The 6th June 2024 saw us once again setting up the WI Hall for another Literary Lunch. Members of our two Reading Groups had prepared a delicious buffet lunch which included quiches, salads, wraps and other savouries. This was followed by an array of desserts including Eton mess, tiramisu, crumble, fruit salad, Bakewell tart and cheesecake.
As teas and coffee were served approximately 45 people settled down to listen to our guest speaker. Kate Sawyer is a local author, born in Barrow and went to school in Bury St Edmunds. She attended the Academy of Performing Arts and worked in the theatre and as a yoga teacher for a number of years. She also ran a Health Food Shop for 15 years. Her dream was to become an actress but she soon realised that this was not a sustainable option, especially when she became a mother. During the COVID lockdown she took part in a scheme called 28 Plays Later where the aim was to write one play a day each month. One of these plays morphed into her first novel “The Stranding” which is set in a post-apocalyptic time and describes how two people, initially strangers, survive by literally climbing inside the body of a stranded whale. The couple eventually have two daughters and the book describes their life on an abandoned beach.
Kate’s second novel is also based on a play about two sisters which became “This Family”. As the title suggests this is a story about family life with all its trials and tribulations. The scene is set on the wedding day of the main character but underneath the family gathering there are hidden tensions and old dramas. This revolves mainly around the two sisters whose story unfolds through the book. Kate was at pains to point out that both these books are about relationships and heritage including rites of passage for a woman. During her talk Kate read passages from both of these books to give people who had not read her work a taste of her writing.
At the end of her talk the author took several questions from the audience and then stayed to sign copies of her work which she had brought with her.
We all enjoyed meeting and listening to Kate talk about her work and await her third book which is called “Getting Away” and is due to be published in July 2025.
