The literature festival's most influential gathering of authors ever?

Possibly the most influential group of authors and publishers at a Cheltenham Literature Festival event ever gathered last week to discuss a topic within their grasp – the security of our very nation.

Dear Readers,

Welcome to your first edition of The Raikes Journal of the week. Those who have followed the social media channels business people keep their eyes on over the last few days will have seen numerous posts about Cheltenham Literature Festival, and some of them about a particular event at the Hub8 MX centre - that new building next to the town’s Minster.

We home in on what happened in that building on Thursday last week for today’s main story. What began as an attempt to report on all that was said at the event by everyone who was there has been stripped back somewhat (there was just too much!), but we hope our story reveals a little of what we think the bigger messages were from the afternoon.

And those messages point to what we big-up as a gathering of probably the most influential group of authors and publishers coming together in one room at the literature festival ever.

Some of those present will probably change your lives, very probably make them safer and more secure, and…