Daily Post gets Liverpool writing

The Literary Festival encouraged young writers to show their stuff (left) and the Daily Post Offices (right)

Bookworms from around Merseyside have been glued
to the Liverpool Daily Post’s Live Read online literary festival.
They are the first newspaper in the UK to run a week-long
literary festival online. The festival was setup to give amateur
writers from around Merseyside the chance to see their
material published and listen to advice from some of this
country’s best loved writers.

Famous authors and actors have been at hand to answer fans' questions, with some taking the time to do live readings of their work. Frank Cottrell Boyce, the author of 24 Hour Party People, novelist, journalist and playwright Linda Grant, and acclaimed British horror writer Ramsey Campbell took part in live web blogs.

Ramsey Campbell, known as Britain’s answer to Stephen King, told JMU Journalism: “I’ve done one more thing about Liverpool and now I think Liverpool is thoroughly haunted if I’ve had anything to do with it!” The master of horror took time to read from his latest book ‘Creatures of the Pool’ and also held a live blog question-and-answer session with readers.

Sticking with the horror theme, it just so happened that Joe Hill, famous comic writer and son of Stephen King, was in Liverpool for a book signing during the festival. Laura Davis, Arts Editor of the Daily Post who was behind the idea, said: “I just rung his agent and he did a live blog interview just at the drop of a hat for an hour which was fantastic. We also had Linda Grant, who’s an Orange Prize for Fiction winner, do a live blog interview with our readers whilst sat at home in London.”

The five-day event was used as a platform for amateur writers from all over Merseyside. Laura Davies said: “I know Liverpool better than anywhere else; it just amazes me how everyone has written something. I think everyone’s writing. Liverpool is a city of storytellers. Hopefully we’ll do it again next year and then the challenge is to just push it a lot more and market it a lot more.”

Readers were given the opportunity to send in their short stories and have them published on the site. On the final day of the 'Live Read' festival the results of a Liverpool’s favourite novel poll were released.

George Orwell’s '1984' received 22% percent of the votes to win, beating other popular titles like 'To Kill a Mocking Bird'.