It occasionally occurs to me that hosting a literature festival is a rather quaint exercise in our modern age, where information and ideas are so readily accessible at the touch of a button.
That one should make a pilgrimage across town, or perhaps even to another city, for the sole purpose of exchanging ideas, is ultimately unnecessary in an era where you can do so with greater ease simply by logging onto Twitter.
And yet the immediacy of digital communication is precisely why I think literature festivals still matter – why they matter now more than ever. Rather than the frenetic pace of online forums, we can offer a painstakingly put together programme of ideas and people that has been discussed and finessed over many months – leading to conversations that I hope will endure long after the final chair has been cleared away.
The events I’ve curated this year speak to issues and themes I’ve always found deeply fascinating, and at times confronting.
I hope you’ll enjoy these events as much as I’ve enjoyed curating them – do let me know your thoughts.