Another year, another festival.

As the Cambridge Literary Festival LTD comes to an end, so many emotions arise. This year marked the 20th anniversary of the festival and we celebrated in style. From the Spring festival in April 2023 to the Winter festival during this weekend just gone, the Literary Festival has worked its magic as it always does.

I began as a volunteer in Spring 2018. I was a steward based at the Palmerston Room in St. Johns. There is a photo of me floating around somewhere and I have a bunch of CLF tote bags draped across my arms. The smile on my face then only became wider and more heartfelt as the years went on. That year I have distinct memories of being introduced to the tales of Rumi, the feminist Laura Bates, the formidable Ruby Wax and the ever so inspiring Afua Hirsch. I was the very last person to speak to Afua Hirsch and tell her how important her words were to me. I had only heard of her then, she had just published Brit(ish) and her ideas resonated with me; the idea of occupying this liminal space, one of an identity that was never enough because it was too much no matter where she went really touched me. I felt too Greek living in England, too English when I'd be back home in Greece, I too felt like I was always too much yet never enough.

Something clicked in me that day that told me how significant this festival is and how I would want to be part of it for as long as I could. Being an English Literature student in Cambridge it only seemed natural that I become part of this community.

Winter 2018 came around and I managed to give a hand for a bit as I fell quite ill and couldn't assist for the whole weekend.

Spring 2019 was the life changing festival for me. I was managing the Green Room with an incredibly warm-hearted, caring woman who will always have a place in my heart. I do not even know where to begin with the highlights of this festival but the one thing that I will say is that it is the festival that made every life decision I made from 2014 until then make sense. You see, I dropped out of university in 2014 because I was going to end up graduating with a mark I believed I did not deserve and I did not want to finish my degree just for the sake of getting it. So, I dropped out one month before my thesis was due and said I will return when the time is right. I was meant to return in 2015 with my partner at that time, but I broke up with him and decided to pursue another dream of mine, working for Jamie Oliver. The time had come, however, in 2017, for me to finally set the wheels in motion to get that degree. September 2018 had me returning to Cambridge to complete the degree but to also make things right, which is how I found of the festival. Spring 2019 was the moment where dropping out and breaking up made sense. Had I not made those decisions then, I would not have had the magical moments of the Green Room I had then.

I shared a space with Ali Smith, Roger McGough, Malala's parents, Alex Clark, and all the great colleagues of mine from the festival . I was still quite unknown in the CLF circle but I think this festival is where I began to feel like I truly belong. There was a sacred moment, that Saturday night in the Green Room, which I will keep close to my heart forever. What I will share though is when I followed Roger McGough to the Babbage lecture theatre and he opened his reading with 'Take Comfort' at that moment I felt my heart crack and so many emotions ran through me.

I was in awe. I couldn't believe that someone like me became part of this incredible literary world. A world of imaginative geniuses whose ideas influenced me in so many ways, and a world where I'd come to meet so many more inspiring people, from speakers to colleagues.

Winter 2019 had me shifting gears from being a volunteer to a freelance Artist Liaison. I was given the responsibility to look after Goldsmith's Prize winner Lucy Ellmann. She was the first person I ever asked what experimental fiction meant to her and how she felt being associated with the Goldsmith's Prize, a question I then carried on asking every Goldsmith's Prize winner since. I was also fortunate enough to look after Booker Prize winner Bernadine Evaristo that winter festival.

The pandemic hit and things took a break but I swiftly returned to my duties in 2022. Winter 2022 gave me another sacred moment. Two authors, Francis Spufford and Jo Browning Wroe, who were regulars of mine at the coffee shop I managed, were speaking together for afternoon tea at the University Arms Hotel. We all sat in the Green Room of the hotel, with Alex Clark and took a selfie. I felt as though my life was beginning to come full circle at this point. These two authors were writing their books in my shop every day and now I was accompanying them to their talk. Alex Clark sat with me at our table, moved by this story and had me speak to the crowd that day about how important the festival is to me.

And so, this year marked the 20th anniversary of the festival, and also marked a festival I will never forget. I know I say this about every festival but this one was truly special. There is something so incredibly sacred about the Cambridge Literary Festival. The ideas that come from these conversations become part of who you are. The people you meet at this festival will stay with you throughout your entire journey, whether they are physically in your life or spiritually as a result of your interactions with them in those few days. The bonds created amongst the team are unbreakable. The memories truly unforgettable.

I am grateful to the entire team. I am grateful for the opportunity I have to be part of this world. An incredibly literary, inspiring world that has significantly shaped who I am today. I will cherish this festival my entire life. I will carry these memories in my heart and soul forever.

Thank you Cambridge Literary Festival LTD . Thank you for your love of books and thank you for letting me be part of your world.