No probably not, but surely we should be looking to attract new people to the festival if we want it to continue to be a success. People regularly move to and from Folkestone which means our demographic is always changing and it would be wrong to think that everyone is just interested in fighting and not enjoying the good things our town has to offer. The number of people who attend the festival grows each year and we hope the new name will attract all those who enjoy books and reading, whether it be a light-hearted piece of chick lit or a much-loved English classic.
This is my site The Folkestone Gerald that I built in a frenzy of excitement when we first moved here sometime in '04. I'd been a regular visitor for a while before that but I am technically one of those Down From Londons you get now. This site was a lot more dynamic with a calendar of events and voting for favourite venues and things, and I hear it was a handy resource for those who were moving to the area. Now I've moved out of Folkestone again (though just a couple of miles) it doesn't get as much attention as it used to. Ironic really as The town is now becoming the exciting place we always thought it was about to become. I am not Gerald by the way, this comes from a pretend newspaper in an episode of The Day Today or something, the Portsmouth Gerald, and how there is a local paper here called the Folkestone Herald. Puns like this are GRATE aren't they? Do get in touch if you have anything to offer, email anythign @ this domain, or try @folkestone or @pauly on the twitter.