From Guest Blogger Gina Kershaw, @gmkershaw91.
Feminist literary website For Books’ Sake had their first event in Leeds on Monday for the internationally renowned World Book Night, where over a million free books are handed out across the globe. Taking place in Leeds Café 164, the event was a book style pub quiz with laughs, love and plenty of “I knew that!” moments throughout.
The event was organised and hosted by For Books’ Sake editors Jane Bradley and Alex Herod who have celebrated World Book Night in previous years. Last year they took to the streets of London with Margaret Attwood’s The Blind Assassin, were interviewed by the team behind The TV Book Club, and rounded it off with a meeting with the legendary Margaret Attwood herself.
Despite the event being the site’s first in Leeds, the café was full to the brim when 6 o’ clock rolled round, with six team’s huddle together aiming for the first place prize. Rounds such as ‘Sex, Drugs and Rock n Roll: Musical Memoires’, ‘YA Fiction’ and ‘First Lines’ from the WBN books, the questions were varied and challenging. My personal favourite part of the night was the bonus rounds: creating a horror book cover, and coming up with book title puns with food in mind.
While my team (aptly named The Motherbookers) may have only come in third place (with The Dream Team coming up tops), we lavished in our victory in the bonus puns round, with titles The Secret Diary of Adrian Fig-Roll and The Lamb-Shank Redemption amongst a huge list of puns resulting in the delicious prize of cake from Café 164.
After the quiz, everyone took a great deal of time foraging through the selection of free books up for offer, and the sale of For Books’ Sakes collaboration with Pulp Press, a book of pulp fiction stories from women around the country.
For Books’ Sake first venture into Leeds was a fabulous success, with Café 164 as the perfection location for some beer and cake fuelled gentle rivalry between all the teams involved. I hope For Books’ Sake will come to our beautiful city again soon!