Out and about over the last two weeks with Alexander McCall Smith. Events took place in Edinburgh with Fidra books with a delightful group of children from Bruntsfield Primary school reading from his latest book; London and a packed-out annual event with Daunt books in Marylebone High Street – the 11th event we’ve done with Alexander in this supportive and truly wonderful shop; Wivenhoe where he met and took tea and scones with the ‘ladies who knit’ at the Wivenhoe bookshop; Felsted School in Essex for an event within the Essex book festival (Alexander in conversation with the headmaster and one of the pupils to a packed hall with an audience from all areas of Essex and well beyond) and then back to Scotland for a second event in Edinburgh with Fidra at St Cuthberts Church; and two events with Main Street Trading (who serve the best coffee in Scotland) in a converted barn behind their shop in St Boswells near Melrose in the Scottish Borders. The weeks also included a live interview on BBC Radio 4 Start the Week, a recorded interview for BBC 3 Requests with Fiona Talkington and press interviews around the country. Coverage in the fortnight included a very moving article in The Observer magazine on a year spent in Belfast at the height of the troubles.
While on the road I had the opportunity to meet up with former actor and now writer, Max Benitz. A delightful young man with a very promising future as an author.
(Jan Rutherford, Marketing Director)
