Richard Hardie and I are amongst the 40 or so authors taking part in the inaugural Hursley Park Book Fair over the weekend of 23rd and 24th June. (Felicity Fair Thompson and Anne Wan, both of whom I interviewed for CFT, are also taking part).
The event is free, there is plenty of parking, there is a restaurant and a bar, and the event is being held at Hursley Park, the home of IBM in the area. Indeed, if you drive through Hursley you will now see big banners out advertising the event. You can’t miss them!
Roughly, the weekend is split into two sections – the Saturday is for adult fiction across a wide range of genres and the Sunday focuses more on children’s fiction. So go on both days and top up your book shelves for every member of your family!
I think it will be fantastic to have so many books covering almost every taste in one place. Also, you get to meet the authors. If there is something you would like to know about our stories, the inspiration for our writing and so on, come along and ask! We will all be pleased to see you.
I am also giving a talk on my genre, flash fiction, on the Saturday at 10.55 am so if you want to know more about that, do come along. I will be looking at the joys of flash fiction from both a reader’s and writer’s viewpoint.
For those of you able to go to the event on Sunday too, Richard is also giving a talk about how he wrote his books and will be reading from Chapter 1 of his first YA novel, Leap of Faith.
There will be workshops (a few of which I list below), a Book Quiz, and book readings.
There is a colouring competition for children (with different age ranges, do see the link. I used to love colouring. Just a pity I’m well outside the age ranges given here but never mind!). The pages provided need to be printed out, coloured in, and brought along on the day (Sunday 24th June). Prizes will be awarded in the afternoon. Full rules can be found on the link.
And don’t think the adults are being left out. There are competitions for you too. On Saturday, free raffle tickets will be given out for entry to a prize draw. Book bundles are the prizes (and I’ve donated a copy of From Light to Dark and Back Again as part of this). The draw takes place at 1.30 pm and there are three prizes in all.
The book quiz consists of a card with 20 book titles on it and you match the character to the book. The questions are multiple choice and everyone attending the Fair will be given the card. The first 3 correct cards drawn will receive book bundles as prizes with a draw at 3.00 p.m.
Good luck!
Situated between Winchester and Romsey, the Hursley Park Book Fair is, of course, ideally situated for Chandler’s Ford residents too. I hope this event will be the first of many held here and I am looking forward to (a) taking part and (b) seeing Hursley Park itself. I’ve driven past it many times but have never been inside it. Glenn Salter, the man behind the Fair, has kindly sent in some images, but I am expecting to be amazed by the building. (I’d be a bit disappointed if I wasn’t!).
With the loss of the Arcade Book Shop in Chandler’s Ford and little available in Eastleigh, to have what is effectively one huge book shop on our doorstep is an opportunity not to be missed. So if you love your books, you know where to be on 23rd and 24th June – Hursley Park!
Facebook links
Here is the link to the Facebook page for the event for Hursley Park Book Fair
This is the one for the main Hursley Park Book Fair Facebook page
The workshops include:-
Ten Steps to Becoming a Published Author
How to Create a Plot
The World of Publishing
The Importance of Reading with Children
A Puggy Dog’s Tale (which is a children’s workshop).
There are many others but this will give you a good flavour of what to expect and these will definitely appeal to would-be writers, those looking to take their writing further, and those who like to look behind the scenes of the writing world.
Oh and how did I get to find out about the Hursley Park Book Fair?
Glenn Salter saw my How was the Book Fair For You? post from CFT last year.
The great things about events like this? They support authors from the area for one thing, but a Fair of this size gives you a wonderful opportunity to discover books by writers you had not previously come across, and maybe even in genres you haven’t read before. See what reading discoveries you can make and have fun!
Related Posts:-
Read interviews with Chandler’s Ford writer Allison Symes: Part 1 and Part 2.
Read blog posts by Allison Symes published on Chandler’s Ford Today.
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[…] My post on CFT is naturally about this but gives more details and I am pleased to share some of the other local writers’ pictures and books who will also be at the Fair. I’ve interviewed them all at some point too! […]