2011 - Hexham Book Festival

2011
28th April–12th May
InpartnershipwithQueen’sHall Arts
Melvyn Bragg
Maggie O’Farrell
Alastair Campbell
Sick at heart with cuts and taxes? Revive your flagging spirits
at the 6th annual Hexham Book Festival with wise, witty and
waspish words from some of the UK’s best writers. Meet the
master of the dark arts of political spin, Alastair Campbell;
get your hands dirty with gardener Alys Fowler; feed your
senses with top chef and restaurateur Antonio Carluccio
on a tour round gastronomic Italy; join veteran broadcaster
Melvyn Bragg in Hexham Abbey, hear the 2011 Costa
Award winner Maggie O’Farrrell on her latest novel and
discover why Stalin ate comedian Alexei Sayle’s homework.
We’ve got over a week of cookery, history, poetry, comedy,
memoir, contemporary fiction and events for all ages. So
come and join us and let words put a spring in your step.
The festival spills out into the park....
This year there will be a variety of stalls across the road in The Sele Park, from New
Writing North and independent publishers including Iron Press, Red Squirrel Press,
Arrowhead Press, Amazing Common People, to Seeds of Italy (partnering the
Antonio Carluccio event) and a collection of food and crafts stalls.
Supported by Hexham Community Partnership
Everyone welcome
Queen’s Hall welcomes visitors with disabilities and aims to ensure that your visit is safe
and enjoyable. If you require help, please contact Queen’s Hall in advance. Companions
of wheelchair users may attend events free of charge. Guide dogs are welcome in all areas
of the building.
Main venue
Queen’s Hall, Beaumont Street, Hexham NE46 3LS
Box office T: 01434 652477
Tuesday 5th April
Short Story Competition
back by popular demand!
Calling all young authors aged 9-13!
The Door in the Wall
Famous children’s author Philip Ardagh has given
us this year’s title and will be our 2011 judge, so let
your imagination run wild and write a story about
‘The Door in the Wall’. Winners and runners up
will hear their work brought alive by a professional
actor on Saturday 7th May at 10.30am at the
Queens Hall, Hexham. We have £50 worth of
book tokens to give out as prizes!
Kjartan Poskitt; The Murderous
Maths Organisation
The author Kjartan Poskitt shows how entertaining
maths can be as he demonstrates curiosities
from his Murderous Maths books. Number tricks,
magic squares, flexagons and odd facts are sure to
get both the students and their teachers thinking!
10.30am and 1.30pm
Schools Event at Alnwick Garden
Sponsored by Red Marine and School of
Mathematics and Statistics, Newcastle University.
Send entries of up to 1000 words entitled ‘The
Door in the Wall’ to Hexham Book Festival, Office
4, Queen’s Hall, Hexham, NE46 3LS or email
to info@hexhambookfestival.co.uk
Thursday 28th April
Remember to put your name, address and age
on your entry! Closing date Friday 8th April 2011
Alnwick Garden
Gallery Exhibition
Imaginary Worlds
Prints from the Cartoon
Museum, London.
Showcasing an
exciting collection
of images ranging
from 19th century
works to the
present, including
political cartoons,
graphic novels,
caricatures and
humorous books.
Free Exhibition runs from April 16th to May 28th
Key
Children
Fiction
Food and horticulture
Screen
Workshop
Non-fiction
Poetry
7pm Alys Fowler, in conversation
with Marian Foster of BBC
Newcastle’s Garden Mania.
Alys Fowler knows how to have her garden and
eat it. Champion of a no-rules, informal type of
gardening, in her latest book ‘The Edible Garden’
she tells you how to create an earthly, and tasty,
paradise on earth. Come and join her in Alnwick
Garden and get tips on making your garden grow.
Alnwick Garden
£8 includes a glass of wine
In partnership with Alnwick Garden.
Directions from www.alnwickgarden.com
Box office T: 01434 652477 www.queenshall.co.uk
Wednesday 4th May
7pm William Shawcross
Words in the Gallery
Join us upstairs at The Robinson-Gay Gallery
on Market Street for a lunchtime treat; readings,
talks and music from some of the region’s most
talented writers from the Read Regional campaign
and beyond. Events last for up to one hour and
include refreshments.
Wednesday 4th May at 1pm
Hazel Osmond and Chloe Daykin read from
their recent work.
The Queen Mother’s life spanned the whole of the
twentieth century through war, political upheaval
and a dramatic change in Britain’s perception
of monarchy. This biography draws on private
correspondence and unpublished material from
the Royal Archives and reveals the qualities that
endeared her to an entire nation.
White Room QH
£5 (£8 for this and Anthony Penrose event)
8.30pm Anthony Penrose
Thursday 5th May at 1pm
Beda Higgins will entertain with new stories
from her collection, ‘Chameleon’ and poet Marilyn
Longstaff performs poetry from her collection,
‘Raiment’.
Friday 6th May at 1pm
Ann Cleeves reads from her new crime novel
‘Silent Voices’, the most recent book in the
Vera series that has inspired a new ITV drama.
Monday 9th May at 1pm
A special lunchtime treat of words and music as
Dan Walsh and Amy Mackelden perform their
new work.
Tuesday 10th May at 1pm
Crime and adventure at lunchtime; novelist
Dan Smith reads from ‘Dry Season’ and ‘Dark
Horizons’. Northumberland’s newest crime writer;
Graham Pears reads from ‘A Time for Justice’.
Wed 11th May at 1pm
When Anthony Penrose was three he sank his
teeth to Picasso. The artist was a great friend of
Penrose’s Bohemian parents, Lee Miller and
Roland Penrose, and this engaging memoir tells
how he played bullfights with Picasso, got messy
with him in his studio and what the great man did
in response to the young Tony’s bite...
White Room QH
£5 (£8 for this and William Shawcross event)
Judy Walker introduces her current work ‘Family
Snaps’ and Eileen Sutherland reads from ‘The
Cycle Diaries: Looking for Matt’, based on her
cycle journey to Bulgaria.
See website for more details on
the above and to keep up-to-date
on performers.
Supported by Fentimans
Free but tickets required
www.northumberlandartgallery.co.uk
www.hexhambookfestival.co.uk
Thursday 5th May
5pm Melvyn Bragg
Hexham Abbey
8.45pm The Spark
Open mic true storytelling
Veteran broadcaster Melvyn Bragg tells the hidden
story of one of the world’s most influential books,
the 300 year old King James Bible, and the often
bloody fight to have it translated into English. It
is an extraordinary tale of power and influence
which has shaped the way we use English today.
Can you spin a good yarn? Come to ‘The Spark’
and bare all on a theme of ‘True Love’ to a wordhungry crowd. Prepare your five minute story
beforehand and win love and glory. Writers A L
Kennedy and Harry Pearson tell their own true
stories then it’s down to you.
Hexham Abbey
£8
To warm up, come to the inaugural event on 8th April
at Northern Stage; www.northernstage.co.uk
7.30pm Maggie O’Farrell
Theatre QH
£4 (students £2)
Friday 6th May
10am Josceline Dimbleby
Maggie O’Farrell unravels the complexities of
women’s lives like no other writer and exposes
the secrets and betrayals that lie buried beneath
a family’s surface. In her fifth novel and winner of
the Costa 2010 prize, ‘The Hand That First Held
Mine’ she lays bare love and motherhood in a
compelling portrait of two women set in 1950’s
London. Her perceptive, poetic writing has won
her many fans especially amongst book clubs.
In conversation with Caroline Beck.
Theatre QH
£7
As the step-daughter of a diplomat Josceline
Dimbleby’s life was built upon exotic food and
living in far-flung places. Her book recreates a rich
life with smells, tastes and sights from a lifetime
spent travelling. This book is as good to look at
as the recipes are to eat. In conversation with
Pennie Taylor.
Theatre QH
£7
Box office T: 01434 652477 www.queenshall.co.uk
Special Ticket Offer Enjoy both morning
events followed by a 2 course lunch and a
glass of wine at Bouchon Bistrot (winner of the
F-Word’s Best French Bistro 2009) for just £26.
Saturday 7th May
11.30am Prue Leith
10.30am The Door in the Wall
Short Story spectacular
The runners up and winning short stories (as
chosen by our judge, children’s author, Philip
Ardagh,) will be brought to life by actor Judi Earl
who will also award the prizes in our second short
story competition!
White Room QH
Free but tickets required
Prue Leith has been at the heart of British cookery
for over five decades but in a life devoted to
reviving the status of food in the UK she’s also
found time to write novels as delicious as her
recipes. Let her whet your appetite with her recent
works, ‘The Gardener’ and ‘A Serving of Scandal’.
In conversation with Pennie Taylor.
Theatre QH
£7
11.45am Anna Pavord
Special Ticket Offer Enjoy both morning
events followed by a 2 course lunch and a
glass of wine at Bouchon Bistrot (winner of the
F-Word’s Best French Bistro 2009) for just £26.
7.30pm Antonio Carluccio
Gardening correspondent for the Independent
since 1986 and award winning writer, Anna
Pavord has spent the last thirty years restoring
her garden in Dorset. In ‘The Curious Gardener’,
gleaned from her newspaper column, she gives
practical as well as philosophical advice on
what it takes to create a beautiful garden.
In conversation with Caroline Beck.
Theatre QH
£6
Antonio Carluccio, the high priest of Italian
cooking, goes back to his homeland thirty years
after he left for England to convert us all to the
pleasure of Italian food. Here he reflects on the
real Italy and her rich gastronomy. In conversation
with Paolo Arriga from the Italian Seed Company,
Franchi.
Theatre QH
£10
12pm-2pm Drop-in Storytelling
Armchair Journeys with
Seven Stories
Monkey Mayhem; let your cheeky monkeys loose
with picture book story times and themed creative
activities, brought to you by Seven Stories.
Library QH
Free event
www.hexhambookfestival.co.uk
Saturday 7th May
1pm Carolyn Jess-Cooke
2.15pm Read Regional Launch
Join New Writing North and a host of regional
authors to kick off the 2011 Read Regional
campaign, the annual programme of activity
promoting writers in the North East. Attending the
launch will be a mixture of poets and novelists:
both familiar names and emerging talent. Follow
the authors’ progress at www.readregional.com
Join us for the launch of The Guardian Angel’s
Journal, one of the most widely anticipated
novels of 2011. Gateshead writer Carolyn’s
first book was scooped up by an agent after
completing only one chapter. It was then sold
in 15 languages before publication here in April.
Hosted by New Writing North.
White Room QH
Free event, booking essential
2.30pm Salley Vickers
White Room QH
£3 (includes refreshments)
2pm Poetry games with Sky
Hawkins, ‘The Word Bird’
Suitable for children up to
8 years old.
Sky is an award-winning performance poet, who
coached a slam team of young people to regional
victory in the 2010 Apples and Snakes Word Cup.
Come and have fun with words, rhythms and
rhymes.
For more about the poet, visit
www.the-word-bird.com
Supported by Apples and Snakes
www.applesandsnakes.org
Library QH
Love and the torment of the human heart is the
subject of much-loved author Salley Vickers’ first
collection of short stories; ‘Aphrodite’s Hat’. Love
lost, craved, withheld, and disappointed are all
under the forensic eye of this psychoanalystturned-author to create a witty and profound
exploration of love in all its aspects. In
conversation with Hazel Osmond.
Theatre QH
£8
Box office T: 01434 652477 www.queenshall.co.uk
3.45pm Lucy Worsley
8pm Alastair Campbell
Hot new TV historian and Chief Curator of the
Historic Royal Palaces tunes into domestic gossip
in her latest book ‘If Walls Could Talk’. She looks at
what ordinary people did in bed, at the table, at the
stove and in the bath over the last thousand years
and gets to the heart of the British obsession with
our homes. Accompanies the BBC Television
series.
Expect controversial views and blunt speaking as
Alastair Campbell, once Spinmeister of the Blair
administration, reveals more about life at the heart
of Government, and beyond it. In the second
volume of ‘Power and the People’ he talks
candidly about what life is like at the eye of
the political storm.
White Room QH
£6
Theatre QH
£12 ( conc £10)
5pm Allison Pearson
If you’ve ever swooned at a teenage pop idol then
Allison Pearson’s novel ‘I think I love you’ is for you.
It charts a young girl’s crush on pretty-boy David
Cassidy and what happens, thirty years later,
when our heroine comes face to face with her
heart-throb. Prepare to scream yourself hoarse!
Calling all Book Groups, read the book and
enjoy a group discount to this event.
Library QH
£5 (£3 Book Group members)
www.hexhambookfestival.co.uk
Sunday 8th May
11-1pm Practical Drama workshop
Explore the process of creating a piece of theatre
from an Author’s work. Sarah Kemp and John
Cobb from Theatre Sans Frontieres lead a hands
on workshop taking as inspiration text from David
Almond’s novel ‘Heaven Eyes’ and investigating
the dramatic possibilities within the narrative.
2.15pm David Almond &
Michael Chaplin
Library QH
£8 (ticket offer with David Almond and Michael
Chapman event £12)
11.30am Martin Davidson
and Giles Milton
Award-winning children’s writer David Almond has
had his books such as ‘Skellig’ turned into theatre
and television. So what’s it like to adapt from page
to stage or screen? Screen-writer Michael Chaplin
(Foyles War and Monarch of the Glen) joins David
Almond in talking to actor Jez Casey from Live
Theatre about the excitement and pitfalls of
adaptation.
Martin Davidson’s grandfather enrolled in Hitler’s
brutal SS casting a shadow over the family for the
next half-century. Giles Milton’s Father-in-law lived
under the Third Reich where his dreams of
becoming an artist sustained him through those
terrible years. Both writers uncover intriguing
secrets at the heart of their families.
Theatre QH
£7
3.30pm Michael Chaplin
at The Forum Cinema
Live Theatre’s beaplaywright.com helps budding
playwrights to learn the skills of their craft online.
The course includes video interviews with award
winning writers and discussion forums, interactive
exercises and feedback. Join creator Gez Casey
for a tour of the website and a demonstration of
how the course works. An exclusive course
discount is available to Festival ticket holders.
www.beaplaywright.com
Celebrating the silver
screen; Screen-writer
Michael Chaplin’s love
affair with the Tyneside
cinema in Newcastle
began in 1968 when,
as a hopeful writer and
budding journalist, he
received his cinematic
education. His book
tells not only the story
of this most romantic
of buildings but also the
history of cinema over
the past 100 years.
White Room QH
Free but tickets required
Forum Cinema, Hexham
£3 from Queens Hall
White Room QH
£6
1pm Want to be a playwright?
Box office T: 01434 652477 www.queenshall.co.uk
Monday 9th May
4.30pm Forum Cinema
Andrew Crofts & special
screening of ‘The Ghost’
From business gurus to gangsters, celebrity
stories to misery memoirs Andrew Crofts has
written them all, described as ‘frighteningly good’
he’s one of the country’s most successful and
prolific ghost writers and yet remains a mysterious
figure to the book-buying public. Now he has
published a book under his own name; ‘The
Change Agent’ Andrew will talk about his book and
the issues and mystery surrounding ghost writing
with particular reference to the eponymous film.
Forum Cinema, Hexham
£6.50 (£5.50 conc) talk and film
£5.50 (£4.50 conc) film only.
Tickets from www.forumhexham.co.uk
or T: 01434 601144
Charlie Higson
Author, TV actor and comedian Charlie Higson
shares his love for all things horror and talks about
his heart-stopping zombie-thriller series ‘The
Enemy’. Charlie will read from his latest adventure
story as well as talking about what inspires him to
write, and how it is that girls seem to like vampires
and boys zombies! He will also be taking
questions from the audience.
10.30am and 1.30pm
Schools Event
6pm A Song for Bellingham
5pm Liz Lochhead
Liz Lochhead; one of Scotland’s best-known
poets and dramatists has recently been appointed
Scotland’s new Makar. In conversation with John
Cobb she will talk about her life and work and
reflect on her published poetry and her career
as both a performer and playwright.
White Room QH
£7
A performance reading by children from
Bellingham Middle School of a new reminiscence
work by Ann Coburn in collaboration with the
Bellingham community.
Supported by Big Lottery Awards for All,
Northumberland National Park and Keilder
Organic meats.
Theatre QH
Free but tickets required
www.hexhambookfestival.co.uk
Tuesday 10th May
Thursday 12th May
Philip Caveney
Literacy Day schools event
Award winning Philip Caveney writes exciting
fantasy fiction for children and is best known for
the Sebastian Darke and Alec Devlin novels. He
talks about writing, his inspirations and ideas,
and will also read from his new novel.
A day of workshops for young people who find
reading a challenge.
10.30am and 1.30pm
Schools Event
8pm Alexei Sayle
Two well known authors discuss the inspiration
behind their characters and work with children
to produce their own stories.
Supported by Hadrian Trust, Community
Foundation, Multichem and SCA. For more
information email info@hexhambookfestival.co.uk
White room QH
Schools event
Monday 16th and
Tuesday 17th May
Once spittingly angry comedian now national
treasure Alexei Sayle was born in Liverpool on the
day egg rationing came to an end. In his memoir
‘Stalin Ate my Homework’ he tells of his strange
and confusing life via his salad-eating Communist
parents, his childhood in Eastern Europe and
teenage years as a Maoist revolutionary.
Two day writing retreat led by
Gillian Allnutt at Shepherds Dene.
Shepherds Dene is an arts and crafts retreat
house set in extensive gardens in the beautiful
Tyne Valley.
Theatre QH
£12 conc £10
Wednesday 11th May
Philip Ardagh
Best-selling and bushily bearded Philip Ardagh
will be talking about what turned him into
the author he is today (quite apart from the
extra large meals and the total lack of shaving).
10.30am and 1.30pm
Schools Event
‘Summer is icumen in’, the earliest and most
joyful of English poems is written by Anon. In an
age obsessed with identity might anonymity be
a pleasure, a way of life worth considering? Work
with other writers amongst the nooks, crannies
and conversations at this writer’s retreat.
Course cost includes accommodation
and all meals; £150 per person (special
offer £250 for two sharing a room).
Directions from www.shepherdsdene.co.uk
Box office T: 01434 652477 www.queenshall.co.uk
The Maltings, Berwick
A new partnership for 2011.
Thursday 28th April
Friday 6th May
11.30am Mysteries and Mazes
6.30pm Chris Mullin
Blackhope Towers is full of mysteries: a strange
painting, a labyrinth and skeletons appearing in a
locked room. Author and illustrator Teresa Flavin
will introduce you to The Blackhope Enigma world
of mazes, monsters and pirates, and she’ll show
you how to draw an illustrated maze of your own!
Chris Mullin, former Labour MP for Sunderland
South, won fame for his acerbic insiders’ chronicle
of New Labour in ‘A View From the Foothills’. He’s
back with another dissection of the tumultuous
Blair and Brown years in ‘Decline and Fall-Diaries
2005-2010’. Expect biting political gossip and
witty insights into the death throes of the New
Labour experiment.
The Maltings, Studio
Tickets £5 (£3 for a sibling)
Suitable for 8-12 year olds.
2.30pm Prose writing
with Ann Coburn
Do you have an idea for a novel or a short story?
Can’t get started or need to hone your prose
writing skills? Ann Coburn, playwright and
children’s novelist leads a two hour workshop
that will guide and inspire.
The Maltings, Studio
Tickets £10
The Maltings, Theatre
£7 (£12 for both events)
8pm Maggie O’Farrell
Maggie O’Farrell unravels the complexities of
women’s lives like no other writer and exposes
the secrets and betrayals that lie buried beneath a
family’s surface. In her fifth novel and winner of the
Costa 2010 prize, ‘The Hand That First Held Mine’
she lays bare love and motherhood in a
compelling portrait of two women set in 1950’s
London. Her perceptive, poetic writing has won
her many fans especially amongst book clubs.
In conversation with Caroline Beck.
The Maltings, Theatre
£7 (£12 for both events)
Tickets from The Maltings, Box office T: 01289 330999
Gardening and Cookery Courses
in an idyllic country setting
Experience Italia
Flavours of Italy – Wednesday 4th May
Growing Italian Veg – Thursday 5th May
Enjoy a 20% discount on these courses when you
combine it with a ticket for Antonio Carluccio’s event.
Hurry, spaces are limited, so book online:
www.widehaughhouse.co.uk
T: 0783 213 2483
Schoolof
Mathematics
& Statistics
Newcastle University
mathsandstats@ncl.ac.uk
www.ncl.ac.uk/math
Short Story Competition
Calling all young authors aged 9-13!
Famous children’s author, Philip Ardagh, has
given us this year’s title and will be our 2011
judge. Let your imagination run wild and
write a story about ‘The Door in the Wall’,
and have the chance of hearing it read out
by a professional actor on Saturday 7th May
at 10.30am at the Queens Hall, Hexham.
We have £50 worth of book tokens
to give out as prizes!
Send entries of up to 1000 words
entitled ‘The Door in the Wall’ to Hexham
Book Festival, Office 4, Queen’s Hall,
Hexham, NE46 3LS, or email to
info@hexhambookfestival.co.uk
Remember to put your name, address
and age on your entry!
Closing date is Friday 8th April 2011.
Newcastle Centre for the
Literary Arts, Newcastle University
The NCLA welcomes two acclaimed American writers to Newcastle this May:
20th May – a reading by Marilynne Robinson, author of Housekeeping and Home, and
winner of both the Pulitzer and Orange Prizes; 25th May – CK Williams, winner of the Pulitzer
Prize and National Book Award will lecture and read (in association with the Poetry Society).
We offer workshops, masterclasses and seminars led by industry professionals and
visiting writers which have included Kazuo Ishiguro and Paul Muldoon. We also offer a
Postgraduate Certificate, MA and PhD in Creative Writing and a range of short courses
including Spring and Summer Schools all taught by some of the finest writers in the country.
For further details, tickets and to join our mailing list:
www.ncl.ac.uk/ncla
Year round events
run by Hexham
Book Festival
Hospital Book of the Month a free to loan
Audio Book Group for visually impaired people,
book club of brand new titles, supported by
Bloomsbury Publishing, at Hexham Hospital.
meets in Hexham Library once a month. To join,
email or call us.
On Line Book Group great for those who
Friends of Hexham Book Festival become a
can’t find a local book group or can’t attend the
meetings. This way you can read at your own
pace and add your comment on line if you want
to. Visit our website for more information.
friend and enjoy several exclusive benefits. Visit
our website for details on how to apply, we look
forward to welcoming you.
Friends of Hexham
Book Festival
Become a friend of Hexham Book Festival and
enjoy several exclusive benefits including;
Invitation to the festival’s launch party
2 for 1 ticket deals on selected events
Exclusive ‘Friends’ event
Early programme notification –
before going to press!
Regular updates of festival activities
All for a yearly payment of £10!
Membership runs from 1st January for 12 months
Contact us on info@hexhambookfestival.co.uk
Contact Us
Ticket Information
If you have any questions or
would like to make a suggestion
about the Hexham Book Festival,
we would be happy to hear from
you, just send an email to
info@hexhambookfestival.co.uk
Tickets for all events can be
booked directly through the
Queen’s Hall Box Office on
01434 652 477, or book online
at www.queenshall.co.uk
To subscribe to our email service
and for more information about
the festival and ongoing updates
from the Hexham Book Festival,
please look at our website
www.hexhambookfestival.co.uk
Mon to Sat 10am-4pm
Thanks
Alnwick Garden
Apples and Snakes
Arts Council England
Barrington Stokes
Bloomsbury
Caroline Beck
Chromazone Digital Imaging
Cogito Books
Community Foundation
Fentimans
Hadrian Trust
Hexham Community
Partnership
Multichem
National Lottery through
the Big Lottery Fund
Newcastle University
New Writing North
Northern Rock Foundation
Northumbria University
Northumberland County Council
Northumberland National Park
Red Marine
Queens Hall Arts
SCA
Seven Stories
The Forum Cinema
The Roundhouse
Tynedale Council
Opening Hours
Free events will require tickets
as places are limited, so please
remember to book your place
to avoid being disappointed.
Queen’s Hall
Beaumont Street, Hexham,
NE46 3LSNE46 3LS
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Designed by
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Programme Listing
Tuesday 5th April
Kjartan Poskitt
Schools Event at Alnwick
Thursday 28th April
7pm-8pm
Alys Fowler
Alnwick Garden
Wednesday 4th - Friday
6th & Monday 9th Wednesday 11th May
1pm-2pm
Words in the Gallery
The Robinson-Gay Gallery
Hexham
Wednesday 4th May
7pm-8pm
William Shawcross
White Room QH
11.45am-12.45pm
Anna Pavord
Theatre QH
5pm-6pm
Liz Lochhead
White Room QH
12pm-2pm
Drop-in Storytelling
Library QH
Monday 9th May
1pm-2pm
Carolyn Jess-Cooke
White Room QH
2pm-3.30pm
Poetry and Games
Library QH
2.15pm-3.15pm
Read Regional Launch
White Room QH
2.30pm-3.30pm
Salley Vickers
Theatre QH
Charlie Higson
Schools Event
6pm-7pm
A Song for Bellingham
Theatre QH
Tuesday 10th May
Philip Caveney
Schools Event
8pm
Alexei Sayle
Theatre QH
Wednesday 11th May
3.45pm-4.45pm
Lucy Worsley
White Room QH
Philip Ardagh
Schools Event
Thursday 5th May
5pm-6pm
Allison Pearson
Library QH
Literacy Day
Schools Event
5pm-6pm
Melvyn Bragg
Hexham Abbey
8pm
Alastair Campbell
Theatre QH
7.30pm-8.30pm
Maggie O’Farrell
Theatre QH
Sunday 8th May
8.30pm-9.30pm
Anthony Penrose
White Room QH
8.45pm
The Spark
Theatre QH
11am-1pm
Practical Drama workshop
Library QH
Thursday 12th May
Monday 16th and
Tuesday 17th May
Writers’ Retreat
Shepherds Dene
BERWICK
Thursday 28th April
10.00am-11am
Josceline Dimbleby
Theatre QH
11.30am-12.30pm
Mysteries and Mazes
11.30am-12.30pm
Martin Davidson and Giles Milton The Maltings, Studio
White Room QH
2.30pm-3.30pm
Ann Coburn
1pm-2pm
The Maltings, Studio
Want to be a playwright?
White Room QH
11.30am-12.30pm
Prue Leith
Theatre QH
2.15pm-3.15pm
David Almond & Michael Chaplin
Theatre QH
7.30pm
Antonio Carluccio
Theatre QH
3.30pm-4.30pm
Michael Chaplin
Forum Cinema, Hexham
Saturday 7th May
4.30pm
Andrew Crofts & special
screening of ‘The Ghost’
Forum Cinema, Hexham
Friday 6th May
10.30am-11.30am
The Door in the Wall
Short Story spectacular
White Room QH
Friday 6th May
6.30pm-7.30pm
Chris Mullin
The Maltings, Theatre
8pm
Maggie O’Farrell
The Maltings, Theatre
Main Venue Queen’s Hall, Beaumont Street, Hexham, NE46 3LS, T: 01434 652477