A mid-year update from our programming & events manager
It feels like it has been quite some time since I poured you a glass of wine, ducked behind a bookcase to talk shop, or checked that the shop’s microphone was working and that you could hear me loud and clear. Lately, my time has been spent looking at authors’ bookcases, or kitchens, or very tidy lounge rooms. We ‘pivoted’, my friends, and the outcome has been glorious. The Readings’ events programme is alive and well and Zooming from home to home; sometimes across the world and other times only metres from a Readings shop. As we all buckled down, we have had authors celebrating debut and new releases, discussing world politics, reflecting on their childhoods and, in the case of Billy Bragg, singing to us. I was incredibly moved by Bragg’s call for optimism and the insightful questions Tony Birch asked him. In recent months, our commentators and authors have shared their experiences of writing, of dreaming, and of creating in an online community that is resilient and kind. We have not faltered, nor will we.
Thank goodness for modern technology. It has all worked so well that we reckon we will continue to offer events online. It means that we can chat with people near and far, like Patrick Ness and Rutger Bregman. It means we can offer people who were previously unable to attend our events an opportunity join in on that part of our community.
Over the next month we have discussions with Kate Grenville, Rebecca Huntley and Tegan Bennett Daylight. All you need to do is pop on to our website to see the events calendar, online event instructions and book from there. I’ll send you the appropriate link one hour before the event. Soon we will be able to offer a combination of online and in-person events. I’m so looking forward to talking with you to hear what you have been reading, watching and doing. I am excited to imagine all of us clapping and cheering together, knowing we have all just shared a moment that cannot be taken from us.
Till then, I’ll see you online. We can wave to one another.
