Suffolk Tourist Guide
Suffolk Tourist Guide

Lavenham Literary Festival

There is to be no gathering held in 2010. The next Festival is scheduled for 2011.

For more information on last year's festival please continue reading.

LAVENHAM LITERARY FESTIVAL WEEKEND - 20th-22nd November 2009

Please see the end of this article for a fantastic Festival Weekend Offer from The Swan at Lavenham, or click the link to visit their display and make a booking!

The Lavenham Literary Festival is packed full of fascinating talks and classes by renound Suffolk locals and authors

Friday 20th November
John Warwicker, Churchill’s Underground Army
5.00pm – 6.00pm, The Guildhall - £8

John Warwicker, a retired Scotland Yard Special Branch officer, has revealed, for the first time, the full story of the Second World War civilian resistance network, known as the GHQ Auxiliary Units. In his new history, Churchill’s Underground Army, he draws on a wealth of previously unpublished material, and pays tribute to the brave men and women who formed Britain’s wartime resistance.

Literary Festival Dinner

Lord Phillips of Sudbury (pictured below), Life in the Media 7.30pm for 8.00pm, The Swan at Lavenham - £50 to include a pre dinner drink and canapés

Lord Phillips, Lavenham Literary Festival


A Literary Dinner will be held in The Swan Hotel's elegant Gallery Restaurant, followed by a talk by the Chancellor of Essex University, the Right Honourable Lord Philips of Sudbury, OBE. Lord Philips is a life-long Suffolk man, raised and living in Sudbury, who has had a distinguished career in Parliament, public service and the law. He is probably best known for his twenty six year stint as the “Legal Eagle” on Jimmy Young’s radio show where he gave fascinating advice in plain English to the programme’s millions of listeners. He will talk about his life in the media.

Saturday 21st November

Mike Ripley, Creative Writing Class
9.00am – 1.00pm The Swan at Lavenham - £65

Mike Ripley is the author of eighteen novels, including the award-winning Angel series of comic thrillers and currently lectures on crime fiction for Cambridge University. His Lavenham master class is an intensive workshop for budding writers interested in the crime and thriller genres.

The cost includes morning coffee, a two course lunch with coffee and a professional reader report on any work in progress.

Ronald Blythe, Career and Friendships
10.00am - 11.00am Lavenham Village Hall - £8

Ronald Blythe was born in Suffolk and has had a close association with many East Anglian writers, past and present. They include Mary Mann, Adrian Bell, Julian Tennyson, H.W. Freeman, Angus Wilson and James Turner. His books include The Age of Illusion, Akenfield, Divine Landscapes, The Assassin and Outsiders: A book of Garden Friends. John Updike said that his writing ”is exquisite”. He has received the Royal Society of Literature Heinemann Award and The Benson Medal for literature. He will talk about his career and friendships.

Rose Tremain, The Search for Meaning, Reflections on a Writing Life
2.30pm – 3.30pm Lavenham Village Hall - £8

Rose Tremain is the author of ten novels and four collections of shot stories. Her books have been translated around the world and won many prizes, including the Prix Femina (1995) in France for Sacred Country and the Orange Prize for Fiction (2008) for The Road Home, now being made into a film by the BBC. She was made a CBE in 2008. She will talk about the power of the imagination and the challenge of trying to inhabit unfamiliar worlds in her fiction.

Alison Weir, The Lady in the Tower: The Fall of Anne Boleyn
5.00pm – 6.00pm Lavenham Village Hall - £8

Alison Weir is one of Britain’s most popular historians whose books engage both our hearts and our minds.” Her hugely popular history books are as gripping as novels.” (The Times.) She has written thirteen best selling history books, many set in the Tudor period, and four historical novels. She will talk about her latest book in which she explores the enigma that was Anne Boleyn.

Sunday 22nd November

Coffee and Cake with Barbara Erskine, Past and Present Reconciled?
10am-11am Lavenham Village Hall - £10

Barbara Erskine is the author of ten best selling novels and two collections of short stories; her writing demonstrates her interest both in history and the supernatural. Her first novel “Lady of Hay”, sold over two million copies worldwide. Her books have appeared in twenty six different languages.

Tickets available from kussen@waitrose.com or write to Valerie Thompson at 31 The Glebe, Lavenham, Suffolk, CO10 9SN who will send a brochure with an order form.

BOOKING INFORMATION
All correspondence should be addressed to:
The Lavenham Literary Festival, 31 The Glebe, Lavenham, SUDBURY, Suffolk CO10 9SN

All bookings should be made by post, which will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis. It is regretted that telephone bookings cannot be taken.

Tickets for all events are non-refundable.

Enquiries (not bookings) can be made via phone on 01787 247363 or via email kussen@waitrose.com

Lavenham offers a wide range of accommodation and places to eat.

The swan Hotel Lavenham, Suffolk


SPECIAL OFFER FROM THE SWAN AT LAVENHAM

The 15th century Swan Hotel at Lavenham, Suffolk, is offering a special weekend package to tie in with the town’s first autumn literary festival, which takes place between Friday 20 and Sunday 22 November. Priced from £225 per person, it includes tickets to the Literary Dinner at the hotel on Friday evening; three festival events and dinner on Saturday, and two nights B&B for two sharing a double/twin room.

Included are tickets for the three award winning authors, Ronald Blythe, Rose Tremain and Alison Weir who will be speaking at the Lavenham Village Hall on Saturday 21st. Return for a delicious 3 course dinner in our beautiful Gallery Restaurant.

The rate quoted is based on 2 guests sharing a classic double or twin room and includes full Suffolk breakfast each morning.

Tickets are available for the talks on the Friday and Sunday, which need to be reserved at the time of booking your accommodation on the above package.

Lunch is available on the Saturday and Sunday in our Restaurant and Lounges and can be charged as taken.

Please quote reference: LIT20119. Please click on the link above for full details and to make a booking.

For more local information please see:
Lavenham Town Guide

Did you attend the Lavenham Literary Festival (or any festival in Suffolk) this year? Please send all reviews and comments to suffolkguides.admin@suffolktouristguide.com.