Chiswick Book Festival 'Easily' Breaks Record

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Highest ever ticket sales says Festival Director Torin Douglas

Alan Rusbridger talks at the Chiswick Book Festival - image James Rodgers

The Chiswick Book Festival had its best ever year in terms of ticket sales according to Festival Director Torin Douglas.

Over 4,000 tickets were sold and a number of the events were completely full.

Torin said, “It’s been a terrific year. Our sales income is easily a record - which is great news for our reading charities - and our total audiences are higher than they’ve ever been. We sold around 4,000 tickets, with over 300 in St Michael & All Angels Church for Max Hastings and around 175 each for Charles Spencer, Misha Glenny and Anthony Horowitz.

“At Chiswick House we had a capacity crowd - 200 - for 'Vanity Fair, Thackeray and Chiswick'. In the Andrew Llloyd Webber Theatre at Arts Ed we had a full house of 200 for Alan Rusbridger”

Other sell out speakers included Ann Cleeves and Caroline Slocock in the Parish Hall, which holds 100 seats and in a new venue, the London Buddhist Vihara, which also seats 100 people, was full both for Roger McGough and the Young People’s Poetry Prizegiving.

Torin added, “Even more rewarding was the great feedback we’ve had. Our audiences really have enjoyed this year’s speakers and you can see lots of appreciative comments on social media. And the authors seem to have loved being here and the great welcome they’ve received.”

Audience for Charles Spencer in St. Michael and All Angels Church

He said that this year’s innovation, the Cookbook Festival was a huge success with some of the demonstrations selling out.

Now in its eighth year, the Festival is a non-profit-making community event, raising money for St Michael & All Angels Church, which hosts the event, and three charities which support reading and literacy: – RNIB Talking Books Service and Books for Children, supporting blind and partially-sighted people; InterAct Stroke Support, which uses actors to provide a reading service for stroke patients at Charing Cross Hospital and Doorstep Library, which brings the magic of books into children’s homes in deprived parts of west London.

September 18, 2018