Bestselling Authors Coming To The East Riding Festival Of Words

The East Riding Festival of Words will be back from 15 – 20 October, bringing popular authors to the local area to talk about murder, belonging and a great deal more besides.

Writers including Christy Lefteri, Ann Cleeves and Jessica Fellowes will all be in Beverley, as part of the event organised by East Riding Libraries.

The festival will launch at Willerby Library on Tuesday, 15 October at 7pm with Stephen May, whose style is as much standup comedian as an author. He will be talking about his new novel, ‘We don’t die of love’, wrestling with the absurdities of modern life.

Wednesday, 16 October will see Duncan Barrett at South Cave Library at 7pm, discussing the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands in the Second World War in his new book, ‘Hitler’s British Isles’.

On Thursday, 17 October, North Bridlington library will host Danuta Kot at 7pm, whose book ‘Life Ruins’ combines haunting landscapes with a gripping plot.

The Festival moves to Beverley at The Treasure House on Friday, 18 October with daytime poetry writing workshop by local performance poet and playwright Catherine Scott. Actor and Guardian columnist Rhik Samadder will discuss his new book, ‘I never said I loved you’ and Christy Lefteri will talk about her bestselling work, ‘The Beekeeper of Aleppo’.

Saturday, 19 October will be Murder Day at Beverley Memorial Hall, brought together by The Murder Squad, and chaired by Nick Quantrill. It will feature Martin Edwards, an expert on crime fiction, talking about ‘The Golden Age of Crime’; and Chris Simms, Jess Kidd and Amanda Mason in a discussion panel about gothic thrillers. Kate Ellis will talk about ‘History and Mystery’, and a panel of Ann Cleeves (the author behind ‘Vera’ on ITV and ‘Shetland’ on the BBC), Margaret Murphy and Helen Pepper will look at how modern authors blend crime writing with forensic science. Cath Staincliffe, award-winning novelist, radio playwright and creator of ‘Blue Murder’ on ITV will give an insight into writing crime drama for TV and radio.

The day will culminate in a 1920s themed Murder Mystery Supper at Beverley Memorial Hall, written by crime author Kate Ellis.

Sunday, 20 October at Beverley Art Gallery will focus on the theme of ‘Belonging’. Raynor Winn will talk about ‘The Salt Path’, a tale about homelessness and the strength of the human spirit to endure. International bestselling author Jessica Fellowes, author of the companion books to Downton Abbey, will talk about ‘The Age of Elegance: from Downton to the Mitfords’; and there will be an afternoon with bestselling author Erica James – all served up with tea and cakes in the middle!

There will also be a Children’s Festival across the East Riding, including the Gruffalo Grand Tour; drama workshops from She Productions at Beverley Library; a Ninja Alien Pirate Party at the Parkway Cinema in Beverley; ‘Baby’s First Jailbreak’ at Goole Library; and ‘The Stolen Spear’ at Beverley Library. In addition, there will be bedtime stories at Beverley Library; glove puppet animals; and more at Beverley Library.

Sunday, 27 October will see The Funny World of James Campbell at the Parkway Cinema in Beverley – a standup comedy show for children over six, their parents and anybody who likes comedy without the rude words!

Councillor Shaun Horton, the portfolio holder for tourism, leisure and culture, said: “This is a great lineup for the 2019 Festival of Words, and I am delighted that our libraries team has been able to put together such a superb programme of authors who we know will prove popular in this area. The Children’s Festival also has an excellent programme again this year, and there really is something for everybody here!”

Tickets for all the events go on sale on 27 August online at www.festivalofwords.co.uk or by calling 01482 392699.