Thank you for drawing attention to the alarming Sunday night occurrence at the Corn Exchange, a "multimedia happening" which caused 12 people to collapse and scores more to experience feelings of nausea and dizziness.

Jane McMorrow, the festival producer, may well believe "it wasn't set up to make people faint" but staff were briefed to expect collapses and one bouncer was overheard joking about the need to keep gangways clear so "when you start falling over we can get you out easily". This seems to suggest her claim is far from the truth.

"Get ready for freefall", the nearest hint in the programme of what was to come, just isn't the same as telling us there is a strong chance we may pass out during the show, however loudly Ms McMorrow protests.

Neither did the warning leaflet she refers to contain any mention of this, referring instead to the pornographic imagery and violence we expect in the writing of Welsh and Palahniuk.

Mr Welsh, a delusional egotist, claims this is "an amazing reaction to his story", as though it were the power of his words made 12 people pass out that night.

I would suggest this was a cheap, tacky stunt designed to generate maximum publicity for an unpleasant concept.

Packing an audience into an unnecessarily small space after feeding them sickly iced cake, removing all through-air so temperatures climb, keeping them waiting a good hour and then subjecting them to an industrial ambient soundtrack would induce feelings of nausea in anyone.

The next time Messrs Welsh and Palahniuk find themselves looking forward to a pleasant night out, as I was on Sunday, they should take care not to book a table in my restaurant.

I may be tempted to serve them rancid food and, if it makes them feel ill, claim this as "an amazing reaction to the cuisine".

-Sarah Costelloe, Hove