Have you heard of MYVLF yet?!

I want to take a moment to shout about this literary event I went to last week. I had the best time. The venue was stunning, the authors were amazing and... what? Oh right...how did I get to an event during a lockdown?! Sorry, I should explain...it was an MYVLF event! 

What's MYVLF?!

MYVLF (My Virtual Literary Festival) is an online venue that plays host to all sorts of literary events including author panels and interviews with different writers of various genres and the best part of all is that it is free to become a member!! 

The site was set up by three local authors here in Jersey (Channel Islands): Deborah Carr, Gwyn Garfield-Bennett and Kelly Clayton.  They realised that there needed to be a space online that would bring readers and writers together in a friendly and accessible way from the comfort of their own home. Have you ever wanted to go to an event but it's been too far away or the ticket prices have been just a bit out of budget? Living on an Island, a 50-minute flight away from the mainland, I know the feeling. In fact, even if the event were a local one, sometimes the timing is just not right. But with MYVLF, you can attend some great events without even having to leave your home, any time you like - lockdown goals! 

When I said earlier that the "venue" was amazing, I wasn't kidding! The whole site is mapped out like a sort of modern museum building. When you enter the homepage you are essentially entering the foyer and its light and spacious feel is so inviting. Either side of the screen you have two posters which will tell you about upcoming events and then there are signs around the screen navigating you to the various areas of the site. It makes you feel as though you've just entered an impressive cultural hub and the way you move around the "building" is so realistic it's as though you're really there! 

From the Foyer you can access the other areas of the site which are:

• The Theatre
• The Cafe 
• Exhibition

The Theatre 

When you click on Theatre at the end of the room you are directed to the Box Office. You choose the event you want to see and that's when you enter the theatre. I attended the Crime Panel last week and if anything, I almost preferred it to a physical event because it felt more personal and inclusive. For 45 minutes the authors spoke amongst themselves, discussing their books, publishing and other such stuff and then at the end, there is a chat box that allows guests to interact with the authors by asking them questions and commenting on the conversation. Last Wednesday's panel  gave me inspiration for what book to pick for my May book review (stay tuned to find out more!)

The Cafe 

Once the event has finished, your time at MYVLF doesn't have to end there. Grab yourself a cup of tea and a maybe slice of cake from your kitchen and then navigate your way over to the Cafe. Here you can check out the bookshelf of great reads by previous guest authors and find out about the Book of the Month. Another great reason to sign up as a member - just like your typical book club, each month you read the same book as other members and then at the end of each month you discuss that book in an online chat. I think this is such a great idea. I've never found a book club locally to join so being able to get involved with this one online is perfect. 

Exhibition

After having browsed the books, added a few to your amazon basket and found out what your next book of the month will be, why not head over to the exhibition area...

Just like a physical literary festival, these will display information on different publishers and authors with links to useful websites and social media pages so that you can stay connected long after the event you've just attended.  

Upcoming Events...

Honestly, if you love attending book events and literary festivals that I cannot shout about this site enough! Especially with the current situation being what it is and it not just being a matter of transport of distance holding us back,  you can still enjoy these and better yet you can do it in your pyjamas if you want too!! 

I spoke with one of the founders, Deborah Carr who gave me an insight into what's coming up soon:

Panels

Every Wednesday at 7 pm there will be a panel of four authors and each week it will be a different genre. The next one is tomorrow, Wednesday 29th April and the genre is Historical Fiction (my favourite genre so if you do join I will see you there!).

The Big Book Weekend

Another REALLY exciting event which I cannot wait for is The Big Book Weekend! This is a 3-day event which has been organised to help many of those events that have had to be cancelled this year and will feature some incredible names such as Alexander McCall Smith, Michael Morpurgo, Marian Keyes and my personal favourite, Neil Gaiman!!!

The three days will cover all sorts of genres such as sci-fi, nature, history, sport, thriller and poetry. There will be interviews, discussion, readings and performances as well as panels and even some interactive sessions for children where they are able to get involved! 

The event will be held between Friday 8th May - Sunday 10th May. 

Historical Fiction Book Festival 

And lastly, there will be a Historical Fiction Book Festival to be held on 6th June 2020. What was initially supposed to be a half-day event has now turned into a full day of panels and interviews surrounding historical fiction so if you enjoy this week's panel for the same genre, you should pop along to this one too! 

If you want to explore this site for yourself, find out more about upcoming events and even sign up to attend please visit their website: https://myvlf.com