Jasper Fforde kicks off the new Manx Litfest Reading Club!

What's that you say?A reading club? Featuring authors appearing at Manx Litfest? Why. yes!

And below is a press release we've just issued on the very subject - but please note, while it's aimed at IOM media, all you followers and fans who aren't based in the Isle of Man are more than welcome to join in the fun:

Manx Litfest is launching a reading club to promote authors who will attend this year’s inaugural festival in September.

Starting in April, the club will focus on one author each month with the aim of encouraging as many people as possible to read a book by that particular writer.

It will be a ‘virtual’ group – there will be no meetings, but everyone is encouraged to get involved with discussions about the author on Manx Litfest’s blog, Facebook page and on Twitter, and it’s hoped that existing book clubs will want to get involved by reading and discussing the authors as part of their normal programme.

Festival Director John Quirk explained: ‘There are lots of book clubs around the Island. Some are organised by libraries or as part of a larger organisations, such as the WI, and some are just groups of friends who happen to be mad about books and who meet at each other’s houses – or in their local pub, as is often the case!

‘The Manx Litfest reading club will act as a complement to these already existing clubs. We don’t want to replace any groups or draw members away from their clubs, but if they want to read our Litfest authors too, they can join in. Or, as one or two groups have already indicated, they are tweaking their reading list to incorporate our monthly choices.

‘And it’s not a set book each month – you can read any title by the author we’re focusing on, with the goal of discussing their writing in general, not just one particular book. Ultimately, we just want to encourage reading and ensure that when our authors arrive for Manx Litfest, there is an appreciative, well-read audience in place.’

The first author to go under the microscope is Jasper Fforde, author of the Thursday Next series and Nursery Crime series, as well as the young adult book, The Last Dragonslayer, and its sequel, The Song of the Quarkbeast.

‘People keep asking me what genre Jasper writes in, or how I would classify his writing,’ said John. ‘And to be honest, I still don’t know what the best reply is. The Thursday Next series is a mix of humour, fantasy, alternate history and sees Thursday, a “literary detective” based in Swindon, investigating crime in a world where the line between fact and fiction becomes increasingly thin, with characters able to jump in and out of books.

‘For my part, I’m currently reading The Big Over Easy, the first of the Nursery Crime novels. It’s based in the same alternate world as Thursday Next and features Detective Inspector Jack Spratt and his sidekick Mary Mary investigating the grizzly demise of a certain Humpty Dumpty. Jasper is an ingenious writer – these books might sound like they are aimed at children, but they are bona fide crime novels, albeit not what you’d normally expect from a crime novel.’

The author focus during May will be on acclaimed crime writer RJ Ellory, author of A Quiet Belief in Angels, The Saints of New York, Candlemoth and A Simple Act of Violence, which was named the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year at the 2010 Harrogate Crime Writing Festival, beating Ian Rankin, Peter James and Mark Billingham.

Manx Litfest will run from Thursday, September 27 to Sunday, September 30 this year. It will feature visiting authors and poets alongside Isle of Man-based writers in a colourful celebration of storytelling.

Among the other names appearing at the festival are Martin Bell MBE, former BBC war correspondent and one-time MP for Tatton, along with Ann Cleeves, Chris Ewan, Jeremy Strong, Elizabeth Buchan, Neil Ansell, Thommie Gillow, Michael Curtis, Tom Palmer and Hilary Robinson.

The main Litfest hub will be the Villa Marina and Gaiety Theatre complex, with other events held at venues around the Island, including Castle Rushen, Erin Arts Centre and the Manx Museum.                                                                                                                                              Manx Litfest is being supported by the Manx Heritage Foundation and the Isle of Man Arts Council, and is grateful to the support of a host of companies and individuals, including Isle of Man Advertising & PR, Appleby Isle of Man, Words & Spaces, Assist Consultancy, Signrite and local artist Ali Crellin.

Book fans can find out more about the festival plans by visiting www.manxlitfest.com and by following on Twitter (www.twitter.com/manxlitfest) and Facebook (www.facebook.com/manxlitfest).

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

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...