Books / festival
Bristol Festival of Literature 2017
The 2017 Bristol Festival of Literature begins on Thursday October 19 with 10 days of great events, performances and workshops in unexpected places. We caught up with one of the founders, Bristol writer Mike Manson, to find out more about what’s on offer.
What is your role at Bristol Festival of Literature?
I’m one of the organisers of the festival which is now in its fifth year. We’re all volunteers. The festival has no official funding. It’s run on a wing and a prayer, which is kind of fun, but also nerve wracking. At the end of the festival we’re all so frayed that we don’t speak to each other for a couple of months. Then in January we get together and think, why don’t we do all that again!
What’s the main aim of the festival?
is needed now More than ever
We’re not Cheltenham and we’re not Bath. We don’t go for the really big hitters and we don’t go for celebrity chefs promoting their ghost written books. We’re very much about giving a voice to homegrown talent. And there’s a lot of it around in Bristol. Our Crime in the Caves event will showcase some spine tingling criminal tales from Sanjida Kay, Cavan Scott, CL Taylor, AA Abbott, Amy Fitzjohn.
We’re also keen to spread our expertise. You’ll find workshops on writing history, blogging, social media, micro-publishing and writing about climate change.
How important are venues for the festival?
We love finding new venues. Our most popular events are in Arnos Court Cemetery and Redcliffe Caves. For the caves you have to bring your own chair and wrap up warm!
Mike Manson
What do you hope audiences will get from the events?
It’s important that people are entertained. But I like to think our events are inspirational. It’s great if people think ‘yeah, I could have a go at that’.
What do you think makes a great event?
Great writing that takes you to another place. And we’re always on the lookout for new ways of doing things. This year we’re teaming up with the restaurant Flow. I’m excited that we’ve got the acclaimed performance poet Rebecca Tantony and poetry friends Malaika Kegode, Tom Sastry and Stef Mo providing a feast of words. Another evening will feature Richard Jones and his renegade Tangent Books authors. All this will be accompanied by a four course meal. We’ll be feeding the mind and the soul.
As a writer, do you enjoy doing events or would you rather be writing?
I love doing events. It’s great to meet readers and get feedback. I always come away with some new idea. It’s all very well selling books, it’s even more amazing when you meet people who have read them! You can live in a bubble as a writer. It’s good to get out of the shed, occasionally.
Bristol Festival of Literature runs from October 19 to October 29. For full details of events and timings please visit unputdownable.org/
Read more: Festival of the Future City
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
