EVENT RECAP: An Evening With Cassandra Clare

You don’t have to look too far around my bookish platforms to know that the Shadowhunter Chronicles are a huge part of my life as a reader. The Mortal Instruments was one of the first series that really pulled me into YA fantasy and encouraged my descent into the online book community. For over a decade, Cassandra Clare’s novels have been a constant for me. 

I’m lucky enough to have met Cassie twice before. The first time was back in 2012 and it was my first ever book signing so I was absolutely petrified. The second time was during the promotion for the City of Bones movie, which was a much bigger event. I had a wonderful time at both events, so when I found out Cassie was returning to the UK this year and visiting a city nearby, I just knew I had to go! 

Chester is one of my fave photography spots

The event took place in the Storyhouse Theatre in Chester, one of my favourite cities. If you ever get a chance to visit, then you’re in for a treat. Before the talk started, I was able to pick up my exclusive copy of City of Gold, which is absolutely gorgeous. 

My seat was quite near to the back, but I still had a perfect view of the stage. There was even an adorable cardboard cutout of the characters featured in The Last Hours, which is the series Cassie was focusing on during this tour. 

The atmosphere was so welcoming, and everyone was making conversation with each other before the talk started. As someone with social anxiety, it’s always great when I’m in an environment I feel relaxed in, and I was able to chat to the people around me. 

The first half of the event was an interview with Cassie, discussing the series and what may possibly happen to the characters in the final book. She also spoke about her inspiration when it came to locations and fashion within the story. 

During the second half, she answered questions submitted from the audience and online viewers. Cassie also spoke a bit about her upcoming adult novel, Sword Catcher. If I wasn’t sold on it before, I definitely am now. Hearing her describe the story left me desperate to read it because the concept sound so fascinating. Needless to say, I’m excited for it to be released! 

After the event, there was an opportunity to take a picture with Cassie in a Covid-safe way, using a book-like structure for The Last Hours, which I absolutely adored! It’s such a fun way to take a memorable picture. We were also given signed bookplates for Chain of Gold. 

I’m so glad I was able to meet Cassie again. I’m just starting to dip my toes back into book events post-pandemic, and this was organised in a way that helped me feel safe and kept my anxiety at bay. Here’s to hoping I get to make it to more events this year!

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EVENT RECAP: Wirral Kids Book Fest

On June 5th, us bookworms in the North got to enjoy the first ever Wirral Kids Book Fest, hosted by Bear Hunt Books with the help of Wirral Unplugged. As soon as I found out the festival was happening, I knew I had to sign up as a volunteer! I've never been able to travel to a book festival before, so with one happening right on my doorstep I was determined to help out as much as I could. 

i helped arrange the tables of books we had for sale on the day and of course i created a little Heartstopper section

The festival took place in the fabulous Bloom Building in Birkenhead, with the profits from food and drink bought on the day going to the mental health charities that the building works with. 

The first slot for the day was a reading of Fantastic Frankie by Jess Rose. I was the not-so-glamorous assistant who turned the pages! We then had some activities for the children, alone with some balloon creations for them to play with.

The next event was for Tsunami Girl by Julian Sedgwick, who gave a fascinating talk about the place and people that inspired the story. I also ended up being the person who volunteered for his little trick at the end! The talk got me super interested in the story so I purchased a copy of the book and got it signed afterwards.

The next event for the day was a joint talk with Vasti Hardy and James Nicol. They set up a table filled with props that connections to their books, and invited people up to select one. It was fun to hear about what inspired their characters and stories. 

We ended the day with a chat from neurodiverse author Emily Kenny, talking about her debut novel The Extraordinary Adventures of Alice Tonks. There was a fun section at the end for people to create their own hero or villain for a story. 

I'm so glad I decided to volunteer. As anxious as I am, I was less of a mess than I expected to be so I'm proud of myself for being able to help out. It's exciting to finally be having book events close to home, and I can't wait for next year! 

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