An eager and willing crowd filled out the Hayward Gallery to hear the writers talk about their various paths to publication and read excerpts from their work. 

Mya spoke about a trip to Canada that inspired her book Song of the Sea, which tells the story of a Guernsey girl who crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1775. 

Nicholas Rowe presented his work to the audience on a projector, revealing stunning photographs taken around the island, overlayed or adjacent to his poetry. He has published his work as an eBook called Poetry in the Camera’s Light. 

Jill is currently working on her third novel, having self-published her first book and in the process of trying to gether second book – Sing Out! - published through the traditional route of agent/publisher.  

Pictured: The Festival Director, Claire Allen, shared the event on Twitter. 

The event was hailed as a success by Nick Le Messurier, who said he is excited for the next few weeks. 

“I think it's gone really, really well. This is a small event with three local writers and it had a great feeling to it. I think that we can build on it for the rest of two weeks.” 

He said that Guernsey harbours a lot of people who love to read for pleasure and the event gives them a chance to meet the writers they like and listen to their stories. He asked last night’s panel for any advice they could give to aspiring writers. 

“Get it on the page,” said Jill. “Just don’t think about it, just start writing.” 

She was followed shortly by Mya who said the best advice she could give is for people to read “everything and anything”. 

Finally, Nicholas told the audience that they don’t need to permission to write. 

“If you enjoy it, write it,” he said.