What a great weekend!
It’s a couple of years since I was able to attend the Romantic Novelists’ Association conference, but 2024’s made up for what I’ve missed. It was held at the fantastic venue of Royal Holloway, University of London. The campus seemed to me the size of a small country but at its heart is the fantastic edifice that is the Founder’s Building, which looks like an enormous gothic castle.
Thomas Holloway gave this amazing building to the nation in the nineteenth century in memory of his wife Jane. Apparently, the ‘Royal’ was added because Queen Victoria was in favour of it being among the first places in Britain where women could enter higher education. Visitors to the Founder’s Building also have free access to the extraordinarily beautiful chapel. I read a few of the prayers visitors had written in the prayer book. One was from a student who felt lonely in the evenings, and I wanted to write, ‘Aw, hugs!’ underneath it, but thought that was more Facebook than prayer book.
The backbone of the conference itself is the fantastic programme of workshops. I ran one, which was well-attended, and everyone laughed when they were meant to, which made me feel as if I could still deliver something educational and fun.
And the workshops I attended on subjects as diverse as book marketing and taking your own headshot on a phone, were excellent. Of course, a big part of the conference is the company. The conference was a sell-out, and you can’t beat a couple of hundred authors to chat with during breaks, over meals and in the evenings. The amazing organisers were very hot on including everybody, especially first-timers to the
conference, and it produced the best atmosphere.
Another big draw for delegates was the provision of one-to-ones with various industry professionals. That’s not something I took part in, but there were a lot of authors buoyed by positive interviews and requests to see complete manuscripts. Last year, several people got publishing deals as a result of one-two-ones and even more found agents.
A lovely ‘duty’ for me, as president, was presenting competition winner Hannah Langdon with her prize – a copy of the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2025, complete with a quote from me on the front and an article inside.
Roll on the next conference!
