Saturday at DissCover
Posted on 4th May 2026
The first DissCover Book Festival got off to a grand start on the Friday. Following on from a well-attended walk in the afternoon, it was eyes down for a literary quiz at the Corn Hall, where Not So Great Expectations narrowly beat the Oxfam Vixens on a tie-break.
Saturday kicked off with Izzy Broom discussing the challenges of writing historical fiction for the first time. “The House of Hidden Letters” takes place on a Greek island. Exotic locations, she explained, are her USP. When pointed out that so was escape, and whether that might be autobiographical, she deftly swerved the question.
Kate Sawyer was more forthcoming; confirming her novel “Getting Away” was rooted in family history. Taking inspiration from her own family holidays, as well as authors as varied as Thomas Hardy and Kate Atkinson, the book charts the impact of time on issues as important as gay and women’s rights, but also when it stopped being compulsory to wear three-inch heels.
The next two speakers had something in common—they couldn’t stop laughing. In fairness to Lucy Vine, she is known for writing romantic comedies. She’s now turned to murder with “The Lottery Winner Widows Club”, but the laughs are reportedly still there. “Crim-com” was the audience suggestion.
As a historical fiction writer Jenni Keer may have less excuse to laugh, but that wasn’t about to stop her. Despite the discussion supposedly being about “The Peculiar Incident at Thislewick House”, it was largely composed of uproarious merriment and endless digression. That said, her thoughts on appropriate language, writing tribes, borrow not buy, and a good twist, were consistently engaging.
The evening session started with Kate Weston, who specialises in work geared towards young adults. Naming influences as diverse as Stephen King and Jilly Cooper, she baulked at the term “feminist horror”, but tackling coming-of-age issues through a genre that mixes murder and misogyny so effectively (so long as her reader’s don’t notice) it’s hard to avoid the conclusion that she is creating work of real significance.
The day closed with headliner Daisy Buchanan, who wants us to read ourselves happy, saying this from the perspective of someone who has suffered with anxiety and depression. Wary of suggesting it’s a magic bullet, she was nonetheless a keen advocate of so many authors it was easy to forget she is a literary force herself. Nevertheless, on the first full day of a book festival, it was fitting that the likes of Marian Keyes, Barbara Pym and William Boyd were so generously recommended. She may not have left much time to promote her own work, but she certainly demonstrated what good company she is.
Roll on Day Two of the festival.