THE BEACH HUT
When better to launch a book called The Beach Hut than in August? So on August 5th 2009, Biscuit Publishing celebrated the publication of the new short story collection by Sian Hughes, her prize for winning the Biscuit Short Fiction competition 2008.
Brian Lister opened the event by welcoming the audience to the splendid library of Newcastle's Literary and Philosophical Society, and introducing Sian Hughes (right) before handing over to Gillian Garnham.
Gillian, herself a previous winner of the Biscuit Short Fiction prize, gave a short preview of her forthcoming title The Good Man of Camerton. She explained that the novel was inspired by the real life of the early 19th century Somerset parson John Skinner, and drew heavily on his diaries, but that it was nonetheless a novel, a work of fiction. A strange and fascinating character, Parson Skinner is probably best known as the subject of an essay by Virginia Woolf; in a BBC radio drama based on his diaries, the role of Parson Skinner was played by Timothy West.
Gillian Garnham gave a lively reading of a passage describing the relationship between the irascible parson and his patroness - and her peacocks!
Next Sian Hughes read in its entirety the title story of her collection - and the story for which she won the Biscuit competition. The Beach Hut tells of an encounter between two strangers brought together as the result of a quaint legacy, a dilapidated old hut on the Northumberland coast. You can read an extract from The Beach Hut here (or just buy the book here!
The formal proceedings ended with Gillian Garnham making a presentation to Sian of a framed copy of the cover of her book. The evening continued more informally, as the author signed copies of her book. She was complimented on the vividness of her depiction of the Northumberland coast (and the north-eastern male!), but admitted that it was not an area she knew well. Although she had visited Northumberland, the coast she knew best was Norfolk, and this had coloured her story. Had she chosen this story to submit to the Biscuit competition because of its regional interest? No, she said, it was a happy accident. In fact she had sent a selection of stories to a PO Box number without knowing where it was located!
