Chipping Norton Literary Festival 2014

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Chipping Norton Literary Festival 2014

The popular and celebrity-laden Cotswold town of Chipping Norton is gearing up for what has become a refreshing take on the plethora of literary festivals. The third Chipping Norton Literary Festival (ChipLitFest) is set for April 24th � 27th 2014 and already there is a superb line-up of authors and engaging talks.

India Knight is a Sunday Times columnist and a novelist for Penguin Books. Her latest novel, Mutton, is a hilarious, heart-felt exploration of women�s relationships with her looks. India will be speaking to Gill Hornby, whose school-gate novel The Hive became an instant best-seller.

Joanna Trollope, author of seventeen bestselling novels attended the first ChipLitFest in 2012 and is back to speak about her upcoming book, Balancing Act, which tells the story of a successful female-run family business in Stoke-on-Trent. She will be joined by Emma Bridgewater to address what it takes in today�s world to be a successful business woman.

Emma Bridgewater founded in 1985 the hugely popular and highly collectible British ceramics firm of her own name. Along with her husband, artist and designer, Matthew Rice, she continues to run this highly successful business which is one of largest employers in Stoke-on-Trent.

Kate Adie was the BBC�s chief correspondent from 1989 and one of the best-known faces on British television, reporting from war zones around the world. She presents From Our Own Correspondent on BBC Radio 4, is the author of four bestselling books and her latest book, Fighting on the Home Front, reveals the ways in which women�s lives changed during World War One and what the impact has been for women today.

Nicci French is the joint name of two writers, Nicci Gerrard and Sean French, a married couple with the unique arrangement of being one writer, and two minds! Their third and most recent title, Waiting for Wednesday, will be discussed as well as the methodology behind their successful collaboration.

Tim Harford, is a senior columnist with the Financial Times. His long-running column, The Undercover Economist, reveals the economics behind everyday experiences. He has published several books relating to this column including the recently published The Undercover Economist Strikes Back. He will discuss this book and his new column at the FT, Since You Asked, which offers a sceptical look at news of the week.

Alan Johnson started his career as a postman and went on to become the youngest General Secretary in the history of the Union of Communication Workers, He served as Home Secretary in the Labour Government from June 2009 to May 2010 and will be at the Festival to discuss This Boy, his memoirs of a transitioning England and growing up in the slums of West London.

Korky Paul, who began scribbling cartoons from an early age, went on to become an award-winning illustrator. His first book, in 1980, was a pop-up called The Crocodile. In 1986 he was commissioned to illustrate Winnie the Witch, which has since been published in over ten languages. He has and continues to illustrate numerous books for a variety of publishers.

Also confirmed this week are Rachel Joyce, author of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry; Laura Bates, founder of the Everyday Sexism Project; and Chief Constable of Avon and Somerset Constabulary, Nick Gargan. Keep an eye on the website www.chiplitfest.com and watch for further updates.

The very popular workshops on writing and getting published will continue and there will be discussion panels, performance events, poetry and an outstanding, and affordable, children�s programme. To accompany the food programme, the food festival BITE, will run a lively Farmer�s Market.

Last year�s successful Festival included Julian Fellowes, Lionel Shriver, Fern Britton and Tracy Chevalier. This outstanding event is drawing visitors both locally, from London, and around the country. Stimulating, fun, affordable, and with an up-close intimacy no longer found in most book festivals today, Chipping Norton is hitting its stride and gathering speed as Britain�s best market-town literary festival.


Posted : 14/11/2013 14:59:10

PLEASE NOTE: This story has been archived and the information contained within it may no longer be correct.


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