Acclaimed Scottish booktown author to speak at Featherston

Acclaimed Scottish booktown author to speak at Featherston Booktown.

Shaun Bythell Internationally acclaimed Scottish second hand and rare bookseller and celebrated author of The Diary of a Bookseller, will be the guest at a Featherston Booktown author’s event on Monday, August 27.

Shaun owns The Bookshop in Wigtown, Scotland’s National Booktown. He is one of the topline national and international authors who will feature in this year’s WORD Christchurchfrom 29 August — 2 September at The Piano.

His book was described by a reviewer in the Irish Times as “one of the funniest and most honest books you’ll read this year. It’s a real treat for book nerds, with stories of obnoxious customers, occasional discoveries of rare literary gems and the extermination of a Kindle by shooting, and proudly mounting it as a trophy in the shop.”

Shaun will be speaking in Auckland, Wellington and Dunedin as well as Christchurch during his tour.

Getting him to come to Historic Featherston Booktown was something of a fluke, according to Lincoln Gould, owner of Messines Bookshop in Featherston and Founding Kaumātua of Featherston Booktown.

“We went cap in hand to Rachael King the Director of WORD Christchurch, and asked if it might be possible for Shaun to come to our small town, about the size of Wigtown.

“Rachael’s reply was ‘yes, as long as you can organise a day’s trout fishing for him’. That proved to be easy with a couple of keen local fishermen volunteering to take Shaun out. But it will be August and the rivers might be somewhat cloudy so we have a Plan B,” said Gould

The Featherston event will be held at The Loft on Tarureka Estate, Donald St, at 7 pm with $20 tickets available on Event Finder, and at Featherston’s own bookshops.

Aside from recounting tales from his diary, Shaun will also be able to discuss the experiences of Wigtown as a Booktown in a discussion with Sue Ryan of Mr Feather’s Den as well as sign copies of his book.

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