The Alderney Literary Festival, which took place this weekend has been hailed a tremendous success.
A total audience of around 650 booklovers attended 15 events during the three-day Festival (March 17- 19) with all talks, panel discussions and fringe events a sell-out.
Festival Chairman Anthony Riches, a leading historical fiction author and committee member of the Historical Writers Association, said: “This year’s festival has been right up there with the best of them. We’ve enjoyed an eclectic range of author talks, encompassing subjects as diverse as the clash of ideology between the Soviet state of the 30s Great Purge and the great ballet companies of the Bolshoi and the Kirov, the plight of ordinary Germans in the face of an uncompromising Nazi state, and the thousands of innocent victims of the 17th century witch panic in England.
“Not only has this festival been a masterfully curated mixture of periods and perspectives, but the organisation has also been superb and the generosity of our sponsors, especially the Festival sponsor Polygon Collective, has enabled us to bring more authors than ever before to this endearing and highly enjoyable event. Ask any of the authors who have spoken at the Festival in the past and they would all agree to come back in a heartbeat, which is testimony to just how special an experience the Alderney Literary Trust has created.”
Alderney Literary Trust’s Isabel Picornell added: “This has been our biggest and buzziest festival! It’s been an incredible weekend. Of course, none of this would be possible without the support of so many people – our brilliant team of volunteers, our lovely guest authors, our media partners and our great sponsors. I have run out of superlatives to describe how supportive and wonderful everyone has been.”
Polygon Collective’s Henry Mowbray commented: “We are delighted to have sponsored the prestigious Alderney Literary Festival. The event’s popularity within Alderney and further afield continues to grow and we’re grateful for the opportunity to support it.”
Individual author sponsors included Alderney Electricity Ltd (AEL), Julius Bär, AY Enterprise Trust, Liberation Pubs & Bars, Gower Financial Services, Savills, Stenham Trustees, HSBC and Nigel Meyer & Susan Smyth. Overall sponsor of the Alderney Literary Trust is Guernsey-based investment group Ravenscroft which recently opened offices in Alderney.
Established and debut authors taking part have all returned home with high praise for a warm welcome to the island’s relaxed and generous atmosphere and a community with a taste for great historical writing and the arts in general.
Pictured: Left to right – Authors Tony Riches, Carl Graves, José Day, Nicholas Jubber, Sean Lusk, Anne Sebba and Julia Boyd
