Hay Festival 2018

Me with wonderful author James Nicol, one of my favourite pictures from Hay 2018

Me with wonderful author James Nicol, one of my favourite pictures from Hay 2018

 

The Hay Festival is one of my favourite literary festivals. I always stay as long as possible and see other author's events if I can. This year was fantastic.

I was extraordinarily honoured to be able to bring the eminent coleopterist, and good friend, Max Barclay to the Hay Festival this year. He brought with him a selection of drawers from the Natural History's Coleoptera Collection, including a drawer that featured beetles collected by Charles Darwin himself. Max Barclay is a font of beetle knowledge and a true inspiration to me. I also sneaked some slides into my event from my new non-fiction book The Beetle Collector's Handbook, which is published in September and features a section by Max. Those who were patient enough to brave the signing cue were rewarded with both mine and Max's signatures on their books. A treat indeed.

The second event I did at Hay was with Lauren St John, Jackie Morris and Nicola Davis to spread the message about Authors4Oceans and what the book community can do to support the reduction of plastic waste. It was an absolute treat to get to an event with these wonderful women.

I was lucky enough to see lots of great events. The one I enjoyed most, was watching my colleague and friend James Nicol, author of The Apprentice Witch, talk about his new book A Witch Alone, which is on my beside table and I'm eager to read.

Here is a gallery of images from my time at Hay Festival. A big thank-you to all who came to my events or waved at me in the campsite.

MG
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