Cardiff Book Festival came to the Welsh capital from the 28th of October till the 30th of October, and for its first time did a great job. The event had big British writers such as Deborah Moggach, author of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, lesser known British writers such as Caroline Smith, author of The Immigration Handbook (our review can be found here), big Welsh writers such as Tom Bullough, author of Addlands, and lesser known Welsh writers such as Jonathan Edwards, author of My Family and Other Superheroes. The wide variety created a fantastic collection for budding writers and enthusiastic readers to dive into.
Not only was the event a breeding ground for creative minds, it also held debates for the critical thinkers among us. The feminism debate titled ‘Do We Still Need Feminism in 2016?’, chaired by BBC broadcaster Felicity Evens, tackled questions about the wage gap, sex education, feminism outside the UK, and the unseen history of women. However, they did avoid male feminism, focusing on how men should be feminists instead of how gender equality meaning fighting for men’s rights too (for example how custody rights normally go straight to the mother). Obviously, the answer to the question was, ‘we still need feminism’.
The bookworm of a weekend took place around Cardiff, using multiple buildings, allowing for the creativity of these novelists to seep into every corner of the city. Crime Novelists, Poets, Short Story Writers, Historical Writers and many more gathered to share their thoughts and art with the welsh community.
Cardiff has become and is still becoming an enormously creative city. Cardiff Book Festival hope to come back again for another year
