Did you know the Festival is five years old this year? We can’t believe how quickly it’s gone either! To celebrate we’ve been asking our authors five, five-themed questions. As we’re focussing on our young people’s events this week, it’s a perfect opportunity to share answers from junior fiction authors Piers Torday and A.F. Harrold…

1. What can we expect from your event?

A.F: Poetry, books, comedy, silliness, questions, answers, unanswered questions, questionable answers, poems, beards, children, shouting, sandals, books and the like.

Piers: In a post truth, fake news age, understanding the true power of stories is more important than ever, and I will be discussing with children just how central stories are to their lives, for good and bad, which is why I made stories themselves the subject of my latest book, There May Be A Castle.

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

A.F: N.F. Simpson, S.F. Said, J.K. Rowling, W.H. Auden and E.B. Browning. On the menu: many courses of Good Stuff.

Piers: E Nesbitt, one of the great original children’s authors as well as a socialist and feminist, Roald Dahl, who made children’s books part of mainstream popular culture with his wicked humour and outlandish imagination,  J K Rowling, who elevated children’s books to cultural and social phenomenon, Philip Pullman,  who advanced what is possible intellectually within children’s literature, and Eva Ibbotson, who I simply wish more than anything was still alive today.

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

Piers: Do they still do donkey rides? *editor’s note: sorry no… :(*

4. When I was 5 I was reading…

AF: I’ve absolutely no idea, but at the very least it probably included Raymond Briggs and the Beano.

Piers: Beatrix Potter, Babar and the Moomin picture books!

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

AF: Several huge poetry anthologies, a couple of huge anthologies of short stories and the Collected Works of Russell Hoban.

Piers: Remembrance of Things Past, Marcel Proust – got to read it one day, Chronicle of the 20th Century – addictive and always something to think about every day, The Complete Tintin, if such a thing exists – never get tired of those adventures, The Count of Monte Cristo – the best story in the world and A survival manual.

Thanks guys! Don’t forget to purchase your tickets for A.F’s and Piers’ events. Both authors have brilliant websites, do check them out to find out more…

www.afharroldkids.com

www.pierstorday.co.uk

We know many of you will be on tenterhooks waiting to find out the results of our adult and children’s short story competitions, so here’s a little update…

Yesterday Ruth Dugdall and Jeanette Hewitt met to judge the first round of the Short Story competition. They had both read all entries independently, then met at the Fludyers to discuss them.

“The sun was shining, and so was the talent. We were thrilled by the standard of the entries, which covered such a wide scope op topics. We had humour and history, pigs and dogs, and visited Suffolk from Southwold to Mistley.”

Having agreed on a shortlist of 10 entries, these have now been sent to Jayne Lindill editor of Suffolk Magazine, and Rosy Thornton, novelist and short story writer, who will chose the three winners.  The shortlist and the winners will be announced at the book festival, at the short story event, on Sunday July 2nd.

The young people’s competition also saw a very high standard (and amount!) of entries. Felixstowe Library staff anonymously  read through all of the entries to create longlists of ten entries for each of the four categories. Then our judges, Literacy Ambassador for Suffolk Libraries Matt Shenton, junior fiction author Ruth Fitzgerald and retired teacher David Leney, decided upon the three winners for each category. We will be contacting these talented young writers over the next few weeks and inviting them to an award ceremony in His Lordship’s Library, The Orwell Hotel, 5-6pm on Friday 30th June. At this event we will announce who won 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize for each category.

There certainly is a lot of local creative talent!

Hannah and the Festival Team

It’s the day you’ve all been eagerly waiting for…

That’s right, ALL OF OUR 2017 TICKETS ARE ON SALE FROM 10am TODAY!

Simply head over to the Programme Page  and scroll through the pages of events or filter them by category. The Wolsey Theatre is once again our ticket provider and so clicking on the ‘Book Here’ link at the top of an event will take you to their website to buy the tickets. If you have any problems please do not hesitate to give them a ring (they’re wonderfully helpful!) on 01473 295900.

Don’t want to buy your tickets online? Not a problem! You can ring the Wolsey on the number above and they can do it over the phone and post you the tickets. Or visit Felixstowe Library any Tuesday between 10am – 1pm from 25th April where we will have a volunteer-manned desk for cash only ticket sales.*

Not sure which of our delights to choose just yet? Never fear, your social media team will be blogging all about the events over the next few months. Make sure you’re signed up to our newsletter to get these straight to your inbox.

Happy purchasing!

The Festival Team

*Please note you will not be able to purchase tickets from Felixstowe Library outside of these times.

Hello Booklovers,

Our Sunday events in the Furneaux Suite are now on sale*! We are calling this fabulous selection of intimate events ‘New voices, fresh perspectives, firm favourites’. They are a diverse mix that explore some interesting topics and bring to light some exciting new talent from the local area and further afield. The highlight of this will of course be our adult short story competition winners and you can now enter this by purchasing the event ticket and following the instructions. Please do note that the way we are running the competition this year means that there’s a limited amount of competition entries so do get yours in quickly to avoid disappointment.

We also have a limited amount of day tickets for these events for just £35, so why not treat yourself?

Bookish best,

Hannah and the Festival Team

*Please note these were not available to Festival Friends in advance to make the competition entry fair.

 

Hello booklovers,

So we continue our Christmas Come Early series with a look at a novel which seems all too relevant in our turbulent times. Next summer Richard T. Kelly will be joining us to read from and discuss his new novel The Knives,  which explores the secrets and complexities of modern government, and the struggles that those in the highest ranks of Parliament face. Giving the novel its human heart is protagonist David Blaylock: ex-soldier, estranged husband and father and now Home Secretary. David must navigate the shifty machinations of government, never quite knowing whom he can trust, and all the while becoming more aware of the very real threats to his safety which he must face.

What with the many political upsets which have rocked our nation (and indeed much of the Western world) this year, it seems that this novel is particularly timely. Having spent much time in Westminster and conducted extensive research into the British political world, including interviews with a large number of MPs and special advisors, Richard has gained a unique insight into the political Establishment, which he brings to life in thrilling fashion. Alistair Campbell described this novel as ‘a gripping read from start to finish’, and it’s bound to enthrall both politicos and armchair commentators alike.

Richard Kelly is a journalist, screenwriter and author, and his previous works include the acclaimed Crusaders (2008) and The Possessions of Doctor Forrest (2011). You can find out more about Richard on his blog here.

If you’re looking for the perfect topical gift this Christmas, why not snap up a ticket now for what’s sure to be a fascinating debate? The talk will be taking place on Saturday 1st July, 5.30-6.30pm, and tickets cost just £8 (£7 concessions). What are you waiting for?

Rosie and the Festival Team

Festival Director Meg Reid shares a bit about her latest bookish ventures and how 2017 plans are shaping up…

Early November and damp, dull, foggy weather to match! Winter is here! One good thing about that is that sitting with one’s nose in a book becomes even more of a treat. I usually have several books on the go at a time. One on CD in the car (often a Margery Allingham), one on my Kindle and a couple more somewhere in the house so that there is always a book to grab when Those Things Which Must Be Done Today become too annoying. Currently my two “real” ie. paper books are The Hundred Year Old Man Who Climbed Out of The Window and Disappeared and Chains of Sand. Very different books but both really absorbing and hard to put down no matter how long the ‘to do’ list is.

Chains of Sand was sent to me by a publisher and The Times describes it as “Intriguing, moving, absorbing…a great read”. I’m pleased to say that the author Jemma Wayne will be with us at the 2017 festival to tell us all about it. Booking the festival programme is of course at number one position on the ‘to do’ list, closely followed by getting sponsorship and funding. Research for the programme does however give me the excuse for some treats. Recently these have included being invited as a guest of the Edinburgh International Book Festival, which gave me access to the author hospitality area and all the goodies on offer there! They certainly look after their speakers. It was of course a golden opportunity to chat to authors, some of whom will be coming to Felixstowe next July. It was also good to meet again some of the authors who have already been with us.

Two more treats were having tea with our festival patron Esther Freud to discuss the festival and meeting Nicola Upson and Mandy Morton for coffee. Neither Nicola or Mandy will be talking about their own books at our 2017 festival but each will be chairing events with very exciting guests. I can’t say more now but we really have a glittering programme to celebrate our fifth birthday. So please put 30 June evening (big launch event) and 1st-2nd July 2017 in your diaries now. By the way, The Orwell is already taking bookings for that weekend but you must BOOK BY PHONE 01394 285511 and quote the festival to get the best rates. Don’t forget to become one of our official Festival Friends, not only will you be helping to keep our community festival running, but you’ll also gain access to exclusive events and offers.

Best,

Meg