User:Dulwichreader/sandbox

London SE21, joins the literary festival scene.
2012 has seen a fascinating development in the south London suburb of Dulwich. March saw the inauguration of the Dulwich Books FestivalDescribed by its organisers as "a month of celebrating the cultural world of books in all its aspects. Dulwich Books Festival is a programme of author events and workshops. There are sessions about children's writing, visits from best-selling novelists, and headline, non-fiction authors." The programme saw John Lanchester in conversation with Vicky Pryce, John Walsh in Conversation with Nick Cohen, Clare Jacob and the high profile foreign correspondents, Richard Hamilton, Mary Harper and Ben Anderson sharing their experiences. In additon Sarwat Chadda and Steve Feasey discussed writing for children and Children's Writers and Illustrators in South London held a day long workshop encouraging new writers and illustrators of children's books.

This mixture of local and national seems to have worked as June 30th sees a week long event - Dulwich Books Summer Festival.

There is plenty of activity to suggest the popularity of  events that bring readers together with authors. The website Literary Festivals.co.uklists over 150 festivals across the UK and Ireland, although it does not yet list Dulwich Books Festival.

Taking the lead in making The Dulwich Books Festival(s) happen is Sheila O'Reilly, proprietor of Dulwich Books.