ELEVENTH ESSEX BOOK FESTIVAL - photo credits Essex Book Festival

Yesterday was the long awaited Launch of the Essex Book Festival at which we met Joanna Trollope (interviewed at top by Dave Monk) and Lindsey Davis (the author just introducing her 20th adventure of the popular Roman sleuth, Falco), among many other writers. This particular Festival is guaranteed to bring creative people together, readers as well as writers. The Billericay Readers' group members were out in force (with chairman of Brentwood Writers' Circle, Colin Taylor doing a great networking job) and members of the Society of Women Writers and Journalists. Our lovely Val Dunmore, herself an author, came over from Surrey to represent the Society, as did Margaret Hoffman who again made a long journey to get to Chelmsford Library. These gatherings are great and I enjoy being a Patron of Essex Book Festival for the third year running. Now that we are launched, the events of individual authors, journalists and comedians will be taking place throughout March around the county. Do check out their dates and times at www.essexbookfestival.org.uk

pic credits: Essex Book Festival team

ESSEX BOOK FESTIVAL

Credit: Essex Book Festival 2010

Alastair Campbell, Barbara Stuttle and yours truly at the last event of the Essex Book Festival on Tuesday - a great evening!

The Essex Book Festival is over for another year. This one – the eleventh – has been the best yet. Over the last month, readers and writers have enjoyed meeting some of the most notable personalities from around the world. Haven’t room to features photos of all of our visiting speakers - have illustrated local newspapers -but here is a note about just some of the sixty who appeared this year.

Colchester welcomed many of our best British authors. Andrew Motion introduced his latest book of poems, The Cinder Path, and essay, Ways of Life: on Places, Painters and Poets. Rose Tremain also appeared in the town, as did Otto de Kat, our visiting Dutch author. Essex author, Nick Ardley gave us a touch of the sea with his book Salt Marsh & Mud – brilliant evening. Alexander McCall Smith appeared at Felsted and spoke about his eleventh book in The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency series published last month. Margaret Drabble was at Old Harlow; Mike Gayle and George Alagiah were brilliant at Loughton, and Brentwood publishers, Malcolm Burgess and Heather Reyes appeared with the fabulous Irish novelist Orna Ross during the St Patrick’s Eve celebrations and we had a great evening examining their latest book city-lit Dublin.

Germaine Greer appeared at Chelmsford, Francis Wheen at the Essex Record Office; Penelope Lively – one of my favourites – was top of the bill at Great Baddow; Robert Hallman, a brilliant writer and photographer enlivened Hadleigh; Barbara Erskine at Wickford and of course Maggie Gee at our own Billericay Library, all of whom gave brilliant performances. Alastair Campbell appeared at Brentwood’s Bishops Hill in Hutton, introduced by Barbara Stuttle CBE. The author outlined the background to his support for Time to Change, a campaign to end stigma around mental health.

ESSEX BOOK FESTIVAL 2009

ESSEX BOOK FESTIVAL 2009


Irma Kurtz, Melvyn Bragg and Andrew Summers (alongside John Debenham) will be appearing at the Essex Book Festival in March, along with dozens of great writers.


The Essex Book Festival celebrates its tenth birthday in March 2009. The Launch is at Chelmsford Library on Thursday 5 March. A superb list of authors and journalists will be speakers at venues all around Essex. The full Festival Programme will be available within 80 Essex libraries from the end of December. Box Office opens 5th January 2009

So far our top names include the following

* MELVYN BRAGG talking about the authors who inspired his writing
* JOAN BAKEWELL broadcaster and journalist
* ALISON WEIR presenting her best-selling novel THE LADY ELIZABETH
* KATE ATKINSON crime novelist
* JUSTINE PICARDIE talking about her haunting novel DAPHNE
* ADELE PARKS one of Britain’s best women’s fiction writers
* JOHN SUTHERLAND with Magic Moments, the books he loved in his childhood
* JONATHAN GASH whose popular hero Lovely has returned
* SOPHIE HANNAH psychological thriller writer
* JULIA JONES, biographer of Margery Allingham
* IRMA KURTZ talks about getting older with zest
* SIMON HEFFER Essex born journalist
* MARTIN NEWELL national poet
* CHARLES ELTON prize-winning scriptwriter and novelist
* JOJO MOYES super new young author

China figures largely in the Book Festival. We will welcome many Chinese writers such as novelists Chiew Siah Tei and Liu Hong appearing along with Xinran who gives a voice to the people of China in China Witness with performers from China Arts. Caroline Courtauld will be unveiling the secrets of the Forbidden City.

This 10TH ESSEX BOOK FESTIVAL will be the best yet.