Welcome to Wick (Indie Book Festival)


 

Last weekend I had the great pleasure of attending the inaugural Wick Indie Book Festival - postponed from 2020 for obvious reasons. The event was organised by Glyn Salisbury and his 'Write Place 2b' writing group, based in Wick, and took place in the Norseman Hotel over three days. The hotel is centrally placed, with friendly staff and plenty of nearby parking. Sunday lunch - a reasonably priced 3 course carvery - was delicious and the staff very attentive. Some of our group had special dietary requirements and one young waiter went out of his way to be helpful.

As I was unable to attend on the Friday, I missed talks by Gaby Barnby and Birgit Itse, a workshop given by Glyn and readings from members of the Write Place 2b group. On Saturday, however, I heard talks by Morag Macrae, Stuart Wardrop, Gail Anthea Brown and Les Cowan on subjects as varied as children's writing, how to write short stories, publishing and crime fiction with a difference. On Sunday I went to a talk by Mann Booker nominated author Clio Gray and a workshop on historical research by Wendy H Jones. I unfortunately missed the talks by Margaret Mackay and David Munro.

As well as a raffle, book shop, book signings and young writers' competitions there was a chance to speak with the authors over plenty of tea and coffee provided by the hotel. One highlight was the fun 'writers' challenge' on Saturday evening, where unsuspecting audience members found themselves competing against the authors. With Glyn as the 'dungeon master' guiding our way through the plot, the results were hilarious.

Glyn and his team made the event an extremely welcoming one. They made sure nobody felt left out and all-in-all it felt like a big family gathering (without stroppy Aunt Lil or grumpy cousin Joe). The amount of behind the scenes organising and marketing for such a festival was appreciated by everyone and hopefully - once the group have recovered - they will be encouraged to repeat the festival in the future.



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