In the mailbox this week: a call for support from Melissa Harrison and some recommended reading from Andy Childs.

Mel writes:
I’m doing Literary Death Match next week (13th) and I’ve chosen to represent Caught by the River. That means that I will be attempting to win the tournament on CBTR’s behalf! I wonder if you would ask if your readers want to come along and support? It’s quite a fun, rowdy event and the more backing I have the more likely it is that I can win the crown for CBTR.
Melissa will be entering battle with words from Clay, her recently published debut novel and previous Caught by the River Book of the Month. If you are free in London on Wednesday night, go give her your support. Venue and ticket details can be found here.

Andy wrote in to say:
I thought you would be interested in the following article from Orion Magazine: Splendid Visions. A father turns to Wordsworth for advice on how to cultivate a child’s love of nature in the city.
He was right, it’s a good piece of writing and worth a look. The subject also chimes with a conversation we have been having with the National Trust to try and help them promote their Outdoor Nation project. More from us on that when it rolls out.

And we’ll end the post with news of events:

First of all thanks to everyone that attended last week’s Social Club at The Queen’s Head. Another top night in there we thought and Mathew Clayton’s apple tree spelling out its feelings will stay with us for sometime. Thanks also to to Tony Donoghue (Irish Folk Furniture), Michael Smith, Maxy Bianco (The Can House), Nina Walsh and poet-in-residence, Will Burns. And thanks to landlord Joe and his fantastic staff for running such a good boozer. Put 23 April in the diary for the next one. We’ll announce the programme and ticket info on the site in a couple of days.

And last week saw the first media announcement of Festival No 6, taking place once again in Portmeirion, Wales, in September. We’ll be back at the Estuary Stage curating the bill for the weekend with our friends from Faber Social. Full details to follow. Advance tickets here.