The problem with setting up a beer-naming competition is that it’s way too popular. Last year was such a barrel of laughs (that’s the last half-joke from me, I promise) that already we’re getting emails and tweets asking about this year’s pun-off.
For those of you new to the game, every year our friends at Redemption Brewery in Tottenham create a special LitFest brew that we sell at our Town Hall and Library Gallery bars. As well as being great fun and a delicious beer from an award-winning brewery, it’s huge support for us, as sales go to supporting the costs of the festival as well as raising money for literacy initiatives.
The year Steven Berkoff unveiled the bust of Edgar Allen Poe in the place Poe studied (now The Fox Reformed), we had Casque of the Red Death. How we tittered. Then Alexei Sayle headlined at the Town Hall and someone came up with the excellent Alexei’s Ale. We tittered even more. Last year, we were offering support to the Mary on the Green campaign and decided that Mary Wollstonedraft was pretty much the only way to go.
This year, we’re not sure where people will find inspiration.
We’ve got music royalty gracing many of our venues. From The Kinks legend himself to JB Morrison from Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine and The Slits’ Viv Albertine, to Everything But The Girl’s Ben Watt, part-time Stoke Newington resident Thurston Moore (him out of that Sonic Youth) and American songster Willy Vlautin…
We’ve also got food writing legend Claudia Roden who’s inspired people from Yotam Ottolenghi to up-and-coming food bloggers.
We’ve got fiction writers who’ve got so many awards they can hardly close the doors of their garrets.
We’ve got the father of dub poetry Linton Kwesi Johnson.
We’ve got…tell you what, pour yourself a nice drink and go and browse the programme at http://www.stokenewingtonliteraryfestival.com/programme for some proper inspiration.
The winner gets two lovely pints of the beer they’ve helped name, plus VIP tickets to our Gala Evening opening on Friday 6th June featuring Mark Kermode and Josie Long & friends.
Email us your entries (please put BEER in the subject) to [email protected] by Monday 26th May for a chance to win!
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