Why do people choose to go to particular events? What overcomes their natural inertia and convinces them to leave their comfy couch and big TV to trudge out in the cold?
I wish I knew.
This is my fifth year working with the York Literature Festival. I started off collating mailing list information, and now I'm acting as Secrretary for the Board of Trustees. And every year, I'm mystified about what events sell out and which ones struggle to find an audience. It's partly because I'm still a foreigner in many ways - people who are beloved actors and comedians to my friends on the Board are strangers to me - but it's partly because that old adage is true: 'you never know what is going to be a hit'.
This year, although there are lots of events that I'm looking forward to, I'm mostly excited about two of them: Ian Moore and Grace Dent. Ian Moore, the clever and hilarious author of Death and Croissants, is coming on 14 March to talk about the third book in the series, Death and the Chateau. I'm thrilled that I'm going to be interviewing him, because I can't wait to talk about how he manages to incorporate such humour into the tried-and-true structure of a murder mystery.
Grace Dent is coming to talk about her memoir Hungry and her podcast Comfort Eating. I have always wanted to meet her because of her elegance and eloquence on Masterchef; I like the way she manages to criticize without crushing. Also, we're going to be in the Grand Opera House, and that is always a treat.
I hope to see some of you there!
Comments
Post a Comment