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Hello booklovers,

We are delighted to bring you some more exciting news for the new year – in March we will be launching our brand new book club. Last year we said a fond farewell to Ruth and Liz who did a brilliant job of hosting our first foray into the world of virtual meetings. Now we are bringing the book club back with a brand new list of books for you all to enjoy, featuring just some of the wonderful authors we welcome to our 2021 festival programme.

The FbF Book Club will run in the same format – whilst we can’t meet in person we will have monthly meetings hosted on Zoom. The invite will be advertised on our festival blog and through our social media pages.

Our first meeting will be on the 15th of March and for our first book club read we have selected The Dead of Winter by Nicola Upson.

Our schedule for the months leading up to the festival are as follows…

April – The Lies You Told by Harriet Tyce

May –  Night Feeds and Morning Songs by Ana Sampson

June – An Act of Love by Carol Drinkwater

We’ll look forward to seeing you at our first FbF book club meeting – happy reading!

Bookish best,

The FbF team x

Hello booklovers,

We are thrilled to announce that our 2021 festival, celebrating books by the sea, will be going ahead over the weekend of the 25-27th of June. This year’s festival will be a mix of socially distanced author events to be held at the Orwell Hotel and a separate online programme of live streamed events where authors will be chatting with us from the comfort of their own homes.

Felixstowe Book Festival Patrons Esther Freud and Terry Waite will be joining us in person over the festival weekend. Other speakers already booked to appear at the Orwell Hotel include JoJo Moyes, Liz Trenow, Elly Griffiths and Iain Dale, amongst many other brilliant guests.

As part of our live-streamed online programme we are delighted to be speaking to authors Robert Jones Junior and Dawnie Walton live from their homes in New York. We are so looking forward to hearing from Helen McCarthy about her book Double Lives, The History of Working Motherhood, Christopher Tugendhat about his work A History of Britain in Books and Carol Drinkwater will be talking about her latest novel An Act of Love.

Our programme is packed out with plenty of other exciting guests who will be bringing their talent to our stage and screens over the June festival weekend – keep your eye on our website for further details and updates over the coming weeks and months.

Bookish best,

The Felixstowe Book Festival Team x

Today we take you back to the Felixstowe Book Festival of 2017, with a wonderful mix of fiction and non-fiction. Enjoy…

Chains of Sand by Jemma Wayne

Jemma Wayne’s ground breaking second novel Chains of Sand is set between London and Israel amidst the turmoil of war. The novel 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.

Built on Bones by Brenna Hasset

The city has killed most of your ancestors, and it’s probably killing you, too – this book tells you why… Built on Bones offers an accessible insight into a critical but relatively unheralded aspect of the human story: our recent evolution. It tells the story of shifts in human longevity, growth and health that have occurred as we transitioned from a mobile to a largely settled species.

For the Love of Shakespeare by Beth Miller

Beth Miller has managed to cover all aspects of William Shakespeare’s life and career with great prowess in her book For the Love of Shakespeare, a collection of fascinating facts and miscellany. In this light-hearted talk, she will discuss the man and his work, and address one of the key controversies surrounding this most precious of cultural icons.

Stronger Than Skin by Stephen May

A psychological thriller that is also the story of a toxic love, with a setting that moves easily between present day London and 1990s Cambridge – plus a climactic detour to Felixstowe! Stronger Than Skin is compulsively readable, combining a gripping narrative with a keen eye for the absurdities of the way we live now.

The Great Acceleration: How the World is Getting Faster, Faster by Robert Colvile

From the devices we carry to the lives we lead, everything is getting faster. But where did this great acceleration come from? And where will it lead? In his vitally important new book, The Great Acceleration: How the World is Getting Faster, Faster Robert Colvile 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 every aspect of daily life.

The Knives by Richard T Kelly

The Knives explores the secrets and complexities of modern government, and the struggles that those in the
highest ranks of Parliament face. Having spent much time in Westminster, Richard has gained a unique insight into the political Establishment, which he brings to life in thrilling fashion.

Breaking Cover by Stella Rimington

With increased aggression towards the West, MI5 Agent Liz is on the hunt for a Russian spy who threatens to plunge Britain back into the fraught days of the Cold War. This is a gripping, topical and utterly contemprary espionage thriller…

For younger readers…

There May be a Castle by Piers Torday

In an extraordinary turn of events, a young lad named Mouse finds himself in another world and on a quest with a new gang of fantasy friends to find a castle and a life filled with minstrels, magic and mystery. A story about love, loss and the power of imagination by Guardian Children’s Book Award winning author.

Julius Zebra: Rumble with the Romans by Gary Northfield

Madagascar meets Gladiator in this action-packed and hysterically funny story involving a rather adventurous Zebra named Julius. Julius and some of his rather smelly friends are kidnapped and taken to Rome to become gladiators. In order to escape they must win the love of the Roman people –  but will they manage it?!

 

Hope enjoyed our trip back in time to 2017 – maybe it has reminded you of some books that you meant to try way back then? Well books aren’t going anywhere, so why not give them a go now?

 

Next stop in our From the Archives blog tour, we head back to the 2016 Felixstowe Book Festival, a feast of interesting and unusual works which might spark your appetite today.

Hollie McNish – Cherry Pie

This 2015 collection by McNeish includes her poem ‘Mathematics’ which became a viral hit on YouTube, receiving 1.9 million views. But really it is her honest and unapologetic accounts of womanhood which have given McNish much of her acclaim; her first collection Nobody Told Me is an account of becoming a mum for the first time. Cherry Pie is inspired by advice that her Grandparent’s gave her on newspapers, war, sex and tinned cherries. The poems are accompanied by brilliant illustrations by McNish’s favourite artists.

Megan Bradbury – Everyone is Watching

Bradbury’s debut novel is a love letter to New York and the generation that have defined it. Through the perspectives of four famous New Yorkers, photographer Robert Mapplethorpe, writers Walt Whitman and Edmund White, and city planner Robert Moses, Bradbury captures the rich artistic history of an ever-evolving city. Told through short vignettes, Bradbury’s writing is formally unusual and evocative, much like her subjects. We may not be able to jet set off for an artistically fulfilling city break in New York at the moment, but Bradbury’s novel is sure to transport you there and inspire your inner artist.

Martin Edwards – Gallows Court

Winner of the Diamond Dagger 2020, Edwards brings us an atmospheric Golden Age murder mystery, packed with twists and turns. On the gloomy, smog-filled streets of 1930’s London, heroine Rachel Savernake is on the trail of yet another killer. If you are hungry to be gripped by a page-turning plotline and to be immersed in a period setting, Gallows Court seems like a good place to begin.

Rebecca Elliott – Pretty Funny

With no school and hours to fill the days, this laugh-out-loud Young Adult novel may be just the thing to brighten up this bleak period. Haylah Swinton dreams of becoming a stand-up comedian – but are girls like her allowed to be funny? Full of relatability, Elliott confronts the trials and tribulations of being a teenage girl with wit and much hilarity.

Mary Powles – The Accidental Stalker

A darkly comedic family drama with a familiar setting, The Accidental Stalker is the first novel of home-grown, Suffolk born writer Mary Powles. Set between Felixstowe and South Wales, the story follows the life of Jack, grieving for the loss of his first love, Lucy. At the funeral, he is struck by the similarity of Lucy and her daughter, Grace. Jack begins to take an interest in Grace and her family and becomes the accidental stalker.

You can take a look back at all our 2016 events here: Felixstowe Book Festival 2016.

We hope to have provided a bit more bookish inspiration for grim January. Next up we’ll be heading back in time to our 2017 festival – see you there!

 

We’re spending the next few weeks looking back to previous festivals (with more than a hint of nostalgia for normal life!) in order to celebrate the wonderful guests who have graced our stage in the past and their brilliant works.

This week we have compiled the works of some of our guests from our 2015. Enjoy…

Simpson & I by Oggy Boytchev

Oggy Boytchev is a journalist and author. In 2015 he came to our festival to talk about his book ‘Simpson & I’ which documents Oggy’s turbulent, yet highly successful, working relationship with the BBC’s World Affairs Editor, John Simpson, and lifts the lid on the untold stories behind some of the most memorable reports ever to appear on BBC News.

Mr Mac and Me by Esther Freud

Esther Freud is an author and one of our festival patrons. She visited us in 2015 to talk about ‘Mr Mac and Me’, a luminous novel set in wartime all about the unlikely friendship between a young lad and the artist Charles Rennie Mackintosh.

Solvitur Ambulando by Jim Nind

Jim Nind is a Felixstowe-based artist, writer, and academic. His work draws upon the experience of being out there, under the light of the sky, wandering the coastal margins and responding to the pull of the sea. Jim’s book, Solvitur Ambulando, combines his fine art photographs with a related prose-poem sequence, based upon the walk from Felixstowe to the fishing and boating hamlet known as Felixstowe Ferry.

A Place Called Winter by Patrick Gale

One of this country’s best-loved novelists, Patrick’s novel Notes From An Exhibition, which sold over 300,000 copies in the UK alone.A bold departure from his previous works, ‘A Place Called Winter’ is a searching, personal historical novel based on a true story in Patrick’s own family history.

Everyman’s Castle: the story of our cottages, country houses, terraces, flats, semis and bungalows by Philippa Lewis

Philippa Lewis has worked as a picture editor, photographer and writer. She founded and, until its recent transfer to English Heritage, ran the Edifice Architectural Photo Library, which compounded her enthusiasm for British Domestic architecture, from the grandest to the scruffiest.  Everyman’s Castle combines social and architectural history making for a fascinating read.

Little Egpyt by Lesley Glaister

Lesley Glaister is the prize-winning author of thirteen novels, including Little Egypt, which won a Jerwood Fiction Uncovered Prize in 2014. A gripping, eery and darkly humourous novel about two sisters and their life in their decaying family home.

2015 was another excellent and varied year – alongside the guests mentioned above we were visited by many other fascinating writers and speakers. You can peruse the entire 2015 for further ideas for things to read here.

Take care everyone and keep on reading!

 

Hello booklovers,

It’s January again… the decorations are back in the loft and its is highly likely that some of us are wolfing down some beautiful new books received for Christmas. In light of the latest lockdown announcement, perhaps you are looking for some fresh literary inspiration. We have delved into our archives to cherry pick the works of some of the excellent authors who have graced our stage at previous festivals.

We’re starting off with our 2014 festival and have a delightful smorgasbord of fiction and non fiction for you to peruse at your leisure.

A Song of Their Own: the Fight for Votes for Women in Ipswich by Joy Bounds

Much of what we know about the movement for votes for women revolves around a handful of well known names. A Song of Their Own is a record of what women in and around Ipswich did to increase pressure on the Government to allow them to vote. In it, she explores the burning down of the Bath Hotel in Felixstowe just a hundred years ago, and the ensuing furore.

The Village by Nikita Lalwani

Set in a village modelled on a real-life open prison in India, The Village is a gripping story about manipulation and personal morality, about how truly frail our moral judgement can be.

William Brodrick’s ‘Father Anselm’ novels

William Brodrick’s hugely enjoyable crime series featuring his much loved character Father Anselm, a monk turned barrister, who seeks to bring justice beyond the reach of the law.

First World War: Still No End in Sight by Frank Furedi

A fascinating piece of non fiction which explores how, in many ways, World War One never truly ended.

A God in Every Stone by Kamila Shamsie

A gripping story of friendship, love and betrayal, set to the backdrop of the First World War and a crumbling Empire.

My Life as a Hooker by Steven Gauge

My Life as a Hooker was shortlisted for the British Sports Book Awards 2014 and is about how local sports teams can bring a community together as well as help a middle-aged bloke avoid a  mid-life crisis.

Madame Mephisto by A. M. Bakalar

Meet Magda: a drug dealer new to living in the UK who will stop at nothing to expand her lucrative business… yet her family know nothing of this aspect of her life. Heart stopping and menacing, A. M. Bakalar’s first novel provides an interesting commentary on the lies we tell and the people we really are.

 

What a brilliant year 2014 was, with such a wide range of guests and interesting works brought to the table. We hope that our perusal through the 2014 festival archive has provided you with some ideas for some new books to try!

Bookish best,

The Felixstowe Book Festival Team x