Hello. I'm Catherine Larner, a writer and editor living in Suffolk.
After an early career covering the leisure and health and fitness industries in the UK, Europe and the USA, I became freelance and focused on profiling writers and writers.
In addition to interviews, reviews and recommendations in national and regional publications, I presented a book club on local radio for more than 10 years and have been running an open book group in the town since 2008.
I organise and host author events for adults and children. These take place throughout the local area, ranging from intimate gatherings of around 30 guests to large evening events with capacity audiences of more than 300 people.
I have hosted speakers such as journalist Robert Peston; novelists Margaret Drabble, Kate Mosse, Victoria Hislop, Sophie Hannah, Alexander McCall Smith and Deborah Moggach; historians Max Hastings and Dan Snow; Olympic rowing champion Katherine Grainger; children's writer Michael Morpurgo; comedian and presenter Griff Rhys Jones; cookery writers Diana Henry and Sabrina Ghayour; and antiques expert, Judith Miller.
I have also been engaged to host authors 'in conversation' for Felixstowe Book Festival, Flipside Festival at Snape Maltings, Lavenham Literary Festival, The Cut at Halesworth and the HighTide Festival in Aldeburgh, and I have organised literary events for local schools and churches.
I was the Artistic Director for the Suffolk Libraries Bookfest in 2016 and, in 2008 I was the Artistic Director for the first Children’s Book Festival in Woodbridge, Suffolk.
Responsible for creating and implementing the concept, I devised four days of activities for children of all ages, and their parents. Many sessions were free and all were creatively run to ensure full interaction, participation and engagement throughout the community. Leading authors (including Philip Reeve, Nick Butterworth, Kevin Crossley-Holland and Meg Rosoff) presented at venues throughout the town.
Supplementing the headline speakers there were launches of new books and authors, story playtimes for toddlers, a children’s comedian, storytelling trails around the town led by members of local amateur dramatic groups, and a dogwalking storytime by the river. It was an ambitious and varied programme which was professionally run and well-attended, creating a genuine excitement throughout the town.
For a number of years now I've been distributing a weekly e-newsletter to subscribers containing book news, comments and observations, details of forthcoming author events, and book reviews detailing my 'book of the week' in fiction, non-fiction and children's reading.
I hope you find this site of interest.
Thank you for reading.