years of
FRI 27 FEB — SUN 8 MAR 2015 Bath Box Office 01225 463362 bathfestivals.org.uk
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Festival Partners
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Individuals & Trusts The Roper Family Charitable Trust Joyce Fletcher Charitable Trust Sandra Le Marchant Theresa Lloyd
2 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
Welcome
W
elcome to The Independent Bath Literature Festival 2015. It’s our 20th anniversary so we’re really pushing the boat out this year. In two decades the Festival has grown from a couple of dozen talks in 1995 to a tenday packed programme of more than 200 authors from all over the world. We’re thrilled to welcome back three truly great novelists as our stellar Anniversary Authors: Kazuo Ishiguro, Rachel Cusk and David Nicholls, all of whom appeared in Bath in 2005. We are particularly honoured to pay tribute to the star of the first Festival in 1995, arguably the greatest poet of the twentieth century, Ted Hughes. Then Poet Laureate, he appeared in front of a sold-out crowd in The Forum, one of his last major public events before his death in 1998. We return to The Forum on Saturday 28th February to recreate that magic with poet Frieda Hughes (Ted Hughes’ daughter), Downton Abbey star David Robb (he plays Dr Clarkson), acclaimed broadcaster and writer Melvyn Bragg, performance poet Kate Tempest and two of the original team who launched the Festival in 1995, writer Bel Mooney and broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby. As well as looking to the past, we look to the future. Our American Dream strand marks the Festival’s international connections and asks — as all great literature should — what’s next? And our Bliss Lectures ('Bliss is...') are back by popular demand with exclusive contributions from Lynne Truss, Fay Weldon, Kate Mosse and more. Here’s to the next twenty years!
Viv Groskop Artistic Director
Festival Bookshop, Guildhall Joining the 20th Anniversary celebrations are Waterstones (waterstones.com) who return as the official bookseller for The Independent Bath Literature Festival. Visit their Festival Bookshop in the Guildhall where a wide range of books will be available or relax at the Festival Café — what better place to spend some time between the 2015 Literature Festival events? Don’t forget to take your book along and get it signed at the end of each event. Also look out for satellite bookshops at the other Literature Festival venues.
Booking Dates: Become a member and beat the queues with priority booking (See page 56) Patrons Booking Friday 2 January 2015 Pen Friends Booking Friday 2 January 2015 Pen Pals Booking Friday 9 January 2015 General Booking Monday 19 January 2015
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Strands
Celebrate: 20th Anniversary
The American Dream
From Ted Hughes to Kazuo Ishiguro we celebrate key moments in the 20 year history of the Festival. Melvyn Bragg, Jonathan Dimbleby and more join us in tribute to Ted Hughes and Kazuo Ishiguro returns with his first novel in 10 years.
This strand marks the Festival’s international connections and asks what next? With elections in the US and UK coming up, a panel including BBC R4’s Justin Webb and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, debate The American Dream is Dead, chaired by Jon Snow. Sarah Churchwell explores the Dream’s literary origins and US comedian and New Act of the Year David Mills defends his homeland in America vs The World.
Bliss
Thought Leaders
The Bliss Lectures return by popular demand, featuring writers and thinkers talking about the one thing in life they’re most passionate about. From beekeeping and The Hunger Games to Turkey and The Sound of One’s Own Voice Uninterrupted, this year’s Bliss lecturers include John Carey, Kate Mosse, Elif Shafak, Lynne Truss and Fay Weldon
The most influential writers and thinkers of our time. Leading economist Gerard Lyons predicts twenty years of economic growth. Featuring Guest Curator Tim Harford’s picks: Diane Coyle on the GDP; The Financial Times’ Stefan Stern and The Guardian’s Zoe Williams in The Digital Debate: Have We Reached Overload?
Supported by our Creative Partner
Sponsored by
News and Current Affairs
Voices in the City
From Sarah Brown, wife of former PM Gordon, on Feminism and the Impact of the Digital Age to Liberty’s Shami Chakrabarti on human rights. The Guardian’s Polly Toynbee explores coalition politics in Cameron’s Coup: Taking Britain to the Brink. Have your say in our debate about the BBC. Explore Syria with John McHugo and discover modern China with Xiaolu Guo. Plus: Playing Big: Women, Leadership and Power.
From spine-tingling storytelling in Pin Drop, to cutting - edge spoken word, this exciting series brings literature to life. Hear local new talent at our Voices in the City stage and perhaps even get involved yourself.
Create
History
Join us at the Festival’s pick of the best creative workshops around. Create offers expert advice and hands-on experience for budding authors at every stage of the process, from Start That Novel through to Giving Characters a Voice and How To Promote Your Self-Published Book.
This strand takes us on a journey through time from the Middle Ages and the rule of the treacherous King John on to Thomas Cromwell, Napoleon and the Battle of Waterloo and into the 20th century, the Suffragettes and two World Wars. With Anita Anand, Tracy Borman, Tim Clayton, James Long, Andrew Roberts and Simon Schama.
Supported by our Creative Partner
Supported by our Creative Partner
Comedy
As Seen on Screen
A stellar line-up for our twentieth anniversary. See Ab Fab’s Helen Lederer and guests at our Alternative Comedy Night MC’d by Artistic Director Viv Groskop. Edinburgh Fringe favourites Austentatious are back in Bath by popular demand after last year’s sell-out performance. Our Comedy double bill includes An Audience with Omid Djalili and award-winning comics from around the globe in America Versus the World.
Meet all your TV favourites from the last 20 years — Celia Imrie (Best Exotic Marigold Hotel), Annette Badland (Eastenders), Helen Lederer (Absolutely Fabulous), Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan (This Morning, Richard & Judy), as well as Mary Portas (Mary, Queen of Shops) and David Robb (Downton Abbey).
4 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
Highlights P.
11
ALASTAIR CAMPBELL
P.
15
AUSTENTATIOUS
P.
24
THE NATIONAL CONVERSATION
P.
40
KAZUO ISHIGURO
P.
42
FEMINISM AND THE DIGITAL AGE
P.
13
TED HUGHES TRIBUTE
P.
17
DEBATE: THE AMERICAN DREAM IS DEAD
P.
36
GREAT BIG COMEDY NIGHT
P.
41
MARY PORTAS
P.
50
SIMON SCHAMA
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Big Bath Read
Small Wars
T
ake part in an exclusive book group on the Big Bath Read 2015, Sadie Jones’ Small Wars. Set in 1950s Cyprus, this is a compelling novel about a soldier whose life is on the brink of disaster. We will be hosting events in the run-up to the Festival — please check bathfestivals. org.uk for further details. And look out for our online discussion on goodreads.com.   Supported by
 
' Ambitious‌uncannily good at the evocation of charged moments' THE GUARDIAN
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Diary
Join the conversation @bathfestivals /bathfestivals
EVENING
7 — 8 pm Winners and How They Succeed: Alastair Campbell — In Conversation with Gavin Esler
MORNING
Masonic Hall
12.15 — 1.15pm Bonaparte and the British — Tim Clayton and Sheila O’Connell
3 — 4pm Napoleon the Great — Andrew Roberts
Other Venues 10am — 6pm The Chancery of Lost and Found (Milsom Place)
11am — 12pm Understanding China — The Country and The Myth
1.15 — 2 .15pm Martin Wolf
The Forum
Sat 28 Feb
Guildhall
AFTERNOON
Fri 27 Feb
Guildhall
1.15 — 2 .15pm Mark Bostridge — Vera Brittain and the First World War
12 — 1pm Ted Hughes: A Tribute
12 — 6pm Voices in the City (Southgate)
1 — 4pm Writing the Past, Present and Future: Setting the Scene (Holburne Museum)
2.15 — 3.15 Shami Chakrabarti
3 — 4pm The Secret History of the American Dream
3 — 4pm Austentatious
3 — 4pm Anna Freeman & Emma Hooper (Keynsham Library)
4.15 — 5.15pm Pin Drop 5 — 6pm 5 — 6pm Judy Finnigan: In Symbols of Conversation with Power Richard Madeley
EVENING
6.15 — 7.15pm Debate: The American Dream is Dead 7.30 — 8 .30pm Kate Mosse — Bliss is… Adventure Fiction
7.30 — 8 .30pm Syria at the Crossroads of History
5.30 — 6.30pm Music For Shakespeare (Victoria Hall, Radstock)
8 — 10pm Alternative Comedy Night: Ab Fab’s Helen Lederer & Guests
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Diary
MORNING
Masonic Hall
Other Venues
B AT H H A L F — M A R AT H O N 11am — 6pm The Chancery of Lost and Found (Milsom Place)
AFTERNOON
Sun 01 Mar
Guildhall
12 — 6pm Voices in the City (Southgate)
2 — 3pm Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary
3.15 — 4 .15pm Ben and David Crystal
3.15 — 4 .15pm Your Guide to Mindfulness
EVENING
4.30 — 5.30 The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets 5.45 — 6.45pm Michael Frayn: Matchbox Theatre — Thirty Short Entertainments
5.45 — 6.45pm Bath Debut Writers — Anna Freeman and Emma Hooper 7 — 8 pm Michelle Mone — My Fight to the Top
8.15 — 9.15pm James Naughtie
Other Venues
MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING
Mon 02 Mar
Guildhall
10am — 12pm Literary Walk: Beyond the North Gate
11am — 2pm How to Write a Novel and Not Let Life Get in the Way (Bath Central Library) 1 — 2pm King John — Treachery & Tyranny
1 — 2pm Jane Austen — E xcursions of Pleasure
3 — 4pm 20th Anniversary Event: The Twenty Best Books of the Past Twenty Years
3 — 4pm Gordon Bloor — How to Self - Publish
5 — 6.30pm The National Conversation: Fuelling Creative Minds with Meg Rosoff and Andrew Motion
5 — 6pm Outside of Language with Louise Stern
7.30 — 8 .30pm Lynne Truss: Bliss is... The Sound of One’s Own Voice Uninterrupted
12 — 2pm and 4 — 6pm The Chancery of Lost and Found (Milsom Place)
7.30 — 8 .30pm The Elephant in the Room
8 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
5 — 6pm George Prochnik on Stefan Zweig (BRLSI)
6.30 — 8 .30pm Literary Walk: Lost Inns and Beerhouses 8 — 10pm Poetry Slam (The Porter)
Diary Guildhall
Other Venues
AFTERNOON
12 — 4pm The Chancery of Lost and Found (Milsom Place)
1 — 2pm The History of Neuroscience —Ben Shephard
1 — 2pm Who Do You Think You Are?
3 — 4pm The Untold Story of Henry VIII’s Most Faithful Servant: Tracy Borman on Thomas Cromwell
3 — 4pm Leningrad: Siege and Symphony
EVENING
MORNING
11am — 2pm How to Promote Your Self-Published Book (Bath Central Library)
5 — 6pm Why do we need the BBC — Have Your Say
5 — 6pm Poetry — Blake Morrison
12 — 3pm Oldie Literary Lunch (Assembly Rooms) 2 — 4pm Literary Walk: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly — 2 5 Years On
7 — 8 .15pm The Darkest Hours (Midsomer Norton Library)
7.30 — 8 .30pm David Nicholls Other Venues
1 — 2pm Remarkable Plants that Shaped the World
1 — 2pm Fay Weldon: Bliss is… Editing
3 — 4pm David Kynaston
3 — 4pm Oliver Kamm — Accidence Will Happen
11am — 2pm Music While You Write (Bath Central Library)
12 — 2pm and 4 — 6pm The Chancery of Lost and Found (Milsom Place)
4.45 — 5.45pm Vita Sackville — West
Wed 04 Mar
MORNING
Guildhall
AFTERNOON
Tue 03 Mar
11am — 12pm World War One — James Long’s The Balloonist
EVENING
6 — 7pm Gerard Lyons — The Consolations of Economics 7.30 — 8 .30pm John Crace — A Short Guide to Modern Politics, the Coalition and the General Election
7.30 — 8 .45pm The Deepest Seas
AFTERNOON EVENING
Other Venues 11am — 12pm Centuries of Change
12.45 — 1.45pm John Carey — Bliss is… Beekeeping 2.30 — 3.30pm Elif Shafak — Bliss is… Turkey
2.30 — 3.30pm Matthew Plampin on Turner
4.15 — 5.15pm Emma Bridgewater: Toast & Marmalade and Other Stories
4.15 — 5.15pm The Rich
6 — 7pm The Digital Debate: Have We Reached Overload?
6 — 7pm Priya Parmar on Vanessa Bell
7.45 — 8 .45pm Cameron’s Coup: How the Tories Took Britain to the Brink
Komedia 10am — 5pm Sources of Culture: The Cafés of Europe
11am — 2pm Giving Characters a Voice (Bath Central Library)
12 — 7pm The Chancery of Lost and Found (Milsom Place) 2 — 4pm Literary Walk: Shopfronts & Ghost Signs
7.30 — 8 .30 In Conversation with Omid Djalili 9 — 10.30pm America vs. the World: The Great Big Comedy Night
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Thu 05 Mar
MORNING
Guildhall
8 — 10pm The Indigo Kings (Komedia)
Guildhall
Other Venues
MORN
11am — 12pm Jennifer Scott on Gold
11am — 2pm Start That Novel (Bath Central Library)
AFTERNOON
1 — 2pm Magna Carta — The Foundation of Freedom
EVENING
Fri 06 Mar
Diary
3 — 4pm George III 5 — 6pm GDP: A Brief But Affectionate History
5 — 6pm Sofka Zinovieff: The Mad Boy
7.30 — 8 .30pm Kazuo Ishiguro
7.30 — 8 .30pm The Knackered Mother’s Wine Club
MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING
Sat 07 Mar
Guildhall
Mineral Hospital
11am — 12pm Mary Portas: Shop Girl
11am — 12pm Mr & Mrs Disraeli
1 — 2pm Feminism and the Impact of the Digital Age with Sarah Brown, Sarah Bailey and Suzanne Moore
1 — 2pm Rick Stroud on Patrick Leigh Fermor
3 — 4pm John Maynard Keynes
3 — 4pm Fashion on the Ration
5 — 6pm The Rise of Chinaphobia: Christopher Frayling
5 — 6pm The Pushkin House Russian Book Prize: Shortlist 5.15 — 6.15pm Announcement Åsne Seierstad
7.30 — 8 .30pm Linda Grant and Sadie Jones
7.30 — 8 .30pm Inside the Kremlin: Catherine Merridale
MORNING AFTERNOON EVENING
7 — 9 pm Salon London — Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll in the 20th Century (Holburne Museum)
Holburne Museum
Other Venues 10.30am9.30pm Bath Poetry Café (BRLSI)
12.15 — 1.30pm Moving on in Self - Publishing
7.30 — 8 .30pm Alison Weir
11am — 12pm Big Bath Read 2015 — Sadie Jones’ Small Wars
1 — 2pm Annette Badland reads: Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth
1 — 2pm How to Win a Novel Award
3 — 4pm Playing Big: Women, Leadership and Power
3 — 4pm Around the World in 10 Books — Scott Pack and Ann Morgan
5 — 6pm Simon Schama: The Story in History
5 — 6pm Poetry: Rachael Boast and Chrys Salt
11am — 12pm Antonia Fraser: My history (Theatre Royal)
3 — 5pm Literary Walk: Trains and Boats and Planes
7 — 8 pm A Product Of Their Time? Modern British Art in Context
Mineral Hospital
11am — 12pm Celia Imrie
10am — 6pm The Chancery of Lost and Found (Milsom Place)
1 — 4pm Poetry Workshop with Chrys Salt
2.15 — 3.15pm Mark Cocker and Tim Dee
Guildhall
Sun 08 Mar
12 — 6pm The Chancery of Lost and Found (Milsom Place)
1 — 2pm The Poets’ Daughters — Katie Waldegrave
7.308.30pm Inside Out (the egg)
Other Venues 10.30am — 12.30pm Literary Walk: Bath’s Forgotten Romantics
12.15 — 1.15pm Margaret Heffernan
4.15 — 5.15pm The Bletchley Girls — Tessa Dunlop 6.15 — 7.15pm Jon Ronson
7.30 — 8.30pm Truth in Writing — Rachel Cusk and Andrew O’Hagan
10 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
11am — 2pm The Family Project Workshop (Bath Central Library)
11am — 6pm The Chancery of Lost and Found (Milsom Place)
' A fluent and industrious reporter, with amazing stamina' THE TELEGRAPH
Winners and How They Succeed: Alastair Campbell 7 — 8pm Guildhall / A1 £9 (£8) As the election date fast approaches, political strategist and best-selling author Alastair Campbell discusses the psychology behind a winning mindset. Always fascinating, always controversial, Campbell is a charismatic and unmissable speaker. In conversation with BBC News presenter Gavin Esler. Sponsored by
Join the conversation @bathfestivals /bathfestivals
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Join the conversation @bathfestivals /bathfestivals
The Chancery of Lost and Found 10am — 6pm Milsom Place Free For those who know where to look, there is a place between the streets — The Chancery of Lost and Found. Come and join writer Alice Maddicott to create your own imaginary Bath, drop off memories, photos or objects for our collaborative installation, and explore as the Chancery becomes a wonderful literary archive for the city. Open every day, look out for times throughout the brochure. More info see page 53.
Voices in the City 12 — 6pm Southgate Free
THOUGHT LEADERS
Understanding China, the Country and the Myth 11am — 12pm Guildhall / B1 £8 (7) Author and film-maker Xiaolu Guo called her most personal novel to date, I Am China, a 'goodbye love letter to China'. She is joined by Anne Witchard, whose research investigates changing perceptions of China in Britain, as they talk to Isabel Hilton about our understanding of one of the most influential countries in the world. Sponsored by
12 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
A place to hear the fresh new voices of Bath as they perform their latest spoken word poetry and song, be inspired by the latest talent from Bath Spa University and perhaps even perform yourself! We have a limited number of slots available for local spoken word artists and musicians, if you would like to take part please send an example of your work to: voices@bathfestivals. org.uk. Supported by our Creative Partner
Saturday 28 February
Melvyn Bragg
Ted Hughes at the first Bath Literature Festival in 1995
Jonathan Dimbleby Bel Mooney Kate Tempest
CELEBRATE: 20TH ANNIVERSARY
Ted Hughes: A Tribute 12 — 1pm Forum / B2 £15 (£12)
Frieda Hughes David Robb
This time twenty years ago Poet Laureate Ted Hughes held an audience spellbound in The Forum at the first Bath Literature Festival. We pay tribute to Hughes’ genius and the role of poetry in our lives with poet Frieda Hughes (daughter of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath), Downton Abbey actor David Robb, acclaimed broadcaster and writer Melvyn Bragg, Mercury Prize-shortlisted performance poet Kate Tempest and broadcaster Jonathan Dimbleby. Hosted by writer Bel Mooney, one of the original founders of the Festival. Sponsored by
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Saturday 28 February
Bonaparte and the British — Tim Clayton and Sheila O’Connell 12.15 — 1.15pm Masonic Hall at Old Theatre Royal / B3 £8 (£7) Marking the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, this talk features contemporary satirical illustrations. Co-curator of Bonaparte and the British exhibition, award winning and bestselling author Tim Clayton informs and inspires in this illustrated talk with co-writer Sheila O’Connell.
CREATE
Writing the Past, Present and Future: Setting the Scene 1 — 4pm Holburne Museum / B4 £30 (£28) His debut novel Boy A won him the Waverton Award and John Llewellyn Prize. Jonathan Trigell created a dystopian thriller with Genus. In his new novel The Tongues of Men or Angels he explores the life of Jesus Christ. Learn how to research and reflect the past, present and future in fiction in this exclusive workshop. Supported by our Creative Partner
RECOMMENDS
NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS THOUGHT LEADERS
Martin Wolf 1.15 — 2 .15pm Guildhall / B5 £9 (£8) In The Shifts and the Shocks, the Financial Times’ Martin Wolf — one of the world’s most influential economic commentators and author of Why Globalization Works — presents his controversial and highly original analysis of the economic course of the last seven years: ‘A powerful and important perspective’ — The Independent. Sponsored by
14 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
Shami Chakrabarti 2.15 — 3.15pm Masonic Hall at Old Theatre Royal / B6 £9 (£8) The inspiring director of campaigning organisation Liberty (and one of the eight bearers of the Olympic Flag at the 2012 opening ceremony) puts forth an impassioned defence of human rights, based on her critically acclaimed book On Liberty. 'Chakrabarti holds power to account with poise and quick intelligence.' — The Observer.
Saturday 28 February
Mark Bostridge — Vera Brittain and the First World War 1.15 — 2 .15pm Guildhall / B7 £8 (£7) The tragic events of the First World War left Vera Brittain with a lifelong commitment to pacifism and resulted in her book Testament of Youth, one of the most important works of war literature by a British woman. Mark Bostridge, Vera’s biographer, tells the story of this remarkable woman who fought personal calamity with a passionate plea for peace.
Anna Freeman and Emma Hooper 3 — 4pm Keynsham Library / B8 £5 Two debut novelists from the esteemed Creative Writing MA at Bath Spa University engage in conversation about their books, their path to publication and what they’ve learned along the way. Emma Hooper’s Etta and Otto and Russell and James is 'an irresistibly enchanting debut novel'–Booklist. Anna Freeman’s The Fair Fight 'is a cracking debut' — Sunday Express.
COMEDY
Austentatious 3 — 4pm Forum / B9 £15 (£12)
THE TIMES
T H E G UA R D I A N
The first event to sell out on our programme last year, comedy players Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel return to Bath by popular demand. From Mansfield Shark to Darcy & Hutch, no two shows are the same. Eloquent, irreverent and 100% improvised. 'Constant wit and verve' — The Times. 'The most enjoyable 60 minutes on the Fringe' — The Guardian.
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Saturday 28 February AMERICAN DREAM
The Secret History of the American Dream 3 — 4pm Guildhall / B10 £8 (£7) ‘The American Dream’ is a phrase that most people assume stretches back to the founding of America. Sarah Churchwell, Professor of American Literature and Public Understanding of the Humanities at the University of East Anglia and author of Careless People: Murder, Mayhem and the Invention the Great Gatsby, explores this clichéd catchphrase, its beginnings and how it’s changed to define our society today.
HISTORY
Napoleon the Great — A ndrew Roberts 3 — 4pm Guildhall / B11 £9 (£8)
' Impressive... A masterly analyst' THE ECONOMIST
Vive l’Empereur! From Andrew Roberts, awardwinning author of Sunday Times best-seller The Storm of War, comes the definitive modern biography of Napoleon, based on the Emperor’s 33,000 letters. In the space of just twenty years, Napoleon transformed France and Europe and reinvented the modern art of warfare.
VOICES IN THE CITY
Pin Drop 4.15 — 5.15pm Masonic Hall at Old Theatre Royal / B12 £8 (£7) The spine-tingling Pin Drop returns to Bath by popular demand: 'Short stories against the backdrop of striking locations.' Pin Drop founder and novelist Elizabeth Day is joined by Ben Okri (The Age of Magic) and Polly Samson (The Kindness), as they read from favourite short stories. 'The perfect antidote to the soundbite culture' — William Boyd.
16 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
Music for Shakespeare 5.30 — 6.30pm Victoria Hall, Radstock / B13 £6 (£5) Inspired by the great Georgian thespian and champion of the Bard’s work David Garrick, singers and instrumentalists from Bath Spa University’s Georgian Band perform settings of Shakespeare’s work to music.
Saturday 28 February
AS SEEN ON SCREEN
Judy Finnigan: In Conversation with Richard Madeley 5 — 6pm Guildhall / B14 £9 (£8) Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan first appeared on our screens on ITV’s This Morning in 1988. In 2001 they launched their hugely successful Book Club. Richard talks to his wife and co-host about a television career spanning three decades and her second novel, I Do Not Sleep. Sponsored by
Symbols of Power 5 — 6pm Guildhall / B15 £8 (£7) The British Museum curator of modern money, Tom Hockenhull, presents his theory on the Ten Coins That Changed The World. Full of facts and stories, illustrated with images from the British Museum and beyond, this is an illuminating account of world currencies and the crucial role they play in our world.
AMERICAN DREAM
Debate: The American Dream Is Dead 6.15 — 7.15pm Forum / B16 £15 (£12) A robust debate about capitalism and aspiration in the wake of global financial collapse. Channel 4’s Economics Editor Paul Mason and The Independent’s Yasmin Alibhai-Brown argue that America’s cultural and economic dominance is over. Justin Webb, BBC Radio 4 presenter and former BBC North America editor, and Sarah Churchwell, Professor of American Literature, contend that the dream is still alive. Chaired by Channel 4’s Jon Snow.
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Saturday 28 February
BLISS
Kate Mosse — Bliss is... Adventure Fiction 7.30 — 8 .30PM Guildhall / B17 £9 (£8) Kate Mosse, bestselling author of The Winter Ghosts, Citadel and Labyrinth and writer of new and enthralling novel The Taxidermist's Daughter, speaks on her love of the mysterious genre of adventure fiction — from Rider Haggard to The Hunger Games — and its ability to sweep its readers into unknown worlds. Supported by our Creative Partner
COMEDY NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS
Syria at the Crossroads of History 7.30 — 8 .30pm Guildhall / B18 £8 (£7)
John McHugo, author of Syria: From The Great War To Civil War ('Enlightening' — Robert Fisk) and Diana Darke, author of My House In Damascus: An Inside View Of The Syrian Revolution ('an eclectic encyclopedia of Syrian history' — TLS), discuss the country’s future.
Alternative Comedy Night: Ab Fab’s Helen Lederer and guests 8 — 10pm Masonic Hall at Old Theatre Royal / B19 £12 (£10) Helen Lederer (Absolutely Fabulous, French & Saunders, Love Soup) headlines a night of improv and sketch comedy from the best of the London circuit. MC’d by the Festival’s Artistic Director Viv Groskop ('Viv is brilliant' — Jo Brand), the line-up features awardwinning Gerry Howell ('a young Eddie Izzard' — The Guardian), Edinburgh Best Newcomer Cariad Lloyd (Comedy Central’s Give Out Girls, BBC Radio 4’s The Now Show) and more. Sponsored by
RECOMMENDS
18 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
Bath Half Marathon takes place on Sunday 1 March. This exciting event attracts a lot of supporters to the city so please allow more time to get to your event. Local road closures and parking suspensions will be in place. Alternative routes will be sign posted. For further details on how this could affect your journey please visit bathfestivals.org.uk/literature/bathhalf
Voices in the City 12 — 6pm Southgate Free A place to hear the fresh new voices of Bath as they perform their latest spoken word poetry and song, be inspired by the latest talent from Bath Spa University and perhaps even perform yourself! We have a limited number of slots available for local spoken word artists and musicians, if you would like to take part please send an example of your work to: voices@bathfestivals. org.uk.
' A remarkable untold true story' WILLIAM DALRYMPLE
Join the conversation @bathfestivals /bathfestivals
Supported by our Creative Partner
RECOMMENDS
HISTORY
Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary The Chancery of Lost and Found 11am — 6pm Milsom Place Free For more info see page 53.
2 — 3pm Masonic Hall at Old Theatre Royal / C1 £8 (£7) The story of a princess in exile who became one of the most charismatic figures in the suffragette movement. BBC Radio 4 presenter Anita Anand reveals the life of Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, heir to the Kingdom of the Sikhs, exiled in the early 1900s to the Victorian court.
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Sunday 1 March
Ben and David Crystal 3.15 — 4 .15 / Guildhall / C2 / £9 (£8) 'He says bath, while she says bahth. You say potayto. I say potahto.' Setting aside the fact that no-one has ever actually said potahto, actor Ben Crystal (best-selling author of Shakespeare on Toast) and his linguist father present a hilarious and fascinating deconstruction of the world of accents. An unmissable celebration of all the eccentricities of spoken English.
Your Guide to Mindfulness
The Simpsons and Their Mathematical Secrets
3.15 — 4 .15pm Guildhall / C3 £8 (£7)
4.30 — 5.30pm Masonic Hall at Old Theatre Royal / C4 £8 (£7)
Why are levels of anxiety and stress rising faster than ever before? Clinical psychologist Linda Blair explores ways to achieve serenity through exercises from her new book, The Key to Calm, teaching you how to find the balance, purpose and tranquillity you seek and enable you to find calm. ‘ Life-enhancing ideas’ — Good Housekeeping.
Simon Singh (author of Fermat’s Last Theorem) reveals how a team of mathematically gifted writers have covered everything from calculus to geometry, from pi to game theory, and from infinitesimals to infinity in various episodes of The Simpsons. 'Great mathematics stories' — New Scientist.
Bath Debut Writers — Anna Freeman and Emma Hooper 5.45 — 6.45pm / Guildhall / C5 / £8 (£7) Two debut novelists from the esteemed Creative Writing MA at Bath Spa University engage in conversation about their books, their path to publication and what they’ve learned along the way. Emma Hooper’s Etta and Otto and Russell and James is 'an irresistibly enchanting debut novel' — Booklist. Anna Freeman’s The Fair Fight 'is a cracking debut' — Sunday Express. Fancy reading our Bath Debuts with your book group? We have a limited number of free copies available — email info@bathfestivals.org.uk for your free copy and join the conversation on @Bathfestivals or on goodreads.com in our Bath Literature Festival 2015 online book group. Supported by our Creative Partner
20 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
Sunday 1 March
Michael Frayn: Matchbox Theatre — Thirty Short Entertainments 5.45 — 6.45pm Guildhall / C6 £9 (£8) Michael Frayn, one of Britain’s greatest dramatists (Noises Off, Copenhagen), discusses his extraordinary new book Matchbox Theatre — thirty dazzling dialogues and monologues to be played in the smallest theatre of all: your own imagination. 'Genius' — Financial Times. Sponsored by
THOUGHT LEADERS
Michelle Mone — My Fight to the Top 7 — 8pm Masonic Hall at Old Theatre Royal / C7 £8 (£7) MIchelle Mone grew up in a onebedroom flat in Glasgow and left school at 15 with no qualifications. She is now one of the UK’s most successful female entrepreneurs as founder of lingerie brand Ultimo. Launching her autobiography My Fight to the Top, she talks intimately about her life and unstoppable work ethic with Artistic Director Viv Groskop. Sponsored by
James Naughtie 8.15 — 9.15pm Guildhall / C8 £9 (£8) The broadcaster and writer talks about his most recent foray into fiction. Set in 1968, Paris Spring (prequel to The Madness in July) follows young spy Will Flemyng as he navigates a city alive with talk of revolution and has to face the most complicated relationship in his life — with his younger brother. Sponsored by
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CREATE
Literary Walk: Beyond the North Gate 10am — 12pm Streets of Bath (meeting place on ticket) / D1 £9 (£8) Beyond Bath’s city walls lay streets where traces of medieval industry and Roman settlement still survive. Join Andrew Swift and Kirsten Elliott on a walk through one of the most fascinating but lesser-known parts of Bath. (Note: The route includes steps).
How to Write a Novel and Not Let Life Get in the Way 11am — 2pm Bath Central Library / D2 £30 (£28) Do you know the feeling — you sit down with the full intention of writing the next chapter or even the next paragraph, but life gets in the way? Learn from Costa First Novel Award shortlisted writer Nikesh Shukla (Meatspace, Coconut Unlimited) about how to focus on your writing, find time and stay motivated. Supported by our Creative Partner
22 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
The Chancery of Lost and Found 12 — 2pm and 4 — 6pm Milsom Place Free For more info see page 53.
Monday 2 March
HISTORY
Jane Austen — Excursions of Pleasure 1 — 2pm Guildhall / D3 £8 (£7) Hazel Jones, author of Jane Austen’s Journeys, will follow Jane Austen, her characters and contemporaries as they travel along the turnpike roads of Regency England, on excursions of pleasure to admire picturesque scenery and grand houses, spa towns and seaside resorts, calling en route at good, bad or deplorable coaching inns.
King John — Treachery & Tyranny 1 — 2pm Guildhall / D4 £8 (£7) Historian and bestselling author Marc Morris brings us the first major biography of King John for a generation. Discover the formidable and cunning, the lecherous and treacherous in this compelling talk on one of Britain’s most notorious monarchs, his hunger for the crown and his inevitable downfall.
CELEBRATE: 20TH ANNIVERSARY
20th Anniversary Event: The Twenty Best Books of the Past Twenty Years 3 — 4pm Guildhall / D5 £9 (£8) Year by year, what are the must-reads of the past two decades? From Martin Amis’ The Information (1995) and Ian McEwan’s Atonement (2001) to Zoe Heller’s Notes on a Scandal (2003) and Hilary Mantel’s Bring Up the Bodies (2012), Artistic Director Viv Groskop and guests discuss twenty titles that stand the test of time. Supported by our Creative Partner
Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 23
Monday 2 March
Gordon Bloor — How to Self-Publish
Outside of Language with Louise Stern
3 — 4pm Guildhall / D6 £8 (£7)
5 — 6pm Guildhall / D7 £8 (£7)
Local author Gordon Bloor has found self-publishing success with his trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels, tracing the development of Bath from The Second World War to the present day. He reveals the story behind his best-seller Go Swift and Far to publishing PR specialist Alastair Giles.
London-based artist and writer Louise Stern grew up in Freemont, California, and is the fourth generation deaf in her family. Her debut novel Ismael and His Sisters is set in a Mexican deaf community and is an extraordinary analysis of the way we experience the world and the barriers we build out of language.
Sponsored by
The National Conversation: Fuelling Creative Minds with Meg Rosoff and Andrew Motion 5 — 6.30pm Guildhall / D8 £9 (£8) Best-selling author Meg Rosoff (How I Live Now) asks what’s happening to English Literature in schools and wonders at the consequences at devaluing creativity in education. Join Meg, former Poet Laureate, Andrew Motion and esteemed panellists in this fifth National Conversation debate on the value of reading and writing.
24 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
Monday 2 March
George Prochnik on Stefan Zweig
Literary Walk: Lost Inns and Beerhouses
The Elephant in the Room
5 — 6pm BRLSI / D9 £8 (£7)
6.30 — 8 .30pm Streets of Bath (meeting place on ticket) / D10 £9 (£8)
7.30 — 8 .30pm Guildhall / D11 £8 (£7)
In the early 1930s Stefan Zweig was the most widely translated living author in the world. By 1934 he was living in exile, at one point in Bath. In 1942 he committed suicide. As Zweig’s brilliance is rediscovered (his fans include historian Antony Beevor and actor Colin Firth), New York-based biographer George Prochnik presents a compelling insight into a lost world. 'Fascinating' — Vogue.
Join Andrew Swift and Kirsten Elliott, authors of The Lost Pubs of Bath, as they head out of the city along Walcot Street in search of some of the city’s lost inns and beerhouses. (Note: The route includes steps).
Author Nikesh Shukla (Meatspace) talks to Niven Govinden (All the Days and Nights) and Sathnam Sanghera (Marriage Material) about writing, their influences, and their struggles with being pigeon-holed as British Asian authors in a society that only wants to know their thoughts on race and immigration. We promise — no mention of frangipani, arranged marriages or oppressive mothers!
' The best in humorous writing' DAILY TELEGRAPH RECOMMENDS
BLISS
VOICES IN THE CITY
Lynne Truss: Bliss is... The Sound of One’s Own Voice, Uninterrupted
Poetry Slam
7.30 — 8 .30pm Guildhall / D12 £9 (£8) Continuing our much-loved series of Bliss Lectures. Brilliant writer and thinker Lynne Truss, author of grammar nerds’ bestseller Eats, Shoots and Leaves, chooses a typically idiosyncratic topic. She promises 'a bit of lightweight philosophy on whether one actually exists or not.' Supported by our Creative Partner
8 — 10pm The Porter / D13 £3 Bringing you cutting-edge wordsmiths and the best live poetry, the festival’s Poetry Slam is sure to be an electrifying night of spoken word. Hosted by the brilliant Rebecca Tantony and featuring Vanessa Kisuule, the Hammer & Tongue National Slam Champion. Join in and help us raise the roof! Supported by our Creative Partner
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CREATE
How to Promote Your Self-Published Book
World War One — James Long’s The Balloonist
11am — 2pm Bath Central Library / E1 £30 (£28)
11am — 12pm Guildhall / E2 £8 (£7)
After yet another painful rejection by a literary agent, Flic Everett decided to selfpublish The Only Friends You Need in 2010 — with much success, reaching No 1 in the Kindle charts. Join her for this workshop and learn how to promote your self-published work successfully.
Former BBC correspondent and now author James Long talks about his sweeping World War One tale The Balloonist. Lieutenant Willy Fraser is a frontline balloon observer, hanging under a highly explosive gasbag. An accident leads him to seek refuge with Belgian farmers beyond enemy lines — an event that will change his life forever.
26 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
The Chancery of Lost and Found 12-4pm Milsom Place Free For more info see page 53.
Tuesday 3 March
Oldie Literary Lunch 12pm — 3pm Assembly Rooms / E3 £62.50 (incl. 3 course lunch, ½ bottle of wine) The Oldie, ‘Britain’s most original magazine’, has hosted a monthly literary lunch since the beginnings of the Bath Literature Festival in 1995. Join deputy editor Jeremy Lewis for this 3-course anniversary lunch as he talks to bestselling author Mark Ellen (How Rock Stars Stole My Life), Guardian reporter Matthew Engel (Engel’s England) and esteemed lecturer Neville Gwynne (Gwynne’s Grammar).
Literary Walk: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly – 25 Years On 2 — 4pm Streets of Bath (meeting place on ticket) / E6 £9 (£8) One of the first walks Kirsten Elliott did for Bath Festivals was ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ — a critique of Bath’s architecture old and new. Twenty-five years on, she joins up with Andrew Swift to look at what’s changed, and point out some of the entries in her forthcoming book, Bath’s 101 Best Buildings.
The History of Neuroscience
Who Do You Think You Are?
1 — 2pm Guildhall / E4 £8 (£7)
1 — 2pm Guildhall / E5 £8 (£7)
In Headhunters, producer and author Ben Shephard explores how the discoveries of four men over 120 years ago marked the beginning of modern neuroscience. An intellectual and compelling history of the search for a science of the mind. 'Arrestingly original and beautifully written' — John Gray, Literary Review.
In celebration of the 10th anniversary and 100th episode of the BBC series Who Do You Think You Are? comes this guide from author Dan Waddell on how to trace your own genealogy. A practical step by step guide with helpful hints and tips to start you on your own investigation into your family line.
HISTORY
Leningrad: Siege and Symphony
The Untold Story of Henry VIII’s Most Faithful Servant: Tracy Borman on Thomas Cromwell 3 — 4pm Guildhall / E7 £8 (£7) He is known to millions as the leading character in Hilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall. But who was the real Thomas Cromwell? Hear this acclaimed historian’s take from the Chief Curator for Historic Royal Palaces. 'A deeply researched and grippingly written biography' — The Independent.
3 — 4pm Guildhall / E8 £8 (£7) Only 20 of the 100 members of Leningrad Orchestra had survived the German blockade of their city to play the first ever performance of Shostakovich’s Seventh Symphony. Brian Moynahan writes a moving account of that moment and the tragedy that preceded it. 'It’s hard to read his gripping, skillfully woven account without emotion'— Stephen Walsh, The Spectator.
Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 27
Tuesday 3 March
NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS
Poetry: Blake Morrison
Why Do We Need The BBC? Have Your Say
5 — 6pm Guildhall / E10 £8 (£7)
5 — 6pm Guildhall / E9 £9 (£8) We take pride in the BBC’s creative output and its huge success worldwide — but what about recent criticism of news coverage? Are we still happy to pay the licence fee? Put your questions about the past, present and future of the Beeb to its official historian Jean Seaton, openDemocracy’s David Elstein and The Guardian’s Charlotte Higgins. Chaired by Nick Higham.
In his first full-length collection for nearly thirty years, Shingle Street sees Blake Morrison in blistering form. Follow the poet, novelist, critic, journalist and librettist on a voyage through his latest work remembering the dear and departed and laying bare pressing political issues.
VOICES IN THE CITY
CELEBRATE: 20TH ANNIVERSARY
The Darkest Hours
David Nicholls
7 — 8 .15pm Midsomer Norton Library / E11 £6 (£5) Enjoy stories springing from the rich oral tradition of The British Isles. Explore the varied landscape of the human condition through wonder tales, ballads and music, devised and performed by David Metcalfe, Beth Porter and Richard Selby. The first of two storytelling events, each with its own unique content.
7.30 — 8 .30pm Guildhall / E12 £9 (£8) From story to silver screen, come and hear one of Britain’s most talented screenwriters, David Nicholls, author and screenplay writer of Starter for Ten and One Day, talk about his most recent, Bookerlonglisted novel Us. Covering nine countries and twenty-five years, Us is epic and intimate, funny and heart-breaking. 'A sad, funny, soulful joy of a book' — The Observer. Sponsored by
28 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
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CREATE
Music While You Write Remarkable Plants that Shaped the World
11am — 2pm Bath Central Library / F1 £30 (£28) Music inspires our writing in many ways, from Murakami’s smokey jazz ambiance to Burgess’ novel written to mirror the exact structure of a Beethoven symphony. Join Emma Hooper, author, musician, PhD in MusicLiterary studies and lecturer in both Creative Writing and Commercial Music at Bath Spa University, to learn the many ways music can inspire and propel your own writing. Supported by our Creative Partner
1 — 2pm Guildhall / F2 £8 (£7)
The Chancery of Lost and Found 12 — 2pm & 4 — 6pm Milsom Place free For more info see page 53.
Join Helen and William Bynum for a celebration of the beauty, diversity and importance of the most remarkable plants that shape our world. With exquisite illustrations from the incomparable collections of the Royal Botanic Gardens this discussion will be an inspiration and a delight. ‘Entertaining, fascinating, beautifully illustrated’ — English Garden.
Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 29
Wednesday 4 March
BLISS
Fay Weldon: Bliss is… Editing
Oliver Kamm – Accidence Will Happen
1 — 2pm Guildhall / F3 £8 (£7)
3 — 4pm Guildhall / F4 £8 (£7)
For acclaimed author Fay Weldon (The Ted Dreams) the bliss of editing comes after the labour of invention; the close, concentrated, rewarding work of changing this word for that, that semi-colon for this full stop. The text springs to life. Here she shares with us the bliss it brings her as a writer and teacher.
An author and journalist with a weekly column in The Times called ‘The Pedant’ ought to know a thing or two about ‘proper’ language, but Oliver Kamm isn’t here to angrily scold you for a split infinitive. 'The most intelligent and entertaining book about the English language I’ve ever read'—James Shapiro, Professor of English, Columbia University.
Supported by our Creative Partner
Vita Sackville-West
David Kynaston 3 — 4pm Guildhall / F5 £9 (£8) David Kynaston’s latest book, Modernity Britain: A Shake of the Dice (1959-62), is the triumphant conclusion to the story of how Britain metamorphosed from the relative calm of the 1950s into a country experiencing huge and often disruptive change. A truly compelling and insightful speaker. 'A historian of peerless sensitivity' — Financial Times. 'Masterful' — Daily Telegraph.
30 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
4.45 — 5.45pm Guildhall / F6 £8 (£7) Aristocrat, literary celebrity, devoted wife, lesbian, recluse... Vita Sackville-West remains a controversial figure. Best-selling historical biographer Matthew Dennison, a Bath Literature Festival favourite, follows up his sold-out lecture on Queen Victoria last year with his latest work: a dazzling insight into the closed world of an extraordinary woman. 'Detailed and fascinating' — Daily Express.
Wednesday 4 March
THOUGHT LEADERS
Gerard Lyons — The Consolations of Economics 6 — 7pm Guildhall / F7 £9 (£8) A leading economist with over 30 years experience in the city, Gerard Lyons speaks to FT columnist Stefan Stern about his prediction that in the next 20 years the world economy will enjoy one of its strongest periods of growth. A lucid and optimistic view of the changing world economy. 'A most readable account'— The Observer.
The Deepest Seas
The Indigo Kings
7.30 — 8 .45pm Guildhall / F8 £6 (£5)
8 — 10pm Komedia / F9 £15 (£12)
Enjoy stories springing from the rich oral tradition of the British Isles. Explore the varied landscape of the human condition through wonder tales, ballads and music, devised and performed by David Metcalfe, Beth Porter and Richard Selby. The second of two storytelling events, each with its own unique content.
A foot-tapping, head-swaying mix of original jazz, blues and swing, blended with nostalgia for a vintage pop evening. Swinging piano, roaring sax and delicious dual harmony vocals confirm that the music of yesteryear is back, reinvented and here to stay! '[An] amusing and good humoured but highly accomplished band.'—The Jazz Man.
Supported by our Creative Partner
Sponsored by
' Very funny' JOHN HUMPHRYS
John Crace — A Short Guide to Modern Politics, the Coalition and the General Election 7.30 — 8 .30pm Guildhall / F10 £9 (£8) From recession to riots, this up-to-the-minute talk from journalist and critic John Crace looks at the world behind the coalition, Westminster and the upcoming General Election, inspired by his new book, I Never Promised You a Rose Garden.
Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 31
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Sources of Culture: The Cafés of Europe 10am — 5pm Komedia / G1 Free but ticketed (limited availability) Bath Spa — a Utopia of the past, present and future? In the 18th century Bath saw itself as an ideal city — a Utopia. Many European spa towns expressed Utopian ideals too — they were places of social tolerance, where classes mixed and the arts and sciences flourished. In true Enlightenment spirit spa towns aspired to bring health, education and culture, to those that came to ‘take the cure’. But the spa towns were also places of vice, gambling and intrigue and they had to constantly change and re-invent themselves and they are still doing this today. Join the Café of Europe debate with guests from over 20 of the most famous spa towns in Europe. sources-of-culture.eu
The Chancery of Lost and Found 12 — 7pm Milsom Place Free For more info see page 53.
32 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
Thursday 5 March
CREATE
Giving Characters a Voice 11am — 2pm Bath Central Library / G2 £30 (£28) Bath Spa University lecturer, poet and author Anna Freeman has written a remarkable novel with exquisitely drawn characters with her debut The Fair Fight. Here she will talk about how to create characters that will spellbind readers and how to give them a strong and convincing voice. Supported by our Creative Partner
BLISS
John Carey Bliss is... Beekeeping 12.45 — 1.45pm Guildhall / G4 £9 (£8) The Bliss Lectures are a headline strand featuring writers and thinkers talking about the thing in life they are most passionate about. John Carey is an author, literary critic, Oxford professor, has twice chaired the Booker prize committee… and is, above all, a lover of bees. Supported by our Creative Partner
Centuries Of Change 11am — 12pm Guidhall / G3 £8 (£7) Following the success of Sunday Times bestsellers The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval England and The Time Traveller’s Guide to Elizabethan England, Dr Ian Mortimer talks about developments, movements and inventions from the previous nine centuries — plus a few things you really need to know about the future.
Literary Walk: Shopfronts & Ghost Signs 2 — 4pm Streets of Bath (meeting place on ticket) / G5 £9 (£8) Old shopfronts and ghost signs give an insight into a forgotten world, and Bath is one of the best places in the country to see them. Join Andrew Swift and Kirsten Elliott on a walk through the city’s streets and byways to discover the rich legacy of long-lost businesses.
Sponsored by
Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 33
Thursday 5 March
'The most exciting Turkish novelist to reach Western readers in years' THE IRISH TIMES
Elif Shafak — Bliss is... Turkey 2:30 — 3:30pm Guildhall / G6 £9 (£8) Author of The Architect’s Apprentice, critics have named Elif Shafak 'one of the most distinctive voices in contemporary world literature.' Turkey’s best-selling female writer, published in over forty countries, talks feminism, literature, freedom and the conflicting feelings she has for her homeland. 'The most exciting Turkish novelist to reach Western readers in years' — The Irish Times. Supported by our Creative Partner
THOUGHT LEADERS
Matthew Plampin on Turner 2.30 — 3.30pm Guildhall / G7 £8 (£7) Art and architecture lecturer Matthew Plampin, takes us on a journey through the early life of infamous artist, JMW Turner. Explore the character of his early work, his first tours around the country; his testing domestic circumstances, friendships and his rivalry with artist Tom Girtin. ‘A galloping good story’ — The Times.
34 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
The Rich 4.15 — 5.15pm Guildhall / G8 £8 (£7) Award-winning author and broadcaster, John Kampfner, delivers a page-turning investigation into the history of the economic elite, from ancient Egypt to the modern day. Are the globalised super-rich and the vast social inequities of the modern era really a new phenomenon? 'The Rich is an absorbing read' — The Times.
Thursday 5 March THOUGHT LEADERS
Emma Bridgewater: Toast & Marmalade and Other Stories 4.15 — 5.15pm Guildhall / G9 £9 (£8) Emma Bridgewater’s Staffordshire-made cheerfully distinctive pottery has found its way onto dresser shelves all over Britain and beyond. As the company celebrates its 30th anniversary, she talks about what home — and this particularly English brand — means to her. Sponsored by
RECOMMENDS
THOUGHT LEADERS
The Digital Debate: Have We Reached Overload? 6 — 7pm Guildhall / G10 £9 (£8) Doesn’t technology already play too central a role in our lives? Or can embracing digital engagement be our salvation? Andrew Keen, author of The Internet is Not the Answer, and The Guardian’s Zoe Williams argue we’re dangerously close to overload. Philosopher Raymond Tallis and maths lecturer Dr Hannah Fry counter that technology is key to a civilised existence. Chaired by Financial Times columnist Stefan Stern. Sponsored by
Priya Parmar on Vanessa Bell 6 — 7pm Guildhall / G11 £8 (£7) The work of exciting young newcomer Priya Parmar, Vanessa and Her Sister exquisitely captures the champagne-heady days of pre-war London and the extraordinary lives of sisters Vanessa Bell and Virginia Woolf. ‘Irrepressible, with charm and brio to spare’ — Paula McLain.
Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 35
Thursday 5 March
NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS
Cameron’s Coup: How the Tories Took Britain to the Brink 7.45 — 8 .45pm Guildhall / G12 £9 (£8) Polly Toynbee and David Walker are both Guardian journalists. Their previous books include The Verdict: Did Labour Change Britain? Now they set their sights on David Cameron, arguing that he has caused 'an alarming reversal in decades of social progress'. An incisive and thought-provoking insight into the legacy of the coalition.
Comedy Double Bill 7.30 — 10.30pm Komedia £17 (£15)
AMERICAN DREAM
America vs. the World: The Great Big Comedy Night 9 — 10.30pm / G14
COMEDY
In Conversation with Omid Djalili 7.30 — 8 .30 / G13 British-born Iranian comic and actor Omid Djalili’s legendary performances on stage and screen (Sex and the City 2, The Mummy, Gladiator) have won him plaudits the world over. He discusses his life story as told in his memoir Hopeful in conversation with the Festival’s Artistic Director (and fellow stand-up comedian) Viv Groskop.
Waspish American-born comedian and New Act of the Year winner David Mills takes on a series of stand-ups from all over the world, in tribute to our 2015 theme: The American Dream. Aiming to take him down a peg: Sweden’s Evelyn Mok ('brutal but funny' — Chortle), Latvian comic Gatis Kandis as seen on Britain’s Got Talent ('the unfunniest funny comedian ever' — Simon Cowell), Denmark’s Sofie Hagen (Chortle Best Newcomer 2014) and Canada’s Chris Betts ('properly hilarious' — What’s On London). MC’d by Festival Artistic Director and Funny Women Finalist Viv Groskop (BBC Radio 4’s Loose Ends, Saturday Live). Sponsored by
Individual tickets available Omid Djalili £9 (£8) and America vs. the World £12 (£10)
36 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
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Jennifer Scott on Gold
CREATE
Start That Novel
11am — 12pm Guildhall / H1 £9 (£8) Director of the Holburne Museum and former Curator at the Royal Collection, Jennifer Scott gives us a sneak preview of one the museum’s upcoming exhibitions (January 2016) and the accompanying book — Gold. An exploration of the beauty and symbolism of the precious metal throughout the ages — from the Early Bronze Age to the 20th century.
11am — 2pm Bath Central Library / H2 £30 (£28)
The Chancery of Lost and Found 12 — 6pm Milsom Place Free For more info see page 53
Fun and stimulating writing exercises from Writing Events Bath — to help you find and focus your ideas, create strong characters and come away with a simple plot structure to write a novel. Suitable for beginners and experienced writers. Supported by our Creative Partner
Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 37
Friday 6 March
Magna Carta — The Foundation of Freedom 1 — 2pm Guildhall / H3 £8 (£7) Magna Carta’s sealing in 1215 — a pivotal moment for the freedom of the individual which resonates through the ages and across the globe. Chairman of the 800th Anniversary Committee, Sir Robert Worcester explains how that great charter is an influential document worldwide and why its principles of freedom and justice are celebrated in 2015. Sponsored by
The Poets’ Daughters — Katie Waldegrave 1 — 2pm Guildhall / H4 £8 (£7)
' An important and moving book…' LITERARY REVIEW
William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, the poets who shaped the Romantic age, were best friends. So too, were their daughters. But this was not a recipe for an idyllic upbringing. In different ways each poet almost destroyed his daughter. Katie Waldegrave divulges how these poets’ daughters survived to shape their own legacies.
38 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
George III 3 — 4pm Guildhall / H5 £9 (£8) An intensely moving account of George III’s doomed attempt to create a happy, harmonious family. Written with astonishing emotional force by a stunning new history writer and BBC controller, Janice Hadlow brings family virtue to the forefront in this eye-opening talk on her first book The Strangest Family. ‘Colourful and brilliantly narrated’ — The Sunday Times.
Friday 6 March
THOUGHT LEADERS
GDP: A Brief But Affectionate History 5 — 6pm Guildhall / H6 £8 (£7) Dr Diane Coyle, Vice Chair of the BBC Trust and former advisor to the UK Treasury, explores the advantages and disadvantages of using Gross Domestic Product to measure economic progress. An inspiring and insightful assessment of the state of the economy. 'She wants to make economics likeable' — Financial Times, 'Excellent' — Wall Street Journal. Sponsored by
Sofka Zinovieff: The Mad Boy 5 — 6pm Guildhall / H7 £8 (£7) The extraordinary story of a madly eccentric set and the house they lived in. Sofka Zinovieff’s memoir The Mad Boy, Lord Berners, My Grandmother and Me describes a vanishing world of fading 20th century English bohemian aristocracy. 'Prepare to be seduced by outlandish delights and strange creatures' — Sebastian Shakespeare, Tatler.
Salon London — Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll in the 20th Century Holburne Museum 7 — 9pm / H8 £9 (£8) Salon London’s Helen Bagnall charts the irresistible rise of legal drugs — why we all ended the millennia in their thrall. Guerilla Science founder Zoe Cormier explains exactly how the work of scientists defined sex — 20th Century style, and author Daniel Rachel explores the century’s great songwriters, how their writing reflected both the times and ourselves.
The Knackered Mother’s Wine Club 7.30 — 8 .30pm Guildhall / H9 £9 (£8) Back by popular demand — Helen McGinn and her Knackered Mother’s Wine Club. When, at the end of a tough day, all you want is a lovely glass of wine — then this is your chance to taste some brilliant but affordable wines and get tips on how to broaden your wine horizon.
Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 39
Friday 6 March
' Kazuo Ishiguro is an original and remarkable genius' THE NEW YORK TIMES
CELEBRATE: 20TH ANNIVERSARY
Kazuo Ishiguro 7.30 — 8 .30pm Guildhall / H10 £10 (£9) The Booker Prize winner (for The Remains of the Day) unveils The Buried Giant, his first novel in a decade, with its themes of lost memories, love, revenge and war. He was in Bath in 2011 to talk about Never Let Me Go. For this unique Anniversary event, his previous interviewer, renowned literary critic Alex Clark, returns to quiz him. Sponsored by
40 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
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VOICES IN THE CITY
Bath Poetry Café 10.30am — 9.30pm BRLSI Free Join poets from all over the West Country in the welcoming Elwin Room for a whole day of readings, conversation and good company. With six group presentations, six new pamphlets and musical contributions by John Chambers and Tony Monks.
The Chancery of Lost and Found 10am — 6pm Milsom Place Free
RECOMMENDS
Mary Portas: Shop Girl 11am — 12pm Guildhall / J1 £9 (£8) Credited with the transformation of Harvey Nichols and famed for her no-nonsense approach in TV programmes such as Mary, Queen of Shops, Mary Portas has become a symbol of style and an authority on retail and branding. She talks about her new memoir Shop Girl, sharing stories of overcoming personal and professional challenges and defying stereotypes. Sponsored by
For more info see page 53.
Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 41
Saturday 7 March
CREATE HISTORY
Antonia Fraser: My History 11am — 12pm Theatre Royal / J2 £10 Antonia Fraser’s magical memoir of growing up not only recaptures the experiences of her Oxford childhood and youth, it is a chronicle of the progress of her love of History. Told with her inimitable humour and style, it is an unforgettable account of the making of a great narrative historian.
Mr & Mrs Disraeli
Moving on in Self-Publishing
11am — 12pm Guildhall / J3 £8 (£7)
12.15 — 1.30pm Mineral Hospital / J4 £10 (£9)
Daisy Hay, one of the UK’s best, young non-fiction writers, delves into the trove of written devotions between Mary Anne and Benjamin Disraeli to paint an engaging portrait of a surprisingly unconventional marriage. In an age where women were expected to perform and conform, here is a woman who did neither, and thrived.
Established indie author Sandy Osborne (Girl Cop — The Life And Loves Of An Officer On The Beat) returns with Helen Hart (Publishing Director — SilverWood Books). Sandy will talk about publishing her sequel, and share tips from her recent successful crowdfunding campaign. Helen will explore the current selfpublishing landscape and run through the latest opportunities for new authors. Sponsored by
NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS
Feminism and the Impact of the Digital Age with Sarah Brown, Sarah Bailey and Suzanne Moore 1 — 2pm Guildhall / J5 £9 (£8) Sarah Bailey, editor of Red magazine, and Suzanne Moore, Guardian columnist, join Sarah Brown, campaigner for global health and education and founder of children’s charity Theirworld in a discussion about the portrayal of women in the media and the challenges posed by an ever-changing digital landscape. In Association with
42 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
Saturday 7 March
CREATE
Poetry Workshop with Chrys Salt 'An exhilarating account' THE SPECTATOR
Kidnap in Crete: Rick Stroud on Patrick Leigh Fermor 1 — 2pm / Guildhall / J6 / £8 (£7) BAFTA-nominated television director Rick Stroud tells us the story of one British SOE agent’s plan to a kidnap a Nazi General. Under cover of darkness on 4 February 1944, Patrick Leigh Fermor parachuted onto Crete’s deserted Mount Dikti in preparation for his secret and high-risk mission.
1 — 4pm Holburne Museum / J7 £30 (£28) Under the professional guidance of award winning poet Chrys Salt MBE, participants will discuss the business of writing poetry from idea to execution and professional performance. Through a process of interrogation, exercise and exchange they will explore the many doubts and confusions that attend the creative process. Bring a poem, pad and pencil.
Mark Cocker and Tim Dee 2.15 — 3.15pm Mineral Hospital / J8 £8 (£7) In Birds and People ('Full of intense pleasure' — The Times) and Claxton ('Spectacular' — The Herald), Mark Cocker explores our relationship with birds, wildlife and nature in general. He discusses and celebrates the interaction between people and nature with fellow naturalist and writer Tim Dee (Four Fields) .
Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 43
Saturday 7 March
THOUGHT LEADERS
John Maynard Keynes 3 — 4pm Guildhall / J10 £9 (£8)
RECOMMENDS
HISTORY
Fashion on the Ration 3 — 4pm Guildhall / J9 £8 (£7) Accompanying a major new exhibition at the Imperial War Museum, biographer Julie Summers explains how even in the face of bombing, rationing and conscription, for many women style and elegance never went out of fashion. A unique picture of life during the Second World War. Warning: includes Forces’ bloomers.
Published in time to mark the 70th anniversary of the death of John Maynard Keynes, this new thematic biography revives our understanding of the 20th century’s most charismatic and revolutionary economist, whose ideas continue to influence global finance today. A uniquely insightful event with award-winning literary historian Richard Davenport-Hines. Sponsored by
Literary Walk: Trains and Boats and Planes 3 — 5pm Streets of Bath (meeting place on ticket) / J11 £9 (£8) This year, Brunel’s Great Western Railway celebrates its 180th anniversary. On the eve of its electrification, join Andrew Swift and Kirsten Elliott on a guided walk looking at the difficulties Brunel faced in building the line through Bath. This walk, which also features the Kennet & Avon Canal and the inclined plane down which stone travelled from Combe Down, includes some rough and muddy paths and flights of steps.
The Rise of Chinaphobia: Christopher Frayling 5 — 6pm Guildhall / J12 £9 (£8) In The Yellow Peril: Dr Fu Manchu and the Rise of Chinaphobia, art critic and writer Christopher Frayling examines the West’s historical reaction to China’s emergence as a superpower. 'Christopher Frayling brilliantly chronicles a shameful history of racism, and warns against the assumption that it no longer exists' — The Guardian. Supported by our Creative Partner
44 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
Saturday 7 March
The Pushkin House Russian Book Prize: Shortlist Announcement 5 — 6pm Guildhall / J13 £8 (£7) The Prize, now in its third year, runs in association with Waterstones and rewards the best non-fiction writing on Russia. The shortlist will be revealed by historian (and last year’s winner) Catherine Merridale, Financial Times journalist Andrew Jack and Lord Browne of Madingley, chairman of the Tate Galleries and former chief executive of BP.
VOICES IN THE CITY
Åsne Seierstad
A Product of Their Time? Modern British Art in Context
5.15 — 6.15 Mineral Hospital / J14 £8 (£7)
7 — 8pm Holburne Museum / J15 £8 (£7)
In July 2011 Anders Breivik killed 77 of his fellow Norwegians in a terrorist atrocity that shocked the world. In the tradition of Truman Capote’s True Blood, the latest book from the Norwegian author of international bestseller The Bookseller of Kabul is a gripping depiction of a crime and its aftermath.
Join Turner Prize nominated artist Dexter Dalwood, art history luminary and curator John-Paul Stonard, and author and Director of the Holburne Museum Jennifer Scott for an evening of debate and discussion in response to the Holburne’s exhibition on Modern British Art, Gwen John to Lucian Freud: Home and the World. Get 10% off entry to the exhibition when you present a Literature Festival ticket!
Supported by
Inside Out 7.30 — 8 .30pm The egg Theatre / J16 £3 Inside Out is a celebration of young people’s voices and a showcase of their spoken word poetry and music. Exploring their own lives, cultures and landscapes; young people from our Building Bridges, Home Grown and Writers Labs projects are coming together to share their funny, honest and moving work. This event is the culmination of projects run in collaboration with Mentoring Plus and B&NES Youth Connect.
Supported by our Creative Partner
Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 45
Saturday 7 March
Linda Grant and Sadie Jones 7.30 — 8 .30pm Guildhall / J17 £9 (£8) A unique opportunity to see two extraordinary novelists in conversation. Shortlisted for the Booker Prize for The Clothes on Their Backs, Linda Grant’s latest novel Upstairs at the Party ('beautiful writing' — London Evening Standard) is a portrait of university life in 1970s York. Costa Prize winner Sadie Jones’ novel Fallout ('intelligent, pacy' — The Times) is about four friends in 1970s London theatreland.
' A tour de force, as readable as it is extensively researched' FINANCIAL TIMES
Inside the Kremlin: Catherine Merridale 7.30 — 8 .30pm Guildhall / J18 £8 (£7) Award-winning writer and historian Catherine Merridale presents a lively, illustrated account of life inside the Kremlin based on Red Fortress, which won the Pushkin House Russian Book Prize 2014. Described as one of the best historians of her generation, she is the author of four other books on Russia.
46 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
Alison Weir 7.30 — 8 .30pm Mineral Hospital / J19 £8 (£7) Their affair was the scandal of Europe. From the time of her accession in 1558, the young Elizabeth I and dashing but married Lord Robert Dudley cast caution to the winds in pursuing their passion for each other. Alison Weir’s presentation illustrates her novel about Elizabeth’s marriage game, a poignant tale of intrigue, love and loss.
Literary Walk: Bath’s Forgotten Romantics 10.30am — 12.30pm Streets of Bath (meeting place on ticket) / K1 £9 (£8) Bath’s heritage industry is fixated on Jane Austen, but the city’s association with some of her equally famous contemporaries is largely ignored. Mary Shelley, for example, wrote much of Frankenstein in Bath, Coleridge almost died here, and De Quincey is one of King Edward School’s most famous old boys. Join Andrew Swift and Kirsten Elliott on a walk to discover a forgotten part of Bath’s literary heritage.
The Chancery of Lost and Found 11am-6pm Milsom Place Free
AS SEEN ON SCREEN
Celia Imrie 11am — 12pm Guildhall / K2 £10 (£9) Olivier Award-winner Celia Imrie has been described as 'one of the greatest British actresses of recent decades.' The star of Acorn Antiques, Calendar Girls, Bridget Jones’ Diary and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel discusses her debut novel, Not Quite Nice, about a woman forced into early retirement, who sells up and moves to Bellevue-surMer, just outside Nice. Sponsored by
For more info see page 53.
Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 47
Sunday 8 March
CREATE
The Family Project Workshop
Big Bath Read 2015 — Sadie Jones’ Small Wars
11am — 2pm Bath Central Library / K3 £30 (£28)
11am — 12pm Guildhall / K4 £8 (£7)
Join John-Paul Flintoff, writer, performer and teacher at London’s School of Life, and Harriet Green, editor of The Guardian’s Family section, in a lively, interactive session, where they will show you how to think afresh about the people who mean the most to you — and to make a unique family record in words and pictures.
Our Big Bath Read 2015 culminates in this wonderful event, where Artistic Director Viv Groskop speaks to Sadie Jones about Small Wars, 'a gripping account of emotional disintegration' (Sunday Telegraph). Set in 1950s Cyprus, it follows Hal and Clara as their marriage is tested by the atrocities Hal witnesses.
Supported by
THOUGHT LEADERS
Margaret Heffernan 12.15 — 1.15pm Mineral Hospital / K5 £8 (£7) Competition for fame, money and status is everywhere you look, but at what cost? Margaret Heffernan’s eye-opening book A Bigger Prize exposes the truth behind competition: it doesn’t result in the best being brought to the top, rather the proliferation of cheating, laziness, fraud, inequality and stalemate. 'Important'—The New York Times. Sponsored by
AS SEEN ON SCREEN
Annette Badland reads: Vera Brittain’s Testament of Youth 1 — 2pm Guildhall / K6 £10 (£9) Vera Brittain was a writer, feminist and pacifist, best known for her best-selling memoir Testament of Youth, recounting her World War I experiences. Olivier Award winner Annette Badland (EastEnders, Dr Who, Little Voice, The Archers) reads from the books and the poems and letters of Brittain’s fiance Roland Leighton, who was killed on the Front. An extraordinarily intimate and moving tribute to the past. ** Texts from Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain: © Mark Bostridge and T.J. Brittain-Catlin, Literary Executors for the Estate of Vera Britain 1970. RECOMMENDS
48 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
Sunday 8 March
How to Win a Novel Award 1 — 2pm Guildhall / K7 £8 (£7) Winning a novel award can transform your chances of finding an agent and landing a publishing contract. But what makes a manuscript rise to the top of the pile? Join literary agent Juliet Mushens, Bath Novel Award winner Joanna Barnard, shortlist judge Dionne McCulloch, plus Bath Novel Award founder Caroline Ambrose for tips on how to win a novel award.
NEWS & CURRENT AFFAIRS
Playing Big: Women, Leadership and Power 3 — 4pm Guildhall / K8 £9 (£8) On average women earn £5,000 less than men a year. That adds up to £1/4 million over a lifetime. They are less likely to get a bonus and more likely to be made redundant. Why? And how can this be changed? Tara Mohr, author of Playing Big (this year’s answer to Lean In), Julia Hobsbawm, Professor of Networking at Cass Business School and Katrine Marçal, author of Who Cooked Adam Smith's Dinner?, present some inspiring solutions. Chaired by Artistic Director Viv Groskop — on International Women’s Day. Bring your daughters! Sponsored by RECOMMENDS
Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 49
Sunday 8 March
Around the World in 10 Books — Scott Pack and Ann Morgan 3 — 4pm Guildhall / K9 £8 (£7) Unbelievably only 3% of the books published in the UK each year are translations. The remedy? Ann Morgan’s Reading the World: Confessions of a Literary Explorer, which covers literature from 196 countries. Notebooks at the ready as Ann and publisher and uberbookworm Scott Pack present 10 of their latest international discoveries. Supported by our Creative Partner
HISTORY
The Bletchley Girls — Tessa Dunlop 4.15 — 5.15pm Mineral Hospital / K10 £8 (£7) The women of Bletchley Park were the reason Britain was consistently able to outsmart the enemy during WWII. Through extensive interviews, Tessa Dunlop lets fifteen of them tell the story in their own words—stories of war and secrecy, love and loss.
HISTORY
Simon Schama: The Story in History 5 — 6pm Guildhall / K11 £9 (£8) Historian, BBC presenter and best-selling author Simon Schama presents an unmissable lecture about history and narrative. The latest of his ten major BBC documentaries, The Story of the Jews, is described as his greatest. Don’t miss this extraordinarily compelling speaker.
' Idiosyncratic, accessible, always authoritative' THE OBSERVER
Supported by The Roper Family Charitable Trust
50 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
Sunday 8 March
Poetry: Rachael Boast and Chrys Salt 5 — 6pm Guildhall / K12 £8 (£7) Picador poet Rachael won the Forward Prize, and the Seamus Heaney Centre for Poetry Prize for Best First Collection. Her second collection Pilgrim’s Flower was shortlisted for the Griffin Prize. Chrys is launching her fourth full collection, Dancing on a Rock written on a generous Writing Bursary from Creative Scotland.
COMEDY AS SEEN ON SCREEN
Jon Ronson 6.15 — 7.15pm Mineral Hospital / K13 £8 (£7) Social media has created a stage upon which every actor is either a hero or a villain, and lives are devastated by anonymous public ridicule. What is the reason behind this new era of public shaming? This is the question that sets Jon Ronson on his latest humorous investigation of a deadly serious subject. 'One of the finest comic writers working today'—Will Self, The Guardian.
Truth in Writing — Rachel Cusk and Andrew O’Hagan 7.30 — 8 .30pm Guildhall / K14 £8 (£7) Two of our finest British novelists discuss the ultimate question: is all great fiction essentially autobiography? Andrew O’Hagan’s The Illuminations asks a simple question: Why is the truth so often buried in secrets? Whilst Rachel Cusk’s latest novel Outline explores the mystery of creativity itself ('a masterclass' — The Observer). In conversation with literary critic Alex Clark. Supported by our Creative Partner
Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 51
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Download it now at: independent.co.uk/apps Print subscriptions also available. See independent.co.uk/subscriptions for more information.
Learning & Participation
Bath Festivals offer children, young people and adults the best opportunities to engage with and explore literature as part of everyday life. Inside Out Inside Out is a celebration of young people’s voices through spoken word poetry and music and a showcase of our Building Bridges, Home Grown and Young Writers Labs projects. Join us at the egg on Saturday 7th March at 7.30pm. See page 45 for ticket info.
The Chancery of Lost and Found What would Bath be like if it existed only in your imagination? Where would the streets take you? Step into a world where past, present and future meet: The Chancery of Lost and Found. Over the week of the festival, writer Alice Maddicott, working in collaboration with our Young Writers Lab, will set up residence in the Chancery, creating characters, stories and poems to build a fictional, multidimensional version of Bath — a growing home for memories, ideas and imaginary futures. We invite you to join us in this creation. Come to the Chancery to write your own imaginary Bath, drop off memories, bring in old photos, ephemera or objects. Add to our collaborative installation, link to other people’s creations, and explore as the Chancery becomes a wonderful literary archive for the city. For opening times please see The Diary, pages 7-10
Chancery Workshops for Schools Alice Maddicott will be running writing workshops in the Chancery for school groups, where pupils can explore and create narratives, characters and plot within the setting of a fictional Bath. Their work will be added to our growing installation, giving pupils an inspiring, imaginative space in which to write for a real purpose and audience. Morning workshops for KS2 take place on March 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th and cost £150. Or book a package of 1 workshop + 4 places on the INSET for £200. Afternoon workshops for KS3, 4 & 5 take place on March 2nd and 4th and cost £5 per student, home schooled students welcome.
INSET — a 2 hour twilight workshop on March 3rd inspired by this creative space which will explore creative writing activities and techniques that you can use to develop writing in alternative spaces, and ways to integrate this into classroom work. Places cost £25.
Building Bridges is a music inclusion project working with B&NES Youth Connect and supported by SoundSplash, Medlock Charitable Trust & Children in Need. Home Grown is a collaboration with Mentoring Plus and is funded by St Johns Hospital, the Equitable Charitable Trust & the Clore Literature Award.
Beau Street Hoard Bath Festivals and the Roman Baths are collaborating on a schools writing project exploring the Beau Street Hoard, one of the largest coin hoards found in the UK. Children will have the opportunity to handle the coins and take their discoveries on a creative writing journey with our resident writer Alice Maddicott. See what they create in our display in Bath Central Library. Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Arts Award Bath Festivals are proud to be an Arts Award Good Practice Centre for 2014 —15. Arts Award forms a key part of our Learning & Participation programme and we are currently running Discover, Bronze and Silver Awards with children and young people in B&NES. We are also an Arts Award supporter so if you are completing your Arts Award we can offer tickets for events and volunteering opportunities. To find out more about running Arts Award with your school or group or for Arts Award supporter offers please contact us.
To book a workshop or for more information on any of our projects and year round Learning & Participation programme please e-mail Hazel Plowman on education@bathfestivals.org.uk
Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 53
BAILLIE GIFFORD LITERARY FESTIVAL SPONSORSHIP
AT BAILLIE GIFFORD WE BELIEVE IN THE VALUE OF GREAT LITERATURE AND IN LONG-LASTING SUCCESS STORIES.
Imagination, inspiration and a commitment to the future. Baillie Gifford is delighted to continue to sponsor some of the most renowned literary festivals throughout the UK. We believe that, much like a classic piece of literature, a great investment philosophy will stand the test of time. Baillie Gifford is one of the UK’s largest independent investment trust managers. In our daily work in investments we do our very best to emulate the imagination, insight and intelligence that successful writers bring to the creative process. In our own way we’re publishers too. Our free, award-winning Trust magazine provides you with an engaging and insightful overview of the investment world, along with details of our literary festival activity throughout the UK.
To find out more or to take out a free subscription for Trust magazine, please call us on 0800 280 2820 or visit us at www.bgtrustonline.com Baillie Gifford – long-term investment partners Your call may be recorded for training or monitoring purposes. Baillie Gifford Savings Management Limited (BGSM) produces Trust magazine and is an affiliate of Baillie Gifford & Co Limited, which is the manager and secretary of seven investment trusts. Your personal data is held and used by BGSM in accordance with data protection legislation. We may use your information to send you details about Baillie Gifford products, funds or special offers and to contact you for business research purposes. We will only disclose your information to other companies within the Baillie Gifford group and to agents appointed by us for these purposes. You can withdraw your consent to receiving further marketing communications from us and to being contacted for business research purposes at any time. You also have the right to review and amend your data at any time.
• • • •
Support Us
Your Support Matters We believe that engagement with the arts has a powerful, positive impact on the quality of life, culture, and economy of our community and we need your help to continue to achieve this. As a charity with less than 40% of our income from ticket sales, and with ongoing reductions in public funding, your support is essential in helping us raise over £1.2 million every year to bring world class literature and music to your doorstep together with one of the largest outreach programmes of any festival. Last year we worked with 500+ educators and 4000+ young people, fulfilling potential, enriching lives and enhancing the well-being of our community. You can play a vital role in making this happen.
Become a Friend Enjoy, Save, Support Pen Pal
Pen Friends
£20 per year
£50 (£90 joint) per year
Advance brochure mailing
All Pen Pal benefits plus:
One week priority booking
Two weeks priority booking
Regular updates from Bath Festivals throughout the year
Exclusive invitation to Festival opening night party
Discounts and special offers with Festival partners and the festival bookseller
Principal Benefactors £250 per year All Pen Friend benefits plus: Complimentary Patrons’ reception Dedicated assistance with booking tickets and hospitality arrangements Acknowledgement of support in festival programme and website A signed copy of the Big Bath Read Opportunities to meet authors at the Festival*
Champions £500 per year All Patron benefits plus: Involve authors in your own events* A signed copy of your favourite Festival read*
Ambassadors £1,250 per year All Champion benefits plus: Exclusive Festival briefing with the Artistic Director
To find out more Registered Charity No. 801617 *To be arranged in advance and subject to author availability
simply visit bathfestivals.org.uk/literature /membership or speak to the Development team for more details (01225 462231)
56 Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362
Westonbirt School
‘Top 5% of UK Schools for Value Added’ Good Schools Guide 2014
Westonbirt Prep School
‘First rate teaching in a beautiful setting’ Good Schools Guide 2014
OPEN MORNING: 14 March, 9am-12pm Co-Ed Prep School & Nursery - Day • Girls Senior School - Day, Boarding & Flexi-Boarding T 01666 881301 E admissions@westonbirt.org @WestonbirtSch • www.westonbirt.org • Tetbury • Gloucestershire • GL8 8QG
cannot think well, “One love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.
”
Virginia Woolf
Dine well at Allium during Bath Literature Festival. Our fixed price menu is perfect for lunch, early supper or post event dinner. Take afternoon tea or sip sophisticated cocktails in ArtBar. Stylishly refurbished Allium Restaurant, ArtBar and lounge. For bookings and enquiries contact us on:
01225 461603 www.abbeyhotelbath.co.uk Don’t forget Allium was in The Times Top 20 venues for Sunday Lunch, Chris Staines Roast’s are legendary. Book in advance.
Best Restaurant. Best Modern European menu.
1 North Parade, Bath, BA1 1LF abbeyhotelbath.co.uk
Support us
Thank you for the generous support of: All our Pen Friends and Pen Pals Champion Joanna Dickson Leach
Become a Patron Join us at the heart of Bath Festivals and play a vital role in developing our programmes, our audiences and our education work. From just £62 per month, enjoy exclusive benefits across all of our festivals, including: Priority booking Patrons Box Office with dedicated private booking line Invitation to exclusive events, including the annual Artistic Director’s dinner and literary lunch Opportunities to attend rehearsals and behind the scenes tours Pre-reserved top price seats to selected events Advance information with newsletters and programme previews Acknowledgement at every festival
Thank you Bath Festivals’ Patrons for your generous support: Life Patron Lady Evelyn Strasburger Paragon Patrons Trevor Osborne Andrew Fletcher Circus Patrons Peter Stormonth Darling Charitable Trust Jane Drabble and Bill Nemtin Crescent Patrons John and Rosalie Challis Rob and Deborah Clements John and Yvonne Cullum Ian and Morny Davison Roy and Maureen Hatch LT.CDR Conrad Jones Sheila McCormack Nigel and Stephanie Pollard Bob and Diana Potter Chris and Denise Rogers Chris and Jan Shepley Brian and Maggie Woodford
Make a Date with Bath Festivals in 2015 Bath International Music Festival 15 — 26 May 2015 The Telegraph Bath Children’s Literature Festival 25 September — 4 October 2015
For more information: Bath Box Office 01225 463362 bathfestivals.org.uk @bathfestivals
EXPERIENCE VILLAGE LIFE Clarks Village is no ordinary designer shopping outlet. Just one mile from Glastonbury, discover an unrivalled selection of designer and high street stores offering up to 60% off, every day.
J23 M5 off A39 Somerset
clarksvillage.co.uk
Waterstones proudly sponsors the 20th
27 February – 8 March 2015 We look forward to welcoming you to our festival bookshop in the Guildhall.
BATH
How to Book
Booking Bath Box Office Bath Visitor Information Centre Abbey Chambers Abbey Churchyard Bath BA1 1LY 01225 463362 boxoffice@bathfestivals.org.uk bathfestivals.org.uk
Concessions Concession prices are available to under–18s, full– time students, unemployment benefit claimants, visitors with a disability and those whose sole source of income is a DSS state retirement pension. Concessions are only available when a separate price is given in brackets. Only one concession may apply per ticket.
Box Office opening hours Monday–Saturday 10.30am–5pm Sunday & Bank Holidays Closed
How to book In person at Bath Box Office
Weekday ticket offer Book any four weekday events in one transaction and receive a £1 discount off each ticket. This offer is not available online.
By telephone on 01225 463362 Online at bathfestivals.org.uk By post to Bath Box Office at the above address – cheques made payable to Bath Box Office. Please note postal bookings are dealt with alongside telephone and counter bookings.
When to Book Patrons and Pen Friends Priority Booking 2January 2015
Group bookings We offer one free seat for every ten purchased to the same event when booked at the same time. Bath Festivals welcomes visitors with disabilities. Please advise the Box Office of your requirements when making a booking. Access details can be found on page 64 & 65 (map page) or by visiting the Access Statement on our website bathfestivals. org.uk/accessibility. Visitors with a disability who need to bring a personal assistant are offered one free ticket. If you require a BSL interpreter, please enquire at the Box Office as soon as possible and we will do our best to accommodate this.
Penpals Booking 9 January 2015
Waterstones Priority Booking 16 January 2015
Independent Priority Booking 17 January 2015
General Booking 19 January 2015
Booking details Your tickets will be posted to you for a charge of £1 or free of charge if you include a stamped addressed envelope with your booking. Otherwise your tickets will be held for collection at the Box Office, or at the venue from one hour before the event. Booking by credit card either in person or by telephone incurs a £2 transaction charge. Booking by debit card either in person or by telephone incurs no charge. All online bookings incur a transaction charge of £1.
Young Persons ticket offer Under 18’s and full-time students may purchase unsold tickets half price 30 minutes before the event. This does not apply to workshops, literary walks and lunch, education events, the poetry slam and the Big Bath Read Book Groups.
Other booking information Please quote the event code when booking. Event times are approximate and doors open 15 minutes before each event. Tickets are non-refundable, but if an event sells out we are happy to offer returned tickets for resale. A £2 per ticket handling charge will apply on all resold tickets. Please note we cannot refund card transaction or online booking fees. Programmes and performers may be subject to change. All information in this programme was correct at the time of going to press. Filming Some events or shows may be filmed or photographed. Buying a ticket affirms your consent to the filming, sound recording or photographing of yourself as a member of the audience.
Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 61
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Where to Stay
For more information
OFFICIAL HOTEL PARTNER THE ABBEY HOTEL Our Official Hotel Partner is located in the heart of the city, meaning this 60-bedroomed hotel is brilliantly located for the Roman Baths, Thermae Spa, Abbey, main shopping areas and our Festival venues. The much-acclaimed Allium Brasserie serves a varied and seasonal menu from 12 until 9pm including light dishes and salads, and the contemporary lounge, with its exhibition of modern art, is perfect for coffee, cocktails and afternoon teas. Terrace dining when the weather is warm. 1–3 North Parade, Bath BA1 1LF 01225 461603 abbeyhotelbath.co.uk
about accommodation in Bath, visit visitbath.co.uk or call Bath Tourist Information Centre on 0906 711 2000 (50p/min).
HILTON BATH CIT Y Hilton Bath City is centrally located in the historic city of Bath, close to shops, local attractions and train station. The hotel has been fully refurbished offering 173 air conditioned bedrooms, lobby bar serving Costa Coffee and a brand new French style restaurant, Atelier. Walcot Street, Bath BA1 5BJ 01225 463 411 hilton.co.uk/bathcity
BROOKS GUESTHOUSE Brooks Guesthouse is a stylish boutique townhouse, 350 meters below the Royal Crescent and a mere seven minute walk to the city centre. All bedrooms have designer wallpapers, comfy beds and goose down bedding. All bathrooms have Hansgrohe power showers. We offer a delicious breakfast, an honesty bar and free, superfast WiFi.
KENNARD HOTEL A Georgian townhouse with its own special charm and character quietly situated within minutes of the city centre.
1 Upper Bristol Road, Bath BA1 2NA 01225 425543 brooksguesthouse.com
11 Henrietta Street , Bath BA2 6LL 01225 310472 kennard.co.uk
THE HALCYON The Halcyon is a contemporary boutique townhouse hotel, centrally located within two minutes’ walk of major attractions, train station and parking. From £99. 2–3 South Parade,Bath BA2 4AA 01225 461189 thehalcyon.com
MACDONALD BATH SPA HOTEL The five star Macdonald Bath Spa Hotel is the perfect accommodation venue for Bath’s five star Festivals. Sydney Road, Bath BA2 6NS 08448 799106 macdonaldhotels.co.uk/our-hotels/ macdonald-bath-spa-hotel/
ROYAL CRESCENT HOTEL This stunning hotel overlooks the city of Bath and offers elegant Georgian grandeur, luxurious accommodation and unrivalled customer care. This five star Relais & Chateaux property also boasts an award winning restaurant, secluded gardens as well as the relaxing & intimate spa. Come to The Royal Crescent Hotel and let us take care of you. 16 Royal Crescent, Bath BA1 2LS 01225 823333 royalcrescent.co.uk
TASBURGH HOUSE Set in seven acres of beautiful gardens Tasburgh House is a three minute taxi ride or 20 minute canal walk from the city centre. Twelve stylish rooms with extraordinarily comfy beds and breathtaking views all set in a relaxing atmosphere. Helpful, knowledgeable staff will happily recommend and reserve restaurants, tours, taxis etc. Licensed, great breakfasts and free parking. Warminster Road, Bath BA2 6SH 01225 425096 tasburghhouse.co.uk
SACO BATH SACO Bath offers a beautiful Aparthotel, right in the heart of ancient and historic Bath. We’ve restored an entire Georgian terrace to create a range of stunning studio, one and two bedroom apartments, so it’s a truly unique and special away from home experience for stays of any length. 37 St James’s Parade, Bath BA1 1UH 01225 486540 sacoapartments.com/bath
Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 63
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Book online at bathfestivals.org.uk or call 01225 463362 65
Acknowledgements
Bath Festivals Artistic Director Viv Groskop Literature Producer Judith Robinson
Board of Trustees John Cullum Chair Carol Baines, David Bates, Councillor Cherry Beath, Margaret Heffernan, Celia Mead, Ian Stockley, Stephen Taylor, Richard Turner CMG OBE, Anna Williams
Bath Festivals would also like to thank the following for their invaluable support:
Chief Executive Belinda Kidd
The festival volunteers, event managers, freelance production team and the managers and staff of all the Festival venues.
Finance Director Lynne Gregory
The Independent Bath Literature Festival couldn’t happen without the enthusiastic help of publishers, agents and programming partners. For a full list of publishers who have supported the Festival in 2015, please see www.bathfestivals.org.uk
Development Rosie Fearon, Simon Tapscott, Clodagh Moynan
Development & Marketing Director Owen McNeir
Finance Rebecca Wheeler Festival Production Kate Hall, Elizabeth Coyle, Oliver Corbett Learning & Participation Hazel Plowman, Sarah Dowie Marketing and Communications Anna White, Carissa Andrew-Smith Press and PR Tamsin Treverton Jones (07980 585664)
Image / Credit / Page Alastair C ampbell / © Avalon / 5, 11 Austentatious / © Idil Sukan / 5, 15 Ben Shephard / © Adrian Sherratt / 27 Blake Morrison / © Getty Images / 28 Elif Shafak / © Zeynel Abidin / 34 Fay Weldon / © Alex Baker / 30 Frieda Hughes / © Shropshire Magazine / 13 Janice Hadlow / © Martin Davidson Richard Madeley & Judy Finnigan / © Bill Waters / 17 Jonathan Dimbleby / © Antonio Olmos / 13 Judy Finnigan / © Bill Waters / 17 Kate Mosse / © Mark Rusher / 18 Kazuo Ishiguro / © Jeff Cottenden / 5, 40 Linda Grant / © Charlie Hopkinson / 46 Louise Stern / © Steven Fisher / 24 Matthew Dennison / © Stuart Bingham Meg Rosoff / © Zoe Norfolk / 24 Priya Parmar / © Naomi Nicholson / 35 Rachael Boast / © Julia Simone / 51 Sadie Jones / © Jonathan Greet / 46 Sandy Osborne / © Rebecca Millar Photography / 42 Sarah Brown / © Brian Aris / 5,42 Shami Chakrabarti / © Jo Metson-Scott / 14 Simon Schama / © Oxford Film and Television Ltd / 5, 50 Ted Hughes / © Carlo Chinca / 5, 13 The Chancery — Image from Secret City / © Dirty Confetti 2014 / 19, 53 Xiaolu Guo / © Philippe Clompi / 12 Yasmin Alibhai-Brown / © Josh Kearns / 17
Festival Administrator Danny Brothers Box Office Zoe Bailey, Chloe Merritt, June Price, Jean Saint, Pam Twohig, Heather Holcroft-Pinn Brand and Festival Design Smith and Milton, Bristol
Bath Festivals Third Floor, Abbey Chambers Kingston Buildings Bath BA1 1NT Registered Charity No. 801617
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