Dear Friends,

After eight glorious years, the King’s Sutton Literary Festival is saying goodbye. The committee have decided to ‘hang up their boots’ for the last time.

Since 2004 when Sara Allday created the first Festival, King’s Sutton has greeted the spring each year with a weekend world of books – writers and readers, storytellers and jazz musicians have brightened our cultural lives and enriched our community. We have made new friendships over secondhand books and homemade cakes, and welcomed a wide variety of authors into our midst, from poet laureates to first-time novelists. We’ve been enthralled, we’ve been entertained, we’ve asked a lot of questions!

It has been a fantastic journey, the success of which was in no small part due to the immensely loyal following that grew year on year and supported all our efforts to offer something new and different each time. From local people, schools and book groups, to those of you who came from far and wide, we thank you. You made it all worthwhile.

And for the many people who ‘did the work’, my lasting gratitude to you all. I know we all worked hard. But I hope also that each of you felt the great satisfaction that I experienced each year. We created something extraordinary. We showed what a local community can achieve when it combines its strengths and talents to bring people together – to learn, to share and to have fun.

It is always sad to say goodbye, but we look with optimism towards the future. What new cultural venture will emerge, phoenix-like, I wonder? We have given our best – our energy, our time, our ideas and now we stand aside for others to step into the spotlight. Here’s to a bright new beginnings. See you there – wherever ‘there’ turns out to be.

With best wishes and many, many thanks to you all.

Rona Rowe

Chairman

King’s Sutton Literary Festival Committee

11 Sept 2011