Have you ever dreamed of being a character in one of Margaret Atwood’s books? Or of joining a private book club with David Nicholls? Freedom From Torture, a charity helping asylum seekers and refugees who have survived torture, offers these star-studded experiences as part of an auction accompanying their Resilience Reading online event.
An auction has been set up alongside the event. Among the prizes are tantalising offers of being immortalised as a book character by Atwood, Jonathan Coe and Ian McEwan. Bidding is already open and proceeds go to the charity. Currently, the leading bid is over £800 for an original Quentin Blake drawing.
The three-day event, starting on the 24 November, brings poets, writers and lovers-of-literature together to explore themes of resilience. It is a “fitting message”, says organiser and special events manager Samuel Morton, for “what is going on in the world”.
The charity is expecting around 500 people to attend. The first day includes a live panel discussion on “books that have helped us all to get through challenging times,” says the event website.
The second day is dedicated to poetry from winners of the charity’s poetry competition. The third day involves performances including songs and several readings from authors, singers, poets and survivors of torture.
The event has been running for more than 10 years and its theme changes annually. Last year the theme was “freedom” as Britain was negotiating to leave the EU, said Samuel. This year resilience has been chosen as it relates closely to the work they do and hopefully will encourage people to “deploy some resilience” in these difficult times.
