LOOKING BACK ON TINDERBOX
Oh dear – The Best Laid Plans so often go astray. I had
thought of writing a real run down on one of the most successful and enjoyable
conferences (Tinderbox, what else?)
I have been to in years but somehow the time has melted away and if I am
ever to make a hole in the large pile of wonderful new books waiting beside
this desk my reporting back will need to be much more modest.
How could an event that was so many (many) months in the
planning stages go by so very quickly? And this time last week it hadn’t even started. The venue of St.
Catherine’s College at Kilbirnie was excellent – plenty of space for large
keynote speaker type sessions and yet smaller classrooms for more ‘intimate’
workshops. Highlights for me? Listening to Andy Griffiths as he took us on a
lightening quick tour of his road to success/ the amazing Skype session so
deftly and cheerfully chaired by Maureen Crisp, the conference coordinator,
with Susan Kaye Quinn, laid back American author and editor/ having a chance to
meet so many writers for whom I have done assessments in the past but who I
have never met face-to-face/ the great Conference Dinner on the 18th
floor of the James Cook Hotel (I lost my keys around 11-30pm)/ the session on
ePublishing with Sue Copsley but most of all, the wonderful atmosphere of friendship
and equality created by Maureen and her team of committee members (a team of Goddesses (no Gods I fear)) as Mandy Hager described them). The Tinderbox can’t fail but set blazing
feelings of inspiration and determination (once everyone has recovered from the
full on experience).
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| Maureen Crisp and Maria Gill at the party at the Children's Bookshop Kilbirnie |
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| Skyping |
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| Tania Roxborogh |
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