Rosemary Sutcliff used to describe herself, happily, as a teller of stories. I frequently speak of her as a story-teller, and sometimes as story-maker; and I have assumed that any writer would be pleased to be called a storyteller. But I was wrong: this is Colm Tóibín in The Guardian last week.

I dislike being called a storyteller, and resent the implication that I come from a world where the oral tradition, something primitive and unformed, remained strong or intact. This was not true; the oral tradition was not strong in the place where I grew up. I was brought up in a house where there was a great deal of silence. When my father died, his name was hardly ever mentioned again. It was too much that he had died, too hard; his absence was too palpable, too sad. So it entered the realm of what you thought about and did not speak of, a realm I remain very comfortable in to this day.

Source: Colm Tóibín: writers and their families | The Guardian.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the national newspaper of the same name, claims that “The Telegraph Bath Festival Of Children’s Literature has become one of the most important events for children’s literature in the world.” Is this true? Regular, or indeed occasional, readers of this blog may have better knowledge than I …

Apparently The Telegraph has been the media and title sponsor since the first event in 2007 – and this year’s festival in Bath features, according to them, some of the biggest names in children’s fiction. Roddy Doyle, Jeremy Strong, Judith Kerr, Cressida Cowell, Andy Stanton, David McKee and Bath-born Jacqueline Wilson (who was at the first festival) are just a few of the authors who will be taking part in events over 10 days.

The Festival runs from Friday 23rd September 2011 until Sunday 2nd October. We had better get some attention to Rosemary Sutcliff!

Source: Celebrate the Bath Festival Of Children’s Literature 2011