Over two lively days at Calverts Hotel, Newport, the inaugural Figarama: The Write Fair proved a vibrant celebration of the Isle of Wight’s writing community.
Poets take centre stage on day one
Hosted by Jean G-Owen and Naked Figleaf Press, the event transformed the venue into a bustling literary scene, with local author stalls, workshops, open mic sessions and book launches drawing writers and readers together.
The fair was shaped across two themed days. Friday’s Poets’ Day gave pride of place to spoken word performance and lyrical craft, with the pop-up stage running throughout the afternoon before an evening highlight: the launch of Kathryn Rossati’s A Year of Wild Verse, accompanied by WordSpokenSong. Kathryn captured the spirit of the event beautifully, calling Figarama “a brilliant gathering of creativity and words”.
A night of open mic and wild verse
The day closed with an open mic hosted by Cody Pevreall of VEX, where wordsmiths shared the stage in a room pulsing with rhyme, rhythm and verve.
Prose, nature writing and anthology launches on day two
Saturday’s Prose Day shifted towards fiction and nature writing, with the book fair continuing alongside workshops and another busy pop-up stage.
A key moment was the launch of the prose anthology Where Words & Wildlife Meet, the result of last year’s Biosphere Festival writing competition, celebrating the Island’s landscapes, biodiversity and creative voices.
Kathryn praised the anthology’s “range of subjects, genres and narrative styles, each piece highlighting a different facet of our gorgeous island.” Later in the evening came the launch of Fault Lines: 25 Unsettling Stories by 5 Island Writers, adding a darker and distinctly intriguing note to the prose programme.
‘A brilliant gathering of creativity and words’
The real magic of Figarama was in the buzz around the book tables, the exchange of ideas in workshops, the hush that fell whenever someone stepped up to the microphone, the warmth and support of Calverts’ staff and, of course, the free flow of fig rolls. It felt less like a first-time event and more like the beginning of a new literary tradition for the Island. As Kathryn so aptly put it: “bring on Figarama 2027”.
All books available from the Naked Figleaf Press website.
News shared by Jean on behalf of Naked Figleaf Press. Ed
