World-class Literature Line Up

Literature fans with an interest in the Tudor period face a wealth of riches at this year’s Hebden Bridge Arts Festival. Topping the bill, Hilary Mantel will be appearing at Hebden Bridge Picture House on Friday 2 July, reading from her Booker Prize winning novel Wolf Hall, a fictionalised portrait of Thomas Cromwell, and novelists Alison Weir and Suzannah Dunn will present an evening ‘In Search of Henry’s Women’ when they read from historical novels on Monday 5 July at the Little Theatre.  

Anne of Cleves is the subject of Mavis Cheek’s novel, Amenable Women, and she will be appearing with award-winning writer Louis de Bernières at St Michael’s Church Hall, Mytholmroyd on Wednesday 30 June.

Save £6 off full price admission to all three of these events with the Literary Ticket Offer (£22).

If the best of contemporary and historical fiction is not quite sharp enough for you, Rosie Lugosi, Manchester’s Vampire Queen will give a performance before challenging brave souls to take part in this year’s Festival Poetry Slam at Nelsons on Sunday 4 July. 

And for those who like to devour food as well as words, writer John Morrison will be reading from his humorous Milltown Trilogy at aj’s Restaurant on 28 June and poet John Lyons will be presiding over A Cook-Up in the Trades Club Kitchen on Sunday 11 July, when tasty Caribbean fare will be served up by Janet Oosthuysen.

Spoken word programmer Stephen May said, ‘We proud to have a world-class line up of writers for this year’s Festival - it’s going to be a very exciting summer.’

For those who’d like to try their hand at creating books of their own, there is a day of novel writing workshops with local author Anna Chilvers on Sunday 4 July and Artist in Residence Lucy May Schofield will be leading book making workshops on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 July.

Contact hbfestival@gmail.com for more information.

The 2010 Festival runs from June 26 to July 11. For more information visit www.hbaf.co.uk, or pick up a brochure around Hebden Bridge over the weekend.

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