In Praise of Enthusiasm by Sheena Wilkinson

Over the last two weekends, I have been at two different conferences. Which sounds both worthy and intense – but, despite the inevitable tiredness and travelling, it was mostly great fun. Both of these conferences embodied the very best of what I love about books, and particularly children's books.  

The first event was the AGM of the New Chalet Club – rather a dry term for what was actually a weekend full of conviviality, book-buying and talks. A thriving organisation celebrating its thirtieth anniversary, which celebrates the works of Elinor M. Brent Dyer and brings together those many fans all over the world who still love her books, The NCC is one of two international organisations focussed on EBD, as we affectionately call her. This was an extra-special event as it also celebrated the centenary of the very first Chalet school book in 1925 – The School at the Chalet, the first, though the author could not have known that then, of 59 novels all set in the same school.

 

What made this weekend particularly special for me was that I was invited to be the keynote speaker and to launch my second school story, True Friends at Fernside at the same time. It was the greatest fun to be allowed, nay, expected to talk about my life and my books through the prism of the Chalet School. Spending the weekend surrounded by people who unashamedly loved girls' school stories, as well as reading generally, was a joyful and enriching experience. Some of the women – they were all women – were strangers to me; many I knew from previous conferences; one or two are now genuine friends, friendships kindled mostly at such weekends over the years. 

 

So often, particularly as women, we are made to feel guilty about our reading pleasures. Whether it’s children’s books or ‘women’s’ fiction, particularly romance, society tells us they are somehow inferior or trivial or even embarrassing. I remember the attitude of some people to the subject of my PhD thesis (Girls’ school and college friendships in twentieth-century British fiction): Not – how clever to do a PhD, but What use is a PhD on that? So it’s always refreshing to spend time with other people who ‘get it’. 

 

True Friends at Fernside was well and truly launched, heaps of books were sold, and I really felt the love and enthusiasm of so many adult readers. This enthusiasm for the book has translated into Amazon reviews, Facebook posts, private messages, and a wonderful sense of being part of an enthusiastic community of readers. Needless to say I came home with a heavier suitcase (there was a tempting book sale), a list of new Facebook friends and – which means the world to me – a host of new readers. 

Last weekend, I had a different but equally enriching experience when I attended the annual conference of Children's Books Ireland. CBI is the island-wide organisation whose mission is to make every child a reader. It does amazing work: advocacy; physically placing books in the hands in the hands of children who might not otherwise have them; publishing diverse and inclusive reading guides; supporting the makers of children’s books; celebrating the wealth of writing and illustrating talent we have in Ireland and nurturing the next generation. The work it does is wide-ranging and wonderful. And it's always a fantastic celebration to come together every year, to see this work showcased, and to listen to a wide variety of writers and illustrators for children.

Once again, I found myself surrounded by people who are passionate and enthusiastic in their love of and promotion of books and reading. 

 

Enthusiasm is infectious. I always return from events like this fired up with love for what I do. As a writer, I write with passion for every single project, and when that passion is matched by the enthusiasm of readers, it means the world. Almost every day since the NCC AGM I get messages from readers saying how much they loved Fernside or my other books. It’s all about connection, isn’t it? Connecting with readers.

And life as a writer isn’t always that jolly. As a writer of ‘quieter’ books, currently out of contract, it’s easy for me to feel jaded and worried about the current climate in publishing and where my career might be going.  My first adult novel Mrs Hart’s Marriage Bureau was beloved by its readers but it sold, in the words of its Big 5 publisher ‘disappointingly’. If your business model is to sell millions of books, Mrs Hart was a failure. If your aim is to connect with readers, then it was a huge success. (And yes, I know the two things aren’t mutually exclusive and the ideal would be to connect with millions of readers – or even tens of thousands.)

That’s why I am self-publishing its sequel, Miss McVey Takes Charge, as part of the Writers Review Publishing co-operative. (MUCH MORE ABOUT THAT NEXT TIME!) There’s quite an overlap in personnel between Writers Review and Awfully Big Blog – once again, we can see that sense of community and connection which underpins so much of our writing and reading lives. 

After all, isn't that what it's all about?