We’re delighted to announce that the winner of this year’s Book Trail is Felicity Moore!

Well done Felicity, we hope you enjoy your detective book prize 🙂

Hello Booklovers,

What a wonderful weekend it was! There’s four of us on the social media team and we hardly saw each other over the weekend because there was so much fun to be had. Here’s a little bit from a couple of us to give you a taste of all that Felixstowe Book Festival 2017 had to offer…

Rosie…

“What is really lovely about having been involved with the Festival from its early days is the fact that the group of volunteers we have now accumulated feels like a big family – it’s great to see familiar faces during the Festival weekend each year, but I also thoroughly enjoy getting to know new helpers during a shared slot on the door or information desk. My personal highlights from this year have to be Louis de Bernières and A. L. Kennedy – two wonderful writers, very different in style and demeanour, but both at ease in front of their Festival audiences and both ready to share all sorts with us, reaching far beyond their latest literary output. This is what I enjoy the most about the weekend: those brilliant surprises and insights which you would never have considered or imagined otherwise.”

Hannah…

“As I am also the Young People’s Programme Coordinator I spent most of my weekend at Felixstowe Library making sure all of the children’s and teen events ran smoothly. What a time we had! This is definitely the most fun, vibrant part of the festival (not that I’m biased…) All of our authors were an absolute delight, but real highlights have to be a packed-out Teddy Bear’s picnic with Jane Hissey the author of my childhood favourite Old Bear, laughing along with adults and children at A F Harrold’s event and our Famous Five celebration on Sunday which saw us all meeting the characters and becoming detectives to solve the Felixstowe mystery!”

Post-festival blues? We recommend starting on that pile of deliciously scented new books you inevitably purchased from our book stall 😉 We’ll let you know our dates for 2018 as soon as they’re set in stone so watch this space. But for now the festival team are off to put our feet up… probably with a good book.

bookish best wishes,

The festival team

On Friday our fifth festival kicks off with a top-tapping evening of poetry and music from Martin Newell and the Hosepipe Band. Martin joins us to answer our five, five-themed questions…

1. What can we expect from your event?

The rather ‘old timey’ and evocative experience of an author performing reading two balladic poems, accompanied by an eclectic selection of string and wind instruments, including flutes, double bass, hammered dulcimer, border pipes and bass recorder.

2. We can’t wait! Now, which 5 authors (dead or alive) would you invite to a literary dinner party? What would be on the menu?

Very tough but here goes Charles Dickens, Peter Ackroyd, Joan Wyndham, Keith Richards, Edith Nesbit

3. Would be a lively party. And what 5 things do you recommend to do in Felixstowe?

Go to that Underwoods Ironmongers, go to Felixstowe Ferry and buy some fresh fish, take the Bawdsey Ferry, walk around the sidestreets in the centre looking at the late Victorian Edwardian houses and have a mildly naughty weekend in that lovely hotel we played at last time.

4. Cheeky! But that’s some sound advice from a true Felixstowe fan. So what were you reading when you were 5?

I didn’t learn to read till I was nearly seven, then I went straight from Janet and John Book 6 to Black Beauty and Oliver Twist. I struggled a bit though.

5. And what 5 books would you take on a desert island?

Housman’s A Shropshire Lad, Betjeman’s Collected Works, Hugh Walpole’s Rogue Herries, James Woodforde’s Diary of A Country Parson and Peter Akroyd’s London the Biography.

Excellent, thanks Martin! Have you got your ticket for our opening extravaganza yet? There’s fizz and canapes as well as this fabulous entertainment!

Hello Booklovers,

Only a week to go! Have you got your tickets yet? Now is definitely the time to do so as they are selling like hotcakes this year. Stella Rimington is just a few tickets away from selling out and all tickets for our Teddy Bear’s Picnic with Jane Hissey have now gone.

Sadly we have had to cancel Stephen May’s event due to circumstances beyond our control. Anyone with tickets for this will be contacted and offered a refund or exchange.

The Book Trail has commenced! Get your trails for this fun family activity for only 50p from Felixstowe Library. It will be running until Sunday 2nd. Make sure your completed trail is handed into the library by 4pm on the 2nd July to be entered into a prize draw.

Our Top Picks

Stuck for ticket inspiration? Want to try something a little different? These are our top picks:

An Afternoon of Romance featuring Julia Jones chatting about Jane Austen as chick-lit, Kate Hardy revealing all about the world of Mills and Boon and Jan Jones talking regency novels and the Romantic Novelists Association. Of course there will be complimentary tea and scones!

Robert Colvile chatting about his book The Great Acceleration: How the World is Getting Faster, Faster. Robert explains how the cult of disruption in Silicon Valley, the ceaseless advance of technology and our own fundamental appetite for novelty and convenience have combined to speed up our daily lives.

Brenna Hassett talking about her fascinating book Built on Bones. Brenna examines skeletons to find out how people have lived and died. Her book is an upbeat, wisecracking attempt to trace the development of cities through thousands of years of human disease, violence and misery, all the while asking: “If cities are so great, why are they full of things that kill us?”

Jemma Wayne is a marvellous up and coming novelist. Her second novel Chains of Sand is set between London and Israel amidst the turmoil of war. It is driven by the powerful love stories of young Israeli Jews, Arabs, and Brits alike, each battling to forge their own identities against the hopes, fears and prejudices of their families, and the societies they find themselves trapped within.

Don’t miss out on these brilliant opportunities!

Richard T Kelly joins us to answer our five, five-themed questions…

1. What can we expect from your event?

Passion, insight and argument about the biggest issues facing the country right this very minute. The Knives is a novel about the dramas and moral dilemmas of politics, and these affect all our lives, whether we wish it or not.

2. Which 5 authors (dead or alive) would you invite to a literary dinner party? What would be on the menu?

What would be on the menu?! It would need gender balance, so counting me I’d like Lucia Berlin, Anne Sexton, Edna O’Brien, Norman Mailer and Seamus Heaney. If the weather was good I’d cook something out of Ottolenghi.

3. 5 things to do in Felixstowe/at the seaside?

I love Suffolk though this will be my first time in Felixstowe. I fancy a look at the Seafront Gardens and the Martello Towers. I’ll be wanting fish and chips, and a pint of Adnam’s. And even without the excuse of my children I might build a sandcastle.

4. When I was 5 I was reading…

Very little that I can remember – though I liked being read to, certainly. But I didn’t really read avidly for myself until I was 9 or 10.

5. The 5 books I’d take on a desert island are…

The Brothers Karamazov by Dostoyevsky, The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer, Victory by Joseph Conrad, Auden’s Collected Poems and The Rules of Attraction by Bret Easton Ellis.

Thanks Richard! Have you got your ticket for this fab event yet? Get on it now!

Hello Booklovers young and…erm… not so young!

This week we have had the spotlight on our young people’s programme and haven’t we got some treats in store for you all this year. I say all because lots of these events have such broad appeal – after all, age is just a number!

The Book Trail is back and this year we’re extending it so that you can get into the festival spirit from 24th June onwards. Simply collect a trail for 50p from Felixstowe Library (or the Orwell Hotel during the festival) and hunt for the clues hidden in town centre shop windows to discover the children’s book titles.

Then on Saturday 1st July we’re getting arty and crafty from 9am with the Top That Publishing team and their character Arty Mouse. This is a free drop-in session for ages approx 3-6. At 10:30 we have fantastic fantasy author Alwyn Hamilton joining us. Alwyn’s Rebel of the Sands series is seriously addictive. I could not put it down and the books have been hits with teens and adults alike. Come and hear her speak about creating a whole world from scratch.

Felixstowe Library is definitely the place to be on Saturday lunchtime of the festival. We have Jane Hissey author of the beloved Old Bear series of picture books joining us for a teddy bear’s picnic! Bring your teddy and a picnic blanket – we’ll provide the food and fun.

Saturday afternoon brings two awesome and highly acclaimed junior fiction authors Piers Torday and A.F Harrold. Local school book groups have been reading both of their books and will help interview them. Piers will be particularly talking about his newest book There May be a Castle, but will also speak a bit about his popular The Last Wild series. A.F. Harrold will be treating us to poetry and laughter as well as talking about his latest book The Song from Somewhere Else.

On the Sunday of the festival we kick off with an event which is more aimed at adults. Simon Couchman and Dan Graham from Top That Publishing join us to talk about writing and publishing picture books. Come along and be inspired! Meanwhile Gary Northfield will be introducing Julius Zebra and having tons of cartoon fun – this is definitely not to be missed if you enjoyed our Comic Book Masterclasses last year.

We close our young people’s programme with another one of our homegrown events. Once again we’ve teamed up with Rapscallion Theatre Company to produce lots of interactive fun. Five have Fun in Felixstowe celebrates 75 years since the publication of the first Famous Five book and also 5 years of your favourite Book Festival. Come along to meet George, Dick, Julian, Ann and Timmy and help them solve the mysterious Felixstowe mystery.

All of our young people’s events are in Felixstowe Library – this is truly where the most fun is had during the festival weekend 😉

Bookish best,

Hannah Rowe

Young People’s Programme Coordinator

Top That Publishing are joining us for two fabulous events this festival. Come along to their free, drop-in arts and crafts session on Saturday morning and then learn about writing and publishing picture books on Sunday morning. Dan Graham from Top That kindly answered our five, five-themed questions…

1. What can we expect from your event?

An honest and interesting introduction to the world of children’s publishing and writing picture books, and probably a bit of nervous laughter!

2. Which 5 authors (dead or alive) would you invite to a literary dinner party? What would be on the menu?

Too many to choose from but John Dos Pasos, Aldous Huxley, Alice Walker, Brett Easton Ellis and JK Rowling would all be very welcome at my dinner table.

3. 5 things to do in Felixstowe/at the seaside?

Surf, swim, picnic, walk & relax.

4. When I was 5 I was reading…

I think I was a late bloomer and was probably still on word cards! However, I distinctly remember Pots and Pans by Patricia Hubbell and the Meg and Mog series of picture books that are still around today.

5. The 5 books I’d take on a desert island are…

Under the Volcano – Malcom Lowry
USA – John Dos Pasos
Midnight’s Children – Salmon Rushdie
Northern Lights – Phillip Pullman
The Good Soldier – Ford Maddox Ford

And my top five children’s books for good measure …

Northern Lights – Philip Pullman
Little Rabbit Foo Foo – Michael Rosen
Paper Dolls – Julia Donaldson
We’re Going on a bear hunt – Michael Rosen
Green Eggs and Ham – Dr Seuss

Thanks Dan! Don’t forget to purchase your tickets for the Writing Picture Books event!