On the occasion of its fifth anniversary, and just when fans thought it couldn’t get much better, WoW (World of Words) Gstaad Literature Festival outdid itself again. Settling into its new end-of-August date, the festival benefited from a fuller summer crowd on the weekend of 30–31 August as well as a significant increase in ticket sales to attendees with no previous connection to Gstaad, as well as returning regulars. WoW’s relatively new Event Organiser and Director of Marketing, Roel Paffen, played an important part in that growth — and so did one of this summer’s star authors, David Walliams.

Thomas D. Alexandrou-Gommes, Founder and Literary Director, with David Walliams.

Walliams, the television celebrity of Little Britain and Britain’s Got Talent, was a welcome addition to the diversity of author genres that attendees so often praise. Despite his on-screen fame, the greater relevance of his attendance at WoW Gstaad was his massive contribution to encouraging reading among children. Since he started writing for children, his books have sold over 60 million copies and been translated into more than forty languages. His Sunday-morning session at WoW Gstaad, delivered to a mixed audience of adults and children, did not disappoint; he had the crowd roaring with laughter, fascinated to hear his life experiences, and applauding throughout.

But David Walliams was far from the only big name this year. As in previous years, the festival showcased a stellar roster of authors from across the globe. The Booker Prize-winning author of Vernon God Little, DBC Pierre, in conversation with last year’s WoW Gstaad author Louise Doughty, captivated the audience with his inspirational words that even moved some to tears. WoW Gstaad board member Kyra Dupont-Troubetzkoy, a successful author in her own right, conducted a mesmerising interview with Académie française Prix du Roman winner Miguel Bonnefoy on the topic literature as need, not luxury.

Newcomer Matt Riordan, visiting all the way from Australia, thrilled listeners in a fast-paced discussion about fiction, nature and human Nature, as evidenced in his award-winning novel “The North Line”, about Alaskan fishermen. Another first this year was a presentation by Geneva-based influencer Martin Boujol on the timely topic of how we can use social media to actually inspire reading.

Since its inception, WoW Gstaad has been a festival limited to fiction authors, but this year organisers experimented with introducing a non-fiction author. Founder Thomas D. Alexandrou-Gommes explained the decision to invite Ben Macintyre, the best-selling author of numerous books about the SAS and World War II, as an opportunity to explore the overlap between fictional stories and real-world accounts. Judging by the audience’s reaction to Macintyre’s on-stage conversation with acclaimed screenwriter Will Smith, it was a good decision to include at least one non-fiction author.

Following the huge success of last year’s free, public-access Street Talk, the organisers again invited the father-daughter co-authors of “Madame Gstaad” to discuss their book and the history and development of Gstaad. Using the same format of WoW’s founder interviewing the von Siebenthal pair, the Sunday-afternoon session on the Promenade was again a hit. 

1 Kyra Dupont-Troubetzkoy
2 Louise Doughty with DBC Pierre
3 Miguel Bonnefoy
4 Will Smith with Ben Macintyre
5 Matt Riordan
6 Andrea and Gottfried von Siebenthal

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