Positive Response To First UCLAN Lit Fest

Apr, 12 2018

~Sometimes new events can sink like a stone or they can float like a boat. The latter appeared true of a recent free  event held at UCLAN.

The very first young adult literature festival was warmly received by a staggering 1,000 visitors. It was an opportunity to celebrate the quintessential young adult books and authors currently available.

Up and coming writers experienced the novelty of meeting their writing heroes giving them professional hints and tips on how to  make it in the publishing industry.

It was a collaborative event conspired by UCLAN’s BA Honours Publishing Team as well as Waterstones Preston and Lancashire Libraries. One of the organisers Hazel Holmes speaks of her joy of the event and the advantage of it being free to a lot of people,

“We’re completely overwhelmed with the response. The excitement building up to the event was great, but then afterwards was another level. The fact that it was free was a big deal as it enabled a lot of children from disadvantaged backgrounds to attend. We had support from publishers too, they sent us merchandise and proofs that we are able to give away for free, there were lots of happy fans.”

Fans would have also enjoyed the panel discussion that took place between  authors, Danny Weston, Teri Terry and debut author Anna Day explaining how to get work published. In addition, Katherine Webber, Annabel Pitcher, Lauren James and debut author Matt Killeen spoke about feminism in young adult literature

There was exclusive interview discussions from  bestselling author Alwyn Hamilton and US mega star, Holly Black, conducted by Samantha Shannon.

Author Alwyn Hamilton spoke about the realistic locality of the event and how much she appreciated her loyal fans,

“Readers were so enthusiastic about having a festival that was within an hour of their homes, and that they did not have to travel for, and I loved getting to chat to readers I would otherwise never get to meet.”

Based on such a positive response to the very first of it’s kind, talks are already underway about making it an annual event.

^Alex Ashworth.