Spring Library Festival
Thursday, April 9, 2009 (amended April 14)
Everyone is supposed to have a book in them. But the path from budding writer to published author can be rocky and twisted.
So advice from established storytellers is always useful, and the 2009 Spring Festival at Fulham Library and Hammersmith Library aims to deliver plenty of it.
From action adventure to romantic fiction, authors from a host of literary genres will be passing on useful tips and answering questions in a series of evenings through May which will also be of general interest to all book-lovers.
Writer Jean Fullerton, whose historical romance No Cure for Love won the 2006 Harry Bowling Prize, told h&f news that she was always happy to pass on her experiences to others.
“I started writing late in life, but you know what they say – if you never pick up a paintbrush, how do you know you can’t paint?” she asked.
“Researching books is something I love as much as the actual writing, and I just thought I’d give it a go. I actually trained as a district nurse, but I sketched out an idea on a sheet of A4, got out the laptop and started. Before long I’d written 90,000 words.”
Interestingly, Jean, 54, who has now had three books published, is dyslexic. Her genre is historical romances “with a fair dollop of adventure”, allowing her readers to be transported back to another era. She has promised to turn up to Fulham Library on the evening of her talk with her folder full of rejection letters… to prove that success is still possible, even after initial knock backs.
At the opposite end of the writing spectrum is Matt Lynn, who specialises in military thrillers. The 46-year-old, whose latest novel Death Force focuses on a group of mercenary fighters in the Afghanistan conflict, used to live near Bishop’s Park, Fulham.
The former Sunday Times journalist, who says he was heavily influenced by the War Picture Library and Commando comics he read as a youngster, cut his teeth by ghost-writing military thrillers before starting to produce books under his own name.
“Military thrillers have really come back as a genre,” he told h&f news. “There is a lot of technique and craft in creating them.”
He plans to read a bit from his new book before taking questions when he does his Spring Festival turn at Hammersmith Library on May 21.
Cllr Paul Bristow, cabinet member for residents’ services, said: “I am sure that this will be an excellent event and I urge as many people as possible to take part.”
Debby Wale, Hammersmith & Fulham’s reader development librarian, who is co-ordinating the Spring Festival, said: “Authors often make good speakers, and there was a lot of interest in the process of writing when we did a festival in October.”
She said that last year’s event had appealed to members of the borough’s many readers’ groups as well as budding writers, with between 30 and 50 people attending each session.
Other writers taking part this year are Robert Ryan, author of a novel based on Scott’s fateful polar expedition in 1912; Nick Drake, a screenwriter who worked on Sliding Doors and Iris, among other films; and Margaret Leroy, who specialises in writing about relationships and female sexuality.
Entry is by ticket, and these are available from the libraries or by emailing debby.wale@lbhf.gov.uk with a postal address.
Robert Ryan, Fulham Library, May 7, 7.30pm Jean Fullerton, Fulham Library, May 14, 7.30pm Margaret Leroy, Hammersmith Library, May 20, 7.30pm Matt Lynn, Hammersmith Library, May 21, 7.30pm Nick Drake, Fulham Library, May 27, 7.30pm
» More information about these events in our events calendar
