Event: Volunteering at Exeter Book Market

Keen bibliophile Catherine Hurcombe tells us about her experience of getting hands-on at City of Literature’s flagship event on Sunday 8th June…

The first week of June Boom ended with a bang at Exeter City of Literature’s annual book market. Having attended last year’s market, I’d been eagerly awaiting the return of this event, and decided to take part as a volunteer. Running from 11am-4pm, the book market filled Exeter’s Cathedral Green with excited book lovers, and taking a look around in the morning before my shift, there were certainly enough activities to keep visitors busy all day.

Catching up with some friends, I headed round the vendors’ stalls first, meeting some lovely local booksellers from Liznojan Books, The Ivybridge Bookshop, and The Old Queeriosity Shop, amongst many others. I couldn’t resist popping into Raw Writing’s tent for a five-minute creative writing session, and browsing the book-themed jewellery on display at Book on a Hook. Perhaps the highlight of the visiting portion for me was the VR swings provided by Studio Go Go, where I got to use a VR headset to explore flight through a futuristic landscape!

As afternoon rolled around (much quicker than I expected!) I headed over to meet my fellow volunteers and learn the ropes for running the Literary Dream Machine. Provided by Exeter City of Literature, this gumball machine deposits pocket-sized pieces of wisdom that event attendees could use to inspire them while practising on the typewriters provided by Francis Kay Vintage. There was a fantastic response to this activity, with people of all ages receiving advice from fellow users of the Dream Machine, ranging from messages of encouragement, to poems, and even a recipe for tomato pasta! The typewriters themselves were a huge hit, whether visitors were using them for the first time, or reminiscing about the ones they learnt to write on.

The day eventually drew to a close, and with only a couple of gazebos lost to the Great British weather, it was time to pack everything up. By this point, the sun was out, and I had the chance to catch up with the rest of the volunteer team about their experiences of the event. As both a visitor and volunteer, I had a brilliant opportunity to witness the various aspects of the market. And although there simply wasn’t time – as much as I wished there was – to attend all the authors’ talks and activities, there was a lovely atmosphere, and it was great to see so many people share their passion for reading!