On March 22nd, I attended the first of many
events of the Norwich Crime Festival, sponsored by Waterstone’s
and the Norfolk City Council. This event featured author Stuart Macbride in
conversation with Henry Sutton, also known as James Henry. It cost two pounds
to attend, which were redeemable towards any book being sold by the authors at
the event. The fact that the two pounds could be redeemable could be incentive
for people who like the work of the authors to the attend the event and
purchase their works as well. Like the other literary events, there was very
minimal advertising done for the events of the Crime Festival. The only place I
saw any advertising was on the first floor of the Millennium Library: a sheet
of paper taped to a pole near the check out areas and information desk. It
really puzzles me as to why these events are not advertised very well. One
possibility I thought of is that maybe the people do not have funds to pay for
advertising, though the events are sponsored. Another possibility could be that
they do not want the general public knowing about these events. They only want the people who actually
truly enjoy literature and come to the Millennium Library to see the
advertising to attend the events, people they could consider to be the “literary
elite.” But still, with Norwich being such a
literary city, I cannot imagine any reason as to why people would not want
others to know about or attend literature related events.
The event took place at the Millennium Library in the
audio/visual section, the same location as the International Women’s
Day event that was held a few weeks ago. However, unlike the International
Women’s Day event, a barrier was placed
between this area and the rest of the library, making it seem like a more
private event. I assume this was done because, unlike the prior event, this
event cost money to attend and, therefore, may be considered slightly upper
scale than the International Women’s Day event, which was free. The set
up was similar to past events I have attended, with the two white, middle age,
male authors sitting at a table in the front of the room and chairs on the main
floor facing them for people to sit in. Off to the side was a table with books
written by the authors to be purchased and signed with a Waterstone’s
representative at the table, as Waterstone’s was the retailer selling the books.
There were not many people in attendance at this event; I would say there were
only about twenty people. The audience was mainly elderly people with a few
middle age people, and one person who looked to be in their teenage years. I
have noticed that at each event I have gone to, the crowd has always seemed to
be on the older side and there have been very few people in attendance who look
to be the age of students. This could be because students are just not
interested in further academic related events after being in school all day,
could be the fact that maybe not many students are interested in writing or
have not read the works of the authors that have been invited to participate in
these events, or it could also be that with the new rise of technology, reading
and writing have become a pastime for an older generation that still appreciates
good writing.
The ratio of men to women was about the same, but I would
say there were slightly more women in attendance than men. Only a few people
seemed to have come alone, just like past events, indicating that most people
come together because they have a shared interest in the event, or that
attending these events is somewhat of a social outing for people. This event
was, again, informal with everyone wearing dressed casually. There were no
microphones used at this event, but it was relatively easy to hear what the
authors were saying. The conversation they had added to the informal nature of
the event, as it was very casual; swear words were even used! Unlike some of
the past events, it seemed more like a conversation than an interview. The
authors spoke about a variety of topics, including the revelations in
technology in relation to detective work and forensics today, how the use of
new technology affects their writing, how they write their crime novels, and how
they create the types of characters in their books. Occasionally, the authors
would go on a humorous tangent, speaking about other authors they may not like
or respect, about their personal lives, or about criticisms they received from
others that they found to be funny. This humorous aspect of the event could
have occurred accidentally due to the seemingly funny and relaxed personalities
of the authors, or it could have been intentional to keep the attention of the
audience. I have noticed that most of the literary events I have attended have
had some sort of humorous part to them, and each time it was put into play the
audience would laugh and the speakers would regain audience attention if they
had zoned out.
The conversation lasted for about an hour before the
authors turned to the audience for questions. Again, the audience members proved
that they had an interest in the authors and were indeed being attentive as the
questions asked related to the work of the authors, with one question about a
lesbian character Henry included in his crime series, and another question
being asked about the authors’ views on the many book prizes that
exist today. Asking questions in relation to literature as a whole instead of
simply just the work of the authors indicated that the crowd must be literature
savvy.
Because the library closes at eight in the evening, the
conversation and question and answer period had to be cut short so the
librarians could prepare to close the library. However, people did have the
opportunity to stay and chat in the designated area of the event. The majority
of the people attending seemed to leave.
Only a few people, including the teenage girl, stayed behind to talk to
the authors and purchase a book. This seems to be the case at most of the
literary events I have attended: people attend to hear the authors speak, but,
despite the fact they have the opportunity to stay and meet the authors or get
a book signed, they always seem to leave right after. I am not sure if this is
because people have other things to do, it is late for them as most of the
attendees are elderly, or, though they seem to clearly like the authors, they
have no true passion or keen interest in their work.
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