We are joined by Joy Court, conference manager for the group to outline changing plans for the 2021 Conference and the rationale behind these.

It is with profound regret that we have to announce that we have had to cancel the live YLG national conference that would have been taking place on 17-19^th September in Torquay. This is not a decision we took lightly since we had received such superb support and backing from speakers and exhibitors, who were keen and willing to take part. Indeed, Exhibition bookings were at or above normal levels.

However, despite extending the Early Bird dates and despite the announcement of the Prime Minister relaxing restrictions it seems that people were still very reluctant to commit to travelling to a residential large-scale event such as a conference. Even the Prime Minister cannot deny the soaring rates of infection and so this attitude is completely understandable.

 We felt that it was financially irresponsible of us to gamble on numbers picking up over the summer and also felt that the location of the conference in Torquay meant that we were not surrounded by a highly populated area that might generate more day delegates. We also felt that it was morally wrong to accept the significant financial outlay by exhibitors and publishers supporting author attendance if we could not guarantee them our normal audience.

We have been extremely fortunate that the venue, the beautiful and historic Imperial Hotel in Torquay, have acted with great understanding for our position as a small charity and have agreed to release us from the contract and refund our deposit.

We realise this will be a huge disappointment to those of you who had booked and who were looking forward to the inspiration, comradeship and networking that we all so richly deserve after a tremendously difficult period.  We want to say a huge thank you for your support for YLG. Again, we are extremely grateful for the swift action from CILIP to repay in full all of those bookings.

The only good news we can offer is that we know that we can deliver a good virtual conference having done so very successfully last year and so I hope you will all be relieved and delighted to hear that we are fully intending to deliver as much as we can of the brilliant programme for Representations of Place- New Lands and New Ways of Looking as a virtual offering. Watch this space for details for how to book. 

I would also like to assure our colleagues in the South West region that we are still committed to bringing our conference to you as soon as it is viable to do so. We think that people need to re-establish the conference attending habit and so for 2022 we will be seeking a venue that is as central and accessible as possible.

We do firmly believe that our sector needs dedicated CPD about our specialism and that a residential conference provides so many benefits over and beyond the stimulating programme content. You never forget those inspirational speakers, meeting authors and illustrators and being able to pass on those enthusiasms to your young patrons, making professional contacts with colleagues and networking with publishers and partner organisations-  not to mention meeting like minded souls, fellow reading addicts and making friends for life! It can be a lonely job as a sole practitioner in a school library or as the only specialist in an authority and we all need positive reinforcement to do our jobs well.

However, we are all open to change and it maybe that the period we have been through will permanently alter how people want to access training. If you have any ideas or comments, we would love to hear from you. We are here to serve you, our members, after all! Please feel free to email me at events.ylg@cilip.org.uk