I’ve been browsing through the latest events list for the
Edinburgh Book festival again this year, and as usual I’ll probably try to
attend something. I’ve generally turned up for at least a passing look at what’s
happening most years for longer than I care to remember. Although I’ve seen
some interesting things during that time, my most abiding memory of events-past
is being stuck at work and missing the Terry Pratchett talk, something I really
would have liked to attend ever since picking up a brand new just-of-the-press
hardback copy of ‘The Reaper Man’ way back in my college years.
But is that the thing. Are they just pandering to our
misty-eyed remembrances? Or to the poke-it-with-a-stick interest we have in the
lives of the famous or controversial figures that generally turn up to promote
their autobiographies etc. Is there still real merit to Book Festivals in our modern
digital age?
One thing I have noticed is that there seems to be a lot
more emphasis on promoting new authors this time around, something that has admittedly
been growing over the last few years. Surely that can only be a good thing. As
normal the ‘recognisable names’ are there. Paddy Ashdown’s talk on “WHY THE
WORLD WILL NEVER BE THE SAME AGAIN” seemed
to sell out quickly (shouting capitals
and all!) while the more ‘literary’ based events take a bit longer to sell.
Yes, I know that’s just the way things are. But it does make me wonder who is
attending these events nowadays, and why. Are they avid book readers, does it
matter? Should these festivals be trying to pull in the off-the-street punters?
I would say yes, they should, the more ‘diverse’
the merrier. But when you sit in the book festival beer-tent and look around
you see a very different crowed to those attending the seemingly less hi-brow
events.
I see people sitting in bars or on benches or on a bus with
kindles now, but I don’t think the majority of these readers would ever consider
browsing around the book festival. It’s a perception thing, but I also don’t
think the look and attitude of many of the attendees help maters ether.
So what do you think? Is there a future for book festivals
in general?
Are they still relevant to our modern reading habits?
