NEWS OF FABULOUS BOOK FESTIVALS FROM CHELTENHAM AND ESSEX

I was delighted to be invited to the upcoming Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival this year, which I discovered,  is the longest-running festival of its kind in the world.  Started in 1949 by George Wilkinson, in conjunction with Tewkesbury-based author, John Moore, serving as its first director, its provenance is second to none. 

I would add that my own fabulous annual Essex Book Festival, which takes place throughout the month of March each year, is also a wonderful place to visit, also with a prestigious line-up of famous folk from all genres of contemporary literature and the Arts.

Yours truly and Lord Bragg at Essex Book Festival

But let's study the current Cheltenham bonanza of literature due to start tomorrow. What an amazing historical beginning when that famous actor of the past, Sir Ralph Richardson, born in Cheltenham, launched that first Festival, with Cecil Day-Lewis - another of my favourite  writer/poets - who taught at Cheltenham College - reading a selection of his favourite verse at that very first gathering. 

This 70th Anniversary Festival currently enjoys being sponsored by our national newspaper The  Times and Sunday Times as its 'title' sponsor: therefore making the full name of the Festival "The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival". 

The Festival's current Artistic Director is Sarah Smyth and its Festival Director is Jane Furze. The Festival prides itself in showcasing the biggest names from contemporary culture with award- winning authors, up-and-coming writing talent and controversial debate. The 2013 Literature Festival issued around 135,000 tickets and certainly remains one of the most prestigious literary events in the world. Each year, visitors look forward to the presentation of the Nick Clarke Award for the best broadcast interview, as well welcoming literary prize winners to discuss their most recent work. This Festival interprets the term "literature" widely, featuring writers in every genre, including a good number of journalists and politicians. 

The Festival's current Artistic Director is Sarah Smyth and its Festival Director is Jane Furze. The Festival prides itself in showcasing the biggest names from contemporary culture with award- winning authors, up-and-coming writing talent and controversial debate. The 2013 Literature Festival issued around 135,000 tickets. This Festival remains one of the most prestigious literary events in the world. The Festival also sees the presentation each year of the Nick Clarke Award for best broadcast interview, as well welcoming literary prize winners to discuss their most recent work. The term "literature" is interpreted widely, featuring writers in every genre, including a good number of journalists and politicians.

Described as a 'literary lovers dream', the Festival in past years, has hosted the talents of some of the world's leading novelists, poets, humorists, historians, philosophers, actors and politicians. Previous guests include:

DanTDM, Salman Rushdie, Zadie Smith, Ruth Rendell, Gordon Brown, Martin Amis, Judi Dench, Stephen Fry, Michael Palin, Ian Hislop, Stephen Hawking, Richard Hammond, Armando Iannucci, Rik Mayall, Rory Bremner, Jon Snow, Simon Schama, Michael Buerk, Bruce Parry, Sophie Dahl, Ian McEwan, Anne Enright, A. C. Grayling, Sebastian Faulks, Naomi Klein, Tony Benn, Terry Jones, Nick Hornby, Bob Geldof, Jeremy Paxman, Rupert Everett, Frank McCourt, Brenda Blethyn, Doris Lessing, Patrick Stewart, Toni Morrison, Ian Rankin, Kate Adie, Richard Attenborough, David Starkey, Antony Sher, Michael Parkinson, Terry Jones, Tony Robinson, Sandi Toksvig, Dawn French, Simon Armitage, Clive James, Ruth Rendell, Alexander McCall Smith, Bruce Parry, Ray Mears, Frank Skinner, Janet Street-Porter, Roger Moore, Tony Curtis, John Barrowman, Russell T Davies, Dave Gorman, Charley Boorman, Alexei Sayle, Mark Thomas, and Laura Ulewicz. What a lineup!

More news and views from the Festival will follow.