LIBRARY LIFE

Gladstone's Library, Hawarden

By Rhian Waller - Gladstone's Library PR and marketing

The year is rolling round and we're all geared up for Gladfest 2022 on September 9 and 10. Gladfest is the biggest event in the Gladstone's Library calendar. It's our flagship festival and there is always a buzz about it.

Last year, the Library was only able to host in-house guests: festival-goers had to book a room and everyone else Zoomed into the talks through the internet.

While this Gladfest won't be as big as in previous years (where we had arts, crafts, vintage cars, live theatre performances and multiple events running in parallel), it's still a big step up from the restricted event in 2021.

This time, there are a host of confirmed speakers across a series of consecutive events, including talks with writers and poets like Francesca Haig and Katrina Naomi, a writing masterclass with Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent, and a panel featuring Dipo Faloyin (author of Africa Is Not A Country: Breaking Stereotypes of Modern Africa), Miranda Kaufmann (author of Heiresses: The Caribbean Marriage Trade) and Astrid Madimba and Chinny Ukata (co-authors of It's a Continent).

Anyone can buy a ticket to a single event or as many talks as they want.

There are benefits to a streamlined approach – festival goers will not have to choose between one author and another: they can attend absolutely everything if they want to.

And we will still have our bookshop, our bustling kitchen, a pop-up bar and coffee shop open for business.

Needless to say, this takes a lot of behind-the-scenes organisation. The festival, which began in 2013, is the brainchild of Louisa Yates, Director of Collections and Research, and she has led the festival crew in getting Gladfest 2022 off the drawing board and into the real world.

Tickets are now on sale to the general public (you can find links and the programme at www.gladfest.co.uk) and the Library team plans to make even more events available in the run up to the festival.

You are more than welcome to come along.