Newark Book Festival

7th – 10th July 2022

Newark Book Festival returns to the Nottinghamshire market town this July for four days of book-filled fun with author events, family favourites and an online programme.

This year elements of the Festival will have a music theme, so look out for musical guests and an exploration of music, books and words.

FRINGE EVENTS

Exhibition: 70 Years of Books 1 July 2022 - 31 July 2022 St Mary Magdalene Church Free

In celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, this year our exhibition will celebrate 70 years of books.

Heritage Literary Walk 7 July 2022 9:15 am - 11:00 am Newark Town Centre £6 – £8

As part of our work with Newark’s Cultural Consortium and Historic England’s Heritage Action Zone, we’ll be hosting this fantastic walking tour of Newark town centre.

Literature Village 7 July 2022 10:00 am - 3:30 pm 8 July 2022 10:00 am – 4:00 pm 9 July 2022 9:30 am 4:00 pm 10 July 10:00 am - 3:30 pm Newark Market Place Free

Located near the Town Hall, we present stalls full of literary delights.

Amplifying your Climate Actions: A unique tool to build Climate Communities 7 July 2022 11:00 am - 12:00 pm St Mary Magdalene Church Free

Newark-raised scientist and author Dr Louis Keal presents a talk and discussion on how to amplify our actions towards a better, less dangerous world.

Time Hop! Community Launch Performance with Zuzka 7 July 2022 12:30 pm - 1:00 pm Newark Market Place Free

Join us for a spectacular launch to the Festival with music, singing and dancing, choreographed by AJs Dance and with performances by Zuzka.

Our Heritage Walk – Sconce & Devon Park: Springs, Linen, Railways and Fortifications 7 July 2022 1:45 pm - 3:00 pm Sconce & Devon Park – Meet at Rumbles Cafe £6 – £8

Join local historian Kevin Winter and poet Lytisha Tunbridge to explore Sconce & Devon Park looking at some of the uses it has had in the past and the evidence for them that can still be seen today.

Gill Hornby – Godmersham Park 7 July 2022 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Tudor Hall £5 – £6

From the author of the Sunday Times bestselling Miss Austen, comes a wonderfully original, emotionally-complex novel, following Anne Sharp, a governess who became close to Jane Austen and her family.

Wine and Words 7 July 2022 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Grain No. 1 £15

The delightful and intriguing Grain No. 1 provides the venue for this year’s Wine and Words Festival event.

Writing the Criminous: Prose and Verse 8 July 2022 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Tudor Hall £4 – £5

Celebrating the publication of the latest in their crime reference guides, Catching a Killer, Stuart Gibbons and Stephen Wade offer an account of murder investigations down the centuries in England.

Other Sides to Crime (writers) 8 July 2022 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Newark Town Hall £5 – £6

Two crime writers, William Shaw and David Mark, in conversation. Both have much loved series, but also other sides to their writing and engagement with readers.

Writing Newark: Bricks and Mortar, Space and Light 8 July 2022 11:30 am - 1:30 pm Newark Library Meeting Room £6 – £8

Using simple exercises and images to inspire you, this lively writing workshop helps you explore the atmosphere, history or your memories of Newark’s rich built heritage.

Alphabet Street and stories by Jonathan Emmett 8 July 2022 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Beanblock Cafe £2

Join author Jonathan Emmett to discover the amazing animal inhabitants of Alphabet Street and hear him read his latest picture book The Book Family Robinson and old favourite Bringing Down the Moon.

Philippa East and Elliot Wood 8 July 2022 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Newark Town Hall £5 – £6

Crime writer Philippa East talks about her debut novel, Little White Lies, which was longlisted for The Guardian's Not-The-Booker Prize and shortlisted for the CWA "New Blood" Award 2020.

Andrew Caldecott and Adrian Tchaikovsky 8 July 2022 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Tudor Hall £5 – £6

Eyes of the Void, the second book in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Final Architecture trilogy, is a tense space adventure, set in a future where Human Colony worlds face extinction.

Will Carver, Louise Beech & Sarah Sultoon 8 July 2022 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Newark Town Hall £5 – £6

We welcome back Orenda Books for an author panel event. The Daves Next Door by Will Carver is a shocking, intensely emotive, wildly original thriller; a piercing examination of what it means to be human.

Famous Songs Inspired by Literature 8 July 2022 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm Newark Town Hall £11.50 – £13.50

West End performers Glyn Kerslake (Phantom of the Opera – Her Majesty’s Theatre, Miss Saigon – Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Scrooge – London Palladium) and Elaine Glover (The Full Monty – Noel Coward Theatre, Emmerdale – ITV, Christmas With The Stars – Royal Albert Hall) bring this wonderful evening of music to Newark Town Hall!

Gadgeteers Workshop 9 July 2022 10:00 am - 10:45 am and 11:00 am –11:45 am Newark Library Meeting Room Free

It’s time to sign up to the libraries Summer Reading Challenge, so we are joining in with the Gadgeteer theme!

Storytelling with Under the Bed Theatre 9 July 2022 10:00 am, 11:30 am, 1:15 pm & 2:15 pm St Mary Magdalene Church gardens Free

Join Under The Bed Theatre for outdoor story time including Oliver Jeffers Lost and Found.

Festival Storytime 9 July 2022 10:30 am - 11:30 am Newark Library Children’s Area Free

Join the Newark Book Festival Team, soundLINCS and children’s author Addy Farmer as we celebrate the 2022 Summer Reading Challenge with stories, music, crafts and more for families.

“One doesn’t stop at one murder” 9 July 2022 10:30 am - 11:30 am Newark Town Hall £5 – £6

Celebrating 101 years since Agatha Christie’s first novel was published in the UK, this panel will honour one of Christie’s most iconic heroines Miss Jane Marple.

Gareth Baker and the Riverboat Cruise 9 July 2022 10:45 am - 12:15 pm Riverboat Cruises, behind the castle £3

Join storyteller Gareth Baker on the Trent and be amazed by his extraordinary adventures, both on, under and above the river!

John Holmes MBE - This is the BBC Home Service 9 July 2022 11:00 am - 12:15 pm Tudor Hall £5

John Holmes is known locally for his walks on BBC East Midlands Today, ‘Holmes & Away’ and ‘Historic Holmes’. Joining the BBC in 1969 as a producer and presenter, he has lived and breathed radio and television and epitomises all that is best in public service broadcasting.

Special Delivery - Street Theatre Show 9 July 2022 11:30 am, 12:30 pm and 2:00 pm Newark Market Place Free

Special Delivery is a brilliant piece of puppet theatre that will charm adults and children alike.

Music for Market 9 July 2022 12:00 pm - 12:40 pm St Mary Magdalene Church Free

This concert will feature English story-telling through song. The main work featured will be The House of Life, with the poetry of Dante Gabriel Rossetti set to music by Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Ukraine and its continuing agony 9 July 2022 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Newark Library Meeting Room £4 – £5

Maria Dziedzan was born in Grimsby to a Ukrainian father and a Welsh mother, but the family moved to Nottingham early in her life to be closer to the large Ukrainian community in the city.

Summer reads with Lucy Diamond, Milly Johnson & Cathy Bramley 9 July 2022 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Newark Town Hall £5 – £6

A fabulous trio of bestselling authors, chaired by Tim Rideout.

The Book Family Robinson 9 July 2022 2:00 pm - 2:40 pm Newark Library Meeting Room £3 – £4

The Robinsons were a family of book lovers. Wherever they were, they ALWAYS had a book with them.

Louise Blyth: Hope is Coming 9 July 2022 2:30 pm - 3:30 pm Tree £4 – £5

Newark’s Louise Blyth was 33 when her husband George died from bowel cancer, leaving her with one and three year-old boys.

Music in Fiction: Michelle Davies, Lucy Nichol, David F Ross 9 July 2022 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Newark Town Hall £5 – £6

Hull author Nick Quantrill will be chairing today’s event. Nick’s Private Investigator novels featuring Joe Geraghty and are published by Fahrenheit Press.

Tuning into the Beatles with Mark Lewisohn 9 July 2022 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Palace Theatre £11.50 – £13.50

No musical act is going to be greater than the Beatles or make a greater contribution to British and world culture.

The Morning News with Keziah Rideout 10 July 2022 10:00 am - 11:00 am Gannets Bistro £8

Join Keziah for an hour of debating today’s news over coffee and cake in the beautiful surroundings of Gannets.

Welcome to Storyland 10 July 2022 10:30 am - 4:30 pm Newark Castle Free

Family filled free storyland.

Author & Crafts Zone 10 July 2022 10:30 am - 4:30 pm Newark Castle Free

Join Festival favourites Gareth Baker and Vicky Kuhn who will host drop-in workshops based on their recent children’s books.

The Faraway Tree 10 July 2022 10:30 am - 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm –3:30pm Newark Castle Free

Nottinghamshire artist Kerry O'Brien returns to the festival to run this creative session.

Heritage and Homes with Mahsuda Snaith 10 July 2022 10:30 am - 11:30 am Newark Town Hall £5 – £6

Leicester-based author Mahsuda Snaith talks about her experiences writing for the Colonial Countryside Project.

Peaceful Possums Family Yoga 10 July 2022 10:30am - 11:15am & 12.00pm - 12.45pm Newark Castle Free

Join Peaceful Possums Yoga for some exciting, fun family filled adventures.

Rock Choir East Midlands 10 July 2022 10:30 am - 10:50 am and 11:15am – 11:35 am Newark Market Place Free The Art of Storytelling 10 July 2022 11:00 am - 2:00 pm Tree £8 – £10

Storytelling is one of our most ancient art forms and is fundamental to the way that we communicate with each other.

Indiana Bones and The Lost Library 10 July 2022 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Tudor Hall £3 – £4

Join author Harry Heape as he reads from his fantastic book, Indiana Bones And The Lost Library.

George the Dragon 10 July 2022 12:00 pm - 3:00 pm Newark Market Place Free

Everyone is invited to visit our beautifully crafted wooden dragon where you can have a go and operate the half dozen handles which launch 12ft tall George the Dragon into a grand display of hand cranked contraptioneering.

An interview with Louise Candlish & Fiona Cummins 10 July 2022 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm Newark Town Hall £5 – £6

Into the Dark by Fiona Cummins has been described as Big Little Lies meets Broadchurch.

Newark’s Literary Heritage 10 July 2022 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm Tudor Hall £4 – £5

Discover Newark’s remarkable literary heritage from Lord Byron’s first published poetry to the best of the town’s contemporary writers and much more between.

Music in the Bandstand 10 July 2022 2:30 pm - 4:30 pm Newark Castle Free. Traitor in the Ice – KJ Maitland 10 July 2022 3:00 pm - 4:00 pm Newark Town Hall £5 – £6

Writing as KJ Maitland, Karen Maitland’s new Jacobean crime thriller series follows Daniel Pursglove as he becomes embroiled in the dark world of spies, murder, and treason, following the failed Gunpowder Plot.

An Evening with The Kanneh-Masons 10 July 2022 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm Palace Theatre £11.50 – £13.50

We are delighted to welcome Kadiatu, Aminata and Konya Kanneh-Mason back to Newark to end our Festival and share an evening of their wonderful music with us.

To book your tickets or for more information including online events visit www.newarkbookfestival.org.uk