I had a nice long blog post about this, then Blogger threw a wobbly and I lost the text. But I guess that's what Patty would call an opportunity for a rewrite. So:
The full moon shone in a clear night sky over Hampstead, north London, as people packed into the upstairs room at The Stag to listen to short story readings from D.W. Wilson, Adam Marek, and Patricia Ann McNair. The writers were introduced and interviewed as a group after the readings by Katherine Orr, herself a writer and recent finalist in the BBC Short Story Prize. It was a great space to read, before a great crowd in one of the literary hubs of English life (the Keats house is just a few streets away, so there's a long history of Hampstead attracting writers and readers). Interestingly, the cover charge of five pounds (about eight dollars) seemed to bring more people in rather than fewer.
All the writers were great, but Patty knocked them dead once again with that Story Workshop-trained reading voice. The conversations between writers and listeners continued long after the Q and A was finished. Last but not least, Patty sold nearly all the books she took along (some people were even buying two copies). Thanks to Daunt Books and Katherine, to old friends whom we hadn't seen in a while who came along, and to future friends who were even prepared to sit on the floor when all the chairs were taken.
Viva Londres!
The full moon shone in a clear night sky over Hampstead, north London, as people packed into the upstairs room at The Stag to listen to short story readings from D.W. Wilson, Adam Marek, and Patricia Ann McNair. The writers were introduced and interviewed as a group after the readings by Katherine Orr, herself a writer and recent finalist in the BBC Short Story Prize. It was a great space to read, before a great crowd in one of the literary hubs of English life (the Keats house is just a few streets away, so there's a long history of Hampstead attracting writers and readers). Interestingly, the cover charge of five pounds (about eight dollars) seemed to bring more people in rather than fewer.
All the writers were great, but Patty knocked them dead once again with that Story Workshop-trained reading voice. The conversations between writers and listeners continued long after the Q and A was finished. Last but not least, Patty sold nearly all the books she took along (some people were even buying two copies). Thanks to Daunt Books and Katherine, to old friends whom we hadn't seen in a while who came along, and to future friends who were even prepared to sit on the floor when all the chairs were taken.
Viva Londres!
