[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":11},["ShallowReactive",2],{"blog-post-stratford-lit-fest-2017":3},{"_type":4,"body":5,"bodyHtml":6,"excerpt":5,"featuredImage":5,"publishedAt":7,"slug":8,"tags":9,"title":10},"blogPost",null,"Here is the serious authorial face of someone on her way to a literary festival who has just realised she has forgotten to pack something. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfest_annoyedface_zpsxb4dmdbs-a86889ffe8.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI forgot to pack my fluffy petticoat for \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/StratLitFest\">Stratford Lit Fest\u003C/a>, the one that makes my dress stick out a bit so it looks more fancy. I tried to tell myself it was no big deal, I was there to talk about \u003Ci>books\u003C/i>. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/philip_petticoat_zpsqb0bhdo7-3bf5e40109.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nSUCCESS! Of a sort. No one seemed to have a petticoat at 8pm on a Saturday bank holiday weekend in time for a 10am Sunday event. BUT... fellow festival author and Stratford-upon-Avon local \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/janeneverwood\">Evgenia Golubeva\u003C/a> had a giant blue TUTU up in her loft, which she kindly loaned me. Would it work? It looked like a swirling nebula, hovering on the chair in my hotel room. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfest_bluetutu_zpsqpypupjl-188cd65586.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nI really wasn't sure. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfest_poll_zpslprspt5x-db9f066eeb.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThis is basically how I'd look, inflated. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfast_petticoat_compare_zpsyay4zxvs-340c20dd1a.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\n\u003C!--more Click here for lots more under the cut!-->\\r\nI tweeted that I'd always wanted to be the widest read author in Britain and I was halfway there. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfast_petticoat_mirror_zps78du0zcv-1e376ff339.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nWITH petticoat won the poll, so I went on stage with my colossal backside to draw whatever festival director \u003Cb>Annie Ashworth\u003C/b> told a bunch of us to draw. And it was great fun! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfest_rupertbarnes1_zps7voqgf8t-7a91a8d6b3.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cfont size=\"1\">Photo by Rupert Barnes - \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Rupie_Photo\">@Rupie_Photo\u003C/a>\u003C/i>\u003C/font>\\r\n\\r\nHere's \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/duddledum\">Jonny Duddle\u003C/a>, just after drawing a rather magnificent troll. And \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/mjbhh\">Martin Brown\u003C/a>, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/philipreeve1\">Philip Reeve\u003C/a> and me, deep in concentration, drawing... \u003Ci>stairs?\u003C/i>\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfest_rupertbarnes2_zpseathqi5f-18a02d672d.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cfont size=\"1\">Photos by Rupert Barnes - \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Rupie_Photo\">@Rupie_Photo\u003C/a>\u003C/i>\u003C/font>\\r\n\\r\nWhoever thought of 'stairs' as a drawing challenge?? \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/RobBiddulph\">Rob Biddulph\u003C/a> surprised us all by being able to draw endless Escher stairs without even looking at a reference picture. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfest_rupertbarnes3_zpsywbdvkta-c9bbdda6c7.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cfont size=\"1\">Photo by Rupert Barnes - \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Rupie_Photo\">@Rupie_Photo\u003C/a>\u003C/i>\u003C/font>\\r\n\\r\nOne of the challenges was to draw each other, and I slightly sabotaged Jonny's picture by drawing on my glasses. But I love the way it came out. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/Stratlitfest_duddlepic_zpsjkiuvazc-7167e1f8c1.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nThanks for taking part, everyone! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfest_drawingteam_zpsyx8jytoq-fd05ce326a.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nBesides our Big Draw Challenge, we had individual events. Things had been going on all week with the festival, events for grownups, theatre events and workshops. Here's \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/StevenLenton\">Steven Lenton\u003C/a> leading a panda session featuring his \u003Ci>Let's Find Fred \u003C/i>picture book.  \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfest_stevenlenton_zpsdzg1gvqe-3a20bcda28.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cfont size=\"1\">Photo tweeted by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/StratLitFest\">@StratLitFest\u003C/a>\u003C/a>\u003C/i>\u003C/font>\\r\n\\r\nAnd here's a photo Steven took of my co-author Philip Reeve and I leading a \u003Ci>Jinks & O'Hare Funfair Repair\u003C/i> session, having the audience help us create a board game. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfest_stevenlentonpic_zpspx0yf21b-bd7fbadebd.jpg\">\\r\n\u003Ci>\u003Cfont size=\"1\">Photo tweeted by \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/StratLitFest\">@StratLitFest\u003C/a>\u003C/a>\u003C/i>\u003C/font>\\r\n\\r\nWe taught everyone how to draw Jinks & O'Hare and themselves on a roller coaster, and here's a lovely example we saw in the book signing queue:\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfest_kidpic_zpsqv9vyeqh-feef260d45.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHere are the people who worked so hard to make everything happen! \u003Cb>Annie Ashworth, Jane Churchill\u003C/b> and \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/jojames100\">Jo James\u003C/a>, these ladies are HEROES. I was festival guest director, but it mostly meant getting to stay with Annie when I visited schools in the area and doing all the fun stuff while she and the team did complicated organising work, fundraising, choosing the final speakers and arranging all the logistics of their visits. Thank you, Stratford team: volunteers, drivers, everyone! Jo's also just started up a company with \u003Cb>Paul Blezard\u003C/b> and \u003Cb>Lyndy Cooke\u003C/b> that can meet all your festival-related needs, called Hand Held Events, which you can learn about \u003Ca href=\"http://www.handheldevents.co.uk/\">here on their website\u003C/a> and \u003Ca href=\"http://www.thebookseller.com/news/trade-figures-launvh-new-cultural-events-and-festivals-consultancy-539921\">in The Bookseller\u003C/a>. Thanks, too, to the hotels who donated rooms for authors to stay in! I stayed at \u003Ca href=\"http://www.theardenhotelstratford.com/arden-house/\">Arden House\u003C/a>, which was brilliant and had amazing snacks and breakfast. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfest_festival_team_zpsfbzbfjjm-2717c997ed.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd a video! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Clj-embed id=\"4016\"/>\\r\n\\r\nA few more behind-the-scenes photos. Here we are at dinner, Philip Reeve chatting with a huge fan of the Mortal Engines books (the first of which is currently being \u003Ca href=\"https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/25/peter-jackson-to-produce-film-based-on-mortal-engines-books\">filmed in New Zealand by the Peter Jackson gang\u003C/a>). \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfest_philipsign_zpshhx6qfuv-a2f7919c0c.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nPhilip does the best dedication doodles! This book's dedicated to his wife, the photographer and musician \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/SarahReeve3\">Sarah Reeve\u003C/a> (who composed the Lufthansa Terminal soundtracks for his Railhead videos). \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfest_philip_dedication_zpsnzas3ekc-45d1fd4498.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nAnd here's Philip with \u003Ca href=\"https://evgeniagolubeva.wordpress.com/\">Evgenia Golubeva\u003C/a>, generous provider of giant tutu and remarkable illustrator, writer and animator, who'd run a festival workshop earlier in the week. (She's \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/janeneverwood\">@janeneverwood\u003C/a> on Twitter.)\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfest_philip_evgenia_zpspok8ni7j-fd5a09c70f.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's one of her animations, \u003Ci>I am not a Mouse\u003C/i>, and you can see the \u003Ca href=\"https://youtu.be/rg6lLVvHQ1Q\">original Russian version here\u003C/a>! \\r\n\\r\n\u003Clj-embed id=\"4002\"/>\\r\n\u003Cp>\u003Ca href=\"https://vimeo.com/147333282\">I am not a Mouse\u003C/a> from \u003Ca href=\"https://vimeo.com/evgeniagolubeva\">Evgenia Golubeva\u003C/a> on \u003Ca href=\"https://vimeo.com\">Vimeo\u003C/a>.\u003C/p>\\r\n\\r\nI was also very excited to meet brilliant animation team, the \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/brothersmcleod\">Brothers McLeod\u003C/a> (pronounced 'McCloud'). That's the illustrator \u003Cb>Greg\u003C/b> on the left and the writer \u003Cb>Myles\u003C/b> (Evgnenia's partner) on the right, and they actually \u003Ci>are \u003C/i>brothers.\\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfest_brosmcleod_evgenia_zpsxjnnkeke-bc6814da35.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nHere's one of their animations and there are loads more online! I only just noticed that one of my lovely comics colleages, \u003Ca href=\"https://twitter.com/Lizzlizz\">Lizz Lunney\u003C/a>, did the storyboards for this animation. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Clj-embed id=\"4003\"/>\\r\n\\r\nWhile Evgenia was rummaging about upstairs at home for her blue tutu, I got to meet Lizz's very huggable \u003Ca href=\"https://youtu.be/M42zTSodJgc\">Mountain\u003C/a>, who was most calm and welcoming. \\r\n\\r\n\u003Cimg src=\"https://images.jabberworks.co.uk/lj/stratlitfest_lizzlizz_mountain_zpscaopnvkj-d6bc550265.jpg\">\\r\n\\r\nGoodbye, Stratford, it was lovely getting to visit you!","2017-05-02T09:03:00.000Z","stratford-lit-fest-2017",[],"stratford lit fest 2017",1776628728979]