Villa de Mazamet in France
Authors have different views about this, but many novelists - myself, Chimamanda Adichie and Elizabeth Kostova included - also teach creative writing. We do this for different reasons, of course - a wish to share good practice, an enjoyment of engaging with other writers at the beginnings of their careers - but also, especially out of a sense of giving something back. If one has been lucky as a novelist, if you're lucky enough to be published at the right time, to find your audience, to be published well, then it seems only right to try to give other writers a leg up too.
All potential writers are readers too, of course. There are now increasingly less formal, more social ways for authors and readers to engage with one another, other than at bookshop readings or at literary festivals. One of the biggest areas of growth is literary tourism, where organisations plan a whole day, often a weekend, around the setting or subject matter of a particular novel. The participants are sometimes writers hoping for advice, sometimes purely readers wanting to know about the background to an author's work. But those of us teaching or talking at such events get as much out of it as the participants. As a writer, you learn by listening to other writers, other readers.
In this spirit, I will be going to the Villa de Mazamet in the south of France to talk at a weekend exploring Aude Cathar Country, the location of my novels. The Villa de Mazamet is a new venture, set up by Peter Friend, and offers a mixture of history, literature, gastronomy and tourism over the course of the weekend of Friday 19th - Sunday 21st June.
If any of you are traveling in France then, do book and come along. It looks as if it will be a wonderful weekend.
A bientôt.
All potential writers are readers too, of course. There are now increasingly less formal, more social ways for authors and readers to engage with one another, other than at bookshop readings or at literary festivals. One of the biggest areas of growth is literary tourism, where organisations plan a whole day, often a weekend, around the setting or subject matter of a particular novel. The participants are sometimes writers hoping for advice, sometimes purely readers wanting to know about the background to an author's work. But those of us teaching or talking at such events get as much out of it as the participants. As a writer, you learn by listening to other writers, other readers.
In this spirit, I will be going to the Villa de Mazamet in the south of France to talk at a weekend exploring Aude Cathar Country, the location of my novels. The Villa de Mazamet is a new venture, set up by Peter Friend, and offers a mixture of history, literature, gastronomy and tourism over the course of the weekend of Friday 19th - Sunday 21st June.
If any of you are traveling in France then, do book and come along. It looks as if it will be a wonderful weekend.
A bientôt.
5 Comments:
At February 23, 2009 8:12 PM ,
Audrey said...
Hello,
I just discover your blog... My sister offered me your last novel "sepulchre" for christmas.I read it very fastly and I have to tell you I couldn't let him. It was very difficult for me to go to work without finishing the novel. So first, I'd like to thank you for that.
I wonder if you studied how to write. I'm a french bookshop girl. I wanted to be a french teacher for a time but I think I always have the same dream... And my dream is to write. Not for being known or famous, no. It isn't my goal. Just to deal something magical with readers. I write evidently, for a very long time (mainly short stories and I begin a novel) but I less confidence in me...
I don't write this comment in expecting something. I just want to tell you I hope you will write many other novels. I wish you good luck for everything !
Audrey
http://melusine-penseesurnotretemps.over-blog.com
At February 24, 2009 7:31 PM ,
Kate Mosse said...
Hi Audrey
Thanks for your lovely comment. It's a great thing, for an author, to get such an enthusiastic response from a reader. The sense of time not existing when I'm writing is a key part of being stuck deep into a book. And, of course, that's what you hope readers will feel too.
Keep writing! The most useful advice I can give you as an author, is that it is better to write for 5 minutes every day and been less than satisfied with it, than not to write at all. We all write in order to write better.
Bonne chance!
Kate
At March 2, 2009 8:55 PM ,
NicoleL said...
I picked up Sepulchre by chance at the bookstore two weeks ago and have since blazed through both it and Labyrinth(silly me, didn't note which came first). I can't remember enjoying two books more than I have these. I'm a voracious reader, polishing off two or three novels a week and can't wait to read more of your work. While I’ve worked as both a journalist and publicist, I've always harboured a secret ambition to write fiction. These novels certainly inspired me to put fear aside and well, just try. I’ll check my schedule to see if I might attend Villa de Mazamet but in terms of literary tourism, should the chance arise to speak at such an event in my hometown of Montreal, Canada, I’d be grateful if you’d consider it.
At March 5, 2009 6:23 AM ,
Kate Mosse said...
Hi Nicole
I really hope to be back in Canada for festivals and touring when the third novel in the Trilogy comes out in the Autumn of 2010. Certainly, if a chance comes to be in Montreal, I'd be thrilled. So far, haven't done any events there, just in Vancouver and Toronto.
Delighted you enjoyed the novels and best of luck with your own writing.
Kate
At December 28, 2009 12:03 AM ,
rosamund said...
Hi I've read both labyrynth and Sepulchre and thoroughly enjoyed both, looking forward to the next. have had holidays in and around Carcassone and Toulouse and can see how these places could inspire!
Best wishes
Ros
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