Out & About October 2017

OA feature

We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started... and know the place for the first time. TS Eliot

L iterature Festivals large and small have become so popular, they seem to be popping up all over – Marlborough is about to enjoy their literary weekend and Hungerford’s is just around the corner. What has prompted this surge in interest? “I think it has coincided with the rise of book groups,” says Emma Milne-White, owner of the independent Hungerford Bookshop and curator of the literary festival. “Books are brilliant at provoking discussion, and a sharing of ideas. We like to know what others are reading, and what they think of the books. “A festival provides this opportunity too, but with the bonus of the author’s insights. “Sometimes – particularly if you have a good interviewer or responsive audience – you will hear the writer respond to a question they have never thought about before. “Like theatre – this is a live ‘performance’ so you never quite know what you are going to learn.

publishes more books per capita than any other country and with so much choice it can sometimes be a little overwhelming knowing which titles to pick. “Instead of a ‘scattergun’ approach where we tried to represent the best of a little bit of everything genre-wise, we decided to hone our thinking by selecting titles that were all tied together by a theme,” Emma explains. “Picking a broad concept like journeys allowed us enough room to be creative. “We have traditional travel titles, such as Alastair Sawday’s memoirs, but we also look at people’s personal journeys (at the risk of sounding like an X Factor contestant), such as Jules Mountain, who not only survived cancer, but conquered Everest; or a journey back in time, such as Jonathan Dean on tracing his family history, or even a time-travelling dog in a children’s book. “We are great believers that books can take you anywhere. “Every time one opens a book, it takes you

on an adventure. Journeys seemed a great first theme to choose.” Planning the programme begins in early spring,

“Of course, books make fabulous gifts, too – and

Books are brilliant at provoking discussion, and a sharing of ideas. We like to know what each other is reading, and what they think of the book.

signed copies are particularly special. “Meeting an author, having a quick chat,

when Emma and fellow bookseller Tessa visit the London Book Fair, where all the major publishers present their ‘hottest’ titles for the year ahead. They make copious notes, often contacting the publisher as soon as they get back to Hungerford. “After that we keep an eye on reviews, books that are performing well, books we have loved reading and books customers tell us we ought to read. “Gradually we create a ‘dream-list’ and then there are an awful lot of emails back and forth.”

one-to-one as your book is signed, is an experience that can’t be replicated online.” This will be Hungerford Literary Festival’s sixth year, although the group of people behind it has gradually changed over that time. Last year, local group Arts for Hungerford, which organises events throughout the year, collaborated with the bookshop and continues to do so – a relationship that is working really well for both of them, says Emma. The thread running through the forthcoming weekend festival is Journeys . Working to a theme makes the job of putting together a programme much easier. The UK

And so to this year’s choice of writers, an entertaining mix of wit, wisdom and wunderlust.

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