A Doughty ambition to be a writer
LITERARY festivals are a great antidote to the solitariness of writing, says British novelist Louise Doughty, who will be interviewed at Listowel Writers’ Week (May 28-June 1).
Doughty, whose seven novels include Whatever You Love (2010), which was short-listed for the Costa Novel Award and long-listed for the Orange Prize for Fiction, enjoys meeting readers on the festival circuit. “When you’re a writer, if you’re not careful, you can forget about the reader. Because you deal with your agent or your editor or publisher, it’s almost as if you’re writing the books for the publishing industry. That’s why it’s important to go to festivals. You sort of leap frog the publishing industry and you get to meet readers face-to-face. They can often be very blunt. But it’s great. It reminds you of what writing is all about. I also love the social side of festivals.”
