CURRENT AFFAIRS THE LIES AMERICA TELLS

Sarah Churchwell’s brilliant and provocative book, The Wrath to Come, examines the enduringly popular story Gone with the Wind, and exposes the divisions ripping the United States apart today. Separating fact from fiction, she shows how histories of mythmaking have informed America’s racial and gender politics, the controversies over Confederate statues, the resurgence of white nationalism, the Black Lives Matter movement, the enduring power of the American Dream and the violence of Trumpism. In conversation with journalist Anu Anand

Date: Saturday 13 May

Time: 11.30am – 12.30pm

Venue: Guildhall

Banqueting Room

Price: £5 – £15*

Event code: A3

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Fiction Joanne Harris

From romance to psychological thrillers, via short stories, the gothic and more, Joanne Harris is a master storyteller. Her new novel, Broken Light, sees protagonist 49-year-old Bernie’s life change when a woman is murdered in a local park. In conversation with the Guardian journalist and editor, Claire Armitstead, Joanne discusses women’s anger and power in middle age, and what led her to write a book that’s an homage to Stephen King’s iconic character Carrie.

Date: Saturday 13 May

Time: 11.30am – 12.30pm

Venue: Guildhall Salon

Price: £5 – £15*

Event code: A4

CURIOUS MINDS SHAKESPEARE: THE GREAT WHITE BARD

Is there a way forward for 21st-century Shakespeare that supports performers, students and theatre-lovers of all backgrounds to claim him as their own?

Professor Emma Smith (This is Shakespeare) chairs an event that unpacks the rich, but sometimes uncomfortable history of the bard with Professor Farah Karim-Cooper (The Great White Bard), academic and director of education at Shakespeare’s Globe, and academic Sophie Duncan (Searching for Juliet).

Fiction Libby Page And Lauren Bravo

Come and celebrate all things vintage, preloved and secondhand with Libby Page and Lauren Bravo who talk to Joanna Nadin about their uplifting new books. The Vintage Shop of Second Chances is set in Libby’s hometown of Frome and features Lou, who opens a shop as she grieves for her mother. Preloved follows Gwen, a lonely 30-something who rebuilds her life by volunteering in a charity shop after she’s made redundant.

Date: Saturday 13 May

Time: 12.30pm – 1.30pm

Venue: Walcot House

Price: £5 – £15*

Event code: A5

Date: Saturday 13 May

Time: 2.30pm – 3.30pm

Venue: Guildhall

Banqueting Room

Price: £5 – £15*

Event code: A8

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*Ticket price excludes booking fee