March means the Alderney Literary Festival, an event loved both by islanders and by the authors who fly in to participate. This boutique festival concentrates on historical writing, both fiction and non-fiction, giving it a coherence some festivals lack. Another feature is that authors get whole hour slots to themselves, either giving a presentation on their latest book and its background or having a one-to-one interview. Panel sessions bookend the days to change the mood.
This year’s theme was travel, kicking off with Festival chair Tony Riches interviewing Gail Simmons and Lucinda Hawksley about their urge to explore new places – or find new ways to appreciate familiar destinations. In conversation, many of the authors at this year’s event confessed to being fidgets, planning their next adventure almost as soon as the current one is over. Gail later regaled us with her walk Between the Chalk and the Sea following an ancient pilgrim route to Canterbury. Lucinda offered a glimpse into the surprisingly extensive travels of Charles Dickens.
Adding to the international flavour, Vaseem Khan discussed the background to his Malabar House detective series set in post-colonial India, Melissa Fu was interviewed about her inter-generational novel of the Chinese diaspora Peach Blossom Spring and Priscilla Morris talked about her Sarajevo-set Black Butterflies.
Marko Gasic re-appraised the events leading up to the outbreak of the Great War, re-asserting the argument that Austria Hungary was knowingly culpable for starting the tragedy. Marek Kohn discussed the changing stories of East European cities, and S J Parris was in conversation discussing her Giordano Bruno novels of the European Renaissance. MarKo took the stage again with Tony Riches and myself to delve into the conflict between history and memory, exploring various reasons why personal accounts of events vary from formal histories, and concluding that they are complementary.
A final lecture by David Leffman took us on an odyssey across China in the company of the Mercenary Mandarin; Victorian Channel Islander William Mesney. His litany of scrapes with danger, clashes with authority, exploration of forbidden frontiers and brokering disastrous business deals was worthy of any novel.
After the formal sessions were over, the chat was illuminating, helped by the island’s famous hospitality and inspired by its stunning scenery and mercurial weather. The festival was again sold out and the bookstall did a roaring trade. It was all made possible by a hard-working team of volunteers and generous local sponsors, working to create another successful event. I’m looking forward to March 2025 already.
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