Literary Festivals- the new spiritual experience?

If you were lucky enough to get to the Festival of Golden Words, you would know it was a wonderful weekend of inspirational and intellectual engagement. Leading authors and commentators, witty and thought provoking debates and conversations, and, especially relevant to CBCA members, a strong concurrent children's and young adults programme.  Find out more at

http://www.tristanbancks.com/2014/03/beaconsfield-festival-of-golden-words.html?m=1

In one of the sessions a panellist was bemoaning the loss of a shared community culture that existed when people, for example, all watched the same TV programmes and all attended church together.  The response from another panellist was to point out that on a cool, windy Sunday morning in Beaconsfield there were close to 300 people joined together celebrating books and their creators- surely literary festivals provide the modern opportunity to commune with ideas and moral debate that once was the role of the church.  What’s your reaction to this idea?

As far as festivals go, CBCA members can hold their heads high- Children’s Book Week is the longest running children’s literary festival in Australia, existing since 1945.  Perhaps though we fail to market it for what it is, an Australia wide Festival celebrating the best Australian children’s books published in the previous year, by the best Australian writers and illustrators.  Let’s capitalise on the popularity of literary festivals by linking all our diverse efforts across Australia, so every child who participates in a Book Week parade in every tiny school across every state and territory realises they are part of an Australia wide celebration.

Should Children’s Book Week be renamed “The Festival of the Australian Children’s Book”? 

And close to home the Book an Adventure: Bruny Island Children’s Literature Festival is coming- 15-18 January 2015.   4 days of seaside fun and adventure for all the family; writing and illustration workshops, meet the authors sessions, an exhibition of picture book illustrations, children's films, a book fair, sand sculptures, storytelling, Viking workshops and a Viking Community Event, the launch of two longboats in Adventure Bay and much, much more!

www.facebook.com/bookanadventure

 

Jessie Mahjouri