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What inspired you to start the festival?
We first met at a Waterstones book group, and later at Harborough Writers Hub, which Diana founded in 2024. We bonded immediately over our mutual love of books and creative writing, so it wasn’t long before we started to talk about the lack of a literary festival in Market Harborough – and what could be done about it. Knowing the number of avid book fans and keen writers in the town, we decided to create one to fill the gap. We started by targeting our favourite authors via social media, asking them to participate, which turned out to be a simple but effective strategy, resulting in positive responses from some big-name authors. What has been the response so far? The response from the community has been phenomenal. At our launch party, the support from book groups, local writers and bookshops – as well as other local businesses – blew us away. Everyone is behind us and there is a real buzz about the festival now, which is wonderful. Harborough District Council helped us with a grant, too, which has been great. What can visitors to the festival expect? At its heart, this is a community event. So, we wanted to put together a programme that would include something for everyone. The festival is a celebration of storytelling with opportunities for readers and writers to hear from their favourite authors across a wide range of genres including crime, historical, fantasy, children’s books and book club fiction. Featured authors include best-selling crime writer Janice Hallett and award-winning author Claire Fuller. We’ve also got Manesh Chauhan, Carolyn Kirby, and a panel of crime authors – E C Bateman, Louise Jensen and Simon Mason – discussing what makes a good crime novel. Other events include a literary walk around Harborough, a poetry pizza party, children’s activities in Waterstones and a writer’s day with publishing industry expert and editor Sara-Jade Virtue. Who are you most excited to see? Diana: They are all great, but I love crime fiction so I’m very excited to meet Janice Hallett and find out how she came to write her original takes on the genre. The crime panel I’m chairing is going to be fun, too. We have writers from across the genre representing psychological, police procedurals and cosy crime, so I’m looking forward to finding out what they think makes a good crime story. But it’s not all about crime for me. I am relatively new to fantasy fiction, but I absolutely love it, so hearing from Marisa Linton and Belinda Campbell about the genre is going to be fascinating. Helen: It’s a great line up of authors and I’m excited to see them all – but especially Manish Chauhan, a Leicester-born author. I loved his debut novel Belgrave Road, published earlier this year by Faber. It’s a beautiful cross-cultural love story set in a place I know. I’ve also been a huge fan of Claire Fuller for many years. Her Costa Award-winning novel, Unsettled Ground, is a masterpiece of literary fiction. I’m looking forward to reading her new contemporary gothic novel, Hunger and Thirst, which she will be launching at the festival. You are both writers yourselves, can you tell us about your books and where does your love of the literary world come from? Diana: My love of reading came from weekly trips to the local library as a child. It was not long before I started to write my own stories. After completing a master’s in creative writing, I won Good Housekeeping Magazine’s first novel competition and was published shortly afterwards. I now run the Harborough Writers Hub and teach creative writing in various places, including Gartree prison. Helen: I’ve always loved books, but I came to writing later in life, resulting in completing an MA in Creative Writing in Oxford. My short stories and flash fiction have been published by Fly On the Wall Press and shortlisted and published by The Bristol Short Story Prize, Brick Lane Story Prize, Oxford Flash Fiction, Aurora, and the London Independent Story prize. I’m currently editing my first novel, and have completed a second about infertility and Irish folklore. I’m a member of several book groups and writers’ groups in Market Harborough. For more information on the festival and how to book tickets, head to: marketharboroughlitfest.co.uk
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Issue 30
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