Beverley Literature Festival 2009

The Funniest Festival to date the Beverley Literature Festival 2009 09, 1-11 OCTOBER

You’ve heard of laugh-out-loud books – well here’s a laugh-out-loud festival!

Forget hushed rooms and reverent conversation, this year’s Beverley Literature Festival will have audiences rolling in the aisles – well, almost.

We’ve the dry and incisive political wit of Francis Wheen from the News Quiz and Private Eye; and that grumpiest of Grumpy Old Men, Will Self, a man with a tongue like a cross between a scalpel and a sledge-hammer – pomposity beware!

Joining them in the festival line-up will be the brilliant AL Kennedy. A superb novelist and short-story writer, she also happens to have another life as a stand-up comedian. She’ll be reading from her work rather than doing her comedy act, but expect great timing and not a few laughs.

Listeners to Radio 4 will know just how good Matt Harvey is. Whether off the cuff in response to the day’s events, or well honed poetry, Matt’s hilarious verse insights into new-age spirituality and touchy-feeliness are, as the Guardian says, ‘not only funny, but tender and true.’

Gervase Phinn is always good comedy value, as everyone knows. He has a great ear for the delightful verbal experiments of children and has entertained them for years with this own rib-tickling verse. And Tim Quinn will be entertaining both young and old with stories about his time as editor at Marvel Comics.

And finally – Virginia Ironside will be giving us twenty reasons to look on the bright side of getting older!

John Clarke, Festival director, said: “We thought, given the times, that we needed to get more laughs into the festival this year. What’s satisfying is that those people who’ll be providing the laughs will be doing so with the kinds of powerful insights that have made them the great writers that they are. Laughs and great ideas – it’s a winning combination!”

Other well known authors at the festival include: Michael Frayn, Brian Keenan, Iain Banks, Andy Beckett, Jim Cartwright, Andrew Crumey, and many, many more.

Due to ill-health, Jane Gardam has sadly had to withdraw from the festival. She hopes to be with us next year.

The events will be held at various locations in Beverley a full list of dates, times and locations can be found here