In Praise of Cozy Literary Festivals by Dipika Mukherjee
First Impressions Like most writers, I have done my fair share of speaking at literary festivals. In 2017, for example, I went from the humongous Singapore Literary Festival (which had concurrent panels for three days and a dedicated Artist Liason Officer (ALO) to escort me to the correct venue), to the much smaller Neustadt Festival in Oklahoma with nine speakers. All literary festivals have something to offer the writer and the reader, but I personally enjoy the cozier festivals more. There is something about being thrown together in close proximity for a few days, usually in the same cozy hotel, that encourages a special kind of literary friendship to blossom. L to R: Polly, Amy, Peter, Sheena, Annabel, Dipika, Jenny, Louisa Gladstone's Hearth Festival in 2018, held from February 3-4 in Wales, was just such a festival. My fellow speakers were Annabel Abbs , Sheena Wilkinson and Jenny Lewis . Polly Atkin was writer-in-residence in February. I learnt a lot f...