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The festival can only be a success with the support of the whole college, everyone has a part to play.
School Libraries Group
Festival planning: The work behind the scenes
N March 2021 I made one of my most ambitious career decisions, by joining Bishop’s Stortford College in the middle of
the pandemic. One of the biggest draws, was the opportunity to be part of the Festival of Literature, especially after taking part in 2020 at my previous school. This was confirmed when I met my fellow librarian Lizzie Hall who was happy for me to be involved in the project from start to finish. At the first meeting in May 2021, with
the finance, marketing and enterprise departments we set budgets, marketing timescales, and the dates for the Festival. The decision to keep it online this year was Lizzie’s and it proved to be the perfect call with the uncertain Covid situation. We also had Cornerswell Production Company working with us to stream the festival – in its 13th year, but only the second year it has been online.
Approaches to authors, illustrators and poets In May, Lizzie and I brainstormed and approached several authors, illustrators and poets who we believed would be a perfect fit for the festival.
It is a near impossible task to whittle down your ultimate authors wish list, but you learn that if you ask everyone, you must then unfortunately decline some of them. Some we approached directly via social media, others via their publishers and agents, and for others we used Authors Aloud. This year, Lizzie and I selected David Olusoga as our headline author, knowing what he could bring to the students. Once all authors and dates were agreed, we began asking Bishop’s Stortford College staff to take part in the interviewing process.
Picture Book Award The Picture Book Award has been
March 2022
part of our festival for several years and in September we began the task of selecting a shortlist. We read and voted on over 50 books and shortlisted 10 titles. In October, we contacted publishers of shortlisted books and requested copies, giving local schools the opportunity to take part in the voting of the award. We had started this process later than normal and this not only impacted us obtaining votes from schools but also in getting authors and illustrators for the live award.
Final few weeks – paperwork Over Christmas, Bishop’s Stortford staff involved in the interviewing process had the authors’ books sent home with them to read which would allow them to plan their discussion with the authors.
January began with the paperwork that must be sent to all authors, agents, and interviewers. Ensuring we meet safeguarding requirements, and everyone has the correct links and timings is vital. We met with staff to check they were prepped, and their timetables cleared for their session. Some of the paperwork for the Picture Book Award included a document that detailed every minute of the hour, who is on screen, how long for, if they are sharing their screen or using another screen for illustration. It also included details of the timings and screen shots for the award ceremony plus alternative minute-by-minute plans in case someone did not turn up.
Running a Live session We were in contact with our production team throughout each session. They check connection and look out for any issues with the filming. When the first interview arrives and completes successfully there is a huge sense of relief. They also edit each upload if something happens during the live session.
Sara Bloomfield (@sara13librarian) has worked as a school librarian for 17 years and is currently Head of Libraries at Bishop’s Stortford College. She is a Chartered librarian and a member of the SLG Committee.
INSIGHT
The festival timing is reliant on authors arriving on time. When they are late, panic levels increase as you know schools have students off timetable waiting to take part. We hold a bank of questions and openings in case interviewers are unable to attend, but there is nothing we can do if an interviewee does not arrive. The Picture Book Award was one of the hardest sessions, 17 authors and illustrators on a live stream with our host, Chloe Inkpen, on site with us. Our thanks go to Chloe for being able to ad-lib and understand me waving directions to her for the hour. The festival can only be a success with the support of the whole college, everyone has a part to play. We have again learnt an enormous amount and next year’s festival will be a hybrid of online and live events. We have plans to refine our processes and to begin our promotion of the events much earlier and we cannot wait to share it with the world again. Seeing so many schools take part this year has been a complete career highlight. IP
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www.festivalofliterature.co.uk INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 41
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