Orell Füssli hosted the first BookLove Festival in Zurich at the sold-out Bernhard Theater. Jenny Colgan, Richard Osman, Charlotte Wood, Yvonne Eisenring and Nelio Biedermann engaged with around 400 visitors, sharing insights into their lives as authors.
Inspiring, knowledgable and fun – these are the first words that come to my mind when describing the first BookLove Festival in Zurich. On March 19th, 400 visitors gathered at the sold-out Bernhard Theater Zurich to learn about writing, publishing and finding inspiration for a book from the authors Jenny Colgan, Richard Osman, Charlotte Wood, Yvonne Eisenring and Nelio Biedermann. The event was moderated by SRF presenter Sarah Christen, who skillfully guided the audience through the entertaining program with wit and charm.
The evening started with Scottish author Jenny Colgan enthusiastically sharing her experience of her time in sunny Zurich and introducing her latest novel “Summer Skies Above You and Me”, among other topics. She was joined on stage by Charlotte Wood, an Australian author and journalist, who shared her visit to James Joyce’s grave earlier that day. Both authors offered insightful reflections on the process of storytelling, creating unique setting and crafting narratives that captivate readers.
This was followed by Swiss authors Yvonne Eisenring and Nelio Biedermann, who shared exciting insights into their writing habits. Among these insights, Nelio Biedermann announced that he is writing his current novel by hand, while Yvonne Eisenring prefers to work on her literary works at night. The entire conversation was recorded as part of Orell Füssli’s podcast “Über de Bücherrand”, which is available here: https://www.orellfuessli.ch/unternehmen/podcast
The evening concluded with Richard Osman, who took the stage as the grand finale to the inaugural BookLove Festival. The British TV presenter and author shared valuable insights on overcoming the inner voice of self-doubt in order to achieve our goals as writers. While the writing process may be accompanied by a negative inner voice telling us we are not good enough, this feeling is overshowed by the pride that comes after completing a work of literature. Inspired by detective and spy novel authors like the renowned Agatha Christie, Osman has forged his own successful path as an author. Beyond the pages of his book, his success extends to the screen; he revealed that the acclaimed film director Steven Spielberg will be producing his crime thriller “The Thursday Murder Club” into a movie.
As the official stage program ended around 10 pm, the authors were available to sign autographs, take photos and talk to the guests.
Through the insights of the five authors, guests learned that there are various apoproaches to writing and that there is not just one way to bring a story to life on paper. The BookLove Festival marked the beginning of what will hopfelully evolve into a series of future BookLove Festivals, enriching the Swiss literary scene by providing a platform for both local and international talents.
View the film that captures the impressions and voices of the evening here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-dXHjvPsOc
Discover more here: orellfuessli.ch
