Readers and writers festival named a winner
The inaugural Between the Lines Readers and Writers Festival held in Central Hawke’s Bay last year has been named Best Literary Festival in the 2020 ReadingRoom literary awards.
The small organising committee were shocked and amazed with the announcement which was made on 22 December 2020.
“We were part way through organizing the event when COVID-19 struck,” said committee member Anna Locker Lampson. “So we just stayed calm and carried on with our fingers crossed, and as it happened our timing was perfect,
We have a goal of making many of our events quite small and intimate.
Anna Locker Lampson
lockdown finished, the whole event sold out and now we have been recognized for the success of the event, it is all very exciting.”
The festival last year went for four days and had eight quite different literary events from a youth writing workshop to a poetry reading session set in the rustic Tattertales store.
The committee is now in full swing organizing the 2021 event.
“We have a goal of making many of our events quite small and intimate,” said Anna, “And as a result we had feedback that many people missed out on tickets last year, so this year our opening event is going to be larger and held in the Waipawa Municipal Theatre and we are so excited to announce that we have confirmed Grahame Sydney, Brian Turner and Owen Marshall as our opening night guest speakers which is a real coup for CHB.”