Spread the word: This year’s Farnham Literary Festival is going to be a blockbuster with a host of star names featuring on its biggest line-up to date.
The programme for the town council-run event is shaping up nicely with more than 50 different events taking place between March 6 and 16.
Richard Coles will be back in church as the retired vicar and I’m a Celebrity finalist will head an ‘audience with’ evening at St Andrew’s on March 8.
But there’s plenty of other big names on the programme with the same venue hosting An Evening with Louis de Bernieres the day before.
The award-winning actor, comedian and writer Doon Mackichan will discuss her memoir My Lady Parts with Kika Mirylees on March 13, while a “Cosy Crime” panel evening with Robert Thorogood, Ian Moore and Fiona Leitch will be worth investigating.
Patrick Crowley and Nicci French are among the many other authors giving talks with panel events, performances and workshops all lined up.
“We’ve got a huge line-up this year,” said Oliver Cluskey, events manager at Farnham Town Council.
“The line-up still isn’t quite finished and we’re still filling some spaces. Obviously Richard Coles is a name most people know but Louis de Bernieres is a big name and there’s a few authors people will recognise.
“The idea with the festival is to make it as eclectic as we can because we want something for everyone.
“So there’s stories for younger people, for instance, and we’re trying to keep it varied, with things like workshops and performances.”
The festival will begin with a ‘Mum’s the Word’ panel talk featuring Louise Boyce, Cat Sims and Anna Mathur on March 6. The show is a must for Mums as the content creators are on a mission to present the truth about motherhood in an “empowering parenting pep-talk”.
Festival-goers can find chapter on verse on the website about what’s planned, but every literary genre seems to be accounted for from poetry to fairy tales and fantasy.
Even geopolitics will be covered, with Michael Sheridan, Julia Evans and Ava Glass delving into power and conflict on the global stage in their New Front Lines event at the town hall on March 12.
Local authors will be celebrated while Jonathan Jones, fresh from his annual reading of The Christmas Carol in Hale, will treat bookworms to an evening with C.S. Lewis early on March 8.
Other events include a Drawalong Storytime with Sharon Davey, a Fantasy Workshop with Sam Stewart, and a panel talk about true crime.
Waterstones, Waverley Abbey House, Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity, Farnham Pottery, UCA, Farnham Library, Oxfam Books and Music and St Mark’s Church are among the host venues.
“The festival is getting bigger and better and word is getting out there as more and more publishers are getting in touch with pitches,” added Mr Cluskey.
“We’re still adding events and we’ve still got a few more calls to make, but it’s really exciting.”
For more details and tickets visit: https://farnhamliteraryfestival.co.uk/