Regular readers (both of you!) might recall that, back in May, I went to the Market Deeping Literary Festival. One of the events I attended there was their Read Dating session, and I wrote about it here.
A few weeks ago, I was chatting to a fellow writer who’s a member of a local authors’ group that had been approached to see if they could get involved in a literary festival for North Nottinghamshire. They were looking for ideas of things to do there and, because authors never come up with a totally original idea (I’ll deal with the trolling and abuse later!), I suggested having a Read Dating session.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to be a direct part of the discussions, but it seems this was greeted with some enthusiasm by the organisers. So much so that they’ve arranged to do two – one on Saturday, the second on Sunday, both starting at 2:30pm and finishing at 4:00pm.
So, if you’d like the opportunity to meet, chat with and/or quiz a select group of authors one at a time, feel free to come along. At the risk of putting people off, I will be among that group!
The Saturday event is being held at The Glasshouse, a delightful place to grab a drink and a bite to eat in the market town of Retford; the Sunday event is at the Barrister’s Book Chamber, a book shop worth a visit any day of the week – they serve cake!
I know I only mentioned it a couple of days ago, but with less than a week to go, I don’t want to miss the opportunity to get that message out. Aside from Read Dating, there are opportunities to hear from and meet Stephen Booth, bestselling author of the Cooper and Fry series, and Henry Normal, probably best known for his work on TV shows like Mrs Merton and The Royle Family. With Ghost Walks, talks about how to get yourself published and becoming a bookseller, a performance of Wind in the Willows, storytelling for children and several appearances by Slade’s poet laureate (no, I didn’t know either, and I’ve known him for years!), there’s something for just about anyone who has a literary leaning.
Of course, there’ll still be a few of you who’ve never heard of the small market town of Retford, so will assume it’s not very accessible. Nothing could be further from the truth. One its great advantages is how easy it is to get from there to most places around the country. With the A1 and M1 close by, and the East Coast mainline stopping off here, London is 90 minutes away, Edinburgh only 3 hours, and Nottingham, Derby, Grantham, Peterborough, Loughborough, Leicester, Lincoln, Doncaster, Sheffield, York and Leeds (pause for breath…) no more than an hour away. So, if it’s easy for me to get to those places, it must be just as easy for anyone living there to get to Retford.
For more information about the festival, see the website (https://www.nnlf.org.uk/) or their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/nnlitfest/). Or contact me and I’ll be happy to help.