One of the ideas cast forth into the great litfest melting pot at the last committee meeting was this - how about making a documentary, following our adventures in pulling together, and staging, the first festival.
After a stunned silence, there were murmurs. A documentary. A film. Charting the ups and downs that we're bound to face over the next thirteen months. The looks around the table said, 'you know, that's not a bad bloody idea'. Then, of course, individuals started to realise they'd probably have to appear in the documentary. You know, be filmed and everything. Hmm...
Unpeturbed, we decided to investigate. None of us are filmmakers. Some of us have limited experience in certain areas, and the word 'limited' is probably stretching it. So we sought out those who do know a little bit. At lunchtime today I headed out to meet Christy DeHaven and Dave Armstrong, who along with their day job of looking after things at DAM Productions, are heavily involved in the Mannin Shorts initiative.
It was a good chat (thanks for the tea, Christy) and they've given us some great ideas. I'm not sure if there is enough of a market to produce a final documentary based on our experiences - the worthiness of such a project will, as we discussed today, depend largely on how things progress; if there are arguments of volcanic eruption proportions, flouncing strops that make X-Factor look serene and numerous cock-ups/letdowns mixed with ecstatic successes, then maybe, just maybe, it would make something to attract interest. If, on the other hand, the plans for the litfest run smoothly, with barely a word uttered in anger... well, who's going to want to watch that, apart from our mums, grandmothers and great aunts?
One suggestion is to chart the next year by way of developing these here ramblings into something of a video blog, which I think could work. We'd use our flip video camera to film meetings, site visits, interviews with those involved (including authors) and so on. And then we'd gauge how things are going from a content side, and perhaps get Dave and Christy involved for certain major meetings or events in the build up, cutting the two aspects (our amateur footage with their polished material) together for a final product - assuming we deem it worthwhile.
We've another committee meeting this coming Monday, when all this will be put on the table. And, providing we can convince those involved that they really don't look all that bad on camera, we might get somewhere.
Keep watching this space.
Cheers
JohnQ
Friday, August 12, 2011
Monday, August 1, 2011
Dates confirmed for Manx Litfest 2012 - September 28-30
So, we're finally there. After much contemplation in the early days as to whether to stage a literature festival - indeed, whether the Island wanted a festival - and more latterly as to when might be the best time to hold such an event, we've finally announced the dtates.
Manx Litfest will take place over the weekend of September 28-30 next year, although it may well end up being a four-day event, starting on the Thursday (Sept 27).
Despite all the effort and meltdown of brains that has gone into getting us this far, as some vindictive soul mentioned on Twitter the other day, the hard work starts now. We're in the process of talking to possible venues, drawing up a list of authors to approach, continuing to publicise the litfest, working on a website and drafting sponsorship proposals to knock the socks of potential sponsors.
Although there's a long way to go, we know that the next fourteen months will zip by, and with the dates now fixed, Manx Litfest has suddenly taken some sort of shape, although at this stage it feels like The Mummy does early in that Brendan Fraser romp - it has taken on a physical and menacing presence, but is very short of actual flesh on the bones.
But that will come in time, with each announcement of either an author signing up to appear or an event/venue being confirmed.
Thanks to everyone for their continued support so far, be it on Facebook or Twitter, or here on the blog, or the encouraging emails we've received. Not forgetting our supporters/sponsors - the Isle of Man Arts Council and Appleby Isle of Man. We hope everyone is excited as we are, if that is indeed possible.
Thanks
JohnQ
Manx Litfest will take place over the weekend of September 28-30 next year, although it may well end up being a four-day event, starting on the Thursday (Sept 27).
Despite all the effort and meltdown of brains that has gone into getting us this far, as some vindictive soul mentioned on Twitter the other day, the hard work starts now. We're in the process of talking to possible venues, drawing up a list of authors to approach, continuing to publicise the litfest, working on a website and drafting sponsorship proposals to knock the socks of potential sponsors.
Although there's a long way to go, we know that the next fourteen months will zip by, and with the dates now fixed, Manx Litfest has suddenly taken some sort of shape, although at this stage it feels like The Mummy does early in that Brendan Fraser romp - it has taken on a physical and menacing presence, but is very short of actual flesh on the bones.
But that will come in time, with each announcement of either an author signing up to appear or an event/venue being confirmed.
Thanks to everyone for their continued support so far, be it on Facebook or Twitter, or here on the blog, or the encouraging emails we've received. Not forgetting our supporters/sponsors - the Isle of Man Arts Council and Appleby Isle of Man. We hope everyone is excited as we are, if that is indeed possible.
Thanks
JohnQ
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
A little advice on ordering books, the need for writers to socialise and top tips on how not to get right up authors' noses
Some of the most useful advice, ideas and general background skeet on existing festivals that we've received has come direct from authors.
Last week we had the chance to pick the brains of an author (who is hoping to have a free slot in his diary to attend the first Manx Litfest) and one of the most interesting - and potentially challenging - points he raised related to the supply of books for signing at events by writers.
Whichever bookstore is involved in supplying the books for a particular event (and ensuring an even spread among the bookstores is going to be a challenge all in itself) has to take a bit a shot in the dark when predicting how many books to order. The issue for smaller bookshops (or any bookshop, for that matter) is that they don't want to a) be left with stock after the event that they may not be able to shift or b) have to pay for shipping unsold stock back to UK, the cost of which will likely put a major hole in any profit they may have made on the night. This is something we need to discuss with bookstores in the coming weeks and months.
The isssue of paying authors to attend also came up - but that is something we're keen to do anyway, as we've mentioned before.
There were some additions to our 'list of things that could potentially piss off an author'. They tend to be fairly obvious points - such as running out of books to sign/sell - and generally revolve around making sure they are looked after reasonably well. Why is this so important? Pretty obvious - apart from the fact that we're nice people and we want to show authors a good time anyway, the bottom line is that we're looking to build a strong reputation on the litfest calendar. If we treat authors poorly, word will undoubtedly get around. It's that simple.
Geography was another issue ro raise its head - as in the locations to be used, and the benefits/drawbacks of having events spread around, or most of them taking place within a central hub. This is a crucial factor and one that we're giving much thought to at the moment. Some difficult decisions like ahead, that's for sure.
There was one final point made - authors like to socialise, and there is usually a central bar/pub where they hang out with each other and mingle/drink with fans. I think it's best if I offer to research this element myself.
Cheers
JohnQ
Last week we had the chance to pick the brains of an author (who is hoping to have a free slot in his diary to attend the first Manx Litfest) and one of the most interesting - and potentially challenging - points he raised related to the supply of books for signing at events by writers.
Whichever bookstore is involved in supplying the books for a particular event (and ensuring an even spread among the bookstores is going to be a challenge all in itself) has to take a bit a shot in the dark when predicting how many books to order. The issue for smaller bookshops (or any bookshop, for that matter) is that they don't want to a) be left with stock after the event that they may not be able to shift or b) have to pay for shipping unsold stock back to UK, the cost of which will likely put a major hole in any profit they may have made on the night. This is something we need to discuss with bookstores in the coming weeks and months.
The isssue of paying authors to attend also came up - but that is something we're keen to do anyway, as we've mentioned before.
There were some additions to our 'list of things that could potentially piss off an author'. They tend to be fairly obvious points - such as running out of books to sign/sell - and generally revolve around making sure they are looked after reasonably well. Why is this so important? Pretty obvious - apart from the fact that we're nice people and we want to show authors a good time anyway, the bottom line is that we're looking to build a strong reputation on the litfest calendar. If we treat authors poorly, word will undoubtedly get around. It's that simple.
Geography was another issue ro raise its head - as in the locations to be used, and the benefits/drawbacks of having events spread around, or most of them taking place within a central hub. This is a crucial factor and one that we're giving much thought to at the moment. Some difficult decisions like ahead, that's for sure.
There was one final point made - authors like to socialise, and there is usually a central bar/pub where they hang out with each other and mingle/drink with fans. I think it's best if I offer to research this element myself.
Cheers
JohnQ
Friday, July 22, 2011
Counting down...
By early next week, we should have announced the dates for the first Manx Litfest in 2012. It's been a slow, drawn-out process making the decision. There have been so many factors to consider, some of which we'd anticipated, others that arose during the much banging-of-heads-on-desk that was done.
There were the various existing Isle of Man events to consider (ie avoid), the already-chock-full calendar of literary festivals around the British Isles to take into account, other major international festivals taking place further afield, school holidays... the list was long.
You'll hear about the dates in the media, read about it here, and see it on Facebook and Twitter (assuming you follow us. If you don't, then head over to those links and get on with it. We'll wait. Right, can we continue?)
We're pretty happy with the dates. Yes, that's tempting fate. But right now, fate wouldn't dare stick her nose in. It's been that kind of process, she's likely to get her nose broken. The weekend in question is, as far as we can tell, free of any kind of reasonably sized event in the Island. And while it will clash with a few festivals around the British Isles, that was always going to happen, and the time we've picked is one of the quietest on the festival circuit. So hopefully we're on to a winner.
Now we've fixed on the date, we can start approaching authors to gauge a) their availability and b) their interest. As and when we have names to announce, you can be sure we'll be doing so, complete with a little jig.
Much of the organising so far for Manx Litfest has been behind-the-scenes kind of stuff, laying the groundwork. But we can feel the pace starting to pick up, and that will certainly happen once the dates are announced and everyone has a goal to work towards.
Okay, I've said enough for now. Tune in tomorrow, when we'll be back with a few words about some of the pitfalls we're expecting to encounter...
Cheers
JohnQ
There were the various existing Isle of Man events to consider (ie avoid), the already-chock-full calendar of literary festivals around the British Isles to take into account, other major international festivals taking place further afield, school holidays... the list was long.
You'll hear about the dates in the media, read about it here, and see it on Facebook and Twitter (assuming you follow us. If you don't, then head over to those links and get on with it. We'll wait. Right, can we continue?)
We're pretty happy with the dates. Yes, that's tempting fate. But right now, fate wouldn't dare stick her nose in. It's been that kind of process, she's likely to get her nose broken. The weekend in question is, as far as we can tell, free of any kind of reasonably sized event in the Island. And while it will clash with a few festivals around the British Isles, that was always going to happen, and the time we've picked is one of the quietest on the festival circuit. So hopefully we're on to a winner.
Now we've fixed on the date, we can start approaching authors to gauge a) their availability and b) their interest. As and when we have names to announce, you can be sure we'll be doing so, complete with a little jig.
Much of the organising so far for Manx Litfest has been behind-the-scenes kind of stuff, laying the groundwork. But we can feel the pace starting to pick up, and that will certainly happen once the dates are announced and everyone has a goal to work towards.
Okay, I've said enough for now. Tune in tomorrow, when we'll be back with a few words about some of the pitfalls we're expecting to encounter...
Cheers
JohnQ
Friday, June 17, 2011
Your favourite... crime fiction
Over on Facebook and Twitter, we've been grilling folk on their favourite books/authors - but doing so genre by genre. First up it was crime fiction, followed by science fiction a couple of nights ago. Keep an eye out for more discussions coming soon.
The feedback for both crime and science fiction was superb - so much so, that rather than lose all the ideas after the threads become old hat, we thought we'd gather the suggestions for each genre on the blog. So first up, crime fiction - here are the books/authors who got under people's skin:
Check out the list, follow the links and hope you find a some new good reads.
Cheers
JohnQ
The feedback for both crime and science fiction was superb - so much so, that rather than lose all the ideas after the threads become old hat, we thought we'd gather the suggestions for each genre on the blog. So first up, crime fiction - here are the books/authors who got under people's skin:
- CJ Sansom for his historical crime fiction, such as Dissolution
- Richard Wright - Native Son
- Caleb Carr - The Alienist/Angel of Darkness
- Patritica Highsmith - Ripley Novels
- Kate Atkinson
- Susannah Gregory - Matthew Bartholomew books
- Agatha Christie
- James Lee Burke
- Elizabeth George
- Karen Maitland
- Ariana Franklin
- Umberto Eco - The Name of the Rose
- George Pelecanos
- Megan Abbott
- John Connolly - Charlie Parker series
- James Ellroy
- Peter James - 'dead' series, with detective Roy Grace
- Jeffrey Deaver - Lincoln Rhyme novels
- Jonathan & Faye Kellerman - LA-based books
- Stieg Larrson - Millennium trilogy
- Jo Nesbo - Harry Hole books
- Henning Mankell
- Peter Robinson - Inspector Banks books
- David Peace - Nineteen Seventy-Seven
- Michael Connelly - Harry Bosch books
- Jeff Lindsay - Dexter series
- Nick Stone - Max Mingus trilogy
- Ruth Rendell
- George Simenon - non-Maigret novels, Stain in the Snow, The Blue Room, Traffic Lights
- Didier Daeninckx - only two books in translation - Murder In Memoriam/A Very Profitable War
- Maj Sjöwall and Per Wahlöö - Martin Beck books
- And, of course, Ian Rankin
- Last, but not least, George Bellairs - Half-mast for the Deemster...
Check out the list, follow the links and hope you find a some new good reads.
Cheers
JohnQ
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Manx Litfest 2012 - dates to be confirmed soon
In our last post, we mentioned a little matter of announcing the dates for the first ever Manx Litfest. Well, we're close now - but not quite there yet.
What we can say is that we've narrowed it down to September 2012, providing the weekends we are looking at during that month can accommodate us. We're fairly confident though, and would hope to be able to confirm the dates within the next couple of weeks following a meeting with the Isle of Man Arts Council.
You should also hear some news about the winner of our logo comp, which we're again aiming to firm up during the next few weeks.
In other news, our legal supporter Appleby Isle of Man is drawing up the relevant paperwork to officially register Manx Litfest as a company with charitable status, and that should come to fruition within the next couple of months.
Finally in this quick update - if you're not following us on Facebook or Twitter, please feel free to do so and help spread the word about what we're trying to achieve.
More news coming soon...
Cheers
JohnQ
What we can say is that we've narrowed it down to September 2012, providing the weekends we are looking at during that month can accommodate us. We're fairly confident though, and would hope to be able to confirm the dates within the next couple of weeks following a meeting with the Isle of Man Arts Council.
You should also hear some news about the winner of our logo comp, which we're again aiming to firm up during the next few weeks.
In other news, our legal supporter Appleby Isle of Man is drawing up the relevant paperwork to officially register Manx Litfest as a company with charitable status, and that should come to fruition within the next couple of months.
Finally in this quick update - if you're not following us on Facebook or Twitter, please feel free to do so and help spread the word about what we're trying to achieve.
More news coming soon...
Cheers
JohnQ
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Appleby Isle of Man joins the Litfest crew as legal advisers
One of the most challenging aspects of getting a festival up and running is the legal issues - setting ourselves up as a limited company with charitable status. There's the memorandum of association, articles of association, dealings with the Attorney General's office, registration with the Companies Registry - I don't know about you, but I was lost at 'memorandum'...
We are, therefore, delighted to announce that Appleby Isle of Man has agreed to offer us advice and support over the coming months to help put the litfest on a firm footing.
Who are Appleby? With offices in key offshore jurisdictions of the Isle of Man, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Jersey, Mauritius and the Seychelles, it's the leading provider of offshore legal, fiduciary and administration services. That's who. They've also got offices in London, Hong Kong and Zurich, so as you can imagine, it feels good to have such a big name player on our team.
With initial funding in place from the Isle of Man Arts Council, and now Appleby on board as our first sponsor, it feels like things are starting to take shape.
We've got more news bubbling away, but can't reveal just yet. What's that? You want a teaser? Oh, okay. The dates for the first Manx Litfest in 2012. How do you like those apples?
Watch this space...
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