Books and Hats at the Hay Festival

I arrived in time to see new Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy reading Mrs Aesop and 6 of her other poems (listen to the event here on the Hay Festival website). She had sold out of The World's Wife but I bought some of her children's poetry.

The Hat

I met author, Jenny Valentine in her delicatessen in Hay the day after hearing her talk about Writing Children's Fiction. She writes for 3 days a week, from 9-3 and works 2 days a week in the shop and is writing 3 novels a year! Her latest is The Ant Colony


Michael Morpurgo read I Believe In Unicorns and talked about his life as a writer. His advice to aspiring writers:

'Live and interesting life and write down the single most important thing that happened that day.'

I discovered that Apple may have the answer for Mac users wishing to find an electronic reading device in the future. Jamie Byng was obviously very excited by the Apple Tablet. I could get in to digital reading and handwriting on this net book. The Sony Reader is not yet Mac compatible or Wi-Fi connected and is in black and white. Sony were selling their reader at £30 discount for £199.

As well as a few new books, I bought secondhand books in Hay town centre.

Booth's Books, Hay

My most exciting find was the first UK edition of Caldecott & Co. Notes on Books & Pictures by Maurice Sendak (1989). It includes his acceptance speech in 1964 when he won the Caldecott Medal for Where The Wild Things Are.

With Where The Wild Things Are I felt that I am at the end of a long apprenticeship. By that I mean all my previous work now seems to have been an elaborate preparation for it.

Thanks to Addyman Books in Hay town centre for tucking this book into their children's books' corner.

Thanks also to Yvette Jelfs hatstand on the festival site. At last I have a hat for the Ascot Ladies' day and I had a sun hat for reading at Hay.