The Town Crier's House – 2022

Events related to Frances Hardinge and her work.

It was 2022, and authors slowly emerged from their houses, blinking in the sunlight, and trying to remember how in-person events worked…

North Herts Schools Book Award Ceremony

17th March

This was the first large in-person public speaking event Frances had attended for some time... and it was wonderful. She appeared alongside her fellow finalists Patrice Lawrence, Kevin Wignall, Julian Sedgwick Chie Kutsuwada, and Vincent Ralph whose thriller Lock the Doors carried off the award. It was lovely to be able to see the audience's reactions, make eye contact, sign books and spend time chatting with readers and the other authors. Frances suddenly realised how much she had missed these things.

London LitSoc Kids Book Club

7th May

At an event organised in association with the Barnes Children's Literature Festival, Frances gave a presentation on The Lie Tree.

ChiCon 8

1st–5th September

The latest Worldcon was based in Chicago but 'hybrid', so Frances was able to attend virtually from the comfort of her own home. She gave a virtual reading, and appeared in four panels – Imaginary Book Club, Finding Optimism and Comfort in Horror, Fairytales and Folklore in Urban Fantasy, and The Fantastic, Speculative, Science-Fictional City.

YLG Conference

17th September

Frances appeared at the conference of the Youth Libraries Group, and was interviewed on Unraveller by Helen Thompson.

North Cornwall Book Festival

24th September

After a lovely visit to Exeter School, Frances travelled down to beautiful St Endymion for the North Cornwall Book Festival. In the village church, she was interviewed by the writer, painter, and bibliotherapist Ella Berthoud.

Oswestry

29th September

An afternoon visit to Moreton Girls' School, supported by Booka Bookshop, was followed by an evening talk in the bookshop itself for a congregation of teachers.

Golden Egg Academy Virtual Event

2nd November

It is always fun to be hosted by the Golden Egg Academy, and Frances had a very entertaining discussion with Philippa R Francis.

Super Relaxed Fantasy Club

8th November

In the suitably relaxed setting of The Star of Kings pub, Frances took part in a joint event with Lavie Tidhar and was interviewed by Caroline Mersey.

An Evening of Folklore and Fairytale, Waterstones Piccadilly

21st November

Kiran Millwood Hargrave chaired the panel, interviewing Melinda Salisbury and Frances about their latest books, Her Dark Wings and Unraveller. Much discussion of curses, revenge, folkloric malice, and peril ensued.

Waterstones Basingstoke Signing

24th November

Frances signed books at Waterstones Basingstoke (and was unexpectedly given some delicious chocolates and excellent mince pies).