“Literary festival” is a rather odd notion. Literature and festivals are not the most natural of matches because the former invites the reader to withdraw with a book from everything else, while the latter invites people to leave seclusion behind and come together.

Of course, things are not quite so straightforward, for readers do not generally withdraw into the company of a book in order to remain isolated; instead, they do so to learn to connect better.

Connecting, as we know, is not an easy thing to do – it tends to happen in fits and starts, with twists and turns, zigzagging between the devil and the deep blue sea, sometimes straight into a rabbit hole. Here, a book can be helpful; a good book can cushion the fall or turn it into a somersault, a cartwheel, a headstand, a leap into the surprisingly familiar unknown.

This is why the HeadRead literary festival can be seen as a truly cosy yet expansive rabbit hole, where everyone finds something – be it a person or a book – that turns out to be surprisingly similar to them or delightfully different from them.