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A TRIUMPH IN BATH

Written by Nikki Gamble

Wednesday, 24 October 2007

Philip Reeve

The first Bath Festival of Children's Literature was held from the 21st September - 30th September. By all accounts it was a huge success thanks to the energy and commitment of organisers John and Gill McLay and their team. Margaret Pemberton offers a personal reflection:

Picture credits throughout Jay Williams/Daily Telegraph.

It has been more than two years in the planning, but finally September saw the inaugural KidsLitFest in Bath. It was the brainchild of John and Gill McLay who then sought out like minded souls to help them bring the dream to reality. For me it all started with an email from John in June 2006 asking if I would like to attend the first planning meeting, that was the start of a very exciting and satisfying year, culminating in the festival itself.

The range of authors and events meant that all ages were catered for: Julia Donaldson packed in the two and three year olds, whilst a thousand strong audience queued for the chance to listen to Anthony Horowitz and nearly as many were enthralled by Jacqueline Wilson. In total there were over 80 public events and 56 school events. The school events were particularly successful as they reached out to schools in the surrounding area, from Bristol to Somerset, and across the age ranges from Infants to Secondary.

Julia Donaldson

But what are the memories that will remain with me? Well, it could be the long drive home, late at night after a session at one of the venues, with my mind buzzing over the authors and the crowds of enthusiastic children who had listened to them. There were the boys waiting to see Malcolm Rose, who were sitting on the floor totally engrossed in one of his books; the long queues for book signings, because the authors were happy to spend time talking to people; the Cathy Cassidy friendship bracelets and the Year 8 boys doing a Mexican Wave during a session with Joe Craig.

Melvin Burgess

Whilst many of the audiences came from Bath, Bristol and the surrounding area, there were visitors from all over the country; I particularly remember a lady and her 2 year old who had travelled by train from Hereford in order to play at Pirates and the family from Australia who had timed their visit to include the festival because their daughter loved ‘English Authors’.

Lucy Hawking

It was also fascinating to see the hard work behind the scenes. There were over 100 stewards as well as the organising group and people even took some holiday to help out. The Green Room was a hive of industry and the staff there kept us all on the right track and made the authors and publicists welcome, both before and after their events. I must mention Gill McLay’s parents as they were amazing in the amount of work they did and yet were still cheerful and friendly. However this really was a team effort, made possible through the inspired leadership of John and Gill and many friendships have been forged which will continue as the Festival grows and develops.

Mr Nosey

For those of you who were able to attend this year I know you will be back to support it again next year, but for those who were not able to make it, why not put the dates in your diary for next year, 19th – 28th September? We look forward to seeing you then.

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