John Griffin, LJI

The Knowlton Literary Festival has closed the books on its 13th edition, October 12 to 14, with organizers calling the event a rousing success. There were sold-out houses for Kathy Reichs, the best-selling writer of forensic anthropology thrillers; and a discussion provocatively titled The End of Journalism? introduced by Knowlton’s own Louise Penny, moderated by Wendy Mesley, and featuring writers Jacquie McNish and Paul Wells. Opening night featured Roen Higgins, a poet and performance artist who turned the event into what co-organizer Lucy Hoblyn called ‘so much more than a book reading.’

“All around, it was our most successful year for getting buns into seats,” said an elated Hoblyn. “Where we might normally sell 10 weekend passes, we sold 50 this year.”

“There was so much variety and such interaction between the writers and the audience, it made all the effort by our volunteer board worth while.”