3 unexpected things I learned from organising a literary festival

In October, I helped deliver the first Dandenong Ranges Literary Festival – the first festival for my area. 

It was incredible, the feedback was off the charts and the vibe on the day outstanding. We as a team can safely say that we knocked it out of the park. 

So what did I learn? 

This is a list that will go from post-festival back through time towards the actual organising bit, so it’s backwards, not forwards from festival inception. Just so you know. 

3 Unexpected things I learned from organising a literary festival 

1. RSD isn’t a thing when you’re complimented enough

This is such a weird thing to say, I know. Also, it is kinda embarrassing. (More on that in a minute!)

In the days after the festival, I waited for the RSD to drop. Like any seasoned AuDHD-er, I expected that I’d start to have random cringe moments, wake at 3am with the “Oh goddddd did I really say that?” dread, and generally wish I could hide under a rock for the rest of my existence. 

Did that happen? 

Nope. 

I had one thing that I thought I could do better, which was to introduce the books that the authors on the panel I moderated would be talking about, rather than just mentioning them in the authors’ bios. But I also recognised that that wasn’t a huge deal, and it was something I could incorporate into next year’s moderation if I do that role again. 

Once I realised I didn’t have RSD, of course I wanted to know WHYYYYYYYYYY. 

WHY, after this major event, did I not have crushing RSD? 

And after giving it a lot of time to percolate, I can only deduce that it was the sum of all the praise, delivered regularly and enthusiastically throughout the day, that made the difference. 

And this is where the slight embarrassment comes in: the praise wasn’t just a nice thing that happened a couple of times. It was CONSTANT. It was PERVASIVE. It was EVERYWHERE, and it happened as a steady stream. 

As someone who was called ‘selfish’ by adults in my life for much of my childhood (for normal childhood things), it began to be embarrassing on the day to field all that positive regard. 

But the corollary of that? 

RSD just… wasn’t a thing. 

Incredible. 

2. I genuinely really enjoy my fellow committee members

This might be obvious to other people, but it felt like a revelation to me. 

Things are nicer when you like the people you’re doing stuff with! 

The unusual thing about this scenario is that NONE of us on the organising committee knew each other before we started meeting to organise DRLF. We weren’t even acquaintances. 

I think this is what’s made it even more incredible, really: we started meeting, got to know each other, think the world of each other, and genuinely like hanging out together. 

We’ve even confessed we miss our meetings now we’re post-festival and not meeting several times a week to get the festival over the line! 

People joining the committee during the process did comment saying it looked like we’d been friends for years, and were always surprised to be told that we hadn’t known each other at all before organising LitFest. 

Moral of the story? Umm… dunno. Get lucky and hang out with great people who you like? Maybe? 

3. Build longevity into your planning 

This one is more practical, and hails from my time BC (Before Children) when I worked in corporate cultural change and consulting. 

WAY early in the LitFest planning process – after our very first meeting, in fact – myself and one other person met and created a 10-year Strategic Plan for the festival. This included aspects that dovetailed in with our local council’s forward planning documents and aims, and took into account the way we could already see LitFest growing over the years. 

It’s been an incredible resource to have at our fingertips for everything from grant applications to convincing local councillors that we’re serious about running this thing. 

It’s a great asset to have when planning, and can be changed and added to as needed. 

Also, a weird thing to note is that it’s much easier to create something like a Strat Plan and get it passed by a committee than it is to all agree on a name for a festival. We spent many, many meetings debating the festival name, but the meeting where we presented the Strat Plan? Passed immediately without any revisions. As they say, committees will argue about colours for years if allowed, but major decisions? Easy. 

I hope that this has given you something to think about, if not something to actually do. And as always, get in touch if you have any questions!