Bringing you news once a week on the ongoing 60 Postcards journey (you can read a summary of the story here), and on Friday I share a story of an inspirational person, project or cause.
From the 1st to the 14th of September the South West of London are bringing you the Battersea Literary Festival and I have been asked along to have a natter about my book. This festival is presented by the Clapham Junction Town Centre Partnership and is made up of talks and workshops. It is the perfect event for writers and book lovers alike.
Isabel Losada has worked as an actress, singer, dancer, researcher, tv producer, broadcaster, public speaker, comedian. Phew! And if that wasn’t enough, she is also a very successful author who has written five books (one of which I am about to start!). This year Isabel has been invited to become the artistic director of The Battersea Literature Festival and I was delighted to hear from her a few months ago. Her passion for books, writing and this event shone through from the first moment we spoke and I was especially excited to hear that I would be involved in an evening with two other authors – a chance for me to be an audience member too. The night is for authors under 30 (I managed to sneak in as I wrote my book at 29ish!) and I asked organiser Isabel why she wanted to put that evening together:
“A brilliant publicist approached me about an evening for Oscar Coop-Phane – a French author who published his first book at 20 and won the prestigious French Literary Prize the Prix de Flore in 2012. She was so good I agreed to do an evening for him. Couldn’t decide whether to make it a French evening or an evening for writers who are published when they are still under 30. Personally I’m a great lover of narrative NON fiction as I love real life stories. Also as I’d just finished reading ‘Everyday Sexism’ which also features in the festival – I was keen to give opportunities to women. So I started asking around for published writers of narrative non-fiction of under 30 leading some to ask me, ‘What’s this? Your ageist sexist night?’ But I persevered and then I was sent details of Rachael’s wonderful book which instantly caught my attention. ‘Ah, here is a story that is real’ I thought. And I booked her. The third author I booked is also under 30 but writes fiction. The book ‘Golden Boy’ though is extraordinary and we’ll have a wonderful evening.”
About the Authors:
Oscar Coop-Phane:
Oscar is an award-winning French author who left home at 16 with dreams of becoming a painter. At 20, he moved to Berlin, where he spent a year writing and reading classics. His astonishing debut, Zenith Hotel, was the result, and it immediately won the Prix de Flore.
Abigail Tarttelin:
Abigail comes from Grimsby and lives out of a small, red suitcase. She writes about books, feminism and stuff like saving libraries for both paper and onscreen publications. Her first novel, Flick, was released in 2011 with a free soundtrack of independent British music, and her second novel, Golden Boy, the story of beautiful intersex teenager Max Walker, came out in 2013 with a dustcover.
Rachael Chadwick:
Me? Well you guys know far too much about me as it is. A creative tribute for my Mum allowed me to speak openly about my loss, create new connections around the world and I was more than lucky to have been offered a book deal with the wonderful Simon & Schuster in September last year.
Event Details:
Location: Waterstones, Clapham
Time: 7pm
Price: £5
Book tickets online: https://www.bac.org.uk/bac/shows/under30
Book tickets by telephone: 0207 223 2223
For other events during the festival, check out the Battersea Lit Fest Programme!
It would be fantastic to see some of you there! Please do let me know if you book to come along as the event will leave us plenty of time to chat afterwards and even go for a couple of drinks, perhaps!
I look forward to seeing you there :).
Enjoy your week.
Much love,
Rachael x
P.S: If you would like to be part of the 60 Postcards project and want to write a postcard in memory of someone to be scattered in NYC, then please read THIS POST which explains how you can get involved.
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