Speakers at this year’s festival include:
Kirsty Wark
Jonathan Scott
Raynor Winn
Ziauddin Yousafzai
Max Hastings
Rory Maclean
Paul Williams
Libby Page
John Hemming
For full details and tickets please go to
www.sherborneliterarysociety.com Registered Charity No: 1168489 /SherborneLiteraryFestival
@Sherlitfest
sherborneliteraryfestival
A Boutique Luxury Hotel, Spa and Seasons Restaurant
Escape to the country THE EASTBURY HOTEL Long Street, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3BY Tel: 01935 813131 Email: relax@theeastburyhotel.co.uk www.theeastburyhotel.co.uk
A huge welcome to the 8th SHERBORNE LITERARY FESTIVAL After last year’s Festival, when some of our best, but lesser-known, speakers had disappointingly small audiences, we decided that a Festival of five days was too much and consequently the decision was made to extend Festival-quality events throughout the year, while still providing a shorter Festival of three days in October in order to tap into the rich seam of pre-Christmas publications. Our ‘Festival-Plus’ occasions during the year have been very well attended, sometimes selling out in advance of the day. Now with just nine events in October we hope that everyone will feel able to support more of the lesser-known authors, most of whom in the past have proved to be some of our very best speakers. A Festival is a chance to stretch your mind and enjoy hearing about new subjects hitherto unexplored. To encourage this we have created both a Season Ticket for the entire Festival and individual Day Tickets, both of which offer savings to make their purchase really worthwhile. Massive thanks to our Festival Committee for all their hard work in getting this Festival launched with such an exciting team of speakers and to all our sponsors for their generous support. We very much look forward to welcoming you to the newly-opened Merritt Centre in Bradford Road. We are most grateful to Sherborne Girls for offering us exclusive use of this state-of-the-art venue.
FESTIVAL TEAM
John Gaye Chairman Sherborne Literary Society
Jules Bradburn
Festival Director
John Gaye
Festival Advisor
Wayne Winstone
Programme Advisor
Michela Franchini
Advertising and Marketing
Mark Pender
Treasurer
1
WEDNESDAY 23rd OCTOBER
EVENT 1
KIRSTY WARK The House By The Loch
Scotland 1950s. Walter MacMillan is bewitched by the clever, glamorous Jean Thompson and can’t believe his luck when she agrees to marry him. Neither can she, for Walter represents a strong, steady and loving man who can perhaps quiet the demons inside her. Yet their home on remote Loch Doon soon becomes a prison for Jean and neither a young family, nor Walter’s care, can seem to save her. Many years later Walter is with his adult children and adored grandchildren on the shores of Loch Doon, where the family has been holidaying for two generations. But the shadows of the past stretch over them and will turn all their lives upside down on one fateful weekend. Inspired in part by Kirsty’s childhood memories and her late father, this is a story about the bonds between generations, the need to belong and the devastating consequences of family secrets. SPONSORED BY
2
11AM
TICKETS: £8
Solicitors Solicitors
Battens Battens Charitable Charitable Trust Trust
Throughthe theBattens BattensCharitable CharitableTrust Trustwe weare are Through proud to tobe besponsoring sponsoringKirsty KirstyWark Warkat atthe the proud SherborneLiterary LiteraryFestival Festival Sherborne
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The Bank House, Long The Bank House, Long Street, Sherborne, DT9 3BU Street, Sherborne, DT9 3BU
WEDNESDAY 23rd OCTOBER
EVENT 2
R AY N O R W I N N
The Salt Path
Just days after Raynor learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years, is terminally ill, their home is taken away and they lose their livelihood. With nothing left and little time, they make the brave and impulsive decision to walk the 630 miles of the sea-swept South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, via Devon and Cornwall. Carrying only the essentials for survival on their backs, they live wild in the ancient, weathered landscape of cliffs, sea and sky. Yet through every step, every encounter and every test along the way, their walk becomes a remarkable journey.
The Salt Path is an honest and life-affirming true story of coming to terms with grief and the healing power of the natural world. Ultimately, it is a portrayal of home, and how it can be lost, rebuilt and rediscovered in the most unexpected ways. SPONSORED BY
4
2PM
TICKETS: ÂŁ10
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WEDNESDAY 23rd OCTOBER
EVENT 3
MAX HASTINGS
Chastise: The Dambusters Story 1943 A brand new history of the Dambusters raid from best-selling and critically acclaimed military historian, Max Hastings. Operation Chastise, the RAF’s 1943 assault on Germany’s dams, has passed into legend as one of the RAF’s greatest feats of arms. The book is expected to be available on 5th September 2019. Max Hastings will be introduced by well-known author Rachel Billington, the Sherborne Literary Society’s Patron.
SPONSORED BY
6
7PM
TICKETS: £12.50
ANA BIANCHI • EMMA DUNBAR • FIONA MILLAIS 19th October – 6th November
ANA BIANCHI
The Jerram Gallery Half Moon Street Sherborne, DT9 3LN
LANDSCAPE WITH FARM OIL
jerramgallery.com
01935 815261 info@jerramgallery.com Tuesday – Saturday
THURSDAY 24th OCTOBER
DIANA CAMBRIDGE WRITER IN RESIDENCE
Award-winning journalist and author Diana will be the Literary Festival’s Writer-In-Residence for 2019, offering a 30 minute pre-booked writing clinic.
FROM 10AM TO 6PM TICKETS £25 / 30 MIN SESSION
EVENT 4
PAUL WILLIAMS Wildlife Photography from the Edge: saving my life one frame at a time
The story of one man’s journey to restore his mental health and find meaning once again. Paul Williams, 58, joined the army at 17 and loved being a soldier. He especially enjoyed the physical, adrenaline-filled side of it. But in 1988 he shattered both ankles falling 100 feet in a climbing accident and was never physically the same again. He left the military in 1993. The book is the first of its kind in that it’s a hybrid of genres – combining textual snapshots of his journey, alongside which he opens his heart about the stigma attached to men with mental health problems, and includes a wealth of his stunning wildlife photography. It also includes tips and techniques about wellbeing and how Paul managed to step back from the brink to the person he is today.
8
11AM
TICKETS: £8
OPEN DOORS 24 September 10.00am & 5 November 10.00am
We are confident A Co-educational Diamond Model School Flexi, weekly and full boarding Daily buses across Dorset and Somerset
www.leweston.co.uk | 01963 211015 | admissions@leweston.dorset.sch.uk NURSERY
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Buy on line at www.vintagefountainpensinc.com Visit our website or contact Chris Robinson – Pensmith on telephone 07932 037630 email info@vintagefountainpensinc.com Also at Acreman St. Antiques Centre, Sherborne. DT9 3PH
THURSDAY 24th OCTOBER
EVENT 5
JONATHAN SCOTT The Vinyl Frontier
Forty years ago, a group of scientists, artists and writers gathered in a house in Ithaca, New York to work on the most important mix tape ever conceived. It wasn’t from one person to another, it was from Earth to the Cosmos. During the design phase of the Voyager mission, it was realised that the probes would eventually leave our solar system to drift forever in the unimaginable void of interstellar space. Therefore NASA commissioned astronomer Carl Sagan to create a message for any passing alien that might one day chance upon them. The result was the Voyager Golden Record, a genre-hopping multimedia metal LP that contained a 90-minute playlist of music from across the globe, a sound essay of life on Earth, spoken greetings in multiple languages and more than 100 photographs and diagrams, all painstakingly chosen by Sagan and his team to represent humanity. The Vinyl Frontier tells the story of this record through interviews with key figures throughout the process, from the first phone calls to final launch. Jonathan Scott is a music writer and self-confessed astronomy geek. Formerly a contributing editor to Record Collector magazine, he has edited books about Prince, Cher and the San Francisco psych explosion, and written about Nirvana, the Pogues, the Venga Boys, Sir Patrick Moore and Sir Isaac Newton in a variety of magazines. SPONSORED BY V I P ER LO N D O N D RY
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10
2PM
24/07/2019 13:34
TICKETS: ÂŁ8
th P RFriday O G R12 A MOctober ME 2019 All events are held at the Merritt Centre at Sherborne Girls, Sherborne DT9 3QN WEDNESDAY 23rd OCTOBER 11 am
Kirsty Wark
The House By The Loch
£8
2 pm
Raynor Winn
The Salt Path
£10
EVENT 11
Max Hastings ROB IN THURSDAY 24 OCTOBER BUTLER 7 pm
FRANCES E U STAC E
Chastise: The Dambusters Story 1943
th
10 am – 6 pm
Diana Cambridge
EVENT 12
£12.50
£25
Writer in Residence
per 30 min session At the Heart of Power A Carol is not Wildlife Photography from the Edge: 11Interviewed am Paul Williams £8 by just for Christmas Saving my life one frame at a time Michael Jago Known for her instrumental workshops, £8 2 pm Jonathan Scott The Vinyl Frontier
Robin Butler,
7 pm
Ziauddin Yousafzai
later Lord
Let Her Fly
Frances is a leading
£12.50
performer in
Butler of FRIDAY 25th OCTOBER
M
the world of
10Brockwell, am – Tom George 4 pm
Mindfulness Writing Workshop
11Secretary am Rory fromMaclean
Pravda Ha Ha: True Travels as well as to the End of Europe
£8
The Lido
£8
1989-1999. In
2 pm
£40
Early Music
was Cabinet
Libby Page
2016 Michael
7 Jago pm published John Hemming
a full-length biography of Lord Butler. In a relaxed setting, more chat than HOW TO BOOK
Y
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a published author and
People of the Rainforest: The Villas Boas Brothers entertaining Explorers and Humanitarians of the Amazon
C
MY
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£12.50
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speaker. For this workshop she’ll focus on the text of medieval carols. Alongside the touching religious lyrics we discover
discusses Lord Butler’s • interview, ONLINE viaJago www.sherborneliterarysociety.com some less familiar and less suitable for early or through Eventbrite/Sherborne Literary life and Civil Service career. LordSociety church performances.
• Butler, IN PERSON at the Information Centre, Digby Road, Sherborne DT9 3NL the soul ofSherborne discretionTourist concerning (Opening hours are Monday to Saturday 9.30 am Frances – 4 pm) brings formidable erudition to
classified material, speaks frankly about
• BY TELEPHONE to the above on 01935 815341
his career and the ups
an examination of the secular and the
and downs of life at the
downright rude. After an informative talk
• DURING THE FESTIVAL from the box office at the Merritt Centre, Sherborne Girls, Sherborne DT9 3QN
RETURNS
heart of power.
on the tradition of carolling there will be
All tickets are non-refundable unless the organisers have to cancel a particular event. In this an opportunity to write and sing yourcase please contact the Festival using any of the booking methods outlined above. You will receive a full refund on the own carol verses. tickets purchased. Signed copies will be
available from Winstone’s DISABLED ACCESS
Tickets: £5
TheTickets: Merritt Centre at Sherborne Girls is fully equipped for disabled access. 7pm at Oliver’s, £10
24
12
7pm at Digby Hall, Hound Street Cheap Street
THURSDAY 24th OCTOBER
EVENT 6
ZIAUDDIN YOUSAFZAI
Let Her Fly
In this intimate and extraordinary memoir, Ziauddin Yousafzai, the father of Malala, gives a moving account of fatherhood and his lifelong fight for equality – proving there are many faces of feminism. For over twenty years, Ziauddin Yousafzai has been fighting for equality – first for Malala, his daughter – and then for all girls throughout the world living in patriarchal societies. Taught as a young boy in Pakistan to believe that he was inherently better than his sisters, Ziauddin rebelled against inequality at a young age. And when he had a daughter himself he vowed that Malala would have an education, something usually only given to boys, and he founded a school that Malala could attend. Let Her Fly is Ziauddin’s journey from a stammering boy growing up in a tiny village high in the mountains of Pakistan, through to being an activist for equality and the father of the youngest ever recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and now one of the most influential and inspiring young women on the planet. Told through intimate portraits of each of Ziauddin’s closest relationships, Let Her Fly looks at what it means to love, to have courage and fight for what is inherently right. Personal in its detail and universal in its themes, this landmark book shows why we must all keep fighting for the rights of girls and women everywhere. SPONSORED BY
14
7PM
TICKETS: £12.50
THE pLACE TO MEET & RELAX EAT & DRINK CELEBRATE & STAY and of course read... BREAKFAST ~ BRUNCH ~ LUNCH ~ DINNER ~ SUNDAY ROAST Open Tuesday-Saturday 9am-11pm | Sunday 10am-5pm | Closed Monday
FAMILY-FRIENDLY BAR & RESTAURANT OUTDOOR TERRACE PRIVATE DINING MEETING ROOM CELEBRATIONS LUXURY STAYS pROUD TO SpONSOR
THE pARADE
| 88 CHEAp STREET | SHERBORNE | DT9 3Bj
t: 01935 508130
www.thecrosskeyssherborne.com
FRIDAY 25th OCTOBER
TOM GEORGE MINDFULNESS WORKSHOP
Learn to free your natural creativity at this unique workshop combining writing and mindfulness. Taking inspiration from nature, the senses and an open-ended approach to creativity we will learn to free our inner voice and create without self-judgement.
FROM 10AM TO 4PM TICKETS £40 / MAX 20 PEOPLE
EVENT 7
RORY MACLEAN Pravda Ha Ha: True Travels to the end of Europe
An unsettling, poignant and darkly comic exposé of Putin’s Russia and European disintegration from the acclaimed author of Stalin’s Nose. In 1989 the Berlin Wall fell. In that euphoric year Rory MacLean travelled from Berlin to Moscow, exploring the forgotten half of Europe. Thirty years on MacLean retraces his original Stalin’s Nose journey, travelling from revanchist Russia through Ukraine’s bloodlands, to illiberal Hungary, Poland, Germany and the UK, across countries confronting old ghosts and new fears. Along the way he shoulders an AK 47 to go hunting with Moscow’s Chicken Tsar, plays video games with a St Petersburg cyber-hacker who cracked the US election, drops by the Che Guevara High School of Political Leadership and meets the Warsaw doctor who tried to stop a march of 70,000 nationalists. As Europe sleepwalks into a perilous new age, MacLean explores how opportunists – from Putin to Home Counties populists – have made a joke of truth and examines the veracity of historical narrative from reportage to fiction to fake news. He asks what happened to the optimism of 1989 and, in the shadow of Brexit, chronicles the collapse of the European dream
16
11AM
TICKETS: £8
The Sherborne Indies are proud to support
the Sherborne Literary Festival
DESIGNER
SHERBORNE
WEB DESIGN
Chapter House Books & The Sanctuary Coffee Shop
visit
sherborneindies.co.uk
FRIDAY 25th OCTOBER
EVENT 8
LIBBY PAGE The Lido
Meet Rosemary, 86, and Kate, 26: dreamers, campaigners, outdoor swimmers... Rosemary has lived in Brixton all her life, but everything she knows is changing. Only the local lido, where she swims every day, remains a constant reminder of the past and her beloved husband George. Kate has just moved and feels adrift in a city that is too big for her. She’s on the bottom rung of her career as a local journalist, and is determined to make something of it. So when the lido is threatened with closure, Kate knows this story could be her chance to shine. But for Rosemary, it could be the end of everything. Together they are determined to make a stand, and to prove that the pool is more than just a place to swim - it is the heart of the community. ‘Feel-good and uplifting, this charming novel is full of heart’ - Lucy Diamond
18
2PM
TICKETS: £8
S WA N YA R D , S H E R B O R N E , D T 9 3 A X 0 1 9 6 5 8 1 6 1 7 7 W W W. M A R G A R E T B A L F O U R . C O . U K
THURSDAY 24th OCTOBER
EVENT 9
JOHN HEMMING
People of the Rainforest: The Villas Boas Brothers, Explorers and Humanitarians of the Amazon
The three dashing Villas Boas brothers became Brazil’s most famous explorers, in tough and exciting expeditions. They used their fame, throughout the second half of the twentieth century, to champion a series of indigenous tribes (four of which they contacted for the first time). They transformed public attitudes to these splendid peoples; and achieved the first gigantic reserve to protect them and their Amazonian rivers and rain forests. John Hemming knew the brothers well, and has himself undertaken many expeditions and visited and written about tribal peoples all over Brazil. Like the Villas Boas, he has trekked into unexplored forests and made first European contact with four tribes.
SPONSORED BY
20
7PM
TICKETS: ÂŁ12.50
Choice of Hearses available including our Land Rover Hearse
A J Wakely& Sons Independent Family Funeral Directors Established 1897
16 Newland, Sherborne DT9 3JQ 01935 816817 – 24 Hour Service – Pre-payment plans available
www.ajwakely.com Please contact Clive Wakely, or a member of our dedicated team for any advice or guidance.
2019
23 rd -
25 th O
ctob er
HEARTILY SUPPORTING THE 2019 SHERBORNE LITERARY FESTIVAL sherbornetimes.co.uk
Green by name and nature
2019 MICHELIN BIB GOURMAND WINNERS Tuesday - Saturday Lunch 12pm - 2.30pm | Dinner 6.30pm - 9.30pm | Sunday Lunch 12pm - 2.30pm 3 The Green, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3HY 01935 813821 | @greensherborne | greenrestaurant.co.uk
2019 SCHOOLS’ PROGRAMME
FUTURE EVENTS 2019
In 2017 seven of the local schools – The Gryphon, Sherborne Primary, Sherborne Abbey Primary, St Mary’s Bradford Abbas, St Andrew’s Yetminster, Thornford Primary and Buckland Newton Primary – were formally established as the Sherborne Area Schools’ Trust. They are committed to working together, sharing expertise and resources, so that they can deliver an excellent and exciting education for their pupils.
FRIDAY 15 NOVEMBER AT 7 PM
One of the main objectives of the Sherborne Literary Society is to encourage a love of reading and writing in these pupils. As the Literary Festival this year is to be held during half term in October we are going to organise author visits and workshops for the schools throughout the year, at times to suit the schools, rather than all within a few days within the Festival.
Raleigh Hall
We are most grateful for the sponsorship and support we have received in the past. We should, of course, be delighted to receive any extra sponsorship so that the schools can enjoy and benefit from inspiring literary and creative sessions completely free of charge.
Digby Memorial Hall
DAVID BURNET T Lost Dorset Tickets from Winstone’s Bookshop, Sherborne Tourist Information Centre or online
FRIDAY 22 NOVEMBER AT 7 PM
POETRY PLUS Tickets from Winstone’s Bookshop or at the door
SATURDAY 7 DECEMBER AT 7 PM Digby Memorial Hall
ANDREW LOWNIE The Mountbattens Tickets from Winstone’s Bookshop, Sherborne Tourist Information Centre or online
Sue Cameron Schools’ Programme
23
The Festival is an event organised under the auspices of the Sherborne Literary Society. Why not become a member of the Society and enjoy many more of its activities throughout the year? The costs of membership are kept at a level to cover the administration of the Society but are easily recovered through the various benefits described below. BENEFITS OF MEMBERSHIP For only £10 per year as a member you can benefit from the following: • Regular information on all Sherborne Literary Society events • A 10% discount on all Sherborne Literary Festival events • A 10% discount on books purchased at Sherborne’s independent bookshops (Abbey Bookshop, Chapter House Books and Winstone’s Bookshop) • A quarterly newsletter with information about forthcoming events. MEMBERSHIP REGISTRATION FORM Name (please print) Address Postcode Email
Telephone
Please tick if you would be willing to be contacted should help be needed at an event Please return, together with a stamped addressed envelope for us to return your membership card, to SLS Membership, 3 Twines Close, Sparkford, Nr Yeovil BA22 7JW and tick the box below for payment method:
I enclose a cheque for £10 made payable to Sherborne Literary Society I have set up payment by bank transfer/standing order* (our preferred method)
* delete as appropriate
Signature Date Our account details for standing orders and transfers are as follows: Beneficiary: Sherborne Literary Society Sort Code: 20-99-40 Account Number: 23133036 Amount of first payment £10. Date of first payment ........./........./2019 Thereafter, payable annually on 1st April each year until further notice starting 1st April 2020
THE NEWLY-OPENED MERRITT CENTRE AT SHERBORNE GIRLS IS THE HOST VENUE FOR THIS YEAR’S SHERBORNE LITERARY FESTIVAL
01935 812245 events@sherborne.com sherborne.com
Our boutique style inn is perfect for dropping by to catch up over drinks with friends or a romantic getaway for two to explore what this lovely village offers. The Kings Arms is located at the heart of Charlton Horethorne on the B3145, five miles from the historic towns of Sherborne and Wincanton. London is just two hours away by car.
www.thekingsarms.co.uk North Road, Charlton Horethorne, Sherborne, Dorset, DT9 4NL
T. 01963 220 281 E. admin@thekingsarms.co.uk
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