Behind the scenes...

We're on countdown. Less than twelve months to go now, until the first ever Manx Litfest rocks into town. Behind the scenes, things are moving pretty fast. In fact, about just as fast as the days and weeks are scarily slipping by.

We are tantalisingly close to announcing several items of big news, including details of venue, the first authors who have signed up and an idea of a few of the events, including how we foresee the festival 'hub' taking shape.

All that, and more, will be announced over the next month or so. Believe me - we're desperate to get news out there to the blog/facebook/twitter fans and followers who have been supporting our efforts thus far. So just a little more patience and you will be richly rewarded, in a literary wellbeing kind of way.

On a day-to-day basis, work continues on developing the website - thanks to the support of the guys at Isle of Man Advertising & PR - and in incorporating Manx Litfest as a charitable organisation, courtesy of the team at Appleby Isle of Man.

Aside from that, we're laptop-deep writing letters and reports and filling in application forms for support from a variety of trusts and foundations, and preparing press releases and liasing with media - both on-Island and around the UK - to publicise the festival over the coming months. And meetings. Gazillions of meetings.

It's pretty intense - so, if we do seem a little quiet and distant at times, like a teenage sweetheart just before they dumped you, don't worry. We're still here. And we won't dump you. Providing you promise to come to events, of course, and buy a Manx Litfest mug/T-shirt/pen (or hip flask - I'm really pushing for a hip flask...)

Right. That's all for now, folks.

Happy reading.

Cheers
John Q

We've only gone and landed a sponsor for our website...

As this here internet malarkey is rather important in this day and age, or so we're told, one of the key points we've been focusing on over the last couple of months is a website - what it should look like, what it needs to do, what the public will expect from it. That kind of thing.


So, you won't be at all surprised to hear that we're all just a little bit pumped about the news that we have a sponsor for the Manx Litfest website...

The guys at Isle of Man Advertising & PR have very kindly agreed to look after the design and build of the site and we'll be meeting them next week to get our heads together and brief them on what we're looking for.

Joking aside, it's a fantastic offer of support. When it comes to attracting authors - and, indeed, potential visitors from off-Island - the website is going to be key. It needs to look the part and show folk that we mean business, so we're delighted to have the team at Isle of Man Advertising on board and joining our team of sponsors (whose names and links you can see on the top right of this here page).

We'll keep everyone posted as to how the site is developing and the kind of features we're incorporating. Until then, thanks once again to our latest sponsors - the support really is very much appreciated.

Cheers
JohnQ

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 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

Appleby Isle of Man joins the Litfest crew as legal advisers

Great news, Manx Litfest fans - we can officially announce that law firm Appleby Isle of Man is on board as legal support/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...