ENGLISH RIVIERA LITERATURE FESTIVAL 2022
The English Riviera Literature Festival is taking place from 10 to 13 March and will include a host of well-known authors with a strong connection to the local area.
Thursday 10 March
10.30am – Rachel Trethewey: The Churchill Girls: The Story of Winston’s Daughters. The Churchill Girls is the first biography of Churchill’s daughters and is a behind-the-scenes insight into his world and a glimpse of him as a devoted, loving father who kept his daughters close throughout his political years.
2pm – A free creative writing taster session, Write Time Write Place for adults wishing to explore their interest in creative writing, whether a complete beginner or already writing for pleasure. The taster session will be led by Chris Woodhouse, who taught and managed the Adult and Community Learning provision locally for many years.
Friday 11 March
10.30am – No 1 Sunday Times Bestseller and local author, Sarah Pearse lives by the sea in South Devon with her husband and two daughters. She studied English and Creative Writing at the University of Warwick and worked in Brand PR for a variety of households brands before following her passion for writing. Her experiences living in the Swiss Alps in her early twenties inspired her acclaimed debut novel, The Sanatorium, which was an instant Sunday Times and New York Times Top Ten bestseller in hardback, and a Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick. Her eagerly anticipated next thriller, The Retreat, will be published in Summer 2022. Sarah will be interviewed by Martin Thomas, Executive Director of Torbay Culture.
8pm – Poetry Pop-Up, Part Two: An evening of poetry and performance poetry in Stage Left. Come along and enjoy some of the finest poets and performers in the South West. There will be rhyming, whimsy and wordplay a-plenty. Hosted by Robert Garnham, who will also be performing material from his new show, ‘Yay!: The Search for Happiness’.
Open mic slots are available in advance, contact robert@professorofwhimsy.com if you would like to perform.
Saturday 12 March – Children’s Day
10am and 11.30am – Storytelling and Crafts with Children’s Author, Clare Helen Welsh. Clare is a former teacher, now award-winning children’s author, from Torbay. She has published over 40 books and has more publishing in the next few years. When Clare isn’t writing stories, she is inspiring children to write their own. Clare loves all opportunities to meet and inspire young readers.
Laugh with Lenny the Lemur! (suitable for 3 yrs+), 10am – 11am and Dot and Duck! (suitable for 3-6 yrs), 11.30am – 12.30pm
2:45pm – Torbay Libraries’ Passport to the Palace Join Torbay Library staff as they journey around the world and travel back in time. Share some of their favourite fiction and non-fiction books via interactive storytelling, music, games and craft. Festival Fun for 5-11 year olds with not a single “Sssshhh!” to be heard. Fancy dress optional.
7.30pm – Frontline Chat: Talking Cops & Comedy: Join ‘Frontline Chat’ on stage with two infamous police authors with over 48 years policing experience between them for a night of humorous anecdotes and some solemn tales too. Join the UK’s most famous Twitter cop often described as controversial in the papers, and son of a Spitfire pilot and wartime spy, Harry Tangye, and Britain’s Got Talent finalist, Police dog handler and animal welfare campaigner, Dave Wardell.
Sunday 13 March
3pm – Lesley Pearse: Suspects Lesley is a global No.1 bestseller with fans across the world and sales of over 10 million copies of her books to date.
One of the nation’s best-loved storytellers (a Lesley Pearse book is sold every 4 minutes in the UK), Lesley is a master of the gripping storyline, always introducing her readers to characters that are impossible to forget. Although there is no set formula for a Lesley Pearse novel, strong heroines and jeopardy are pervasive. ‘Suspects’ is Lesley’s 29th novel with her previous title, Liar, a Sunday Times bestseller in both hardback and paperback.
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