IT is, as Poet Laureate Simon Armitage says, “a landmark occasion in the literary year”.
Screenwriter Andrew Davies opens the festival (Image: Ilkley Literature Festival)
Ilkley Literature Festival is back - featuring a packed line-up of famous names and local talent. The North’s longest-running literary festival opens next week with Andrew Davies, Bafta Fellowship recipient and the maestro of literary adaptations such as Pride and Prejudice, House of Cards and Bridget Jones, turning his razor sharp pen on the most challenging subject of all - himself. Davies will reflect on his career and talk about his memoir, An Unsuitable Boy.
Running from October 2-18, the festival features household names including politicians, journalists, novelists, poets, historians, comedians, chefs and actors. The opening weekend continues with Labour Peer Dame Margaret Hodge, talking about her five decades in politics in her memoir Battleaxe, and Zahra Joya, groundbreaking Afghan journalist, telling of her fight for women’s rights in The Vanishing Girl of Kabul.
Actress Rachael Stirling puts the spotlight on her mother, stage and screen icon Dame Diana Rigg. In her new memoir, Rachael shares the woman she knew: “gloriously naughty, deeply loving and taking no prisoners”.
Rachael Stirling pays tribute to her mother, Diana Rigg (Image: Ilkley Literature Festival)
Swimmer Mark Foster, five-time Olympian, six-time World Champion and eight-time World Record holder, discusses his inspiring memoir, My Double Life, and tennis coach, mother to two champions and former Strictly contestant Judy Murray talks about her crime novel, Game, Set & Murder.
Poet Laureate, Simon Armitage reads from his new translation of epic 4,000-year-old poem Gilgamesh which he spent over a decade working on. Taking us back to the origins of civilisation and storytelling, this is a very modern story of Gilgamesh’s quest for immortality, through a series of extraordinary adventures.
Brian Bilston takes festival-goers on a whirlwind tour through the history of verse, reading from his new collection How to Lay an Egg with a Horse Inside, and poets Emily Zobel Marshall, Kim Moore, Antony Dunn and Daljit Nagra, who came together at the BBC Contains Strong Language festival, reunite for readings. Poet, broadcaster and national treasure Pam Ayres talks about her latest book, Doggedly Onward: A Life in Poems, featuring her best-known poems over 50 years.
Best-selling novelist Kate Atkinson returns to her native Yorkshire with new book Our Noble Selves, set in post-war Britain; presenter of Radio 4’s Front Row, Samira Ahmed explains how The Beatles film, A Hard Day’s Night become an enduring classic in a post-screening event; Hairy Biker Si King presents his first solo cookbook, and Gyles Brandreth and physiotherapist Finola Burrell discuss the secrets for a long and healthy life.
Kate Atkinson returns to her native Yorkshire (Image: Chris Bolland)
For younger readers, Dame Jacqueline Wilson introduces new book, Esme Pepper, and reflects on her career, writing more than 120 children’s books.
Festival themes include investigative journalism, the impact of technology on human behaviour, and nature and wildlife.
David Attenborough's longterm collaborator Colin Butfield uncovers mysteries of the deep in the film Ocean. Image: Silverback Films/Open Planet Studios (Image: Silverback Films/Open Planet Studios)
The programme has a strong Yorkshire presence. Says Erica Morris, Chief Executive of festival producer Word Up North: “This year one third of the authors appearing at the festival are from, live in or have strong connections to Yorkshire. Having been part of the cultural fabric of the county for over 50 years, we know how important events like ours are in inspiring new generations and demonstrating that Yorkshire’s writers stand amongst the best in the world.”
Among the Yorkshire guests are Paul ‘Piglet’ Middleton, custodian of the North Yorkshire Moors Railway - the world most-visited heritage railway - for over 30 years. Paul has worked on the line since he left school and now leads the team running it. The star of Channel 4’s Steam Train Diaries shares stories from the historic railway.
Hull’s Nancy Birtwhistle won The Great British Bake Off in 2014 and has since inspired millions with her eco-cleaning methods in the home. Nancy discusses her latest book, Clean Magic.
Keighley author, columnist and award-winning food writer Shahnaz Ahsan discusses The Jackfruit Chronicles, her heartfelt memoir delving into the flavours and history of Bengali food.
Yorkshire bard Ian McMillan returns to Ilkley with his new collection, Red River Valley. Writing from family life, surrealism and the effect of austerity on the village near Barnsley where he’s lived all his life, he writes for the page and the ear. After years as a writer and broadcaster, he’s still trying to find his voice - maybe it’s in Red River Valley, his dad’s favourite song.
Novelist Fiona Mozley, who grew up in York, presents new book Awake Awake, narrated by Mary Mooney, who’s struggling with her memory - and a recollection of her Jewish grandfather’s role in the death of Hitler.
In the National Year of Reading, the festival highlights story craft with John Yorke, former Head of Channel Four Drama and Controller of BBC Drama Production, whose new book, Trip to the Moon, is a “piercingly insightful analysis of the power of stories” in art, culture, politics and current affairs.
Adds Erica: “This year, as part of the National Year of Reading, we’re putting readers at the heart of the programme with a series of book club-style events - Page Turners Classic Fiction Club - celebrating some of the most compelling novels ever written, from Wuthering Heights to The Wasp Factory.”
Reeta Chakrabarti talks about her debut novel. Image: Jeff Overs (Image: Jeff Overs)
BBC News presenter Reeta Chakrabarti talks about her first novel, Finding Belle, a powerful story of betrayal, madness and a daughter who must forge her own identity, and Jasper Fforde reveals the final adventure of his literary detective, Thursday Next. And broadcaster Matthew Sweet delves into the surprising life and extensive back catalogue of romance novelist Barbara Cartland.
- Visit ilkleyliterature festival.org.uk