Book Trail

North Devon Festival Book Trail

Waterstones

The Book Trail is a new initiative which we are launching this year and we hope that you will join in to make it another Festival success. Out of the hundreds of artists and organisers associated with this year’s Festival, we have selected just 25 people to represent the many different interests and activities that run throughout June.

Book Choice for the Festival

Book Trail sponsored by Stagecoach Devon

Each was invited to select a special book that they thought would interest others; possibly a favourite story, or something about their profession, or a book they have found to be in some way inspirational. Given the eclectic mix of the Festival, we anticipated that the choices would include children’s books, the visual arts, music, poetry, subjects local to North Devon, politics, the environment and the like.

  • Alison Mills (Museum of Barnstaple and North Devon) chose Moortown Diary by Ted Hughes
  • Amy Newton (Singer/Songwriter) chose The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
  • Andy Sheppard (Musician appearing with Cascade:Beyond Eight Bars) chose Four Stories by Alan Bennett
  • Barry Shingler (Publican – Marshalls) chose Adventurous Pub Walks in Devon by Michael Bennie
  • Ben Totterdell (North Devon Coast and Countryside Service) chose On the Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin
  • Bill Buffery and Gill Nathanson (Multi-Story Theatre Company) chose The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
  • Bruce Aiken (Graphic Designer) chose Straight Man by Richard Russo
  • Linda Edwards (Primary Times) chose The Book of How by Martine Laffon & Hortense de Chabaneix
  • Benjamin Bela Jaffe, (musician with Preservation Hall Jazz Band) chose Coming Through Slaughter by Michael Ondaatje
  • Richard Stevens (Operations Director, Stagecoach Devon – sponsors of the North Devon Festival) chose Marley and Me by John Grogan
  • Rinus Van De Sande (Broomhill Art Hotel and Sculpture Gardens) chose Devon Gardens published by J. Salmon
  • Sandy Brown (Artist) chose The Seven Basic Plots by Christopher Booker
  • Sean Hughes (Comedian) chose The Book of Laughter and Forgetting by Milan Kundera
  • Ben Wisken (Smash Boyz dance project) chose Eragon by Christopher Paolini
  • Sarah Shorten (Choreographer) chose Waterlog - A swimmer's journey through Britain by Roger Deakin
  • Thomeki Dube (Musician with Black Umfolosi 5) chose Hard Times by Charles Dickens
  • Alan Giddings (North Devon Festival Artistic Director) chose Wall & Piece by “Banksy”
  • Alan Dodd (North Devon Festival Co-Ordinator) chose If... Marches On by Steve Bell
  • Malcolm Prowse (Leader - North Devon District Council) chose Tarka the Otter by Henry Williamson
  • Alison Berridge (Children’s Hospice South West) chose Water Bugs and Dragonflies by Doris Stickney
  • Sandra Helsby (Yarner Trust) chose The Green Self-Build Book by Jon Broome
  • Stella Levy - (Artist and Art Trek Co-ordinator) chose Paddy Clarke, Ha ha ha by Roddy Doyle
  • Shaun Winfield (Pilton Arts, Music and Leisure Activities) chose High Fidelity by Nick Hornby
  • Bill Grainger (Beaford Arts) chose A Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
  • Baaba Maal (Musician) chose Roots by Alex Haley
  • Matt Martin chose Cider With Roadies by Stuart Maconie

 

Sponsored by Waterstone’s and Stagecoach Devon

With the assistance and support of Waterstone’s and Stagecoach Devon we will distribute five copies of each of the twenty-five books around the region in various ways for people to read. The books will be placed on Stagecoach buses. They will be put on benches in towns and villages; left in pubs and at Festival venues. You might find them anywhere.

You may pick one up anywhere and once you have read it, we would like you to pass the book on to someone else for them to enjoy, or to leave it in another public place.

Inside each book will be a faceplate with instructions on what to do and how to feed back to the Festival via websites and special post boxes. Readers will have an opportunity to vote on-line for their favourite book and to provide a review. The best reviewer will win copies of the top five voted-for books. Readers are also be encouraged to have a digital photo taken for the website, holding the book that they have read, along with another of their own that they have enjoyed.

The Book Trail will start at the Festival launch on 11th April and continue right through to the end of June. The winner will be notified by the 12 Jul 2007.

How it works

If you find one of the Book Trail books log on to the review and messages page, complete the form and send your review to us. It will be published here when it has been checked (allow at least three working days).

Whether you found a book or not, you can Vote for your favourite book on this page from the complete list.

Send us your review or
Vote for your favourite book here

Keep this page bookmarked and come back soon.

 

North Devon Festival Barnstaple Fringe Gold Coast Oceanfest Art Trek 2008 North Devon Council North Devon Marketing Bureau