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“A good, open chat” – that’s what Gemma Cairney (pictured left) wanted from her event, and it was a total success. The tent shook slightly from the wind - or was it from her laugh? An eruption of fun that many have heard on TV and BBC Radio 1, that filled the Starlight Stage.
Jenny Valentine, author of the children’s novel Finding Violet Park was a featured guest, but everyone in attendance was a valued part of the conversation, something that Gemma Cairney made abundantly clear. Questions arrived enthusiastically, and were received in the same way.
How do you show yourself love? How do you overcome stress? What’s the secret to confidence? Not easy questions by any means, but Cairney has clearly given them a lot of thought. She made several references to her new book Open: A Tool-Kit for how Magic and Messed-Up Life Can Be which addresses those difficult topics, but was more than happy to go off-track. As Cairney sipped her
coffee the atmosphere was warm and inclusive. Cairney and Valentine (alongside two writers from the Beacons Project) engaged with the crowd and were determined to have a good time. Everyone had a chance to speak, and everybody listened.In the end, Cairney didn’t get a chance to answer some of the questions but laughed it off, suggesting it was simply a case that,“we’ve chatted too much - which is a good sign.”
If you missed this you may enjoy event HD31, featuring the YA author Juno Dawson and a discussion of her novel Clean, which takes place on Monday, 28 May.