2020 means the year of the most dramatic changes, global pandemic, magnitude of challenges; despair and chaos. But as we began living in a strange reality 2020 also brought new ways of connecting and keeping in touch, realisation what is important to us, and who are the significant people in our lives.

I am not alone in missing the physical book events, especially some crime fiction festivals where I volunteer. Or volunteered in the previous years. An opportunity to see and hear the authors in real life, meeting old friends and making new ones, chatting with other readers, bloggers, reviewers and fans. This feeling of connection and sharing common interests, jokes, inspirations and hugs, is irreplaceable.  

Yet, yet… creativity of creative and artistic people knows no bounds. It is not easy to change plans at short notice, to deal with the overwhelming sense of disappointment, to struggle with financial and practical constraints, and to dismantle programmes of festivals and other events that have been carefully put together over many months. The urgency to keep spreading the word about books and authors remains. Thanks to the wonders of technology, even if it gets so damn frustrating and exhausting, and ingenuity of quick-thinking people we reluctantly and with some reservations moved into the virtual world of book connections. New online platforms emerged, new words entered our vocabularies. YouTube is the God of this new status quo that might last for months, or years. Even if the world calms down a touch, I do not think we will be going back to constant travelling and attending physical events. Even if we can and want.

In a spirit of Christmas past, present and future, I would like to propose that we try to assemble an audio puzzle of various voices and numerous pieces available online, to immerse ourselves in the words of internationally acclaimed writers, emerging authors, new writing ideas and old familiar wonderful emotion of getting lost in a fascinating book. The suggestions below represent only a snippet of what has been recorded in the last eight or nine months, and what is quite special to me.

As the March lockdown in UK frightened us into hiding and contemplating, William Shaw might have been the first author embracing live events via his Facebook page, and chatting to friends. All these conversations can be found on William Shaw – YouTube.

Noir at the Bar, Newcastle moved from a real bar to yes, our living rooms and kitchens, and became Virtual Noir at the Bar. Organised by Vic Watson and Simon Bewick, it grew from strength to strength culminating in the most joyful sessions where authors – best sellers, award winners and up-and-coming – read from their work to the enthusiastic public, and a brilliant collection Noir from the Bar: 30 Crime and Mystery Shorts was published, with profits being donated to NHS charities.

Organisers of Newcastle Noir turned their the highly-anticipated super friendly and inclusive crime fiction festival into a virtual event NewcastleNoir – YouTube. Jacky Collins aka Dr Noir did not stop there. As part of Honey and Stag Events, the team behind Noir at the Bar, Edinburgh, together with Kelly Lacey she started a new venture: literary events for all genres, including panels, book launches.

Orenda Books, famous for its Orenda Roadshow, that’s right – roadshow, moved their book launches into the virtual venues which meant that there were extra opportunities for more people to join (via Zoom links) the chats with authors such as Lilja Sigurdardóttir, Gunnar Staalesen, Roxanne Bouchard, Agnes Ravatn, Ragnar Jónasson. Here you can watch Orenda Books – YouTube, including the most recent video, a special Christmas treat: If I Whisper My Christmas Wish, written by Louise Beech, Michael J Malone and Matt Wesolowski, and read by the international team of Orenda authors.   

Dark nights, warm blanket, hot drink, maybe some cake. Let the magic of books take over for a while. Watch or listen, and enjoy. Let’s hope all links work. Let’s hope 2021 is kinder.

Merry Christmas! God Jul! Wesołych Świąt!