FCBG Conference 2023 Day 1

This weekend, I attended the Federation of Children’s Book Groups’ annual Conference, held this year at Rugby School. This is always a real highlight, offering the perfect opportunity to spend time with other book lovers, hear a wonderful programme of authors, illustrators and poets speak and meet publishers to find out more about their brilliant books.

Rugby School is a beautiful venue, steeped in history and boasting some famous authors- Lewis Carroll, Rupert Brooke and Anthony Horowitz to name a few- as past pupils. It is also the setting for ‘Tom Brown’s Schooldays’ and author, Thomas Hughes, attended the school from 1834 to 1842. Written in 1857, the story is set in the 1830s and Tom Brown is largely based on the author’s brother, George, and the book draws on the author’s experiences.

Almost as soon as we arrived, we headed for the Conference Bookshop provided by the Norfolk Children’s Book Centre. An amazing array of books reflecting the weekend’s packed programme was on offer and the staff were- as ever- really friendly and helpful, with an excellent knowledge of their stock. It would take someone with an iron will not to indulge in buying the odd book or two from their tempting display!

Afternoon tea was sponsored by Hachette and we were each given a proof copy of Kiran Millward Hargarve’s new book which is out in August. Conference weekend begins with presentations from the publishers in which they share some of their wonderful titles. This tends to result in a hugely long wish shopping list of books to be looking out for and is a really lovely opportunity to hear from the publishers themselves. I made 10 pages of notes at this point…

This is followed by the opening of the publishers’ exhibition. Everyone has a wonderful time looking at the books and chatting directly to the publishers who are just the best and get very excited about their lovely books. There are plenty of treats on offer- bookmarks, posters and proof copies- and competitions to enter. Some even have sweets and chocolates on their stands! No one ever really wants to leave and head to dinner, but the exhibition opens again on Saturday morning and most people drift back again throughout the day.

After dinner, we celebrated 10 years of Shifty McGifty and Slippery Sam with the wonderful Tracey Corderoy. Sadly, the equally lovely Steven Lenton wasn’t able to be with us as he had Covid, but he sent a message to everyone- which included a little message for me! Tracey managed to entertain us all brilliantly in his absence, teaching us how to draw an elf and playing a wonderful Shifty and Sam game with us! Great fun was had by all! However, I will never live down the fact that my table did not win the quiz about the books…

The evening finished with a poetry performance by Birmingham Young Poet Laureate, Nyanda Foday. She shared ‘Bookworms’, her gorgeous picture book poem with us, before performing a selection of her poetry. A brilliant end to a brilliant day!

Part two coming soon!

Bath Children’s Literature Festival 2022

On Saturday, I went to the Bath Children’s Literature Festival, one of the book-ish treats I enjoy every year. Being limited by my crutches, I only managed one event this year, but it was lovely to be back and the perfect place to meet up with book-loving friends.

The Festival fills Bath with a lovely atmosphere- and you never know who you might bump into, particularly when you pop into Toppings for a few sneaky purchases between events! Jacqueline Wilson was as lovely as ever and once we had recovered from the shock of seeing her, she kindly signed Sally’s school author autograph book. I was not surprised that she didn’t remember having had dinner with me when I helped at Bournville Bookfest a few years ago!

The Guildhall is a lovely venue for events. Grade 1 listed, this spectacular Georgian building’s opulent interior is full of beautiful details and portraits. Held in the Banqueting Room, a wonderful space with glorious 18th-century chandeliers and intricate plasterwork on the ceiling, my event was ‘Magic and Mystery with Kiran Millwood Hargrave and Lucy Strange’, two excellent authors.

In a completely absorbing session, which flew past all too quickly, Lucy and Kiran discussed how they had come to writing. Both loved books when they were younger, but as most of the books she read were by ‘dead people’, Lucy felt that books came from the past and didn’t realise that writing was something you could do. Both had gone into ‘the hardest job in the world’ (Kiran’s description of teaching!) before coming to writing. Kiran felt that being married to an artist had a part in her becoming an author as he made her realise that you could follow your passion. He also helped in that he told her she didn’t have the patience to write and she was determined to prove him wrong! Cats are also useful as they ensure that you don’t move for long periods of time once curled up on your lap! After teaching for 15 years, Lucy found herself working in the Middle East and she started writing out of homesickness, writing about what she knew helped.

It was particularly fascinating to hear about the amount of words each lady had written which never made it to the final version of the book. Lucy’s editor helped her to cut 46,000 words from her first draft of ‘The Secret of Nightingale Wood’, getting rid of those bits Lucy described as ‘an indulgence’ whilst Kiran told a similar story about her writing, particularly ‘The Girl of Ink and Stars’.

Lucy told us that ‘Sisters of the Lost Marsh’ was inspired by Romney Marsh, which she described as having a feeling ‘like the sea wants it back’ and the poem, ‘Overheard on a Saltmarsh’ by Harold Monro. With her background in acting coming to the fore, Lucy read the poem so well- it was captivating! Giving advice for those who want to write, she suggested that ideas need to ‘simmer like a casserole’ and said that it helps if you really want to be the character you are writing about.

Kiran spoke of her love of mythology and how this has sparked ideas for her writing. Offering advice to writers, she explained how she doesn’t feel like a ‘main character’ herself- someone who’s always looking for adventure. She’s very content being at home, but if anything threatened those she loves then she would spring into action and do anything she could to save them. These are the sort of character she likes to write about.

It was the most inspiring session with some excellent questions from the audience. The relationship between Kiran and Lucy was warm and relaxed, making their conversation very natural and light-hearted.

Having had my books signed (my copy of ‘Leila and the Blue Fox’ was the first Kiran had signed), Sally and I bumped into some more familiar faces- James Carter and Cerrie Burnell.

My day ended in the perfect way. Having had a little stroll along the canal, I enjoying the afternoon sun sitting in the Pleasure Gardens by Holburne Museum, enjoying the beauty of the surroundings and the joy of a good book!

The Festival continues this week with lots of events for schools and again, next weekend with a programme full of interest for all the family.