Joy, Terror and Exhaustion…

Behind the scenes with the Literature Festival Artistic Director Sarah Smyth as she sees the final Festival brochure for the very first time...

The Festival brochure

I have been asked to write 250 words on what it's like to open the  brochure for the first time. Well that seems a simple enough brief. Something enthusiastic, a few words of reflection, an exhortation to read the brochure, enjoy it and join us at the Festival. Job done. But what does it really feel like?

When I started work in publishing one of my first jobs was to unpack and hand over the newly-minted books - sometimes into the hands of the authors themselves. The pride, elation and terror I feel as I open the first  brochure always reminds me of the look on their faces as they held their own novel for the first time. I remember one day opening the package to find a book printed upside-down, another time finding one with entirely blank pages and - most memorably - with the author's name missed off the jacket entirely. Nothing like that has happened at the Festival - yet - but I still get an echo of that anxiety as I nurse the very first copy.

Opening the brochure marks a crossroads for us - the translation of all those events from the minds of those of us who've worked on them into a solid reality. The dawning realisation that the Festival will actually happen, that there’s no going back and the feeling of pride in what we've achieved so far. Every year someone always compares the arrival of the brochure to having a baby. Painful but worth it. And - just like having children - here at the Festival we seem genetically programmed to forget the joy, terror and exhaustion and in a years' time to want to do it all over again.

With best wishes,

Sarah Smyth

Artistic Director of The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival  

The full programme for The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival 2011 is available to view and download online now.