Well that was fun! See you next year....
All pictures by Peter Mourant (Blue Note picture by Maximillian Young)
What a Festival that was!
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We would like to say a massive thank you to everyone who came and contributed to making this year’s festival more magical than ever. Hundreds of children were mesmerised by Michael Rosen, motivated by Conor Allen and captivated by Chris Riddell.
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Authors shared their hopes and dreams as well as their regrets and losses. We heard tales of beasts and dragons, of princes and spies, and learned about the actions of the most inspirational of women.
We learned about our bodies, took advice on soothing brains, and received tips on reading trees and the natural world around us.
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We sang shanties, shared stories, and watched works of art unfold.
We were entertained, enthused and engaged (and that’s just the organising team!). We hope you enjoyed it as much as we did.
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Our aim is to bring you a range of authors, issues and ideas, of different genres and experiences. We hope to inspire debate and discussion with difficult subject matters handled sensitively. And, as ever, we are grateful for the feedback provided by all of you, which helps us in our approach and planning to subsequent festivals.
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We are aware of concerns with regards one event over the weekend, and have been addressing these appropriately, responding to individuals where necessary and discussing as a team. As a Festival we have a duty of care to our audiences, and we take this very seriously indeed.
We also have a duty to congratulate and thank all those who helped us make Jersey Festival of Words 2024 a roaring success. This will be happening in the days and weeks ahead, though for now we’re sure you all know who you are…and that includes you, dear Festival-goers. We’ll see you in 2025!
Lucy Cotter,
Festival Chair
FESTIVAL SPONSORS and SUPPORTERS
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"I was delighted and honoured to have been made Patron of Jersey Festival of Words in 2019. I fell in love with Jersey the first time I visited in 2016 and always long to come back each year. I love the friendliness of the people, the sense of well-curated history, and I always feel at home. Literary festivals are life-affirming experiences. There is something so cheering about the way local communities work hard to bring authors together for a few days to exchange ideas and information and, above all, to have a good time while talking about books."
Cathy Rentzenbrink is a writer whose books include The Last Act of Love, Everyone is Still Alive and Write It All Down. Her new novel Ordinary Time was released in July 2024. Cathy regularly chairs literary events, interviews authors, and speaks on life, death, love, and literature.
