festival of words and ideas
The Telegraph
W AY S W ITH W ORDS
dartington, devon 9 - 19 july 2010
Proud sponsors of the Telegraph Ways with Words Festival
Join the Telegraph’s Gaby Wood and Michael Prodger, who will be chairing events at Dartington Hall during this star-studded literary celebration.
.co.uk/arts
Welcome to Ways With Words ... from the directors VOTE FOR WORDS BOOKS IDEAS VOTE FOR POLITICS Much has been written about the public’s lack of engagement with politics. ‘They are all the same’, is often heard. Yet all life is political: the arts, the environment, society, buildings, families – all the topics we cover at Ways With Words. The heartening turnout to Ways With Words shows the breadth and depth of the public’s interest in political life. May 6th may have come and gone but here’s another vote that counts. Get out and vote for Ways With Words. Vote with your heart, minds and feet and we shall continue to ensure that our festivals make a difference to lives.
... from the Festival President It is so long since I first made a July pilgrimage to Dartington that I can barely remember what life was like before it became one of the highlights of my summer. Yet I still look forward to arriving at the most splendid of literary festival venues with undisguised impatience. I admit to like talking about my books - and listening to other authors talk about theirs - wherever two or three literary freaks are gathered together, but Dartington has a special appeal. At other festivals the speakers, and their audiences, come and go. At Dartington they become one happy family. You will not find a more distinguished or eclectic programme at any festival in the country. And nowhere else will you find a real community of book-lovers having a drink together late into the night. No wonder I can hardly wait for July to come. Roy Hattersley Ways With Words’ President
Kay Dunbar & Stephen Bristow Ways With Words’ Facebook page is the place for updates on all our festivals. For this year’s Dartington festival it will include special offers, links to interviews with writers and exclusive events for Facebook Fans.
Some family / Ways With Words news: Ways With Words has two, new, active directors from this summer’s Dartington festival: our daughter, Chloë will be joining us from Channel 4 and her partner, Videl Bar-Kar from the world of classical music. After running Ways With Words for almost twenty years Stephen and myself are still full of enthusiasm and commitment for the whole enterprise. We are always looking for ways to innovate and to improve the festival, so when Chloë and Videl said they wanted to become part of Ways With Words
we were delighted. New blood, fresh ideas, extra energy: it’s got to be good. Ways With Words has always been a family concern so the prospect of the next generation getting involved is very appealing. They have been to the festival many times but will be more prominent this year.
Friday 9 July - Great Hall
Joan Bakewell
#1 2.30pm Great Hall £9 Chair: David Nixon
#2 4pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Richard Ryder
Michael Dobbs
Joan Bakewell All The Nice Girls… Everyone knows how the song ends, as did the girls of a grammar school in Manchester when their school decided to adopt a Merchant Navy ship. Joan Bakewell, highly regarded broadcaster and journalist, turns to the year 1942 and a northern grammar school for her first novel.
Michael Dobbs The Reluctant Hero Michael Dobbs is the author of 15 thrillers including the bestsellers, ‘The Lord’s Day’, ‘Winston’s War’, and ‘House of Cards’ which became a successful BBC TV drama. His latest novel, ‘The Reluctant Hero’, takes the reader on a conspiracy-laden, highwire journey into the ex-Soviet Republic of Kargistan. Fasten your seat belts.
Roy Hattersley
#3 5.30pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Richard Fox
#4 8pm Great Hall £9
Martin Amis
Roy Hattersley In Search of England Roy Hattersley went ‘In Search of England’ and comes to Dartington to tell us what he found. A hymn to the sheer variety of the English experience, Roy Hattersley takes us over hill and dale and everywhere in between. Join him on his journey to the heart of this quirky, colourful, scepter’d isle.
Martin Amis with Philip Hensher Shining On It is hard to imagine today’s literary landscape without the impressive voice of Martin Amis. His latest and 12th novel, ‘The Pregnant Widow’, sees the author’s creative powers as fully realised as ever. Amis discusses this newest work, his approach to fiction and his development as a writer, with acclaimed author, critic and journalist Philip Hensher.
Friday 9 July - The Barn - Illustrated Lives #5 2.30pm The Barn £9 Chair: Andy Christian
Michael Bird Mind, Body, Landscape – the Art of Bryan Wynter An Illustrated Talk Michael Bird discusses the life and work of Bryan Wynter (1915–75), a major British painter whose passion for experimentation led him out into the landscape, into the psyche, under the sea, seeking ‘that moment at which the eye looks out at the world it has not yet recognised’.
#6 4pm The Barn £9 Chair: Michael Bennie
Alexander Maitland
#8 4pm Duke’s Room £6 Chair: David Lewis
Per Petterson
supported by
Thesiger in Africa An Illustrated Talk The ultimate gentleman explorer, Wilfred Thesiger, journeyed through the remotest, most dangerous regions of Africa, the Middle East and Asia. Not only a man of action, he also wrote what are now regarded as classics of modern travel writing. Alexander Maitland uncovers Thesiger’s enduring relationship with exotic continents, their peoples and landscapes.
Norwegian Novels, Worldwide Concerns Per Petterson’s precise and beautiful prose has won him many admirers and addicts. In between writing his successful books, he farms in South Norway. His latest novel, ‘I Curse the River of Time’, will be published in forty one languages. He discusses his prose, interests and writing life.
Michael Bird
#7 5.30pm The Barn £9 Chair: Andy Christian
Alexander Maitland
Sue Shephard The Surprising Life of Constance Spry An Illustrated Talk Sue Shephard will discuss the unorthodox life of the florist Constance Spry. A profoundly unconventional woman who became a household name for two generations, Spry went from a poverty stricken childhood to the height of London society, creating floral displays for the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.
Saturday 10 July - Great Hall
Giles Coren
P.D. James
#9 9.30am Great Hall £9 Chair: Tom Horan, Telegraph
Giles Coren
#10 11am Great Hall £9
P.D. James interviewed by Penelope Lively
Anger Management Do you get easily wound up? Are you prone to lashing out? Is it the French? Or vegetarians, Harry Potter or processed ham? We live in a world of irritations. Renowned columnist and restaurant critic Giles Coren, author of what The Guardian called ‘the maddest email ever written’, has a surefast technique for saving you from anger meltdown.
Why Detection? Just before her 90th birthday, P.D. James, Grand Mistress of the crime novel, comes to the festival to be interviewed by her friend and fellow writer, the Booker prizewinning novelist, Penelope Lively.
Margaret Drabble
#11 12.30pm Great Hall £9
Oliver James
Blake Morrison, Barbara Want and Joan Bakewell Books on Bereavement After each of Blake Morrison’s parents died he wrote moving memoirs about their lives. ‘And When Did You Last See Your Father?’ was made into a feature film. When Nick Clarke died of cancer his widow Barbara Want wrote a searing, angry, grief-stricken account of widowhood: ‘Why Not Me?’ Dame Joan Bakewell, until recently the ‘Voice of Older People’ for the government, has a strong and thoughtful voice in print and in the media. She will both chair and contribute to this discussion.
Day Tickets available until the start of the festival. (See booking form for details.)
Saturday 10 July - Great Hall #12 2.30pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Gaby Wood, Telegraph
Margaret Drabble Landscape in Literature In ‘A Writer’s Britain’ Margaret Drabble explores the relationship between writers and landscape. In the beauty of Dartington Hall, we look forward to hearing her discuss the joy and challenges that British writers face in writing about place.
#14 5.30pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Gaby Wood, Telegraph
Sponsored by
#13 4pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Sarah Crompton, Telegraph
Jeremy Hardy
Oliver James How Not to F*** Them Up Are you a ‘fleximum’? Unsure about your role as a father? In a world of contradictory parental advice where family roles seem to be in constant flux, child clinical psychologist and author of ‘Affluenza’, Oliver James, argues in his latest book ‘How Not To F*** Them Up’ that we must challenge our ingrained and often flawed beliefs on parenthood.
The Daily Telegraph Discussion Whither Parliament? In a series of stories, The Daily Telegraph exposed the extent that MPs exploited the system of parliamentary allowances to claim extensive and often bizarre expenses. The British tax payers were outraged and declared themselves disiilusioned with politics. Many MPs decided to step down at this last election and there was a flurry of independent candidates. Journalists from The Daily Telegraph discuss the consequences of this investigation. Will parliament be changed forever?
#15 8pm Great Hall £18
Jeremy Hardy An Understaffed Cavalcade or a One-Man Show? The Guardian describes this standup comic better than we could: “In an ideal world Jeremy Hardy would be extremely famous, but an ideal world would leave him without most of his best material... Few comics have done as good a job at nailing the inanities of modern British politics and culture... And for a committed idealogue he’s got a delightfully silly streak running through him.” (2 hrs including interval)
Saturday 10 July - The Barn - Art (Illustrated Talks) #16 10am The Barn £9 Chair: David Lewis
Martin Kemp La Bella Principessa – The New Masterpiece by Leonardo Da Vinci In 2009 a major new artwork by Leonardo Da Vinci was uncovered. Once changing hands for just a few thousand pounds, it is now thought to be worth over £150 million. Martin Kemp, recounts the exciting turn of events that lead to the discovery of a lost masterpiece.
#17 11.30am The Barn £9 Chair: Andy Christian
Edmund de Waal
#18 2pm The Barn £9 Chair: Michael Prodger, Telegraph
Julian Bell
A Hidden Inheritance When world famous ceramicist Edmund de Waal inherited the ‘netsuke’, a collection of Japanese miniature wood and ivory carvings of animals, plants and people that he remembered from his childhood, he could never have imagined the story that would unfold. He traces the lines of a remarkable family against the backdrop of a turbulent century.
Mirror of the World – A New History of Art What does an ancient Chinese scroll have in common with a paparazzi photograph, a prehistoric stone with the latest video installation? Julian Bell’s illuminating new history of art seeks connections between seemingly far removed objects and times. He talks about his conclusions.
Edmund de Waal
Frances Spalding
#19 3.30pm The Barn £9 Chair: Michael Prodger, Telegraph
Jonathan Jones
#20 5pm The Barn £9 Chair: Michael Prodger, Telegraph
Frances Spalding
Leonardo, Michelangelo and the Artistic Duel That Defined the Renaissance Michelangelo and Leonardo lived five centuries ago but their work still obsesses our culture. In 1504 they had a cultural battle, competing with each other to paint the walls of a room in Florence’s Palazzo Vecchio. Jonathan Jones talks about the lives of these two geniuses and the significance of their artistic duel.
John and Myfanwy Piper – A Creative Partnership Frances Spalding conjures up the exuberantly creative lives of John and Myfanwy Piper. From stained glass to Shell Guides to Britten’s libretti, their contribution was profound. Frances Spalding paints a masterly portrait of a couple at the hub of post-war creativity.
Sunday 11 July - The Barn - Soil and Sky #21 10am The Barn £9 Chair: Michael Bennie
Colin Elford
#22 11.30am The Barn £9 Chair: Susannah Bower
Catherine Horwood
#23 1pm The Barn £9 Chair: Michael Bennie
Ian Vince
A Year in the Woods Colin Elford, a forest ranger, spends his days alone but for the deer, squirrels, rabbits, birds and other creatures in the wood. From the chill of winter through to the excitement of spring he takes us on a journey through the seasons, relating what he observes to his personal philosophy for life.
Gardening Women An Illustrated Talk Catherine Horwood grew up hating gardening and particularly hearing her mother and aunt discussing it. All changed when she had her own garden. The bug bit. When she became part of a family of gardening women, she looked at the legacy of women gardeners with awe and pleasure.
Britain Beneath Your Feet Topography, geology and human history: all are revealed to show what lies hidden beneath the soil. Contributing editor to The Idler; scriptwriter for ‘Bremner, Bird and Fortune’; columnist for The Daily Telegraph (Strange Days), Ian Vince gives his take on a Britain he considers exotic. He takes us on an informative, entertaining, timetravelling journey to explain our landscape.
#24 2.30pm The Barn £9 Chair: Penelope Lively
Madeleine Bunting
#25 4pm The Barn £9 Chair: Susannah Bower
Stephen Anderton
#26 5.30pm The Barn £9 Chair: Richard Fox
Tim Dee
Just One Acre An Illustrated Talk When her father died, Madeleine Bunting inherited his beloved Plot – an acre of land on the North Yorkshire moors – and the chapel he built upon it. Searching for an understanding of her late father, she traces the history of the Plot that was so important to him.
Great Dixter, Great Gardener: A Life of Christopher Lloyd An Illustrated Talk Christopher Lloyd who created the stunning garden at Great Dixter was opinionated, argumentative and gloriously eccentric. Stephen Anderton knew Christopher Lloyd for over twenty years. He tells the story of Dixter from 1910 to 2006.
The Running Sky Tim Dee has worked as a BBC radio producer for twenty years and has spent a lifetime watching birds. His book, ‘The Running Sky’, examines our emotional, intellectual and social responses to birds and attempts to discover why they fascinate us so much.
Day Tickets available until the start of the festival. (See booking form for details.)
Sunday 11 July - Great Hall
Jeremy Hardy
#27 10am Great Hall £9 Chair: James Long
Tim Harford
Jeremy Hardy My Family and Other Strangers Who does Jeremy Hardy think he is? Many wild stories and dubious claims were made by his family so he decided to take the frustrating, funny and often moving journey into his past and write his memoir. The Radio 4 comedian from ‘The News Quiz’ and ‘Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation’, takes us on a comic trip into the world of genealogy.
Blake Morrison
#28 11.30am Great Hall £9
in association with
#29 1pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Tom Horan, Telegraph
Day Tickets available until the start of the festival. (See booking form for details.)
Shirley Williams
The School of Life’s Secular Service with
Tim Harford’s Sermon on ‘Frugality’ Are we in need of more restraint in our lives, in the use of our resources, and in the value we place on our relationships with others? On this Sunday morning under the mighty beams of the Great Hall, join The School of Life to sample one of their regular sermons on ideas for everyday living. The congregation will be invited to sing appropriate songs.
Blake Morrison Friendship, Jealousy, Sexual Revenge, Passion These are the themes Blake Morrison tackles in his latest novel, ‘The Last Weekend’. Whether in his memoir of his parents, his study of the Bulger case, his journalism or his fiction, Blake Morrison, who teaches creative writing at Goldsmith’s College, takes on big issues that resonate with his readers.
Sunday 11 July - Great Hall
Peter Hennessy
Brian Moore
#30 2.30pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Sarah Crompton, Telegraph
Shirley Williams
#31 4pm Great Hall £9 Chair: James Long
Peter Hennessy
Laying Hold on Life Shirley Williams is a remarkable politician not just for her achievements, but also for her approach to politics. She brings a passion and commitment to the causes for which she fights. Her autobiography, ‘Climbing The Bookshelves’, reveals the influences that shaped her.
How We Avoided The Bomb What part did Britain play during the Cold War in preventing a global nuclear disaster? In Peter Hennessy’s ‘The Secret State’, he tells the story of Whitehall’s involvement in the Cold War by drawing on a rich seam of previously classified documents. This is a must for anyone who has ever considered how lucky we are to be alive.
#32 5.30pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Sarah Crompton, Telegraph
Brian Moore
#33 From 7pm Great Hall Free (but ticketed)
World Cup Football Final
The Pitbull’s Life On and Off the Pitch In January, Brian Moore published his heart-piercingly candid autobiography, ‘Beware of the Dog’. This star of the rugby pitch talks about the effect abuse and adoption had on his life. He reflects on his successful career on the rugby field and as a sports journalist for the Daily Telegraph.
Watch the greatest game on earth live in the unique, big screen surroundings of the Great Hall! If the on-pitch drama isn’t enough, writers John Lanchester, Blake Morrison and Brian Moore (chaired by The Telegraph’s Sarah Crompton) will be providing live commentary. No matter what the outcome, it will be unforgettable. Food and drink on sale.
Monday 12 July - Great Hall #34 9.30am Great Hall £9 Chair: Gaby Wood, Telegraph
Miranda Carter The Three Emperors Biographer Miranda Carter sheds new light on the start of the First World War. Her latest book charts the imploding and dysfunctional reign of three first cousins: King George V of Britain, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany and Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, as they attempt to retain their power in a world on the brink of collapse.
#35 10.45am Great Hall £9 Chair: John Marshall
Mike Pannett
#36 12pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Lorna Duffin
Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall
Tales of a Yorkshire Bobby Mike Pannett, a former policeman whose patch was 600 square miles of North Yorkshire, starred in the television series, ‘Country Cops’. He recalls his days on the beat in his book, ‘Not on My Patch’. All ticket holders to this event will have a chance to win a delicious gift hamper from
Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall
John Lanchester
#37 2pm Great Hall £9
John Lanchester, Kate Adie and James Long
#38 3.30pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Elizbeth Cooke
David James Smith
Whoops: Can’t Pay Won’t Pay John Lanchester, author of many interesting and experimental books, has turned his creative thinking to the world money market. He’s informative and angry about the global meltdown. Kate Adie was the BBC’s chief news correspondent and has spent much of her life dealing with the mayhem of the world. James Long, formerly a BBC television economics correspondent, now a novelist, joins the debate.
Are You Happily Hitched? Boy meets girl, falls in love, gets married. Then what? Married for 47 years, Jane FearnleyWhittingstall, brings us her witty and sage survival guide to this most complex of human pacts. Interviewing dozens of couples and dissecting the musings of great writers from Dickens to Nancy Mitford, ‘For Better, for Worse’ reveals a good marriage is all in the detail.
The Iconic Mandela Although Nelson Mandela has been lionised for his dignity and statesmanship he had much to overcome. David James Smith looks at the problems of his earlier life and presents a rounded picture of a human being who is fully aware of his flaws and shortcomings.
Monday 12 July - Great Hall #41 8pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Tom Jaine
Jackie Kay
#39 5pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Lorna Duffin
#40 6.30pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Gaby Wood, Telegraph
Sarah Raven
Jackie Kay Who Am I? Inheritance is much more than genes. We are shaped by songs as much as cells and our internal landscapes are as important as those we live amongst. Jackie Kay tells her heart-stopping life story with humour and compassion and leaves us wondering about our own identity.
Andrew O’Hagan The World According to Maf Expect the thought-provoking, the original; expect the unexpected from a new book by Andrew O’Hagan. The intriguing title of his latest novel, ‘The Life and Opinions of Maf the Dog and of his Friend Marilyn Monroe’, means his book had a lot to live up to. It doesn’t disappoint. The narrator is Maf, a terrier given to Marilyn Monroe by Frank Sinatra. Andrew O’Hagan uses Maf to comment on the tragedy and pettiness of fame. He’ll add to Maf’s views.
FESTIVAL EXTRA (FE1) 7 - 10pm approx. £39.50 Chair: James Long
in association with Riverlink
Sarah Raven Cooking For Family and Friends Gardener, TV presenter, Daily Telegraph columnist and cook, Sarah Raven returns to Dartington with her green-fingered enthusiasm for everything you can grow, cut and eat from the garden. Having reported extensively about her garden at Perch Hill Farm in East Sussex and the family home at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, she will share her passion for feeding family and friends.
Boat Trip, Literary Dinner Steamer Quay, Totnes, and sailing down the River Dart
Speaker: Kate Adie Her Life and Work A magical evening’s sail down the River Dart with canapés and drink on arrival, literary dinner with talk from Kate Adie on Her Life and Work, coffee on deck to end the evening. (Wine with the meal not included.)
Monday 12 July - The Barn - Food
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
#44 2pm The Barn £9 Chair: Jason Nickels, South Devon Chilli Farm
Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall
#45 3.30pm The Barn £9 Chair: James Crowden
Peter Thornton
#46 5pm The Barn £9 Chair: Richard Fox
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
James Crowden
#42 10am The Barn £9 Chair: Tom Jaine
Rose Prince
#43 11.30am The Barn £9 Chair: Tom Jaine
James Crowden
A Savvy Cook Rose Prince’s weekly food column in Saturday’s Telegraph Weekend has become essential reading for anyone interested in cooking, health, the environment and quality ingredients. Those concerned with how they shop, cook, eat and live will find much to learn today.
Local Food – Linking the landscape to the food on your plate. The late Carol Trewin traced the evolution of the local food movement through the rich agricultural history of Devon in the ebullient and colourful ‘The Devon Food Book’. James Crowden, editor and publisher, expands on these meaty themes in a down to earth talk on Devon’s food and drink.
The Food Day is sponsored by
Wartime Wisdom in the Kitchen When the war broke out in 1939 the government created The Ministry of Food to help families make the most of wartime rations. In the face of obesity and the credit crunch, the advice meted out can be adopted for today’s kitchens. Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall offers her tips for frugal times.
The Thornton Chocolate Dynasty The Thornton family business may have been selling chocolate but its story is anything but delicious sweetness. It has been called a tragedy of Shakespearian proportions. Peter Thornton, exchairman of the chocolate dynasty, tells of family betrayals, suicides and affairs. It leaves a bad taste – unlike Thornton’s wares.
Love, Migration and Food From India to Uganda to the UK, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown’s family history is one of constant displacement and repeated relocation. The sense of being settled came from creating a feast that smelled like home. The leading commentator on race, politics and multiculturalism tells her family story through the food they shared.
Tuesday 13 July - The Barn #47 Gavin Pretor-Pinney 10am Riding the Waves The Barn An Illustrated Talk £9 The bestselling author of ‘The Chair: Cloudspotter’s Guide’ has started John Marshall looking down rather than up to consider the world of waves and life’s many undulations. He’s fascinating and funny and, as he persuaded us to appreciate clouds, now he’ll probably covert us to wavewatchers. #48 11.30am The Barn £9 Chair: John Marshall
Marek Kohn
#49 2pm The Barn £9 Chair: Jess Morris
John Summers
Turned Out Nice Climate change: a topic that produces dissent, discussion and interest. Marek Kohn, a muchrespected scientist and writer, looks at how the climate of the British Isles will alter over the next 100 years and the changes that will occur as the country heats up. A fascinating yet frightening topic.
Gavin Pretor-Pinney
#50 3.30pm The Barn £9 Chair: Richard Ryder
Victoria Vyvyan
#51 5pm The Barn £9 Chair: Richard Fox
Lynn Shepherd
The Art of Complaining With his tongue firmly in his cheek, John Summers has spent ten years writing witty letters of complaint to organisations and individuals in the public eye. His humorous letter writing prompts some serious questions. Are we too inclined to complain? Is complaining an art? Can we be trained to complain better?
Day Tickets available until the start of the festival. (See booking form for details.)
Lynn Shepherd
Delightful Companions An Illustrated Talk Lady Vyvyan is married to Sir Ferrers Vyvyan and together they have restored the estate at Trelowarren in Cornwall – derelict when Sir Ferrers inherited it. She tells the entertaining story of difficult, whiskery, wilful Aunt Clara Vyvyan who went travelling after the war with glamorous Daphne du Maurier. Although polar opposites in many ways the two women became ‘delightful companions’.
Murder at Mansfield Park An Illustrated Talk Why was Jane Austen enamoured by the timid Fanny Price? In ‘Murder at Mansfield Park’, a retelling of Austen’s novel, the academic, Lynn Shepherd, introduces a scheming, difficult, ambitious Fanny Price. Austen’s fiction, literary influence and the state of the novel are tackled in today’s talk.
Tuesday 13 July - Great Hall
Naomi Alderman
#52 10am Great Hall £9 Chair: Mary Jacobs
Barbara Trapido
Naomi Alderman and Barbara Trapido The Dance of Life Naomi Alderman’s debut novel, ‘Disobedience’, about a rabbi’s daughter who becomes a lesbian, won her the 2006 Orange Award for New Writers. Her latest novel, ‘The Lessons’, read recently on Radio 4, has attracted equal attention. Known for her dry humour, Barbara Trapido is the author of familiar titles such as Whitbread Prize winner, ‘Brother of the More Famous Jack’, and ‘Frankie & Stankie’. In her latest novel, ‘Sex and Stravinski’, the characters’ lives intersect in a carefully choreographed sequence. These acclaimed novelists discuss the complex, cruel and rich life of their fiction.
Rachel Billington
#53 11.30am Great Hall £9 Chair: Lorna Bradbury, Telegraph
Allison Pearson
Rachel Billington and Allison Pearson Teenage Lives and Traumas Rachel Billington’s novel, ‘The Missing Boy’, is about Dan, almost fourteen and a quiet, bookish child, who runs away to escape from the selfishness of the adults in his family. In ‘I Think I Love You’, Allison Pearson tells of the rivalry in the friendship between two thirteen year old girls and of teenage love, obsession and the distance between reality and dreams. Both writers show a deep understanding of teenagers’ raw emotional needs. They introduce their books and discuss how novelists inhabit their characters’ minds.
Day Tickets available until the start of the festival. (See booking form for details.)
Tuesday 13 July - Great Hall
Melvyn Bragg
William Fiennes
#54 1.30pm-3pm Great Hall £10 Chair: Kay Dunbar
Melvyn Bragg
#55 3.30pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Lorna Bradbury, Telegraph
William Fiennes
Celebrating Ideas and the Arts Lord Bragg has had a glittering career as an author and a broadcaster. His promotion of the arts, history, science – in fact everything to do with ideas – has been exemplary. The Radio 4 series, ‘In Our Time’, takes the listeners time travelling through the history of ideas and knowledge, while for thirty years ‘The South Bank Show’ mixed high art and popular culture. Lord Bragg discusses two programmes.
Finding a Voice in Writing William Fiennes has found a powerful and appealing voice in his writing. ‘The Snow Geese’ and ‘The Music Room’ have attracted supporters not only for their compelling stories but for the sensitive and evocative style of the writing. Where does a writer’s voice come from?
Janie Hampton
Alice Oswald
#56 5pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Julie Summers
Janie Hampton
#57 8pm Great Hall £9
Alice Oswald and Ros Walker Choir
How the Girl Guides Won the War Author, journalist, biographer and BBC World Service producer, Janie Hampton has written books on a range of subjects from the life of Joyce Grenfell to ‘The Austerity Olympics’, the cut-price games of 1948. Now she turns her attention to the Girl Guides and provides an eye-opening account of their massive and little known role in the Second World War.
‘Dart’ by Alice Oswald, set to music by local songwriters, performed by Global Harmony, Viva and Shades of Blue. This concert features the poetry of Alice Oswald from her award winning book, ‘Dart’ which has been transformed into songs. The choirs will take you on a journey down the river Dart, from high on Dartmoor down to the sea.
Wednesday 14 July - Great Hall
Carol Drinkwater
#58 10.30am Great Hall £9 Chair: Zoe Clough
Max Hastings
Carol Drinkwater Return to the Olive Farm Running an organic farm in Provence isn’t easy. Carol Drinkwater, actress turned farmer and author, talks about her latest trials and tribulations after 16 months of travelling in search of the ancient secrets of the olive tree.
Nigel Warburton
#59 12pm Great Hall £9 Chair: The Telegraph
Max Hastings
#60 2pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Ian Mortimer
Nigel Warburton
A Family Fable Max Hastings spent ten years as editor of the Daily Telegraph then moved to be editor of the Evening Standard. He has written many books on military matters but recently published his moving, forthright and poignant memoirs. It is a new departure for his writing and a reminder that families are strange, unpredictable and, as one review said, ‘rarely safe places for children’.
Philosophy Bites We need philosophy more than ever. Nigel Warburton knows; his philosophy podcast – now also a book – is listened to all over the world and has had over 5 million downloads. Today he guides us through the landscape of philosophical issues, from ethics, to aesthetics and metaphysics, as viewed by the world’s leading thinkers.
Wednesday 14 July - Great Hall
Shireen Anabtawi and Daniela Norris
#61 3.30pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Sameer Rahim, Telegraph
Daniela Norris and Shireen Anabtawi Exchanges Across the Israeli / Palestinian Divide Two women started writing to each other after they met by accident at a party; both mothers of a similar age, one Israeli, one Palestinian. Shireen was a former Director of Public Relations and now works for the UN in Geneva, Daniela worked for the Israeli Foreign Service. In this heartwarming and hopeful event they speak about their friendship which transcends fears and hostilities.
Day Tickets available until the start of the festival. (See booking form for details.)
Jon McGregor
Martin Bell
#62 5pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Anthony Wilson
Jon McGregor
#63 8pm Great Hall £9 Chair: James Long
Martin Bell
So Many Ways to Speak of Remarkable Things Jon McGregor’s first two novels, ‘If Nobody Speaks of Remarkable Things’, and, ‘So Many Ways to Begin’, won him prizes and accolades. He was instantly recognised as a dazzling new talent. He introduces his new novel and discusses his remarkable fiction. ‘McGregor’s gift is finding the extraordinary in everyday life’.
MPs and the Expenses Scandal As an independent MP Martin Bell was famous for his anti-sleaze campaign and prophetic warnings about the collapse of trust for politicians. With Parliament and the country shaken to the core by the expenses scandal, he discusses the future of politics.
Wednesday 14 July - The Barn - Travel #64 10.30am The Barn £9 Chair: Helena Drysdale
Will Randall Travel and Writing Will Randall’s taste for travel and adventure has sent him to the South Pacific, India and Botswana where he taught, wrote and had surprising experiences and encounters. Never one to turn down a challenge, latterly he became an apprentice private-eye, and collided with the murky and ultimately brutal side of American life. He tells the story of his hapless adventures in ‘Limey Gumshoe’.
#65 12pm The Barn £9 Chair: Zoe Clough
Matthew Kelly
#66 2pm The Barn £9 Chair: Helena Drysdale
Rosemary Bailey
Finding Poland An Illustrated Talk Matthew Kelly tells of a journey in his ancestors’ footsteps to discover the history and landscape of Poland.
Rachel Polonsky
#67 3.30pm The Barn £9 Chair: Lorna Bradbury, Telegraph
Matthew Kelly
Rachel Polonsky A Journey in Russian History In the 1990s Rachel Polonsky went to live in Moscow in an apartment block where Molotov, Stalin’s henchman, had lived. Among his books she discovered classics and first editions of writers he later sent to the Gulag, and an old magic lantern Molotov had owned. Rachel Polonsky tells of the stories she unearthed from this contradictory culture.
Love and War in the Pyrenees A chance encounter brought Rosemary Bailey a cache of faded love letters. They were between newly-weds who had lived at Corbiac, her home in the Pyrenees. Their dreams were shattered by the Second World War. For her moving telling of their story, Rosemary Bailey won the British Guild of Travel Writers’ Award for the best narrative travel book.
#68 5pm The Barn £9 Chair: Elizabeth Cooke
Hugh Thomson Getting Lost in Mexico An Illustrated Talk Explorer Hugh Thomson takes on Mexico – at the age of eighteen and thirty years later – when, although older he is not necessarily wiser. Join him for a riotous jaunt through a land of pyramids, volcanoes, mosquitoes and corrupt officials.
Thursday 15 July - The Barn - Buildings
Robert Sackville-West
#71 1pm The Barn £9 Chair: Michael Bennie
Robert Sackville-West
#72 2.30pm The Barn £9 Chair: Kay Dunbar
Charlotte Moore
Charlotte Moore
#69 10am The Barn £9 Chair: Richard Ryder
Hugh Thomson
#70 11.30am The Barn £9 Chair: Vaughan Lindsay (CEO, Dartington Trust)
Anthony Emery
The Lost City in the Clouds An Illustrated Talk In 1911 Hiram Bingham made his dramatic discovery of the ‘lost’ Inca city of Machu Picchu. Now, almost a century later, writer, film maker and explorer, Hugh Thomson, discusses the real significance of Machu Picchu in the light of other recent discoveries in the Peruvian Andes.
The Dartington Trust Lecture: A Re-appraisal of the Medieval Mansion at Dartington An Illustrated Talk Dr Anthony Emery, distinguished historian and author of the authoritative publication ‘Dartington Hall’ gives an illustrated talk about the history and the architecture of this outstanding house of medieval England.
Day Tickets available until the start of the festival. (See booking form for details.)
The Story of Knole and the Sackvilles An Illustrated Talk Robert Sackville-West unravels the private life of Knole, the vast house in Kent passed down to him through generations of the Sackville family. Delving into the archives of a family Vita SackvilleWest described as ‘a rotten lot and nearly all stark staring mad’, he paints an intimate portrait of Knole and the close relationships his colourful ancestors formed with it.
Hancox – Looking Back Charlotte Moore is a novelist and author of ‘George and Sam’, an account of life with her two autistic sons. Now she brings to life the Tudor house where she grew up and still lives today. Her ancestors wrote everything down and never threw anything away, and this miscellaneous archive illuminates life at Hancox at the turn of the twentieth century.
Thursday 15 July - The Barn - Talk and Film #73
4pm
£12 (Cert. 12A) Chair: Gaby Wood, Telegraph
Lynn Barber Talks About Her Memoir – ‘An Education’ Followed by a Film Screening Lynn Barber’s life was almost wrecked when at 16 she was picked up by an attractive older man who swept her into an affair and a louche, semi-criminal world. Her memoir continues with her life at Oxford, marriage and her early years as a journalist. This striking book has been made into a feature film with a screenplay by Nick Hornby. (There will be a 30 minute break at 4.45pm before the film)
Thursday 15 July - Duke’s Room - The Craft of Writing #74 11.30am Duke’s Room £6 Chair: Helena Drysdale
Mark McCrum Ghostwriting – ‘I write, they take the credit’ Mark McCrum tells of his life as a ghostwriter, the invisible force behind many best-selling books. It’s a shadowy role but increasingly crucial to non-fiction’s best-selling list. He tells of what it was like ghosting Robbie William’s autobiography, ‘Somebody, Someday’.
#75 2pm Duke’s Room £6 Chair: Stephen Bristow
James Crowden
#76 3.30pm Duke’s Room £6 Chair: Ben Long
Helena Drysdale
James Crowden
Helena Drysdale Mark McCrum
Location, Location James Crowden will explore rich themes of location and landscape as inspiration to the craft of writing. James’ most recent work, ‘Literary Somerset’, documents at least 350 writers in the Somerset landscape. He will also look at ‘Lewesdon Hill’, a Dorset poem by William Crowe first published in 1788, which influenced both Wordsworth and Coleridge.
Travel Writing – Creating the Place Travel, history and personal stories combine in Helena Drysdale’s poignant and dramatic books. An eye for the important details and an unusual vision make for vigorous writing. How does her travel writing achieve its effect?
How To Buy Tickets Name Address
• VIA OUR WEBSITE www.wayswithwords.co.uk (from 20 May)
• BY PHONE
Postcode Tel. E-mail
Tel: 01803 867373 Please have your event numbers ready before phoning.
• BY POST Please complete this form and send with payment and stamped s.a.e. to: Ways With Words Festival Box Office, Droridge Farm, Dartington, Totnes, Devon TQ9 6JG Payment can be: - by cheque made payable to ‘Ways With Words’. Please leave the amount in figures blank. On the line for amount in words write: “not to exceed: (the amount of your order in words)”. Then sign the cheque. This is in case some of your order is not available, in which case we shall complete your cheque for the lesser amount. - by credit / debit card (Visa / Mastercard / Maestro)
(Maestro)
BOOKING FOR FRIENDS STARTS THURSDAY 13 MAY - max. 2 tickets per event. - for phone and postal bookings only. GENERAL BOOKING STARTS THURSDAY 20 MAY BEFORE THE FESTIVAL THE BOX OFFICE WILL BE OPEN FOR TELEPHONE BOOKINGS MONDAY - FRIDAY 10am - 5pm DURING THE FESTIVAL THE BOX OFFICE WILL OPEN 30 MINS. BEFORE THE FIRST EVENT OF THE DAY AND WILL CLOSE AFTER THE START OF THE LAST EVENT. YOUNG PERSON STANDBY TICKETS People aged 24 and under can buy tickets normally priced at £9 or £6 for just £4 if purchased in person on the day of the event. Proof of age will be required.
valid from _______/________ expiry date _______/________ 3-digit security code
DAY TICKETS - Are available to buy until the start of the festival.
issue number _________
DATA PROTECTION:
name on card __________________________
Ways With Words will not pass on your details to any other organisation.
If some of your order is unavailable we shall send those tickets which are available unless you say otherwise.
BOOKING CONDITIONS APPLY: Please refer to the programme for details. By purchasing tickets from Ways With Words you are automatically agreeing to abide by the conditions as specified.
#
event
£
no.
total
eg
A.N. Author
9
3
27
FRIDAY 9 JULY
#
event
£
MONDAY 12 JULY 34
Miranda Carter
9
1
Joan Bakewell
9
35
Mike Pannett
9
2
Michael Dobbs
9
36
Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall (1)
9
3
Roy Hattersley
9
37
John Lanchester
9
4
Martin Amis
9
38
David James Smith
9
GH Day Ticket #1 - #3
24
39
Jackie Kay
9 9
5
Michael Bird
9
40
Andrew O’Hagan
6
Alexander Maitland
9
41
Sarah Raven
9
7
Sue Shephard
9
GH Day Ticket #34 - #40
49
Barn Day Ticket #5 - #7
24
42
Rose Prince
9
6
43
James Crowden (1)
9
SATURDAY 10 JULY
44
Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall (2)
9
9
Giles Coren
9
45
Peter Thornton
9
10
P.D. James
9
46
8
Per Petterson
11
Morrison, Want, Bakewell
9
12
Margaret Drabble
9
13 14 15
16
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown
9
Barn Day Ticket #42 - #46
40
TUESDAY 13 JULY
9
47
Gavin Pretor-Pinney
9
9
48
Marek Kohn
9
18
49
John Summers
9
GH Day Ticket #9 - #14
48
50
Victoria Vyvyan
9
Martin Kemp
9
51
Oliver James Telegraph Discussion Jeremy Hardy (1)
Lynn Shepherd
9
Barn Day Ticket #47 - #51
40
17
Edmund de Waal
9
18
Julian Bell
9
52
Alderman & Trapido
9
53
Billington & Pearson
9
19
Jonathan Jones
9
20
Frances Spalding
9
54
Melvyn Bragg
10
40
55
William Fiennes
9
SUNDAY 11 JULY
56
Janie Hampton
9
21
Colin Elford
9
57
Alice Oswald & Choir
9
22
Catherine Horwood
9
GH Day Ticket #52 - #56
40
23
Ian Vince
9
WEDNESDAY 14 JULY
24
Madeleine Bunting
9
58
Carol Drinkwater
9
25
Stephen Anderton
9
59
Max Hastings
9 9
Barn Day Ticket #16 - #20
Tim Dee
9
60
Nigel Warburton
Barn Day Ticket #21 - #26
48
61
Norris & Anabtawi
9
Jeremy Hardy (2)
9
62
Jon McGregor
9
28
Tim Harford
9
63
29
Blake Morrison
9
30
Shirley Williams
9
64
Will Randall
9
31
Peter Hennessy
9
65
Matthew Kelly
9
26
27
Martin Bell
9
GH Day Ticket #58 - #62
40
32
Brian Moore
9
66
Rosemary Bailey
9
33
World Cup Final
FREE
67
Rachel Polonsky
9
GH Day Ticket #27 - #32
48
68
Hugh Thomson (1)
9
Barn Day Ticket #64 - #68
40
no.
total
#
event
£
THURSDAY 15 JULY 69 70
Hugh Thomson (2) Anthony Emery
no.
total
#
event
£
104
Kit and The Widow
15
GH Day Ticket #98 - #102
40
9 9
105
James Roose-Evans (2)
9
Peter Stanford
9 9
71
Robert Sackville-West
9
106
72
Charlotte Moore
9
107
Inge & Vernon
32
108
Jonathan Stedall
9
Alwyn Marriage
9
Barn Day Ticket #69 - #72 73
Lynn Barber (Film)
12
109
74
Mark McCrum
6
110
Cole Moreton
9
Barn Day Ticket #105 - #110
48 6
75
James Crowden (2)
6
76
Helena Drysdale
6
111
Denise Inge
Duke’s Day Ticket #74 - #76
15
112
Mark Vernon (1)
6
77
Lyndall Gordon
9
113
Dorothy Rowe (2)
6
78
Tracy Chevalier
9
Duke’s Day Ticket #111 - #113
15
79
Fay Weldon
9
SUNDAY 18 JULY
80
Vitali Vitaliev
9
114
Canon Lucy Winkett
81
Richard Herring
9
115
Juliet Barker
9
82
Lana Citron
9
116
Richard Long
9
GH Day Ticket #77 - #80
32
117
Martin Creed
9
118
Simon King
9
FRIDAY 16 JULY
9
83
Ronald Blythe
9
119
Ian Mortimer
9
84
Marina Lewycka
9
120
Matt Harvey
9
85
Antonia Fraser
9
GH Day Ticket #114 - #119
48
86
Ian McEwan
9
121
Mark Vernon (2)
9
87
Fraser, Foreman, Nicolson
9
122
Anouchka Grose
9
88
Sandra Howard
9
123
Robin Dunbar
9
89
Brian Keenan
9
124
Christine Webber
9
GH Day Ticket #83 - #87
40
125
Chris Rogers
9
90
Juliet Nicolson
9
Barn Day Ticket #121 - #125
40
91
Lindsay Porter
9
And Another Thing . . .
92
Lucy Worsley
9
126
Farrie, Taylor, Williams
6
93
Benedict Gummer
9
127
Oversteps Poets
6 6
Thomas Asbridge
9
128
Poets and Painters
Barn Day Ticket #90 - #94
40
129
Powls, Ballenger, Downton
6
95
Clive Fairweather (1)
6
FE1
Kate Adie - Boat Trip and Dinner
39.50
96
Caspar Walsh
6
FE2
Christopher North - Workshop
16
6
FE3
Gorman, Taylor, Williams - Walk
6
15
FE4
Clive Fairweather (2) - Masterclass
14
FE5
Poetry Walk - The Honeytongues
6
94
97
James Roose-Evans (1) Duke’s Day Ticket #95 - #97 SATURDAY 17 JULY
98
Michael Buerk
10
99
Motion, Gardam, Long
9
100
Karen Armstrong
9
101
Dorothy Rowe (1)
9
102
Simon Hoggart
9
103
Andrew Motion
9
TICKET TOTAL
£
Add Friends’ Membership (£15) TOTAL
£
no.
total
Rover Tickets and Accommodation Packages ROVER TICKETS
ACCOMMODATION PACKAGES
Rover tickets give admission to numbered events over a particular period. They can be bought separately or as part of an inclusive accommodation package.
Ways With Words offers a full 10-night accommodation package (ranging from £725 - £1325 pp) and two 5-night packages (from £390 - £690 pp) in Higher Close or in the Courtyard at Dartington Hall. We also offer two 3-night weekend packages (from £285 - £325 pp) and a 4-night midweek package (from £380 - £455 pp) in Higher Close.
A Rover ticket guarantees a seat for every event in the Great Hall. We hold a set number of seats for Rover ticket holders in the Barn and other, smaller venues. These are on a first come, first served basis. ‘Festival Extras’ must be purchased separately. To purchase Rover tickets please write the number you require in the box and then make payment as indicated on the front of the booking form.
10-day Rover ticket (Price: £295) • admission to all numbered events. 5-day Rover ticket (Price: £205) • 1st 5-day Rovers begin with event #1 on Friday 9 July and end at 1pm on Wednesday 14 July. • 2nd 5-day Rovers begin with the 2pm event on Wednesday 14 July until the end of the festival. Weekend / Midweek Rover tickets • 1st weekend Rovers begin with event #1 on Friday 9 July and end with the last event on Sunday 11 July. (Price: £145) • 2nd weekend Rovers begin on Friday 16 July at 2pm until the end of the festival. (Price: £145) • Midweek Rovers run for 5 days from Monday 12 July to Friday 16 July. (Price: £190)
Accommodation varies from comfortable, en suite bedrooms right in the heart of the festival site to single, student bedrooms (which share bathroom facilities) about 2 mins. walk from the main site. Along with your room and breakfast, packages include lunch and dinner, or just dinner. All packages include a Rover ticket in the price. If you are interested in an accommodation package please phone 01803 867373 and we can advise on availability and give more details. BED & BREAKFAST Bed & Breakfast accommodation is available in the Higher Close student residences (single rooms sharing bathroom facilities) at £30 pppn. There is a 2-night and 2 tickets per night’s stay minimum purchase.
TO MAKE A RESERVATION for an accommodation / Rover package or for B&B please phone 01803 867373. Payment in full is required at the time of booking. Cancellations cannot be refunded. Customers are strongly advised to take out holiday insurance.
Waterstone’s Torquay is proud to be official bookseller at
Ways with Words 2010 Visit us at the festival for new and classic titles by the guest authors. Waterstone’s, 15 Union Street, Torquay Tel: 01803 203 788
Proud sponsors of Ways With Words
An online literary magazine featuring interviews, sample chapters, trailers, booklists, and competitions from the finest publishers of literary fiction and quality non-fiction.
www.bookhugger.co.uk
Thursday 15 July - Great Hall
Lyndall Gordon
#77 11.30am Great Hall £9 Chair: Mary Jacobs
#78 2pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Sameer Rahim, Telegraph
Tracy Chevalier
Lyndall Gordon The Emily Dickinson Myth Emily Dickinson was a reclusive poet who dressed in white while addressing visitors from behind closed doors and locked her work away from the world: accurate portrayal or easy cliché? With forensic skill, Lyndall Gordon peels off the dusty layers of the Dickinson myth to reveal a sophisticated woman whose family harboured a hothouse of sex scandals and betrayals.
Tracy Chevalier The Woman Who Sold Sea Shells on the Sea Shore Dinosaur fossils, lightning, creationism: in her new novel, ‘Remarkable Creatures’, Tracy Chevalier shows how one woman’s gift leads to some of the most important discoveries of the nineteenth century. She tells the potent story of the little-known fossilist, Mary Anning.
Fay Weldon
#79 3.30pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Sarah Crompton, Telegraph
#80 5pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Helena Drysdale
Vitali Vitaliev
Fay Weldon A Lifetime in Books Vintage Fay Weldon fiction is satirical, political and fantastical, sparkling with imagination, intelligence and wit. Her latest novel, ‘Chalcot Crescent’, is no exception. This renowned, prolific writer discusses her ideas and inspiration.
Vitali Vitaliev Life as a Literary Device As a highly regarded journalist during the last years of the Soviet Union, Vitali Vitaliev became a government target and defected. The literary connoisseur talks about how life and literature have become inextricably linked for him and makes many colourful and witty observations along the way, from the Ukraine to Tasmania.
Thursday 15 July - Great Hall
Richard Herring
Lana Citron
#81 7.30pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Sarah Crompton, Telegraph
Richard Herring
#82 9pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Ben Long
Lana Citron
Sort of a Guide on How Not To Grow Up Comedian Richard Herring, is known for his no-holds barred solo comedy shows, radio and TV writing and collaborations with other comedians, famously Stewart Lee in ‘Lee and Herring’. Tonight he will take us through his uncensored and toecurlingly hilarious biography, ‘How Not To Grow Up: A Coming of Age Memoir. Sort Of’.
Kissing Know everything about kissing? Think again. Lana Citron takes the amorous amongst us on any idiosyncratic journey of this most human of activities, enlightening us with the anatomy of a kiss, famous kissers, the kiss in art, the cultural significance of the kiss, kiss-record breakers and even some kiss songs.
Friday 16 July - Great Hall
Ronald Blythe
#83 10am Great Hall £9 Chair: John Marshall
#84 11.30am Great Hall £9 Chair: Mary Jacobs
Marina Lewycka
Ronald Blythe Living and Writing in the Countryside Ronald Blythe has done just that. His life has been spent amongst writers and artists in his native Suffolk, a county which has infused all his writings. The changing light through his windows, the watchful white cat, the clock ticking, the overgrown gardens, his ancient farmhouse: all enter the pages of his books. Travel along Constable’s lanes with him as he describes his contemplative, writing life.
Marina Lewycka Sticking Together Born to Ukrainian parents in Germany and raised in post war UK, Marina Lewycka’s background gives her a unique voice and perspective. The author of the much-loved and occasionally mis-classified ‘A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian’, talks about the themes of her new novel, ‘We Are All Made of Glue’.
Ian McEwan
#85 2pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Peter Stanford
Antonia Fraser
#86 3.30pm Great Hall £9
Ian McEwan talks to Professor Michael Wood
Love and Loss Antonia Fraser, prize-winning biographer, talks to author Peter Stanford about her 33 year marriage to the internationally lauded playwright, Harold Pinter. This event promises to be a testimony to one of literature’s most celebrated marriages.
A Measured Wide-Eyed Blink at the World Ian McEwan’s funny and satirical novel, ‘Solar’, focusses on the serious matter of climate change. Its protagonist has complex technological solutions. But what of McEwan? While a committed recycler McEwan has said, ‘The bottle bank won’t get us out of this.’ The world-renowned writer talks about his latest works and his thoughts on society, politics and writing.
Friday 16 July - Great Hall
Antonia Fraser
#87 5pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Lucy Worsley
Amanda Foreman
Antonia Fraser, Amanda Foreman and Juliet Nicolson Making the Past Popular There has been an explosion of interest in history fuelled by high quality writers like these on this panel today. Antonia Fraser calls her writing of books on historical topics ‘a private pleasure’, but says it’s a joy to share it with others. The ‘others’ are a huge and appreciative worldwide readership. Amanda Foreman’s ‘Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire’ took the world by storm. This autumn her next book, ‘A World on Fire’, on the American Civil War will be published. Juliet Nicolson’s warm, illuminating books cover the point in history before and after the First World War – a time of sun and shadows. They discuss how they communicate their passion for history.
Sandra Howard
Brian Keenan
#88 7.30pm Great Hall £9
Sandra Howard Talks to Michael Buerk
#89 9pm Great Hall £9 Chair: James Long
Brian Keenan
Politics and Fiction A bomb in central London, the Home Secretary’s reaction, a young Muslim reporter: Sandra Howard who is married to Michael Howard, the former leader of the Conservative Party, has written a highly topical novel about politics and the state of the country. She introduces her new novel and explains to Michael Buerk how the themes of private loyalty and public duty shape her fiction.
Looking Back Keenan revisits his Belfast boyhood with wisdom and clarity sharpened by his famous ordeal as a hostage in Beirut. Join him as he explores once more the stairs, streets and shipyards of his native city and, in doing so, comes to terms with the past and discovers its redemptive powers.
Friday 16 July - The Barn - History #92 2pm The Barn £9 Chair: Richard Ryder
Juliet Nicolson
Lucy Worsley
#90 10am The Barn £9 Chair: Helena Drysdale
Juliet Nicolson
#91 11.30am The Barn £9 Chair: Sameer Rahim, Telegraph
Lindsay Porter
1918 – 1920: The Forgotten Years An Illustrated Talk Juliet Nicolson tells of life in the half-forgotten period after the First World War in her book ‘The Great Silence: 1918-1920 Living In The Shadow Of The Great War’. Housing costs and hemlines soared against a background of loneliness and loss, as Britain struggled to come to terms with the past. She brings to life these defining years that have shaped our country.
A History of Political Murder An Illustrated Talk Assassination – the politically motivated killing of high-profile individuals – has always been part of man’s struggle for power. Lindsay Porter examines in detail the most famous examples of political murder and considers the impact these horrifying acts have had on the course of history.
Lucy Worsley The Secret History of Kensington Palace An Illustrated Talk Lucy Worsley is the Chief Curator of the Historic Royal Palaces. Her new book, ‘Courtiers’, tells the story of the court of King George II. Kensington Palace was a gilded cage of comfort and splendour but also a bloody battlefield. Come for an eye-opening insight into a world of skullduggery, politicking, wigs and beauty spots where smiles could kill and kisses condemn.
#93 3.30pm The Barn £9 Chair: Ian Mortimer
Benedict Gummer
#94 5pm The Barn £9 Chair: Sameer Rahim, Telegraph
Thomas Asbridge
Black Death in the British Isles Nothing experienced in human history, before or since, eclipses the terror, tragedy and scale of the Black Death, the disease which killed millions of people in medieval Europe. Benedict Gummer paints a vivid picture of Britain before, during and after the plague and challenges widely-accepted theories about its spread and effects.
The Crusades An Illustrated Talk One of the world’s foremost authorities on the crusading era, Thomas Asbridge, reveals how the holy wars fought between Muslims and Christians reshaped the medieval world and why they continue to echo in human memory today.
Friday 16 July - Duke’s Room - My Life, My Writing FE2 9.30 - 11am Duke’s Room £16
Christopher North
#95 2pm Duke’s Room £6 Chair: Linnie Price
Clive Fairweather
Something Sensational – A Diary Workshop Keeping a diary is a repository for the trivia of every-day but also first thoughts, insights, flashes of inspiration and fleeting impressions. This workshop will consider ways of enriching your diary entries by looking at published diaries and trying some exercises to ensure, like Oscar Wilde, you have something sensational to read on the train.
Who Will be Reading This? Do you enjoy the great English diarists? Do you write a diary yourself? Would you ever? Rereading his own, after a twenty five year gap, has prompted Clive Fairweather to reassess the genre. He explores the nature of diary keeping and salutes some of his favourite diarists with a new respect.
#96 3.30pm Duke’s Room £6 Chair: Jess Morris
Caspar Walsh
#97 5pm Duke’s Room £6 Chair: Celia Atherton
James Roose-Evans
Clive Fairweather
Caspar Walsh
Fact and Fiction, Crime and Rehabilitation Few would think a life of crime would lead to a life in literature yet Caspar Walsh, author, dramatist and broadcaster, has found this to be the case. His memoir, ‘Criminal’, did what it said on the cover. Now he’s published ‘Blood Road’, the first of a trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels. Where are the pitfalls in using life for literature? There must be some.
Opening Doors and Windows James Roose-Evans compares writing a memoir to baking a cake – over-richness is a bad thing. It’s fifty years since he founded the Hampstead Theatre Club. His theatrical triumphs include ‘84 Charing Cross Road’ and ‘Re: Joyce!’ There’s much richness yet he tells his story with poise, fluency and restraint. Choices, selections and no over-egging. How did he do it?
Christopher North James Roose-Evans
Saturday 17 July - Great Hall
Michael Buerk
#98 9.30am 11.30am Great Hall £10 Chair: Richard Fox
James Long
Michael Buerk The Whole World in His Hand Legendary broadcast journalist, Michael Buerk, will deliver a unique two-part talk that links journalism and anthropology. From a long and distinguished career in BBC News, spanning 30 years, Buerk will draw on his immense global experiences in an attempt to explain why people across our geographically diverse planet have developed in such radically different ways. (includes 30 min interval)
Andrew Motion
#99 12pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Lorna Bradbury, Telegraph
Jane Gardam
Andrew Motion, Jane Gardam and James Long Sequels, Prequels and Parallel Texts When we finish reading a novel we are often left with questions about what happened before or after. Andrew Motion recently announced he is writing a sequel to ‘Treasure Island’ to bravely provide some answers. When Jane Gardam wrote ‘Old Filth’ her readers were curious about Filth’s wife Betty so she has written a companion volume, ‘The Man in the Wooden Hat’. James Long has returned to his highly-acclaimed novel, ‘Ferney’, in his latest book, ‘The Lives She Left Behind.’ How difficult is it to look back and write forward?
Day Tickets available until the start of the festival. (See booking form for details.)
Saturday 17 July - Great Hall #100 2pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Peter Stanford
Karen Armstrong The Value of Unknowing In the past, individuals went to great lengths to experience a sacred reality. Now they avoid it. Karen Armstrong suggests we can creatively rebuild faith by recognising silence, reticence and awe and by letting go of what we thought we knew to appreciate truths we had never dreamed of. Karen Armstrong
#101 3.30pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Celia Atherton
#102 5pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Donald Hodgart (Inverarity Vaults)
Dorothy Rowe Why We Lie The dog ate my homework. The holocaust never happened. Big or small, lies surround us. But why do we lie? Vanity and terror make us, according to eminent psychologist, Dorothy Rowe who will help us understand both the personal and global impact of not telling the truth and how to see an honest way out.
#103 7pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Christopher North #104 8.30pm Great Hall £15
Simon Hoggart Life’s Too Short to Drink Bad Wine
Wine donated by
Guardian political sketch writer and Spectator wine columnist, Simon Hoggart takes us on an eclectic jaunt through his favourite bottles. To quote Stephen Fry: “the Hoggart’s School of Wizardry and Wine-Craft is the best in the land...” Grab some wine and prepare to be told what to quaff.
Kit and The Widow
Simon Hoggart
Andrew Motion A Breath of Poetry Andrew Motion considers poetry as natural and necessary as breathing. Gulp in fresh, sustaining breaths at his reading tonight. Enjoy the mystery and magic of poetry.
Kit and The Widow Two Men and a Piano – Comedy Cabaret Songs and harmless badinage from these witty and clever practitioners of the gentle art of cabaret review – sometimes with less gentle satire. (2 hrs. including interval)
Saturday 17 July - The Barn - Belief #105 9.30am The Barn £9 Chair: Peter Stanford
James Roose-Evans
#106 10.45am The Barn £9 Chair: Catherine Pepinster, Editor of The Tablet
Peter Stanford
#107 12pm The Barn £9 Chair: Christopher Lamb, The Tablet
Denise Inge and Mark Vernon
Silence and Spirituality Meditation, creativity, sacredness, finding silence: what is spirituality? James Roose-Evans, an ordained priest as well as a talented theatre director, explores possible answers to this enigmatic question.
#108 1.30pm – 3pm The Barn £9 Chair: Catherine Pepinster
Jonathan Stedall
#109 3.30pm The Barn £9 Chair: Christopher Lamb
Alwyn Marriage
#110 5pm The Barn £9 Chair: Anthony Wilson
Cole Moreton
Holy Sites in Britain An Illustrated Talk Peter Stanford makes a modern-day pilgrimage around some of the most ancient religious sites in Britain, to take the spiritual temperature of an age often described as secular and sceptical. Are the present-day pilgrims he meets en route simply in search of history? He tells the story of his pilgrimage to look for faith in Britain today.
The Pursuit of Happiness
The Belief Day is sponsored by
Finding happiness is not as simple as having good friends or a full social life. Referring to the ideas of the priest poet, Thomas Traherne, and the ancient Greek philosophers, Aristotle and Plato, Mark Vernon and Denise Inge investigate the nature of happiness by looking at value and virtue, relationships, freedom, self-awareness and love.
Where on Earth is Heaven? Talk and Film Award-winning documentary film maker Jonathan Stedall explores some of the profound questions that have underpinned his work. He has worked alongside John Betjeman, Laurens van der Post, Mark Tully, E.F. Schumacher and Alan Bennett – all with their different perspectives on heaven.
The People of God – A Royal Priesthood In ‘The People of God’, poet and publisher Alwyn Marriage shows how the Church has been damaged by the non-Scriptural role it has imposed on clergy. She considers the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers.
Losing Faith, Finding Soul An Illustrated Talk ‘The average Britisher imagines that God is an Englishman’, said George Bernard Shaw a century ago. Cole Morton asks if this is still the case when he takes the spiritual pulse of the country in his laugh-outloud and thought provoking book, ‘Is God Still an Englishman?’ The author and journalist asks ‘Who are we? What do we believe? Where are we going?’ There may even be some answers.
Saturday 17 July - Duke’s Room - Left Bank Discussions These events are an opportunity for you to become more involved in the issues which some of our speakers are thinking, writing and talking about.
#111 3.30pm Duke’s Room £6 Chair: David Nixon
#112 4.45pm Duke’s Room £6 Chair: David Nixon
Denise Inge Searching for Happiness Can everyone master the secret of happiness? If you are in search of it will you find? Is happiness a by-product of life happening around you? Whatever the answers the discussion will be intriguing.
Mark Vernon The Challenge of Friendship The perils and pleasures of friendship haunt us all. Can colleagues, lovers, on-line strangers be friends? What do you expect from friends? What should you give as a friend?
Become a Fan of Ways With Words’ Facebook page and you can come to Mark Vernon’s Left Bank Discussion event for FREE. (Subject to availability) You will need to join Facebook, then go to the Ways With Words Facebook page and become a ‘fan’. Then just click on Mark Vernon’s event and RSVP to the invitation. That’s it!
Mark Vernon
#113 6pm Duke’s Room £6 Chair: Lorna Duffin
Dorothy Rowe
Dorothy Rowe Taking Charge of Your Life Dorothy Rowe is a psychologist whose calm voice brings sanity and reason to mad and unreasonable situations. Whether dealing with depression, happiness, death, growing old, family or friends she believes that we live in a world of meaning that we have created. Come to discuss these ideas.
Sunday 18 July - Great Hall
Juliet Barker
Richard Long - Midsummer’s Day Circle (2007)
#114 9.30am Great Hall £9 Chair: Alwyn Marriage
Canon Lucy Winkett
#115 11am Great Hall £9 Chair: Ian Mortimer
Juliet Barker
Our Sound is Our Wound Canon Lucy Winkett is Precentor of St. Paul’s Cathedral where she is responsible for its music and liturgy. She looks at the sounds we hear and the sounds we make. The noises of a modern city match the dominant modern feelings of anxiety and fear; it is the sound of angels people should be listening out for, she suggests. She calls for stillness and contemplative listening in a noisy world.
Conquest Juliet Barker is the distinguished biographer of the Brontës and of Wordsworth, but in ‘Agincourt’ she put on her medievalist’s hat again and wrote a book that was acclaimed as the best history book of the year. Now she has written a sequel: ‘Conquest’. She turns back the centuries and transports us to those tempestuous times.
Martin Creed - Work 338 (2004)
#116 12.30pm Great Hall £9 Chair: The Telegraph
Richard Long
#117 2pm Great Hall £9 Chair: The Telegraph
Martin Creed
Making Art by Walking Illustrated Richard Long’s art comes from a love of nature and his solitary walks. He explores the relationships between time, distance, geography, measurement and movement. Last year, Long had a major retrospective exhibition at Tate Britain, ‘Heaven and Earth’. In 1984 he is reputed to have refused the Turner Prize but accepted it in 1989. Experience Heaven when he talks about his earthly works.
Works – Illustrated Martin Creed, the Turner prizewinning, conceptual artist has achieved international recognition for the gentle but subversive wit, minimalism and anti-materialism of his work. Creed’s works, all titled by number, have been described as attempts to short-circuit our visually overloaded, choice saturated culture.
Sunday 18 July - Great Hall
Simon King
#118 3.30pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Elizabeth Cooke
#119 5pm Great Hall £9 Chair: Clive Fairweather
Ian Mortimer
Simon King Wild Life An Illustrated Talk Boyhood obsessions – boiling badger heads to preserve the skulls and pinning dead birds’ wings to his bedroom wall – have taken Simon King to every continent and made him one of the most beloved presenters of natural history. With honesty and charm he tells of his encounters with extraordinary people, and astonishing places.
Ian Mortimer Rewriting History Ian Mortimer challenges conservative views about history and makes readers look at subjects in fresh and radical ways. His vibrant, international best-seller, ‘The Time Traveller’s Guide to Medieval History’, redefined our responses to the past as does his latest book, ‘1415: Henry V’s Year of Glory’. He believes empathy and evidence will get the most out of history.
Canon Lucy Winkett
6.30pm Great Hall Free
Matt Harvey
Festival Service of Celebration and Thanksgiving – Organised by St Mary’s, Dartington The guest preacher will be Canon Lucy Winkett, Precentor of St. Paul’s Cathedral. An opportunity to worship, to sing, to learn, to reflect and to be uplifted in the inspirational setting of Dartington’s Great Hall.
#120 8pm Great Hall £9
Matt Harvey Wondermentalist at Wimbledon Matt’s way with words has taken him from Totnes to the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club via Radio 4’s ‘Saturday Live’, the Edinburgh Festival and the Work section of the Guardian. Poems and stories about water coolers and Wimbledon, IT and potatoes, pain relief, petty theft and public nudity – from Wimbledon Championship Poet 2010. Laugh the festival to a conclusion.
Sunday 18 July - The Barn - Behaviour
Chris Rogers
#121 10am The Barn £9
#122 11.30am The Barn £9 Chair: Lorna Duffin
#123 2pm The Barn £9 Chair: Richard Fox
Robin Dunbar
#124 3.30pm The Barn £9 Chair: Lorna Duffin
Christine Webber
Christine Webber
Mark Vernon The Meaning of Friendship Mark Vernon, once a priest then an atheist and now what he calls a ‘searching agnostic’ helps us to appreciate and nourish many different kinds of friendship. He puts friendship at the heart of our beings and will make you feel better about being human.
Anouchka Grose A Realist’s Guide to Romance Falling in love is a complicated, messy, mad business – and staying in love even worse. Does it have to end in tears? This cheerful talk from a writer and psychoanalyst about the horrors of love is compulsory for all those who have loved, lost and loved again.
Day Tickets available until the start of the festival. (See booking form for details.)
#125 5pm The Barn £9
Why Humans Behave as They Do We are the product of our evolutionary history and this covers our everyday life from why we kiss to how religious we are. Robin Dunbar suggests you should suspect someone who has more than 150 friends on Facebook; he explains why all babies are born premature, and the science behind Lonely Hearts Club columns. Expect a provocative, challenging talk.
Reinventing Ageing Christine Webber, psychotherapist and author of an inspirational guide for female baby boomers, ‘Too Young to Get Old’, discusses how our behaviour can keep us young. She lays out her ideas for living as long and as healthily as possible.
Chris Rogers with Michael Buerk Unwanted Children An Illustrated Talk ITN reporter, Chris Rogers, has filmed many bleak and inhuman institutions across the world. The Duchess of York was so moved by his investigations that she went with him to Turkey and Romania to see how state-run institutions treat disabled and abandoned children. He discusses their shocking discoveries with Michael Buerk.
Saturday 10 July FE3 11am £6 Meet outside the Barn for –
An Interactive Poetry Walk with Pamela Sandry Gorman, Susan Taylor and Simon Williams Sewing Word Seeds FUN – These three poets will draw you out in Pied Piper style to explore the vistas of Dartington’s fabulous gardens. INFORMATIVE – As well as their own poems, they will tread in the footsteps of great thinkers along these paths, delivering insights by Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst and Rabindranath Tagore. CREATIVE – This event will feature a short walk around the heart of the garden and an alternative loop, exploring the boundaries. Both adventures will include time for people to compose a few words of their own.
As well as the events in the Great Hall and the Barn, there are many other things happening in and around the courtyard during the festival.
s, p o h walks, works
et o p
ry
. . a nd
ano t
he rt
g n i h
Sunday 11 July #126
2pm
Duke’s Room
£6
Peter Farrie (songs), Susan Taylor (poems) and Simon Williams (poems and songs) Adjusting the Contrast Three is an odd number and, all things being even, these three will be highlighting their acute angles on love and life in a quirky cabaret of verbal and musical scores. They will adjust the contrast from wry to wise and from flippant to fey. To find out more about who does what, you’ll have to go and see. #127
3.30 - 5.pm
Duke’s Room
£6
Andrew Nightingale, Ann Segrave, Caroline Carver, Christopher North, Jennie Osborne, Rose Cook and Alwyn Marriage Poetry reading from Oversteps Books Come to revel in the poetry and learn more about the Oversteps publishing programme.
Monday 12 July
Sunday 18 July
FE4
#128
11am - 12.30pm Duke’s Room £14
Clive Fairweather Thank You Mr. Wilson – A Gerard Manley Hopkins Masterclass A sixth form teacher blew the lid off poetry for Clive Fairweather, when he introduced him to the work of Gerard Manley Hopkins. In today’s poetry masterclass Clive Fairweather hopes to cause a similar explosion. If you’ve never read Hopkins, so much the better. If you have, come and share your thoughts, your doubts, your pleasures, your excitement. An OUP volume of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ ‘Selected Poetry’ will be sent to each person who books this workshop.
Friday 16 July FE5
11am
Duke’s Room
£6
Poets and Painters Poets: Graham Burchell, Pat Fleming, Jennie Osborne, Fenella Montgomery and Ian Royce. Artists: Sarah Bee, Mike Glanville, Geoff Nickolls, Anita Reynolds and Hilary Soper Poets and Painters, an offshoot of Moor Poets, is a group of South Devon poets and artists working on a creative conversation through their work. Poets respond to paintings and painters respond to poems; each response taking a new twist in an ongoing journey of discovery and creativity. Join us for a reading of the poems and slide show of the paintings that have come out of this exciting association.
11.30am Meet under the arch £6
Poetry Walk with the Honeytongues Miriam Darlington and Lucy Lepchani Plants and poems, flowers and words, sweet sounds from the poets, fine vistas of the gardens: the mix is heady.
2pm
Outdoor Reading Room
Free
Trade Winds The Trade Winds crew are a hardy bunch of performers who, all year round, appear at evening showcase events in South Devon pubs. Poets, singer songwriters, storytellers and musicians come together to swap material and pool new ideas. Trade Winds at Ways With Words extends an invitation to visitors to join them in their third Festival Extravaganza. Outdoors, picnic style, if a glorious day… otherwise in The Duke’s Room. Do come early for a slot.
#129
3.30pm
Duke’s Room
£6
John Powls - poetry Carol Ballenger - photography and music Andrew Downton - music Arts Live presents – The Red Comet The story of a city from early afternoon through to midnight: poetry, projected images and live music combine to take the audience on a journey reflecting the varied life of the city and its people.
Eating And Drinking The following outlets will be open during the festival serving a range of food and drinks. • The Garden Room Restaurant - seated restaurant for breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea and coffee.
• The White Hart Bar - next to the Great Hall. • Van Rouge (open 9am - 6pm) - a range of organic foods, coffee, croissants and ice-creams.
• The Roundhouse Café (open 9.30am - 8pm) - adjacent to the Barn for tea and coffee.
Places to Stay
Bursaries to Ways With Words
FINGALS HOTEL, Coombe, Dittisham 01803 722398 www.fingals.co.uk Luxury country house hotel with pool and tennis court. 10 miles. B&B from £60 pppn.
Students between the ages of 17 - 25 who are in full-time education can attend all (10 days) or some (5 days) of this year’s festival free of charge.
THE SEA TROUT INN, Staverton, Totnes 01803 762274 www.theseatroutinn.co.uk 4* silver awarded inn serving excellent food. 2miles. B&B from £46pppn.
AGARIC, 30 North Street, Ashburton 01364 654478 www.agaricrestaurant.co.uk Sumptious, funky rooms and exceptional restaurant. 8 miles. B&B from £50 pppn.
SANDWELL FARMHOUSE, Plymouth Road, Totnes 01803 847674 www.sandwellfarmhouse.co.uk Large comfortable ensuite rooms. Ample parking. 2.5 miles. B&B from £30 pppn.
OLD FORGE, Seymour Place Totnes 01803 862174 www.oldforgetotnes.com 5 min walk to Totnes high street. Parking. 3 miles. B&B from £38 pppn.
BLACKLER BARTON FARM, Landscove, Totnes 01803 762385 www.blacklerbartonhouse.co.uk Attractive, listed former farmhouse. 5* silver award. 4 miles. B&B from £34pppn.
LOWER COBBERTON, Dartington 01803 866983 www.south-devon-bed-breakfast.co.uk Homely farmhouse B&B. Peaceful gardens. 1.5 miles. B&B from £33 pppn.
Email admin@wayswithwords.co.uk to find out more.
Mumfords are pleased to once again supply a courtesy car for use during the festival
MOME RATHS, Dartington 01803 865827 carylebaker@tiscali.co.uk Peaceful 1 bed s/c apartment (dbl) with patio. 1 mile. B&B £60 per night.
7, THE GROVE, Totnes 01803 862866 www.totnesgrove.com 2 rooms with bathroom and sitting room. 2 miles. B&B £50 sgl, £80 dbl, £120 both rooms.
8, BROOM PARK, Dartington, Totnes 01803 865581 tanyabell@btinternet.com Quiet location. Ample parking. Use of kitchen. 1 mile. B&B from £20 pppn.
Tourist Information • 01803 863168 www.totnesinformation.co.uk
Mumfords of Plymouth, founded in 1900 have constantly adapted... ...to meet the ever-changing needs of the motorist since the introduction of the motor car 9 Valley Road, Plympton, Plymouth
Call: 01752 309030 or visit www.mumfords.co.uk
Travelling to Dartington
With thanks to . . . Lord Hattersley, Festival President The Telegraph: Gaby Wood (Literary Editor, The Daily Telegraph), Lorna Bradbury (Deputy Literary Editor), Sarah Crompton (Arts Editor in Chief), Mark Skipworth (Executive Editor), Michael Prodger (Literary Editor, The Sunday Telegraph), Danielle Howe (PR, Events and Communications Manager)
Dartington is about 25 miles southwest of Exeter and about 4 hours drive from London. By car, take the M5, A38 and A384, then follow yellow AA signs to the festival. From the west, take the A38 from Plymouth, the A385 and then follow the AA signs. By train, Totnes is the nearest station, on the mainline from London Paddington. Dartington Hall is a 5 minute taxi ride from the station.
Parking Parking is limited at Dartington Hall. Please leave plenty of time to get to your event as you may need to park at a distance from the venues.
Wheelchair access There is wheelchair access to the Barn and the Great Hall, but please make sure you let us know when you buy your tickets as wheelchair spaces are limited and must be reserved in advance. There is access to the bar and dining rooms and to some bedrooms.
Hearing difficulties There is a loop system in place in the Great Hall (please ask the stewards where to sit to take advantage of this) and an infra-red headphone system in the Barn.
Ways With Words’ Patrons: Jonathan Dimbleby, Nicholas Evans, Sir Michael Holroyd CBE, Penelope Lively OBE, James Long, Blake Morrison, Rt. Hon. Lord Owen, Lord O’Hagan, Peter Stanford, Salley Vickers The Publishers: Allen Lane, Beautiful Books, Bloomsbury, Chatto & Windus, Continuum, Darton, Longman & Todd, Ebury, Faber & Faber, Fig Tree, Flagon Press, Fourth Estate, Granta, Grove Atlantic, Hamish Hamilton, Harper Collins, HarperPress, Harvill & Secker, Hawthorne Press, Hodder & Stoughton, Icon Books, John Murray, Jonathan Cape, Little, Brown, Lund Humphries, Macmillan, Orion, Oxford University Press, Palgrave Macmillan, Pan Macmillan, Penguin, Picador, Portobello Books, Quadrille, Quercus, Random House, Reportage Press, SCM-Canterbury Press, Short Books, Simon & Schuster, Tate Publishing, Thames & Hudson, The Bodley Head, The History Press, Tomahawk Press, Viking, Virago and Weidenfeld & Nicolson Good, Close and Best Friends: Marlene Eyre, Colin Goldsmith, Pamela Harding, Elaine D. Moss, Moira Sykes Office Manager: Kate Treleaven Box Office Manager: Bryony Devine Volunteer Interns: Fiona Kellagher, Kate King, Gemma O’Brien, Joanna Simpson, Florence Morgan-Richards Technical Advice: Chris Edwards Technicians: Rob Waite, Ninian Harding (The Barn) Venue Managers: Jess Morris, Ben Long, Caroline Wilson All at Dartington Accommodation and Catering Services Ltd. Ways With Words’ Directors: Kay Dunbar, Stephen Bristow, Chloë Dunbar, Videl Bar-Kar
Other things to do . . .
The Ship Studio in the courtyard at Dartington Hall will be open each day from 10am - 5.30pm. Here you will find stalls selling second hand and antiquarian books and quality locally made crafts.
© Chris Bowden
The Cider Press Centre is about 1/2 mile from the festival site and offers a variety of shops. There are also 2 restaurants: the Cider Press Café and Cranks. Shops open daily from 9.30am - 5.30pm (Sundays 10am - 5pm)
BOOKING CONDITIONS: Ways With Words (WWW) reserves the right to alter the programme or substitute speakers without prior notice if circumstances dictate. If a speaker is unable to attend, a substitute speaker will be found and your ticket will be valid for the substituted event. If you prefer, WWW will exchange your ticket(s) for another event of similar value. However, in these circumstances, WWW does not offer a refund. If no substitute can be found and an event is cancelled outright WWW will offer a full refund. LOST TICKETS: Please take great care of your tickets. WWW will not replace lost tickets. EXCHANGING TICKETS: Tickets may be exchanged for another event of similar value (provided the exchanged event has not already run) at a charge of £1 per ticket. RE-SELLING TICKETS: The box office will try and re-sell tickets (sold out events only) at a charge of £1 per ticket.
High Cross House (10 min. walk across the gardens) includes exhibition Sense of Place: an installation of contemporary artworks and music by tapestry weaver Jilly Edwards and composer Nigel Morgan, running alongside history of textiles at Dartington. (Tuesday - Friday, 2 - 4.30pm and Saturday 10 July, 10.30am - 12.30pm and 2 - 4.30pm)
in the SHIP STUDIO at Dartington Hall
12 - 5 Daily
JANE MARTIN JEWELLERY
Ways With Words’ Year Ahead LEYGONIE, nr RIBERAC, FRANCE June 9 – 16, 2010 – Art and Mainly Memoir Writing. There are a few places left on this course. The art tutor is Rosemary Catling, a practising artist who was previously a lecturer. The writing tutor is Cole Moreton who was the executive editor of The Independent on Sunday before becoming a freelance journalist for The Guardian and The Sunday Times and publishing several successful books. Accommodation is provided at a local chambre d’hôte. Cost : £785 pp in shared en suite double/twin room, £915 pp - single occupancy, sharing bathroom with one other person. Includes all teaching sessions, outings, transfers, meals and drinks except one lunch on the day of the trip and one evening meal. Travel: some come by train to Angoulême, some fly to Bergerac. Both about 45mins from the house. Transfers arranged.
SOUTHWOLD LITERATURE FESTIVAL Southwold, Suffolk November 11 – 15, 2010
From 8 – 18 July, 2011 The Telegraph Ways With Words festival of words and ideas will be back at Dartington Hall to celebrate our 20th festival. Put it in your diary now!
WORDS BY THE WATER A Cumbrian Literature Festival at Theatre by the Lake, Keswick, Cumbria March 4 – 13, 2011
With thanks to Sharpham Wines for supporting the festival launch party.
Martin Amis Karen Armstrong Joan Bakewell Lynn Barber Melvyn Bragg Michael Buerk Tracy Chevalier Giles Coren Martin Creed Margaret Drabble Amanda Foreman Antonia Fraser Jeremy Hardy Roy Hattersley Peter Hennessy P.D. James Simon King Richard Long Ian McEwan Andrew Motion Alice Oswald Sarah Raven Fay Weldon . . . and others
01803 867373
wayswithwords.co.uk