Do teens go to lit fests? Yes – and no. It might cost money, it might be after school . . . it might just seem like a lit fest isn’t a teen kind of thing . . .

I’ve got to hand it to Sherborne Literary Society; they bring the lit fest to the teens.

Sher Lit Soc Schools Liaison organiser Lucy Beney arranged for me to go along to Sherborne Girls and The Gryphon School as part of the festival – just one small part (last year, they reached around 900 young people through youth events!) . . . and it was sooooooooo good!

In fact, it was SO sooooooooo good, ace indie bookseller Winstone’s ran out of books and so I went back to The Gryphon a few days later to sign . . .

. . . and to meet young writers.

Yup, whenever you go to a school, there are always writers about. I think that’s what was happening in this pic; I’d been given a short story to read. (It was very, very good.)

Thank you to everyone – most especially to Lucy Beney and the fabulous Julie Hoskins at The Gryphon School. Both amazing champions of young people’s reading.

And the young people I met? Thank you – and, hey, we did a lit fest. Vx