Rye Library was buzzing with anticipation on Wednesday evening as everyone waited to hear Alex Preston talk about his new book Winchelsea.
Henry Young, librarian for East Sussex, organised the event and commented afterwards:
“We were so excited to host Alex Preston, author of Winchelsea, last Wednesday. If you haven’t already read the book, it’s a gory historical epic all set in our local area. Alex is an excellent and engaging speaker, talking us through his inspirations, his research and all the many true stories he had to leave out of his book.
“Author events, which always prove very popular in East Sussex, are a fantastic way to promote reading and knowledge and open up new genres of books to residents, and we are always so grateful to the authors who kindly give their time. Listening to an author talk passionately about their writing and their own love of literature can bring stories to life and really inspire people to pick up a book. There are so many benefits to hosting author events and they are a great tool to support our strategy of connecting communities, improving wellbeing and promoting learning, literacy and cultural activity. To keep up with all the latest library events, follow them on social media or sign up to their newsletter – all this and more is on their website eastsussex.gov.uk/libraries.”
The audience was not disappointed, and Susan Benn wrote this summary of the evening:
“The health of our cultural life and concern for collective understanding of the past, present and future can all be tested by how well we support our libraries. This evening in the Rye Library, novelist Alex Preston gave us a rich feast of insights into his personal history behind writing the rip-roaring 18th century smuggler’s tale Winchelsea. Alex’s story brings our familiar streets, buildings and beaches alive with political and romantic intrigue and treacherous piracy on land and sea. Not surprisingly Winchelsea will come to the screen in due course, but I do advise you to read the book first!
“Hats off to our librarians and the East Sussex County Council for supporting free evening events like this… May we look forward to many more of them in the months ahead!”
Elizabeth Kimber also enjoyed the evening immensely and was interested to learn that Alex was inspired by his happy holiday childhood memories spent in the location, his love of bird life and his interest in history and geography. Although his book is focused on local history, events are put into the national context of the period; this is cleverly brought together by Alex’s own creativity. She added: “There has been widespread interest in the book, so much so that it will be featuring on Radio 4’s “Book at Bedtime” in July and Hopscotch Films are presently developing it for the television.“
For those who missed this great event, fear not, as Alex will be interviewed by Adam Nicholson, during the Rye Arts’ Festival. Adam is the grandson of the writers Vita Sackville-West and Sir Harold Nicolson, so it will be a wonderful event.
Image Credits: Kt bruce .