A look at the inaugural Beyond the Book Festival in Brighton

Saturday 6th April saw Brighton welcome authors, publishing insiders and readers to the first Beyond the Book Festival. I was thrilled to be invited to attend and had a wonderful day at this welcoming, entertaining and illuminating event. 

As anybody who attends book festivals and events will know, the choice of guests and how they interact with one another is so important. The Beyond the Book Festival board excelled themselves here. I attended every panel or event over the course of the day and was so impressed with the variety of events on offer, as well as the discussions or performances which took place. 

The festival was opened by the founder and director, David Fennell, author of the bestselling The Art of Death, See No Evil and The Silent Man, and the award-winning Sleeper series. David welcomed everyone and thanked his board members – Erin Young, Lizzie Enfield, S.J. Watson, Araminta Hall and Graham Bartlett – and the event sponsors, Goldsboro Books, Moshimo Brighton and MBI Sound & Light Ltd, before introducing the first panel. 

The Road to Publication: The Insider's View. 

Erin Young moderated this fascinating discussion with four leading industry professionals – literary agents, Emily Glenister and Antony Topping; editor, Katherine Armstrong, and David Headley, literary agent and MD of Goldsboro Books. Erin talked frankly about her own long road to publication and the scores of rejections she received prior to her first novel becoming the bestselling hardback debut of 2006. She gave the audience, including many as-yet unpublished writers, a reality check when she recalled the statistics she was told as an aspiring author. Only a small percentage of books being written will actually be finished and of those, an equally small, diminishing percentage will, in turn, be accepted by an agent, find a publisher and then ultimately end up in bookshops and the hands of readers. Having originally heard the percentage for each stage was around 10%, she was informed it was more like 1%! Thankfully, none of the aspiring authors present fled in tears and were treated to an honest yet encouraging conversation about what agents and publishers are looking for – and what they don't need; Emily Glenister couldn't have made it any clearer how much she didn't care about how many social media followers or Substack subscribers an author has! Without ever glossing over how difficult it can be to be published, the panel's respect for those hoping to be signed, and their desire to create books which sell, was never in doubt. I'm sure many people came away from the event feeling reinvigorated and more determined than ever to ensure their submission is the best it can possibly be.  

After a short break for refreshments over the road at Goldsboro Books, the next panel was one for true crime enthusiasts.

Catching Predatory Killers

Lizzie Enfield talked to former detectives Graham Bartlett and Steve Fulcher about the books they have written about the complex dynamics and emotions involved in pursuing convictions for two notorious predatory killers. 

Graham Bartlett's book, Babes in the Wood is about the long hunt for justice for the murder of two nine-year old girls, Nicola Fellows and Karen Hadaway who were killed by Russell Bishop in 1986. Graham spoke about how the first trial resulted, shockingly, in Bishop being acquitted, despite the police knowing he was guilty. Tragically, he went on to kidnap, molest and attempt to murder a 7-year-old girl in 1990 and was eventually convicted of this crime in December that year. However, the families of Nicola and Karen had to wait longer still for justice; Graham explained that until 2005, double-jeopardy rules meant Bishop couldn't be retried for the same case. New legislation though, meant that if substantial new evidence came to light, a criminal could face a new trial. Advancements in DNA profiling eventually proved to be instrumental in securing the long-overdue conviction of this predator and in 2018, the jury found Bishop guilty of the murders of Nicola and Karen after two-and-a-half hours of deliberation. Graham talked movingly about how this case affected the police as well as the families involved. His concern for the families was always paramount and subsequently writing Babes in the Wood exerted a greater emotional toll on him than his fictional series.

Steve Fulcher's book, Catching a Serial Killer, tells the extraordinary story of how he managed for form a connection with killer, Christopher Halliwell and how despite finding the bodies of his victims, Sian O'Callaghan and Becky Godden-Edwards, he was found guilty of gross misconduct and subsequently resigned from Wiltshire Police in 2014. His account of a fast-moving investigation, particularly as the police didn't know if Sian was still alive, was fascinatingly frank. He talked about having to protect the bond he developed with Halliwell who offered to take him to Sian, and then how, incredibly, the killer voluntarily offered to lead them to a second body. The discovery of Becky Godden-Edwards, who had been reported missing in 2007, wouldn't have been possible without Halliwell's confession but because Fulcher failed to follow correct procedure, he breached the guidelines that were set by the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. As he observed, had he cautioned Halliwell and given him access to a solicitor, Becky's body wouldn't have been found. His honest account of his own actions was a thought-provoking reminder that the police at times have to choose between what they believe is right and what is required. His mindfulness of the victims (there are almost certainly more) and their families was obvious and in spite of all that happened since, it seemed clear that he wouldn't change the decisions he made on that day. 

Lizzie Enfield's insightful questioning and the space she gave both men to tell their stories was superb and although I'm not somebody who reads or watches much true crime, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this sincere, poignant conversation. 

Signings after each event were over in Goldsboro Books, giving readers the opportunity to talk to each of the guests and ask any questions. 

Writing Women's Fiction Post #MeToo

Araminta Hall, whose latest book is One of the Good Guys, headed up a sterling panel of women writers; Kate Harrison, Julie-Mae Cohen and Dorothy Koomson. Having all had long careers, writing across a range of genres but always focused on female-led stories, they were perfectly placed to discuss the subject of  so-called women's fiction – including why there isn't a genre called man's fiction? This was a forthright, politically-minded but very funny conversation about whether things have actually improved, the rise of the incel culture and what men can do to help. Although the topic was centred on publishing and the attitudes towards female-led fiction, the discussion went wider and there were plenty of heads nodding along in the audience. 

Dorothy Koomson observed that she was expected to write serious Black issue fiction and all the women had experienced dismissive attitudes towards their books. Julie-Mae Cohen talked about the time she tweeted about a terrifying encounter on the Tube, in which a group of ordinary men, who would have gone home believing they had indulged in a little harmless banter, left her on her high-alert and feeling stripped of feeling safe. Her comments ended up on various incel-type sites, resulting in yet more abuse. She was eventually able to monetise her story, which meant that these men ended up raising funds for Refuge, which is surely sweet revenge. Talking of revenge, Julie's latest book, Bad Men is a feminist thriller about Saffy, a serial killer who targets only the bad men. Although the panel jokingly sympathised with Saffy – the world would indeed be a better place without these men after all – perhaps the strongest message from this panel was that for women to feel safer, it's going to take men to really become involved in challenging bad behaviour and to push for change. Conversations such as this are so important to open the subject up to people who perhaps don't ordinarily think about such matters, and this was definitely a highlight of the day for me.

Panic Response: Poetry

This was something a little different as award-winning poet John McCullough performed a selection of poems from both his most recent collection, Panic Response, and Reckless Paper Birds which was the winner of the 2020 Hawthornden Prize and shortlisted for the 2019 Costa Poetry Award. It was such a treat to hear these poems performed by their writer, especially as he also talked a little about the inspiration behind them. He opened with Quantum, a poignant poem written in memory of his chemistry teacher, Avril Brown, who was killed by her husband. John describes Avril as aping an excited electron tearing around the lab, noting "You cannot kill an electron." Without having ever met her, Quantum gives us a real sense of the person that she was and is a wonderful, moving celebration of her. Another of his poems, entitled Giraffe about class and queerness is a different sort of celebration and the joy of discovering yourself and belonging is expressed so beautifully. I don't read as much poetry as I used to but hearing John reminded me of what a powerful medium it is; I'm to grateful to the festival for introducing me to his poetry. 

Beyond Christie: how crime writing has evolved, and what's next for the genre? 

S.J. Watson led this discussion with Graham Bartlett, Erin Young, David Fennell and Araminta Hall, who are all crime writers who write very different books to those penned by the Queen of Crime. The panel was split between those who had or hadn't read Agatha Christie's books but the biggest collective gasp of the day was saved for Graham Bartlett when he confessed to never having watched any of the Star Wars films! S.J. Watson suggested that Christie's books would never be published today but not due to cancel culture. Araminta Hall agreed, observing that although her plots are excellent, her characterisation is more one-dimensional and audiences today require more developed characters. Erin Young caused perhaps the greatest confusion, particularly among her fellow panellists because she uses three different names but while a life on the run might be impossible now her pseudonyms have been revealed, she did raise an interesting point about the laziness of television companies constantly remaking Agatha Christie adaptations. Surely it's time for something new on our screens at Christmas?

 The conversation went on to consider what makes crime such a popular genre to read and write and it was noted that crime writers tend to be the antithesis of the darkness they put into their books! One of the questions from the audience asked if the authors had noticed anything about the sort of readers drawn to crime fiction and other than noting that more women than men tend to read fiction as a whole, as well as crime thrillers, they were all wisely complimentary about the people who read their books!

The Past on the Page: Bones, Broadway, Erotica & Plague

The penultimate panel of the day had the most intriguing title and referred to the most recent books by the four guests. Jacquie Bloese (The Golden Hour) It was quickly evident who was who when Jacquie spoke about illicit photography in her second book! Moderator, Frances Quinn (That Bonesetter Woman) led a lively, witty conversation with Jacquie, Louise Hare (Harlem After Midnight) and Anna Mazzola (The Book of Secrets), and the authors discussed some of the eye-opening facts they'd uncovered while doing their research. This was the place to be to hear more about wizards, demonic possession, the urinary leash and boiling a monkey's corpse to remove the flesh from its bones! 

The panellists considered the importance of historical accuracy and agreed that while it is vital to ensure the main facts are correct, plausibility is key and that some tweaks to help the story are necessary at times, and so one of Frances Quinn's characters has trousers in his pockets, even if that is anachronistic!

As well as discussing their latest books, the authors looked back at some of their previous books, with Anna Mazzola realising she might have made life easier for herself if she'd written a series set in one period. Louise Hare was inspired to write her first novel, This Lovely City after going on a guided tour into the deep level shelter next to Clapham South tube station and discovering it was where they had housed some of the Windrush passengers when they first arrived in Britain in 1948. Next to crime, historical fiction is my favourite genre and I have read or own books by all of the panellists; this hugely entertaining panel was a timely kick to bump them up my tbr!

An audience with Kathy Lette

The headlining author at the inaugural Beyond the Book Festival was the inimitable Kathy Lette in conversation with Jo Furniss. Whatever I attempt to write here to describe the hour we spent in Kathy's fabulous company won't ever do justice to an event which will undoubtedly live long in the memories of all who attended. Kathy's quips and acerbic puns are legendary and we were certainly treated to the best of her wit but she was also an honest, generous and warm-hearted interviewee. She explained how her latest book, The Revenge Club was rejected by her previous agent who informed her there would be no audience about women in their fifties seeking revenge for the residual sexism they continue to face. Thankfully, she went on to say that she was introduced to 'literary love god' David Headley who completely got what she was writing about. 

Jo Furniss's well-constructed questions allowed Kathy to expand further on this particular book as well as her previous novels, going right back to Puberty Blues which she wrote at just 17. Jo remarked that her back catalogue reflects the seasons of a woman's life, to which she explained that she writes the books that she wishes had been available when she was going through whatever topic she focuses on, whether that's childbirth, divorce, menopause or whatever. The Revenge Club is about the gendered ageism women face as they get older, and how they are sidelined as they reach their prime. "If women are given a cloak of invisibility once they reach a certain age, are they going to use that cloak for good or evil?" It was clear that although The Revenge Club is a fun read, it also raises some important points and is a call to action, as well as her customary celebration of sisterhood, and how women are each other's Wonderbra's; "uplifting, supporting and making each other look bigger and better."

The Revenge Club is published in the UK in hardback in May but festival attendees were able to buy their copies ahead of the release day and have Kathy sign and dedicate them. She took time to chat to every person who came to her signing and was as kind as she was funny. 

A drinks celebration in Goldsboro Books rounded off a festival which sparkled from start to finish. David Fennell, Erin Young, Lizzie Enfield, S.J. Watson, Araminta Hall and Graham Bartlett conceived and organised the day in just four months and should be very proud of the brilliant event they curated. I'm delighted to hear Beyond the Book Festival will return next year and have no doubt it will go from strength to strength. 

The Beyond the Book Festival website is here.