Writers’ festivals are experiencing a remarkable resurgence, with record-breaking attendance in both New Zealand and Australia. The Auckland writers’ festival achieved its highest attendance ever in its 27-year history, with crowds up 15% on the previous year. Similarly, the Sydney writers’ festival declared this year the most successful in its 29-year history, with record ticket sales. This trend highlights a growing collective appetite for book-related events, despite reading traditionally being a solitary activity.
The Catalyst: A Personal Turning Point
Clarke Gayford, a New Zealand TV host now living in Australia, recounts his own rediscovery of reading during a holiday. Forced to leave his phone in another room due to a lack of power outlets, he picked up a book and found that the creeping anxiety of missing global news and social media reels began to dissipate. He describes how his ‘goldfish-trained brain’ soothed as it held a single connected idea together on paper. This experience led him to permanently keep his phone away from the bedside, but also turned him into a ‘born-again book reader’ who preaches the joys of reading to others.
From Solitary Pursuit to Collective Experience
Gayford reflects on the paradox of book reading as a solitary activity that now drives people to brave public transport and forgo weeknights to gather with authors and fellow readers. He questions what is driving this shift back to ‘wood pulp and ink’ and suggests it may be a reaction to the diminishing returns of AI-generated online content or a realization that there is more to life than scrolling. The upsurge in collectivism at book events suggests a desire for shared experiences, perhaps as a timid re-entry into public socialization after the Covid-19 pandemic kept people physically apart.
Book Clubs and Social Gatherings
Gayford notes that book clubs have long been a social excuse, often involving wine, but they now contribute to a broader trend of collective bookishness. He recounts a local book club’s Christmas function that caused a minor disturbance outside his house, with members singing their appreciation to his wife after a wobbly walk home. While this does not fully explain the rise in collective reading events, it underscores the social bonding that accompanies them.
Festivals as Gateway Gatherings
Gayford speculates that these book festivals might serve as gateway gatherings for people to re-enter public social life more broadly, potentially leading to other communal activities like dancing to techno music. He admits this could be his newly book-stretched imagination at work, now capable of longer, more connected thoughts. Ultimately, he celebrates the trend as a positive development, bringing new layers to the simple experience of reading and fostering a sense of community.
