Hello booklovers!

Would I be terribly British in saying that I am just a little bit too hot and am praying for some rain soon? Probably, but with good reason! As glorious as the weather has been recently, it is not so fun when you are crammed into the office and stuck in traffic all the way home…

Anyway, onto brighter things and jollier climes – the festival has kicked off to a smashing start thanks to our opening events and not long ’til we return to the fun on Friday evening.

At this year’s festival we are seeing plenty of returning faces of our wonderful guests from previous festival weekends, including the likes of the lovely Liz Trenow. Author of a fabulous list of novels, including The Last Telegram and The Poppy Factory, Liz has been a very popular speaker at several of our festivals in the past few years and we are very glad that she has decided to visit us again. In an interview with our festival team a few years ago, Liz said she had a particular soft spot for Felixstowe, having visited Felixstowe Ferry many times as a child. Her family are also inextricably linked to our sleepy home county of Suffolk – Liz’s family-tree details a family of silk-weavers dating back almost 300 years!

This year Liz will be chatting to us about her latest creation, In Love and War. Marking 100 years since the end of the First World War, the novel follows the lives of three women as they travel to the battlefields of The Somme and Flanders, seeking both reconciliation of the events that had befallen them and any news of their loved ones involved in the conflict. A timely and emotional story, not to be missed. If you would like to attend Liz’s event (and I strongly advise that you do!!) then have a look at the link below for ticketing information:  https://felixstowebookfestival.co.uk/events/30-2

Be quick as nearly all the tickets have sold out. See you tomorrow for more news of festival favourites!

All the very bookish best,

Imogen

 

Hello booklovers,

Tuesday is almost behind us, we’re almost half way through the week. Only one more sleep until our first festival event – how the time has flown!

As part of our Returning guests and festival favourites series, I am delighted to be featuring guests who are returning to the Felixstowe Book Festival in the days building up to the festival weekend. This merry band of festival-returners includes the fabulous Imagine That publishing company and their friend Arty Mouse. We are sending many congratulations their way, as Imagine That have recently been selected as finalists for the Suffolk Business Awards as part of the large business category. Well done, everyone here at the Felixstowe Book Festival are over the moon for you! For those of you who would like to know more, read all about it here: http://www.imaginethat.com/imagine-announced-finalist-suffolk-business-awards-2018/

Arty Mouse has proved very popular with young (and old!!) local residents in the past and we simply cannot wait to welcome our furry friend back to Felixstowe Library. Head along on June the 30th at 10am for this lovely free drop in event for plenty of Arty Mouse themed craft activities for your little ones. If you would like to know more, follow the link below for extra information:

https://felixstowebookfestival.co.uk/events/52-2

We hope to see lots of little crafty folk enjoying themselves over the weekend, thanks to plenty of wonderful activities provided by Imagine That publishing. We can’t wait to welcome everyone back!

Until tomorrow, all the very bookish best!

Imogen and the Festival Team

The chance to discover new writers and new windows on the world is why I love book festivals – there’s so much on offer. With many of our more famous writers now sold out, this is the perfect time to branch out. Here are some explosive thriller and crime writers you won’t want to miss – they’ll send you away buzzing with excitement.

(Click on the red type to get straight to buying tickets for each of these events.)

Alongside Sir Vince Cable (Click here for tickets: Open Arms, 30 June 11.30-12.30 – very few tickets left for this event as I write!) we have a leading lights of the crime world, Mark Billingham. Mark takes us through the dark world of his intriguing detective, Tom Thorne, and is a fantastic speaker who leaves audiences as hooked in person as he does on the page – he is a world-wide bestseller and The Killing Habit (Sunday 1 July 1.30-2.30pm, Elizabeth Suite, The Orwell Hotel £9 (£7) ) is the 15th in the Tom Thorne series.

Events in Alaska that could trigger World War III (Man on Ice) and a father trying to reach his son (Sweet William), are the diverse settings for ex-BBC Correspondent Humphrey Hawksley and Aldeburgh-based author, Iain Maitland (Sunday 1 July 12.15-1.15pm, His Lordship’s Library, The Orwell Hotel £9 (£7) )

Humphrey Hawksley left school and joined the Merchant Navy, then the BBC in the 1980s. It is his direct experience of tense situations around the world that has provided the inspiration for his hugely entertaining political thrillers. Suffolk-based Iain Maitland brings the drama home to a father desperate to evade capture and find his young son. Two very different reads, each one dramatic and thought-provoking.

This will be the second time Oggy Boytchev has been to the Felixstowe Book Festival – he was a big hit the first time around, and Festival Director, Meg Reid, was delighted when he approached her about his new book The Unbeliever (Sunday 1 July 10.30-11.30am, Elizabeth Suite, The Orwell Hotel £9 (£7) The Unbeliever is a stunning debut novel which drops us deep into the paranoia of the Cold War. Based on true events, this spy novel carries you through four decades of intrigue and drama during the time of the Iron Curtain.

Iceland, Turkey and East London, are the settings for two of Britain’s most popular crime writers, Quentin Bates and Barbara Nadel – Crime Writing as a Window on the World (Sunday 1 July 3.15-4.15pm, His Lordship’s Library, The Orwell Hotel £9 (£7) ). Together these two authors explain how international settings create mystery and drama in their hit crime novels. This joint event is hosted by radio presenter, Rachel Sloane.

We hope you have a thrilling time!

Several events are already fully booked so if you are thinking of buying tickets – don’t wait!

Online ticket sales will stop at midnight the day before each event.  After this time you can buy tickets at our cash and cheque only ticket desk at the Orwell Hotel from 8.30 am to 8 pm.

Children event tickets can be bought at the library from 9 am on Saturday and 10 am on Sunday during the event weekend.

All tickets are subject to availability.

Looking forward to seeing you all there!

It is with great sadness that we have to inform you that Mairéad, our Friends coordinator, is no longer with us as she passed away unexpectedly on May 23.  The Felixstowefriends@aol.co.uk email address is therefore currently out of service and any messages to it will not be read. Please direct any communication to Felixstowebookfestival@hotmail.com instead.

Mairéad is greatly missed by friends and family. Please click this link to her obituary for more information.

We apologise for the inconvenience and hope to get the Friends back on track as soon as possible.

Hello booklovers!

A very happy Friday to you all. As you can see, our theme for this week’s blog is Father’s Day. Throughout literature, fathers are portrayed in starkly differing ways. We have the witty Mr Bennet, or the paradigm of humanity that is Atticus Finch, not to mention the foolish King Lear and the mysterious Lord Asriel.  Let us not forget stern Uncle Quentin and Uncle Matthew, the lovely father substitute of Anne of Green Gables fame. And we have plenty of lovely dads out and about here in Felixstowe. With Father’s Day very much around the corner, read on for our guide to a few recommendations of events that dads from far and wide may enjoy!

Horatio Clare and Rose George – Inside Shipping

George’s Deep Sea and foreign Going: Inside Shipping, the Invisible Industry and Clare’s Down to the Sea in Ships are absorbing insights into the shipping industry from two writers who joined the crews of container ships. They reveal the secrets of this little known  world and also introduce you to their latest books, Clare’s Icebreaker: a Voyage far North and George’s Nine Pints. 

Sharif Gemie and Brian Ireland – The Hippie Trail

Authors Sharif Gemie and Brian Ireland share the stories in their book The Hippie Trail recounting the joys and pains of budget travel to Kathmandu, India, Afghanistan and other ‘points east’ in the 1960s and 1970s. A must for anyone interested in the Trail or the 1960s counterculture.

Christopher Matthew – The Old Man and the Knee

Although in his late seventies, Christopher Matthew feels he is still enjoying late middle age and making the best of while he can. In his new book, he offers a guide to life in the last lane and suggests that oldies may have more to look forward to than they might imagine. Suitable for dads and granddads alike!

Caroline Slocock – People Like Us

As a young civil servant, Caroline Slocock became the first ever female private secretary to any British Prime Minister, and was at Margaret Thatcher’s side for the final eighteen months of her premiership. A left-wing feminist, Slocock was no natural ally and yet she became fascinated by the woman behind the Iron Lady façade and by how she dealt with a world dominated by men.A remarkable political and personal memoir, People Like Us charts life inside Thatcher s No. 10 during its dying days and reflects on women and power then and now.

Oggy Boytchev – The Unbeliever

The Unbeliever  is a panorama of Cold War paranoia and intrigue spanning four decades , told through the life of one extraordinary – and real – spy. A story of love, loyalty, ambition and betrayal, it is a gripping and highly original debut novel by a journalist who was born behind the Iron Curtain.

Nikesh Shukla – The One who Wrote Destiny

Nikesh Shukla is a writer and social commentator. He is the editor of the essay collection, The Good Immigrant, where 21 British Writers of colour discuss race and immigration in the UK. His latest novel, The One Who Wrote Destiny, is a witty and wise novel about three generations of the same family, riven by feuds and falling outs, united by fates and fortunes.

Iain Maitland and Humphrey Hawksley – Two very different thrillers…

Two very different thrillers…. In Sweet William an aggrieved father separated from his precious child will do anything to get him back. In Man on Ice an incident in the snows of Alaska could trigger the outbreak of World War III and a small island community is suddenly caught between sabre-rattling big powers.

This is but a small selection of the vast array of literary offerings we have for you! Have a lovely Father’s Day weekend all, there will be festival news aplenty coming your way next week.

Bookish best,

 

Imogen and the festival team

 

 

 

STRONG TICKET SALES FOR FELIXSTOWE BOOK FESTIVAL 2018
With a fantastic range of events on offer, festival goers will be inspired by favourite authors at this year’s Felixstowe Book Festival, but with events selling fast, and several already sold out, the festival team is advising fans not to wait to buy tickets – we wouldn’t want you to be disappointed!

“As an avid book festival goer, I know what it’s like to plan your weekend only to find there are no tickets to hear an author you’ve wanted to see for months,” says Felixstowe Book Festival director, Meg Reid. “Now that the festival approaches, we’re encouraging everyone to book their tickets in good time. The excitement is growing by the day and I am so looking forward to welcoming everyone to the Orwell Hotel in Felixstowe at the end of the month,” she says.

Recently featured in a number of national newspapers, The Felixstowe Book Festival is a weekend in the company of some of the UK’s most inspiring writers, hand-picked by festival director, Meg Reid, for their ability to engage audiences. If you’re less familiar with an author, with Meg’s stamp of approval you can be confident they’ll send you away buzzing!

Why not try something new? Buy tickets to five events or more, and get £1 off each ticket! Book 1o or more and get £2 off the event price.

NOT SURE WHAT’S ON?
Our programme will help you to plan your weekend of books by the sea.
Find our full programme by clicking here.

HOW TO BOOK
When you have made your choice, click on the date of the event on our website (www.felixstowebookfestival.co.uk).
This will take you to the booking page, where you can pay online.

If you have any questions our wonderful ticket partners at the New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich, will be pleased to help. Just call their box office on 01473 295900.

Alternatively, buy tickets from Felixstowe Library on Tuesday 19th June, and Tuesday 26th June from 10am–12 noon – cash sales only.

SPECIAL OFFERS
We also have an 2 for 1 ticket offer with Greater Anglia. Quote code GREATFBF241 at the checkout, and bring a valid train ticket to show at the festival door. You’ll get into your second event for free, or why not take a friend? Your tickets will work out at about £5 each!

Get more information about our Greater Anglia train offer by clicking here. 

With the festival hosted in the Edwardian elegance of the Orwell Hotel, just over the road from the town’s station, and Felixstowe only a 25 minute ride through the Suffolk countryside from Ipswich, the train is a great way to immerse yourself in a weekend of books and writing.

BUY TICKETS FOR FIVE EVENTS AND GET A £1 OFF
Book 5 events or more and get £ 1 off each ticket. Book 10 or more events and you will even get £ 2 off each ticket!

Hello booklovers!

I hope this week has seen you well. Hopefully the contents of this post will improve things a little further!
We have Amanda Craig and Salley Vickers coming to the festival this year. Sally will discuss her new novel ‘The Librarian’. Author of a number of other wonderful pieces of literature, including ‘Dancing Backwards’ and ‘The Other Side of You’, we are delighted that she is joining us on the 27th of June.

We are equally delighted by the arrival of Amanda, also on the 27th of June. Amanda will be discussing her latest tome, ‘The Lie of the Land’. A dark and witty look at the English Countryside and those who dwell in it, this is an event not to be missed for those who are a fan of family sagas and a spot of black comedy.

In honour of the occasion, we have expanded our location – both Amanda and Sally will be chatting to us from no place other than the Palm Court room in Harvest House. A beautiful old building, and an imposing piece of architecture that overlooks the seaside, Harvest House has had a chequered history – originally opening as the Felix Hotel in 1903, Harvest House epitomised the image of the quintessential Edwardian seaside holiday destination. Fifty years later the buildings became offices  and were then converted into retirement apartments. It was also notoriously the holiday destination of one Wallis Simpson.

So don’t hesitate to come along to Sally and Amanda’s events – not only will there be fascinating  literary discussion but also a chance to have a look round one of Felixstowe’s oldest and most interesting buildings.

 

Bookish best,

Imogen and the Festival Team

 

Good evening booklovers!

A very happy Wednesday to you all! Half way through the week, ceaselessly pushing on towards another bank holiday weekend. What sort of plans do you have? Personally I intend to do a lot of lounging on the beach, book-reading and… perusing the festival poetry events, of course!

“I saw the gooseflesh on my skin. I did not know what made it. I was not cold. Had a ghost passed over? No, it was the poetry.”

So said the ever wonderful Sylvia Plath. To me, she really hits the nail on the head – poetry can produce in us all sensations that we did not realise would be provoked by reading a poem. The wordplay, contrasting poetic forms  and startling images created are fascinating. Poetry is proven to fight loneliness and isolation: reading a poem about an event or a feeling that you previously thought you alone had experienced creates a sense of community and kinship. And that is why, here at the Felixstowe Book Festival, we are keen to provide you with some wonderful poetry events to inspire, cheer and soothe.

We are lucky enough this year to be joined by local poets Alexandra Davis and Emily Hasler. The lovely ladies will be  hosting their event ‘Coming Home, Making Home: Poetry and Place’, an hour of conversation and poetry discussing notions of home and belonging, and much, much more.

We will also be welcoming poet, novelist and critic Blake Morrison. As a co-editor of The Penguin Book of Contemporary British Poetry, his wisdom as a writer of both poetry and prose will be inspirational to many of our festival guests.

On a high from their immense success opening our 2017 festival, Martin Newell and the Hosepipe Band will be returning to the stage at the Orwell Hotel. Martin will be performing his poetic travelogue ‘The Jigsaw Coast’, mapping a journey from Essex to Norfolk. He will be accompanied by some beautiful Old English music performed by the wonderful Hosepipe Band.

Check out our programme here for more inspiring events!

We’ve made it half way through the week readers, not long ’til the weekend now! Tickets are selling out fast, so get booking while they’re still about.

Bookish best,

Imogen and the Festival Team