Brighton and its people have always shown great synergy in coming together and creating projects for the likes of everyone, from fashion, to food, arts and of course, books.
The city has always had strong literary energy running through its lanes, so to celebrate it, people started to come together through book clubs and literary projects and organisations to share their love for reading and everything books related.
I had the pleasure to talk to Anna Burtt, host of ‘The Brighton Book Club’ on Radio Reverb, about how this project started, developed and what is in store for her and her initiatives in the future.
She said: “I have been doing this since 2019. It’s a monthly show which is played 8 times on Radio Reverb throughout the month and I also release it as a podcast! I wanted to create a show which showcased the work of writers in Brighton, but also great books in general.”
The reason behind this desire to talk about books to a larger and diverse public was simple, she says: “ I am always looking to make books and reading more accessible to the masses, having often found literature-related content rather elitist and inaccessible.”
This shows how people are driven to create something long-lasting and meaningful in their niche, and Brighton has always been good at doing so.
Anna is also one of the founders of the ‘Summer Festival of Writing’ and she explained where the idea for it came from and what is to come next: “The idea for it came in reaction to the pandemic. I work for global writing consultancy Jericho Writers, and as we couldn’t run the iconic York Festival of Writing, we brought it online. I am now running it for the third year! It is featuring so many events and writers like Paula Hawkins ( ‘The Girl on the Train), Louise O’Neill ( ‘Asking for It’), Amen Alonge ( ‘A Good Day to Die’) and many more.”
The Brighton Festival 2022 is something to look forward to, with diverse and inclusive initiatives being brought to the audience through visionary shows, literary events and many more.
One event that brought a great sense of humanity was held on Friday, May 13th called ‘ The Ukrainian Living Mini-Library’.
As we all know the conflict between Russia and Ukraine has brought great distress, grief and shock in the lives of millions of people, many of whom had to flee their homes in search of a safer shelter from the bombs and violence.
A shelter that was offered by people all over Europe, with many opening up their homes for Ukrainian refugees.
This event helped those refugees to tell their stories, opening up their hearts and fears to those willing to listen and understand, like a book, a living one.
It was inspiring to see people come together and show the greater support that could ever exist, understanding and kindness.
Excited to see what Brighton has in store for future events.
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