if you don’t have a blog, just post your answers as a comment.

This week’s topic is Book Events/Festivals I’d Love to Go to Someday. Yeah, we wish…

HenleyLiteraryFestivalMy local literary festival is Henley Literary Festival. Like so many other literary events, this year it will be going ahead in online form only, from 26th September to 4th October. I’m sure there will be some exciting events on the programme but it can’t be exactly the same as being there in person: listening to and meeting authors, chatting to other readers, enjoying the sights of Henley-on-Thames and soaking up the bookish buzz.

Henley-on-ThamesTherefore as a reminder of happier, less socially-distanced times I thought I’d share some highlights from previous Henley Literary Festivals that I’ve attended. Links will take you to my review of each event.

2017

Anne O’Brien, author of The Shadow Queen & Rory Clements, author of Corpus

Rachel Joyce, author of The Music Shop

2018

Alan Johnson, author of In My Life: A Music Memoir

Diane Setterfield, author of Once Upon A River

A J Pearce, author of Dear Mrs. Bird & Anne Youngson, author of Meet Me At The Museum

2019

Stephanie Wrobel, author of The Recovery of Rose Gold & Adele Geras, author of Conviction (now to be published as Dangerous Women in February 2021)

Anne de Courcy, author of Chanel’s Riviera

Victoria Hislop, author of Those Who Are Loved

David Suchet, author of Behind The Lens

And a final event, even closer to home, held at Waterstones, Reading in June 2018.

Alison Weir, author of Jane Seymour: The Haunted Queen

What literary festivals or events are you looking forward to being able to attend (in person) again? Or do you now prefer online events?

 

When We Fall by Carolyn Kirby @noexitpress

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20191125_100338When We Fall by Carolyn Kirby will be published in paperback by No Exit Press on 7th May 2020 to coincide with the 75th anniversary of VE Day. At the heart of the novel is the tragedy of the Katyn Massacre of 1940, in which over 22,000 Polish military officers were murdered on the orders of the Soviet Union. April 2020 marks the 80th anniversary of this horrific WWII crime.

Today is also the 10th anniversary of the Smolensk Air Disaster when an aircraft of the Polish Air Force crashed near the Russian city of Smolensk, killing all 96 people on board, including Polish dignitaries on their way to commemorate the massacre.

Carolyn has recorded a video about the true story behind the novel and the only female victim of the massacre – Polish pilot Janina Lewandowska – on whom one of the characters in When We Fall is based.

No Exit Press have also released an early ebook edition of the novel which is available here and from online bookshops for only £1.99. Carolyn will also be speaking about When We Fall at a virtual bookclub on Thursday 7th May at 8pm. If you would like to take part, you can find more information  here.

Look out as well for the blog tour taking place in May including my review of When We Fall.