On a sunny evening last week I travelled to the beautiful town of Marlborough for a literary party of a type new to me. I had received an invitation to attend the launch of the Marlborough Literature Festival programme, to be held at the White Horse Bookshop on the high street. It proved a friendly if packed event.
The festival started small and has grown since its inception, but never too much to lose its intimacy. Using just a few nearby venues – rooms at the college, a church hall, art gallery, library, and the town hall which also hosts the festival’s box office, pop up bookshop and tea shop – it aims to offer
“events with enough variety – from bookbinding and beer to poetry and politics – for everyone whatever your age or interest”
“This year we welcome several leading authors whose names will be familiar to all, as well as those you may not yet have heard of, but who we think are well worth looking out for.”
The expected highlight of 2018 is the attendance of children’s author David Walliams. So popular was his event expected to be that he agreed to perform twice on the festival Sunday – and both events sold out on the first morning tickets went on sale, demand bringing down the on line booking system much to the frustration of everyone involved.
David Walliams is not the only big name to attend. The Golding Speaker is Rose Tremain. Kate Moss, Alan Johnson, Max Hastings, William Boyd and Chris Cleave will all be there. You may check out the full programme by clicking here.
Back though to the launch party. Those I chatted to were: involved in the festival organisation; representing the sponsors; from local media. All were invited to enjoy a glass of wine, browse the programme and purchase tickets. The queue for these ran the length of the bookshop throughout the event. There was also a healthy interest in the books on display.
Personally I am looking forward to listening to the Hiscox Debut Authors – Adelle Stripe and Mick Kitson. I am also intrigued by the Translation Duel where Ros Schwartz and Frank Wynne debate the literary dilemmas posed by L’Amant by Marguerite Duras.
Whatever your interest, if you can be in the area do please consider attending. There are now many literary festivals to choose from and I believe this is a good thing, especially for local book lovers and their independent bookshops. These can only survive if they receive your support.
You may follow news of the festival on Twitter: @MarlbLitFest
You may also follow the bookshop: @whitehorsebooks
neverimitate 
Looks interesting. It’s especially exciting to see more and more of these events popping up through time. I can only hope to attend one soon 🙂