12 Days of Christmas Competition
Click on this link for the answers to our Christmas quotes quiz.
Congratulations to Lucy, Jannette and Lorna who shared the prize - a voucher for Wax Lyrical Book Store in Berry.
The School of Arts and the neighbouring Scots Presbyterian Church Hall will be the hub of speaker events at the Berry Writers Festival on Saturday 23rd and 24th October. There will also be a coffee/food hub behind the School of Arts, where audience members can regroup and socialise between events.
Other locations around town will host breakout events and workshops on 22nd, as well as on the Saturday and Sunday. These include the CWA Hall, The Uniting Church Hall, the Anglican Church Hall, JoJo’s and the Coach House.
Everyone in Berry has been so generous in supporting the Festival. We are continually receiving offers of catering, printing and accommodation as well as funding. Everything is very, very gratefully received. We are a new festival and I for one had no idea of the complexities of the organisation required, or of the resources we would need. But somehow it is happening.
Please come and join our teams if you would like to contribute. You can register your interest here.
Suzanne Burdon is a local, a book lover, an author, a researcher and is passionate about writers festivals. She is very proud to be part of the Berry's first Festival.
W. Somerset Maugham said,
“There are three rules for writing the novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”
I was thinking that perhaps that is why writers’ festivals are so popular. Everyone wants to discover the rules!
My experience of attending writers‘ festivals over many years tells me that almost every visitor I meet at these events has a book in them, whether contemplated, started or abandoned. It’s not just novels either, it’s also personal stories and some that are the result of a lifetime of research. That is why I think that Berry has got behind our very own writers festival with such gusto. It’s a really creative community, as well as being a warm and generous one.
The offers of support have been amazing with every day bringing a new offer of skills as well as financial support (but we still need more!). We have a meeting every second Wednesday at the Uniting Church hall in Albert Street Berry (next one, 9th June), if you would like to join the Berry Writers Festival volunteers.
We now have more than twenty authors on board in many genres from literary fiction to memoir, politics and history. On Friday 22nd October there will be workshops, then on Saturday 23rd we have a full day of talented speakers, with more on the Sunday. It promises to be an exciting three days.
Thanks to everyone, and let’s keep up the stellar progress!
Suzanne.
Suzanne Burdon is a local, a book lover, an author, a researcher and is passionate about writers festivals. She is very proud to be part of the Berry's first Festival.
Lisa Dempster The Wheeler Centre
Lisa Dempster is perfectly accurate in her assessment of the mission of a writer’s festival:
Supporting the machinations of the publishing industry – promoting and supporting writers, celebrating and selling books, creating networking opportunities – is only one aspect of the mission of a writer’s festival. The other major purpose is to entertain and inspire audiences, adding to the creative and intellectual life of a city, and promoting the values of literature and literacy overall.
Suzanne Burdon is a local, a book lover, an author, a researcher and is passionate about writers festivals. She is very proud to be part of the Berry's first Festival.
Those first weeks have been so much more rewarding than we could have imagined. Everyone who has heard of the project has been as much head-over-hills in love with it as we are. There have been so many offers of time, energy and contacts, ideas and moments of inspiration. We knew it would take a village, but who knew how engaged the village would become and how the virtual village would be so widespread?
So far, we have a dozen authors who have agreed to appear, we have at least four workshops lined up, we have an official organisation: Berry Writers Inc, we have a web site, a bank account, and avenues for funding.
Watch this blog as we profile some of our authors and workshop convenors over the next few weeks. Also look out for competitions!
AND… Make sure you keep the weekend clear and invite your friends down to Beautiful Berry to join in!
Suzanne Burdon is a local, a book lover, an author, a researcher and is passionate about writers festivals. She is very proud to be part of the Berry's first Festival.
