Monday 18 November 2013

Chorleywood Launch!

Triskele Books at Chorleywood

Thanks to the tireless enthusiasm and endless curiosity of Sheryl and Morag (the people who run Chorleywood's award-winning independent bookshop),Triskele Books became part of the Chorleywood Literary Festival. Festival guests this year include Ranulph Fiennes, David Suchet, Kate Adie, Terry Wogan, Hadley Freeman, Bill Bryson and ... Triskele Books! And what a wonderful day it was. When we arrived to set up, the venue was full of happy children, who'd just enjoyed the LitFest Storytime. Which explains why Morag was dressed as a unicorn.

Three events made up the indie fringe:

The Human Library

The Human Library

The Triskelites offered ourselves as reference books on all aspects of independent publishing. Attendees could borrow any one of us for a one-to-one chat on whatever subject they wanted to discuss. Chorleywood festival-goers kept us busy. Catriona's first client was an 80-year-old children's author, whereas Jill's was an 11-year-old fantasy adventure writer, who'd done all her own illustrations. We met a sports psychologist, a photographer, two sci-fi imagineers and a host of people who would not consider themselves writers, but were bursting with ideas. So busy engaging with our 'borrowers', we were almost late for the next event.

The Rise of the Author Collective

Perry and the Triskelites
Moderated by Perry Iles, our proof-reader and writerly colleague, we answered questions on the practicalities of operating as a collective. Jane explained how we remain independent while working as a team. Gilly shone some light on how five authors communicate across three countries and two time zones. Liza gave an honest insight into how much work really goes on behind the scenes. The audience had so many intelligent and perceptive questions, we ended up running far over our allotted time.

The Launch

Three new releases and unusually for Triskele, all in the same genre: historical fiction. But the time periods in question could not be more dissimilar.
Liza Perrat's Wolfsangel takes place in a rural French village under the shadow of WWII Nazi occupation.
JD Smith's Overlord is set in 3rd century Syria and follows the rise of warrior queen Zenobia.
Catriona Troth's Ghost Town explores race, racism and identity against the backdrop of 1980s Coventry.

The passion for the story radiated from each author, and the brief readings seemed to enthuse and excite the audience, so that our books table was overrun.



Celebrations in the pub and an extraordinarily lively Chinese meal rounded off a marvellous weekend in the company of writers, readers and booklovers. Thank you, Chorleywood!




3 comments:

  1. Go, girls! The Human Library is an awesome idea and I'm just tucking into your how-to manual in spare moments now. Good luck for the fiction launches - and don't forget that Catriona is my guest this week on The Undercover Soundtrack.
    I'm off to tweet!

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  2. Can't wait to read Catriona Troth's Undercover Soundtrack! I'm still buzzing from Triskele's do on Saturday.. and I was just a casual bystander! Hope the emotional comedown isn't too bad, ladies. You are all brilliant - and can I just say, again, I am LOVING Catriona's "Ghost Town"!

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  3. Thank you, both! It was a tremendous day, and the good stuff just keeps on happening. I loved doing Undercover Soundtrack, Roz. Thank you for inviting me. And Polly, it was lovely seeing you!

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