Litfest 2012
Lancaster’s 34th Literature Festival
Wednesday 17 -Sunday 21 October www.litfest.org
Litfest 2012
Welcome to Litfest 2012
Lancaster’s 34th Literature Festival With the ongoing support of Lancaster City and Lancashire County Councils, Lancaster’s annual literary festival once again presents a fabulous range of prose writers, poets and other wordfocused artists. Our dedicated and hard-working team of staff and volunteers has pulled out all the stops to create a festival that we hope offers something for everyone, whether they love slim volumes, thick hardbacks or the playful sounds of words on the tongue. In common with many arts organisations, Litfest has faced some tough challenges in recent times, but our city and county partners have shown their ongoing support and we forge ahead with great plans for the festival and for future events.
Andy Darby Artistic Director Litfest
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Saturday 20 October 8.30pm
An Evening with John Hegley Come and stretch your legs for an evening with one of Britain’s best loved comic poets. This all-new collection by the poet, comedian and performer brings together poetry, prose and drawings on the themes closest to his heart: from painting, France and family, to daleks, wheelbarrows, bus drivers and, of course, potatoes. These pieces are by turns funny, moving, thought - provoking and always brilliantly original. Writer and performer John Hegley has been described as the Spike Milligan of our time. He began his performing career in North London and was discovered in 1983 by John Peel as part of the band The Popticians. He now enjoys a cult following amongst fans of subversive comedy. His surreal poetry can be heard on BBC radio, set to music played by the poet himself. He has published ten books, including Glad to Wear Glasses (1990) and other titles of verse, prose and drama, several of which are illustrated with his drawings. He has also published a collection of photographs of potatoes.
Venue: The LICA Building, Lancaster University Tickets: £12 / £10 Concs Time: 8.30pm
Double
SATURDAY
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Date
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“Awesomely mundane.” Independent
Bring yourself down for a evening of laughter, potatoes and poetry.
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Festival Tasters
Behind the Cover
Three minute street performances of popular teenage fiction Behind the Cover is a friendly, informal Facebook page for teenagers to chat, post reviews and share all things book related. Members will perform funny, potted versions of Celia Rees’ best loved novels Pirates and The Witch Child, published by Bloomsbury Publishing, amongst other teenage fiction, in the streets of Lancaster. Their challenge is to prove that reading and books aren’t just about stuffy English lessons. The rehearsals and performances will also be videoed and posted to the Facebook page:
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Short readings from emerging Northern writers hidden in the streets of Lancaster
Set in Stone with Ian Tilton
Spice up your lunchtime by following our four writing collectives around the streets of Lancaster, from Casa Rastelli, to the bustling streets of Marketgate Shopping Centre, to Pao Pao cafe and finally the charming trinkets of Arteria. Waiting in these spaces will be two writers from each collective sharing their words with you. Wordlife is a literature organisation based in Yorkshire showcasing events, publications and workshops, represented by Joe Kriss and Gav Roberts. Cadaverine Magazine publishes the best new poetry, prose and non-fiction from writers under 30, represented by David Hartley and Lenni Sanders. #Flashtag are a Manchester-based writing collective made up of five intriguing flash fiction writers, represented by Benjamin Judge and Tom Mason. Bad Language are a Manchester-based literature organisation dedicated to the promotion and development of new writing, represented by Daniel Carpenter and Joe Daly.
Wired In Book Launch This exciting collaboration between Litfest and WIRED IN features the launch of Set in Stone, a new book from Manchester-based photographer Ian Tilton. Set In Stone is a celebration of The Stone Roses and recalls Ian’s close history with the band. Co-writer Claire Caldwell will read extracts from the book and a selection of Ian’s photographs will be displayed. Live music will be performed by specially invited guests.
Meet at noon at Casa Rastelli in Marketgate Shopping Centre to follow our trail.
www.facebook.com/BehindTheCover1
SATURDAY
SUNDAY
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Monday 15 October 7.00pm
Litflash Lunchtime
Saturday 13 and Sunday 14 October 10.00am - 5.00pm
Venue: Streets of Lancaster Tickets: Free Event Time: 10.00am
Saturday 13 October 12.00pm - 2.00pm
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Venue: Lancaster City Centre Tickets: Free Event Time: 12.00pm
SATURDAY
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Venue: The Round, The Dukes Tickets: £3 Time: 7.00pm
MONDAY
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Wednesday 17 October 6.00pm
Wednesday 17 October 7.30pm
Mystery Launch Event
Gothic Young Adult Fiction Featuring authors Celia Rees, Chris Priestley and Cliff McNish Listen to your favourite authors read their work and engage in a discussion of the Gothic.
Flax Challenge 2012 Mystery Launch Event
A surprise event organised in 48 hours by guest curator Emma Rucastle. Freelance director/deviser/writer/tutor Emma Rucastle was selected from an open call-out to find a brave and resourceful individual to curate the opening event at this year’s festival. Emma will be given a theme for the event and a budget of just £33 (one pound for every year the festival has run) 48 hours before the event is due to start. Remaining materials, expertise and artistic contributions will be sourced from other creatives, local businesses and the wider community. The event will showcase the resourcefulness and talent of Lancaster’s creative community. Come along to show your support and enjoy the thrill of the unknown! Venue: The Round, The Dukes Tickets: Free (Booking Essential) Time: 6.00pm
WEDNESDAY
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OCTOBER
Haunted houses, ancient manuscripts, and monstrous outsiders currently fill the pages of young adult fiction. Why have contemporary authors and readers seized so avidly on the Gothic? This panel will explore three very different authors’ take on the subject – with not a sparkly vampire in sight! Dr Catherine Spooner will lead the panel discussion. She is currently exploring some of the ways in which Gothic has been revived and adapted within twenty-first century culture. Celia Rees is a leading writer for Young Adults and has has written over twenty books for teenagers including the award-winning Witch Child, Blood Sinister and The Stone Testament.
Chris Priestley is a critically acclaimed writer for children and teenagers. His award-winning Tales of Terror series has been translated into many languages and his latest, Mister Creecher, is inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. Cliff McNish is a writer of fantasy, supernatural and horror stories. His latest gothic offering ghost story, The Hunting Ground, was shortlisted for the 2012 Lancashire Teenage Book Award. For ages 12+
Venue: The Round, The Dukes Tickets: : £8 / £6 Under 18s: £5 Time: 7.30pm
WEDNESDAY
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Lunchtime Events Thursday 18 October 1.00pm
Friday 19 October 12.00pm
Everything Must Go Book Launch
Writing for TV and Radio with Henry Swindell
Rosie Garland “‘Hugely entertaining, tough-talking … a celebration of female sexuality, of power and liberation.” Carol Ann Duffy
BBC Writers Room Workshop
An inspiring and uplifting launch event. In 2009, writer and performer Rosie Garland was diagnosed with throat cancer. The experience inspired the poems in her new collection, Everything Must Go, which launches here at Litfest. Rosie has published four solo collections of poetry and her award-winning short stories, poems and essays have been widely anthologised. She is the winner of the Mslexia Novel Competition 2012. After the reading, Lancaster social entrepreneur Jane Binnion will interview Rosie about her experiences writing the new collection. Jane has produced a series of Super Woman of Lancashire blogs highlighting stories of inspiring women from various backgrounds. http://www.janessocialmedia.co.uk/2012/05/is-it-abird-is-it-a-plane/
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Venue: The Gallery, The Dukes Tickets: £4/£2 (Includes money off voucher for the book) Time: 1.00pm
THURSDAY
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We are pleased to bring you another workshop from the BBC Writers Room, a unique department within the BBC that champions new scriptwriters from across the UK. Come to a practical workshop to find out how to get started as a scriptwriter, and discover what an industry professional looks for in the first ten pages of a script. This free three hour workshop will be incredibly popular so please book your place as soon as possible.
Venue: The Gallery, The Dukes Tickets: Free (Booking Essential) Time: 12.00pm
FRIDAY
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OCTOBER
Gothic Lunchtime Classics
Thursday 18 October 8.00pm
More Music Songwriter’s Circle Presented by More Music in association with Litfest
Litfest’s popular lunchtime classics are a 40-minute introduction to works of classic literature and a chance to hear the work read aloud.
Songs and stories from a selection of the finest local songwriters.
Wednesday 17 October 1.00pm
Friday 19 October 1.00pm
Dr Catherine Spooner, Senior Lecturer in English Literature at Lancaster University, introduces perhaps the most famous Victorian Gothic horror novel of all time. Catherine has published three books on Gothic literature and culture.
One of the world’s leading experts on Beddoes, Alan Halsey, presents an introduction to the great 19th century poet and dramatist, best known for his dithyrambic in the florid Gothic style Death’s Jest-Book.
Dracula by Bram Stoker
Thomas Lovell Beddoes
Hear the stories behind the songs: why they were written and how the lyrics were crafted. Hosted by showman and storyteller Gary Bridgens and featuring songs and chat from Kate Howden, Dan Haywood, Joe Kondras (The Heartbreaks), John Fox (poet and painter) and Katy Pickles. Book tickets via More Music on 01524 831997 www.moremusic.org.uk For ages 16+
Venue: The Meeting Room, Lancaster Library Tickets: £4 / £2 Concs Time: 1.00pm
WEDNESDAY
17
OCTOBER
Venue: The Meeting Room, Lancaster Library Tickets: £4 / £2 Concs Time: 1.00pm
FRIDAY
19
OCTOBER
Venue: The Hothouse, Morecambe Tickets: £6 / £4 Concs Time: 8.00pm
THURSDAY
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Thursday 18 October 8.00pm
Thursday 18 October 6.00pm
An Oxford Mystery
Short Fiction Readings
Someone Called Derrida
Adam Marek & David Constantine
A play of voices based on the documentary novel by Fred Dalmasso & John Schad. Someone called Jacques Derrida, someone called him on the phone, someone who was dead. A mystery, he thought; A mystery that begins in 1968 when Derrida visits Oxford and there he dies, several times. This real-life murder mystery focuses on the famous French philosopher Jacques Derrida’s complex relationship with Oxford and the final years in the life of John Schad’s own father - years overwhelmed by dementia, nightmare and memories of boarding school. Jacques Derrida’s words come directly from his book The Post Card (1979) and the nightmare words of the author’s father were transcribed by his mother. The words that detail life both in Oxford and at boarding school all come from published accounts.
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Tea at the Midland by David Constantine This much anticipated new collection of short stories from the winner of the 2010 BBC National Short Story Award features award-winning story ‘Tea at the Midland’, as broadcast on BBC Radio 4. The characters in David Constantine’s fourth collection are often delicately caught in moments of defiance. Disregarding their age, their family, or the prevailing political winds, we see them marking out a space for their resistance and taking an honest delight in it.
The Stone Thrower by Adam Marek
Rowan Williams, Archbishop of Canterbury
Intelligent clothing, superhero dictators, cross species reproduction… welcome to the surreal and startling world of Adam Marek; a menagerie of futuristic technology, sinister traditions and scientificallygrounded superpowers – a place where the absurd and the mundane are not merely bedfellows, but interbreed.
Venue: The Round, The Dukes Tickets: £5 / £3 Concs Time: 8.00pm
Venue: The Round, The Dukes Tickets: £8 / £6 Concs Time: 6.00pm
“Caught my imagination straight away.”
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Master short story writers David Constantine and Adam Marek read excerpts from their new short fiction collections.
THURSDAY
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Friday 19 October 6.00pm
Friday 19 October 8.45pm
Film and Poetry
Open Mic SLAM
You Should’ve Seen Us
Spotlight
Poet Paul Mills introduces a selection of films from the Yorkshire Film Archive with a recorded poetry soundtrack. You Should’ve Seen Us presents films from the Yorkshire Film Archive from the period 1908 to 1958. Moving image is combined with a soundtrack of Paul Mills’ poems, spoken by Paul and other actors. Some are commentaries, others imagined voices of people in North Yorkshire from before, during and after the Second World War. Following the 50 minute presentation there will be a discussion around how we respond to images of local and national history and a look at some of the various ways archive films can stimulate new writing.
Grab your three minutes at the mic’ and perform your way to audience acclaim and a cash prize (£50, £25, £10). Poetry, Prose, Stand-Up or Music - you’ve got just 180 seconds to make an impact as a performer! Grab the mic’, wave your ego and charge! Places are limited so book your slot now by e-mailing spotlightclub@btinternet.com Compere: Simon Baker Music: Cartoon Food Venue: The Park Hotel, Lancaster Tickets: £4 / £2 Concs Time: 8.45pm (Doors)
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Spotlight Writing Surgeries “Paul Mills has produced a wonderfully stirring, thoughtful and ultimately celebratory body of work.” Ian McMillan
Venue: The Rake, The Dukes Tickets: £8 / £6 Concs Time: 6.00pm
Would you like feedback on your writing? Come to a one-to-one surgery with Spotlight organisers Ron Baker and Sarah Fiske. Places are limited and must be booked in advance. To sign up for a 20 minute writing surgery e-mail spotlightclub@btinternet.com or call 01524 381642. You will be asked to submit 1,000 words of prose or 3 poems up to approximately 40 lines in length by Friday 12 October.
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Fee: £5 The LICA Building, Lancaster University Sunday 21 October
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Saturday 20 October
All Day Ticket £25/£19
10.00am - 11.00am
Poetry Book Club
Interregnum by Geraldine Monk
Come along and discuss Geraldine Monk’s wellknown book with other poetry fans. Interregnum features poems about the Pendle Witches and Geraldine will make a guest appearance. In 1612, ten people from the Pendle area of East Lancashire were hanged as witches in the city of Lancaster. Present day and historical abuse and misuse of language-magic, which determines degrees of freedom, is a recurring theme in the text of Interregnum.
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1.30pm - 2.30pm
Arc Publishing
Crossing Hemispheres
Amarjit Chandan & Razmik Davoyan
All Day Poetry Shindig
Venue: Pao Pao Café, 69 King Street, Lancaster Tickets: Free (Booking Essential) Time: 10.00am
12.00pm - 1.00pm
SATURDAY
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OCTOBER
Katharine Kilalea & Isobel Dixon
Arc Publishing presents two poets from Punjab and Armenia.
Readings from two women poets born in South Africa and working in the UK.
Arc publishes contemporary poetry from new and established writers from the UK and abroad, specialising in the work of international poets writing in English and in translation.
These two poets enrich UK poetry with a new slant, writing with an awareness of their African roots.
Amarjit Chandan’s poetry presents the Punjabi language in its innate simplicity. It “transports its listeners or readers into an arena of timelessness” says John Berger. Chandan was born in Nairobi, Kenya in 1946, and lives and works in London. He has six collections of poetry, and four books of essays in Punjabi. Razmik Davoyan is Armenia’s most significant contemporary poet. He has published well over thirty volumes in Armenian as well as in Russian, Czech and English translation. He reads alongside his translator and wife Arminé Tamrazian to give a spellbinding performance of musicality and power.
Venue: The LICA Building, Lancaster University Tickets: £8 / £6 Concs Time: 12.00pm
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Isobel Dixon came to the UK to study in 1993; Katherine Kilalea followed twelve years later. Isobel’s writing is vivid, colourful and intensely visual as well as musical. Clive James says of Isobel, “she was born with the gift of lyricism as natural speech...all the sense impressions of Africa, even if the reader has never actually been there, live naturally in her poetry as if it were the only landscape.” Katharine Kilalea’s cool, clear writing with its unflinching clarity and arresting imagery led to her first book One Eye’d Leigh being shortlisted for the Costa Poetry Award and longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize for writers under 30.
Venue: The LICA Building, Lancaster University Tickets: £8 / £6 Concs Time: 1.30pm
SATURDAY
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OCTOBER
3.00pm - 4.00pm
4.30pm - 5.30pm
6.00pm - 7.00pm
The Way it Sounds
Their Own Unique World
Meeting of Hearts and Minds
William Letford & Rommi Smith
Claire Crowther & Geraldine Monk
Gillian Clarke & Robert Crawford
Readings from two poets who draw on the power of the spoken word.
Readings from two poets with strikingly individual styles and original ways with language.
Readings by two established and acclaimed poets, one Scottish, one Welsh.
These two poets both perform their work by heart and are dedicated to a rhythmically aesthetic delivery.
Praised for her inventiveness and humour, Claire Crowther constantly surprises, both with her subject matter and where she and her language take it. Richard Price (Times Literary Supplement) is waylaid by her sly humour: “While her poems can be crystal clear, more often they are riddling, veering, mysterious; deadly serious or quietly funny.”
These two contrasting poets come together to share their wit and metaphoric insight which may astonish you into viewing life differently.
William Letford lives in Stirling and works as a roofer. He has received a New Writer’s Award from the Scottish Book Trust, and an Edwin Morgan Travel Bursary which allowed him to spend three months in the mountains of northern Italy helping to restore a medieval village. His debut collection Bevel was published by Carcanet earlier this year. Rommi Smith is the first Parliamentary Writer in Residence, whose work fusing poetry and music you may have already heard on radio, exploring Tony Blair’s expression of “deep sorrow” over the slave trade. She is mentor for award-winning documentary, We Are Poets, which celebrates the journey of six young poets as they compete in the slam championship, Brave New Voices. Venue: The LICA Building, Lancaster University Tickets: £8 / £6 Concs Time: 3.00pm
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Geraldine Monk’s joyous, shifting, witty, generous, intelligent and inventive writing makes for an unforgettable experience at her readings. Geraldine’s most well-known and ambitious work is Interregnum, written in 1994 about the Pendle Witches, situating the trials firmly into the Lancashire landscape. A special commemorative edition called Pendle Witch-Words featuring the monologues and a preface will be available from Knives Forks and Spoons Press.
Venue: The LICA Building, Lancaster University Tickets: £8 / £6 Concs Time: 4.30pm
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Gillian Clarke, National Poet for Wales since 2008, is President of Ty Newydd, the Writers’ Centre in North Wales, which she co-founded in 1990. She was awarded the Queen’s Gold medal for Poetry in December 2010, and the Wilfred Owen Award in 2012. Recent books include A Recipe for Water, At the Source, and a new collection, Ice, published by Carcanet. Robert Crawford is Professor in the School of English at the University of St Andrews, and one of Scotland’s most distinguished poet-critics. His poems incorporate dialect, the occasional made-up word or a term borrowed from technical science. Scotland and technology are both recurring themes in his writing. Venue: The LICA Building, Lancaster University Tickets: £8 / £6 Concs Time: 6.00pm
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Sunday 21 October
All Day Prose Shindig
1.30pm - 2.30pm
And Other Stories present:
Deborah Levy and Oleg Zaionchkovsky (Translated by Andrew Bromfield)
All Day Ticket £20/£14
Readings by Deborah and Andrew from their recent publications and a Q and A led by And Other Stories.
12.00pm - 1.00pm
Flax Landscape Showcase
Naomi Kruger, Sarah Schofield and Ian Hill Showcasing three specially commissioned pieces from emerging North West writers.
Davies Bursary, aimed at supporting new writers for non-fiction works about Cumbria. Sarah Schofield is a Lancashire based freelance writer. Past credits include the Guardian Travel Writing Competition 2010, and a place on the Bridport shortlist 2008.
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Flax is a publishing imprint of Litfest that celebrates the wealth of creative talent in the North West of England. Join us for readings of three new prose pieces specially commissioned for the festival. Naomi Kruger, Sarah Schofield and Ian Hill were chosen to write short stories and creative nonfiction informed and inspired by the Lancashire landscape. Their work will be launched as an e-book, and forms part of Litfest’s ongoing commitment to exploring and celebrating the Lancashire landscape through literature.
Naomi Kruger’s first collection, written as part of her MA, was awarded the Princess Alexandra Medal at Lancaster University. She is currently completing her PhD, a composite novel partly narrated by a character with dementia.
Ian Hill grew up in Lincolnshire, but has lived in Cumbria for 20 years. He recently won a Hunter
Venue: The LICA Building, Lancaster University Tickets: Free (Booking Essential) Time: 12.00pm
Picnic nibbles will be provided.
SUNDAY
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OCTOBER
Both these authors have work published by And Other Stories. This unusual publishing route involves readers in the publishing process, through readers groups, online forums and heated discussion. Deborah Levy’s plays have been staged all over the world and a new anthology of her short stories will be published by And Other Stories in 2013. Her latest novel, Swimming Home, is longlisted for this year’s Man Booker Prize and was serialised on Radio 4’s Book at Bedtime. Oleg Zaionchkovsky was born in 1959 in Samara. In 2010, Happiness is Possible was shortlisted for both the Russian Booker and the Russian Big Book prize. He spent most of his adult life in the small town of Khotkovo, working as a test engineer in a factory making rocket engines. Andrew Bromfield is Oleg’s translator and will be reading on his behalf. Venue: The LICA Building, Lancaster University Tickets: £8 / £6 Concs Time: 1.30pm
SUNDAY
21
OCTOBER
3.00pm - 4.00pm
4.30pm - 5.30pm
In Conversation
The Right to Imagine
Rodge Glass and Alan Bissett
6.00pm - 7.00pm
Jo Baker and Zoe Lambert
M.J. Hyland and Anneliese Mackintosh
Readings from their thematically related work and a discussion around the crippling pressure of sport.
Readings from their latest works and a discussion of war in fiction.
Rodge and Alan have both created fiction which address issues of sectarianism, greed and ruthless ambition in today’s sporting industry.
These two North West writers explore elements of war within their story-telling. This event brings you two readings and a short discussion on the act of creating fiction around events that may not be so close to home.
Rodge Glass is the author of Bring Me the Head of Ryan Giggs, a novel about our cultural addiction to football. He lives in Glasgow and is the prizewinning biographer of Alasdair Gray and the author of two previous novels, No Fireworks and Hope for Newborns. Alan Bissett, currently Scottish Writer of the Year, is the award winning author of Pack Men, a fictional story of three pals and one child trapped inside the powderkeg of the 2008 Glasgow Rangers FC match in Manchester. Alan’s ‘one-woman show’, The Moira Monologues, is currently in development with the BBC as a TV sitcom.
Venue: The LICA Building, Lancaster University Tickets: £8 / £6 Concs Time: 3.00pm
SUNDAY
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OCTOBER
Jo Baker is the author of four critically-acclaimed novels. The American edition of her most recent novel, The Picture Book, was Oprah’s Book of the Week and Editor’s Choice in the New York Times Book Review. The novel tells the story of an intimate family history from the First World War to the ‘War on Terror’. Zoe Lambert is Manchester-based Comma Press’ latest short fiction writer and a lecturer in Creative Writing. Her book, The War Tour, is a daring collection of short stories that explore themes of political and cultural identity, the rewriting of history, asylum, refugees, science and global conflict, and is shortlisted for the Edge Hill Prize for the Short Story. Venue: The LICA Building, Lancaster University Tickets: £8 / £6 Concs Time: 4.30pm
SUNDAY
21
OCTOBER
The Place of the Short Story Two readings and a discussion on the future of the short story form. These two writers have a passion for short fiction and have been extensively published within their field. Anneliese Mackintosh says of her fiction that “My favourite subjects to write about are: death, grief, sexuality, women and mental health.” Her fiction has been broadcast on BBC Radio, as well as published in various anthologies and magazines. M.J. Hyland is an ex-lawyer and the author of three multi-award-winning novels. Her short stories have been published in Zoetrope and her short story, ‘Rag Love’, was shortlisted for the BBC National Short Story Award in 2011. In September 2012, her long essay, ‘Hardy Animal’ will be published in Granta - Medicine.
Venue: The LICA Building, Lancaster University Tickets: £8 / £6 Concs Time: 6.00pm
SUNDAY
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Sunday 21 October 8.00pm
Sunday 4 November 10.30am
Crow
Post Festival Event
Dickens Readers’ Day
Storytelling by Dominic Kelly Dominic Kelly uses his compelling signature style to tell a dark, beautiful and bleak tale set in the Lancashire landscape. Intelligent, ruthless, stark, graceful… crows haunt both our outer and inner landscapes. Dominic Kelly accompanies these black-feathered tricksters through a northern borderland: here, in the shadows of the saltmarsh channels, neither crows nor people are quite what they seem. Welcome to Crow.
“If I had to leave tonight, Dominic Kelly’s Crow would have been worth the 3-hour drive.” Audience member, Cambridge Storytelling Festival
To celebrate the bicentenary of Charles Dickens, biographer Claire Tomalin and author Ronald Frame will headline a day exploring the ongoing significance of the acclaimed Victorian novelist and social commentator. The event will include lively debate and comment from experts in the field. Attendees will be able to participate in a number of exploratory workshops around the impact of reading Dickens in the modern day. This is a joint event between Lancashire County Council Cultural Services and Litfest.
In this powerful performance, Dominic deftly interweaves myth, fairytale and biography to map the life and death of his grandfather - a man who was moulded by the time and place of his birth until the boundary between metaphor and reality becomes subtly undefined. For ages 12+
Venue: The Round, The Dukes Tickets: £8 / £6 Concs Time: 8.00pm 14
SUNDAY
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OCTOBER
Venue: Lancaster Library Tickets: £7.50 (Includes Lunch) Time: 10.30am
SUNDAY
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NOVEMBER
Saturday 20 October 10.00am
Picture Book Master Class with Guy Parker-Rees A live painting session with the illustrator of Giraffes Can’t Dance. Come along for a fun-filled morning with Guy Parker-Rees, as he introduces you to his latest books: Tom and Millie’s Great Big Treasure Hunt and Party Time with Littlebob and Plum. Help him make up a brand new picture book character (and create one of your own!), and watch him painting live… Maybe Gerald the giraffe will even pop in for a dance at the end! Guy Parker-Rees’ exuberant and energetic illustrations have made him a household name and one of today’s bestselling children’s illustrators. You’ll recognise his work from the worldwide hit, Giraffes Can’t Dance, Spookyrumpus and the highly acclaimed All Afloat on Noah’s Boat. Guy lives in Brighton with his wife and three young sons. For ages 4+
Venue: The Sanctuary, Lancaster Library Tickets: £4/Under 3s free Time: 10.00am
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Children’s and Young Adult Events Saturday 20 October 1.00pm
Sunday 21 October 10.00am
Meet the Author
Story Walk
The Stone King by Claire Massey
Malkin Child by Livi Michael
Explore the hidden pathways of Williamson Park with author Claire Massey.
Meet the author and take part in a Q & A led by the book’s editor, Claire Massey. Livi Michael reads from and discusses her new children’s novel, which tells the story of the infamous Lancashire Witch Trials from nineyear-old Jennet Device’s point of view. Jennet’s family all believe they are witches. Other folk think they are, too. But 1612 is a dangerous time to be a witch. When her family are imprisoned and put on trial in Lancaster Castle, Jennet’s evidence will help decide their fate. Livi Michael is an award-winning North West author of four novels for adults and twelve for children. Malkin Child is published by Foxtail, an imprint of Litfest, and is the Lancashire Reads Book 2012.
“...an absolutely riveting read, so original and imaginative.” Jacqueline Wilson
The Stone King is a magical new fairy tale inspired by the landscape and history of Williamson Park. Take part in an exciting story walk with Claire and listen to her read each chapter of the story in the place it is set. Claire Massey’s fairy tale inspired short stories have been published in various magazines and anthologies including The Best British Short Stories 2011. For ages 7+ Please note that this event takes place in the great outdoors of Williamson Park. Suitable clothing and footwear should be worn. Please meet at the cafe at 9.45am.
For ages 9+ Venue: The Meeting Room, Lancaster Library Tickets: Free (Booking Essential) Time: 1.00pm
SATURDAY
20
OCTOBER
Venue: Williamson Park, Lancaster Tickets: Free (Booking Essential) Time: 10.00am
SUNDAY
21
OCTOBER
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Booking How to Book For full information on all of the events visit the Litfest website: www.litfest.org To contact Litfest please email: info@litfest.org
Ticket Offers John Hegley only: Live at LICA
Lancaster University, LA1 4YW Box Office: 01524 594151 Online: www.liveatlica.org
Young Persons’ Festival Ticket If you’re 26 or under enjoy the entire festival for just £26 All Day Poetry Shindig - £25/£19 All Day Prose Shindig - £20/14
Songwriter’s Circle only:
For all tickets and offers including Shindig:
The Dukes
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More Music
The Hothouse, 13-17 Devonshire Road, Morecambe, LA3 1QT Box Office: 01524 831997 Online: www.moremusic.org.uk
Moor Lane Lancaster LA1 1QE
Spotlight only:
Box Office: 01524 598500 Online: www.dukes-lancaster.org
Tel: 01524 381642 Online: www.spotlightlancaster.co.uk email: spotlightclub@btinternet.com
Double Dates Get 50% off And Other Stories (pg 12) when you book for Adam Marek and David Constantine (pg 8) Get 50% off Arc Publishing (pg 10) when you book for John Hegley (pg 3)
Spotlight
Get 50% off Gothic Young Adult Fiction (pg 5) when you book for Crow (pg 14)
Visiting and Access Travelling to Events The Dukes The Dukes is accessible by car and public transport and is just a few minutes walk from both Lancaster Train Station and Bus Station. There is ample pay and display parking available within two minues walk of The Dukes. Bike racks are located on Moor Lane, close to the Dukes.
LICA LICA is accessible via car and public transport and a scenic cycle route links campus to Lancaster city centre on a route of around 25 minutes. Visitor parking is available (free anywhere on campus after 6pm and weekends).
Access Information If you require a large print version of the brochure please contact: maria.major@litfest.org
www.litfest.org www.facebook.co/litfestlancaster www.twitter.com/LitFest Newsletter
Please check venue websites for other access information.
Volunteers Our volunteers are sparkling diamonds who give us a much needed twinkle. If you’d like to volunteer - whether it’s helping out with Front of House on event nights, or putting up a poster in your local shop, we’d love to hear from you email: nicola.west@litfest.org
Lancaster Library 18 - 20 Market Street Lancaster, LA1 1HT There is no immediate car parking outside the library but there are car parks and disabled spaces near by. See the City Council website for more details (www.lancaster.gov.uk/parking). Cover photo: Jonathan Bean Brochure design: Morph Films
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Date
Time
Event Title
Tickets
Venue
Page
Saturday 13 October
10.00am 12.00pm
Behind The Cover Litflash Lunchtime
Free Free
The Streets of Lancaster Starts Casa Rastelli
Pg 4 Pg 4
Monday 15 October
7.00pm
Wired In
£3
The Dukes
Pg 4
Wednesday 17 October
1.00pm 6.00pm 7.30pm 1.00pm 6.00pm 8.00pm 8.00pm 12.00pm 1.00pm
Gothic Lunch - Dracula Mystery Launch Event Gothic Young Adult Fiction Rosie Garland Adam Marek and David Constantine Someone called Derrida Songwriter’s Circle BBC Writers Room Workshop Gothic Lunch - Thomas Lovell Beddoes
£4/2 Free £8/£6 Under 18s £5 £4/£2 £8/£6 £5/£3 £6/£4 Free £4/£2
Lancaster Library The Dukes The Dukes The Dukes The Dukes The Dukes More Music The Dukes Lancaster Library
Pg 7 Pg 5 Pg 5 Pg 6 Pg 8 Pg 8 Pg 7 Pg 6 Pg 7
6.00pm
You Should’ve Seen Us
£8/£6
The Dukes
Pg 9
8.45pm
Spotlight Slam
£4/£2
The Park Hotel
Pg 9
10.00am
Poetry Reading Group
Free
Pao Pao
Pg 10
10.00am 12.00pm 1.00pm
Picture Book Master Class with Guy Parker-Rees Arc Publishing Malkin Child by Livi Michael
£4 - Under 3s free £8/£6 Free
Lancaster Library LICA Lancaster Library
Pg 15 Pg 10 Pg 17
1.30pm 3.00pm
Katharine Kilalea and Isobel Dixon William Letford and Rommi Smith
£8/£6 £8/£6
LICA LICA
Pg 10 Pg 11
4.30pm
Claire Crowther and Geraldine Monk
£8/£6
LICA
Pg 11
6.00pm
Gillian Clarke and Robert Crawford
£8/£6
LICA
Pg 11
8.30pm
John Hegley
£12/£10
LICA
Pg 3
10.00am
The Stone King Walk
Free
Williamson Park
Pg 17
12.00pm 1.30pm 3.00pm 4.30pm 6.00pm 8.00pm
Flax Landscape Showcase And Other Stories Rodge Glass and Alan Bissett Jo Baker and Zoe Lambert M.J. Hyland and Anneliese Mackintosh Crow
Free £8/£6 £8/£6 £8/£6 £8/£6 £8/£6
LICA LICA LICA LICA LICA The Dukes
Pg 12 Pg 12 Pg 13 Pg 13 Pg 13 Pg 14
10.30am
Dickens Readers’ Day
£7.50
Lancaster Library
Pg 14
Thursday 18 October
Friday 19 October
Saturday 20 October
Sunday 21 October
Sunday 4 November
Prose
Poetry
Childrens and Young Adult
Main Festival Box Office: 01524 598500
Storytelling/Performance and Film
All details are correct at the time of going to press. We reserve the right to change the programme if circumstances dictate. Litfest cannot refund money for purchased tickets, except in the case of a cancelled event. Lancaster & District Festival Ltd, trading as Litfest. Registered Company No. 1494221. Registered Charity No. 510670.
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