Just as Spring  and Summer bring a rash of colour to your garden it also brings a fresh crop of exciting book festivals around the country. To make sure you don't miss out we thought we would create a special blog of the ones Lovereading will be involved with in April, May, June and July 2014.

Key ones in May, June & July are

Boswell Book Festival, Ayrshire Scotland 9 - 11 May 2014 www.boswellbookfestival.co.uk

Crime Fest (Bristol) 15 - 18 May 2014 www.crimefest.com

Hay Festival 22 May - 1 June 2014  hayfestival.org

The Brewin Dolphin Borders Book Festival 12 - 15 June 2014 bordersbookfestival.org

The Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival 10 - 13 July 2014  harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

The 2014 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival takes place between the 17-20 July 2014 harrogateinternationalfestivals.com/crime/ 

The key ones in April were:

Cambridge Literary Festival  1 - 6 April 2014 www.cambridgeliteraryfestival.com

Chipping Norton Literary Festival 24 - 27 April 2014 www.chiplitfest.com

Stratford Literary Festival 26 April - 4 May 2014 www.stratfordliteraryfestival.co.uk

Find more details for each one below – please note this information will be updated regularly as we receive it.

Boswell Book Festival 9 - 11 May

Boswell_Book_Festival_2014_LogoLovereading is sponsoring the launch of Kirsty Wark’s debut novel The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle at The Boswell Book Festival in Ayrshire on Saturday 10th May 2014. Kirsty Wark, one of the UK’s best known broadcasters will unveil her debut novel The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle. A multi-generational story of love and belonging set on the island of Arran; Kirsty’s first foray into fiction is likely to find a warm reception with Boswell Book Festival goers for whom the setting and communities described will no doubt feel familiar.

Of course Kirsty’s personal understanding of the richness of experience and the intertwining lives within Scottish communities gives depth and texture to this captivating story. Born in Dumfries, schooled in Kilmarnock and Ayr and with treasured childhood memories of holidays spent on Arran, Kirsty’s appreciation of Scotland’s rural south west and its people is evident within the pages of this haunting story. "In a way The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle is my love letter to Arran. Some of my earliest memories are from time spent on the island. It is a beautiful, magical place and the island itself is a major character in the novel." The book tells the story of a young woman who, bequeathed a legacy from a woman she has never known, embarks on a journey to uncover the story of Elizabeth Pringle. What is the reason for this apparently ordinary woman leaving her home and her belongings to a young mother she watched pushing a pram down a road more than thirty years previously?

Kirsty Wark will deliver her talk on The Legacy of Elizabeth Pringle at the Boswell Book Festival at Auchinleck House on 10th May. Lovereading has teamed up with the Boswell Book Festival to give a 10% discount on all tickets. For festival details and to book tickets visit www.boswellbookfestival.co.uk and enter the discount code LR2 x KirstyWark

The Boswell Book Festival (9-11 May) is the world’s only festival of Biography and Memoir. Other highlights include talks by James Naughtie, Sally Magnusson, Nicholas Shakespeare, Allan Massie, Damian Barr and Candia McWilliam.

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Crime Fest Bristol 15 - 18 May

Where the Pen is Bloodier than the Sword

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First organised in June 2008, CRIMEFEST has not only become one of the biggest crime fiction events in Europe, but also one of the most popular dates in the international crime fiction calendar. The annual convention was featured as one of the ‘best crime-writing festivals around the world’ in The Guardian and one of the ‘50 Best Festivals’ in The Independent. CRIMEFEST draws top crime novelists, readers, editors, publishers and reviewers from around the world and gives delegates the opportunity to celebrate the genre in an informal atmosphere. 2014 Highlights include:
  • Gala Dinner
  • Interviews with the featured Guest Authors and Toastmaster
  • the eDunnit, Goldsboro Last Laugh and Sounds of Crime Award presentations

In addition, there will be some fifty author panels with more than a hundred participating authors, crime writing workshops, a pitch-an-agent strand, and much more.

Featured Guest Authors include: Mark Billingham, Simon Brett, Yrsa Sigurðardóttir

Highlighted Guest Authors: Ben Aaronovich & Jasper Fforde, Nicci French & Lars Kepler

Meet The Authors Behind Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries & Murdoch Mysteries * Kerry Greenwood * Maureen Jennings Interviewer: Peter Guttridge

Participating authors include: Belinda Bauer, Ruth Dudley Edwards, Christopher Fowler, Kerry Greenwood, M.R. Hall, Sophie Hannah, John Harvey, David Hewson, Peter James, Maureen Jennings, Zoë Sharp, Andrew Taylor, Jill Paton Walsh, Robert Wilson, Anne Zouroudi and many more.

Lovereading has also teamed up with CRIMEFEST to give members a 10% discount when booking Full Weekend Passes until 9th May or until tickets sell out. To book visit www.crimefest2014.eventbrite.com  and enter lovereading in the promotional code box.

Location: Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel, College Green, Bristol BS1 5TA For further details see www.crimefest.com.

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Hay Festival 22 May – 1 June 2014

Hay Festival takes place in the staggering beauty of the Brecon Beacons National Park during summer half term from 22nd May – 1 June. Join great writers and great thinkers from around the world and discover the new ideas driving the arts and sciences, politics and history. This year's programme explores the resonant anniversaries of the fall of the Wall and the end of the baby boom, the climax of the Crimean war and the starts of both world wars. Hay examines the history that has made Britain; a history of trade and conflict, of technical innovation and progressive daring. Explore the world through the international fiction of Toni Morrison, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Cees Nooteboom, Javier Cercas, Gong Ji-Young, Karl Ove Knausgaard, Carlos Acosta, Tim Winton, Siri Hustvedt and Lorrie Moore. Mervyn King, Ha-Joon Chang and Craig Calhoun debate the global economy; David Reynolds, Margaret Macmillan, Sebastian Faulks, Louisa Young, Niall Ferguson, Jeremy Paxman, Helen Dunmore and Sebastian Barry weave accounts of the Great War in fact and fiction; Nobel Prizewinners John Gurdon and Tim Hunt and the Podfather, Tony Fadell head a series of investigations into the latest developments in science and technology; the 450th birthday of William Shakespeare is celebrated with a series of conversations about his work with Toni Morrison, Jerry Brotton, Stephen Fry, Judi Dench and Richard Eyre. And it being Hay, there is great food from Sam & Sam Clark, Mary Berry and Antonio Carluccio; great laughter with Jennifer Saunders, Al Murray, Frank Skinner and Bill Bailey, and great music with Cerys Matthews, Toumani Diabate and Hugh Masekela.

Please visit www.Hayfestival.org for more information.

To book tickets go to: https://www.hayfestival.com/wales/index.aspx?skinid=2&currencysetting=GBP&localesetting=en-GB&resetfilters=true

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The Brewin Dolphin Borders Book Festival 12 - 15 June 2014

As part of Homecoming Scotland 2014 some of the world’s best writers, communicators and entertainers will be appearing in Melrose from 12th-15th June, including household names such as Jennifer Saunders, Paddy Ashdown and Steve Backshall. The festival looks simultaneously to the past and to the future, with speakers on great historical events as well as on the future of Scotland.  Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown will talk about his vision of Scottishness, Britishness, and the unique nature of the Union; and a passionate debate will be held on Scottish independence with two veteran parliamentarians.  Commemorating the First World War centenary, Allan Little will talk about the spark that ignited it, Katie Adie recalls the women of the home front, and Dave Anderson, playing Sir Harry Lauder, will Keep Right On to the End of the Road!

The festival opens with a magnificent line-up of Paddy Ashdown, Steve Backshall, Kate Adie, Jennifer Saunders and Lynda La Plante on Thursday 12th June.  On Friday 13th June, the winner of the fifth £25,000 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction will be announced, with at least three of the shortlisted six authors in attendance to hear the result and taking part in a separate panel discussion on historical fiction.  On Sunday 15th, another anniversary is celebrated – the publication of Sir Walter Scott’s great, innovative novel, Waverley – created just a mile or so from Melrose.  A dramatized adaptation written specially for the festival by Alan Caig Wilson will star Phyllida Law, John Sessions and David Robb.

Elsewhere in the programme, younger audiences will be entertained by the wildly popular television presenter Steve Backshall, who comes to Borders for the first time with his new fiction series for children.  Another popular broadcaster, Simon Mayo, will be regaling older children with his stories featuring 14-year-old science nut Itchingham Lofte.  Other children’s writers include Andy Stanton (Mr Gum), Simon Chapman, Lauren St John, Ross Collins, and Lari Don.

For further information visit  https://www.bordersbookfestival.org/  and to book tickets see https://www.bbfboxoffice.co.uk/.

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KILLER LINE UP FOR 2014 CRIME WRITING FESTIVAL

Europe’s largest celebration of crime writing has announced its star line-up including an exclusive appearance by J.K. Rowling, writing as Robert Galbraith, as well as Ann Cleeves, John Harvey, Sophie Hannah, Lynda La Plante, Laura Lippman, Peter May, Val McDermid, Denise Mina, and S.J. Watson.
The 2014 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival takes place between the 17-20 July, at the Old Swan Hotel, Harrogate.
J.K. Rowling will be in conversation with Val McDermid in her first and only appearance in 2014 as Robert Galbraith. She’ll be discussing her new book The Silkworm, the second crime novel in the Cormoran Strike series, at a special event hosted at the Royal Hall in Harrogate at 7.30pm on Friday 18 July. The Silkworm is published by Little Brown on 19 June.
This year’s stellar list of names has been put together by, award-winning author Steve Mosby, who takes over the reins from Val McDermid as this year’s Programming Chair. Based in Leeds, he’s the author of seven novels – The Third Person, The Cutting Crew, The 50/50 Killer, Cry for Help, Still Bleeding, Black Flowers, and Dark Room. His eighth novel, The Nightmare Place is published in June 2014.
Steve said: “It’s a pleasure and honour to be Chair of this year’s Festival. It’s one of the most sought after events in the crime writing community, attracting the biggest names from around the world. It’s a big pressure to live up to its legacy, but the 2014 programme is really quite special.”
The annual Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, which first launched in 2003, is hosted at The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate, where Agatha Christie was famously found in 1926 after disappearing from her home.
Attendees are invited to join up to 80 of the world’s most celebrated crime authors ‘in conversation, in action and in the bar.’
Headline sponsor, Simon Theakston, Executive Director of T&R Theakston, said: “We’ve supported the festival since almost from the start, and every year I think it surpasses already high expectations. 2014 is no different with this remarkable line-up of world-class authors. It truly is a delight for Theakstons to be part of such an iconic annual event on the literary calendar.”
Behind the festival atmosphere, the event is one of the most important in the crime publishing calendar, with publishers scheduling new releases to coincide with the July date.  Agents, publishers, publicists and authors attend from all over Europe and the world.
It is ranked as one of the top three literary festivals in the UK by The Guardian, and featured in The Independent’s ‘The 50 Best Festivals’.

With four days packed with events, the full programme will be announced in early May.

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Stellar line-up announced for the inaugural Cambridge Literary Festival 1- 6 April 2014

cambridge-lit-fest-logoCambridge Wordfest has rebranded this year as Cambridge Literary Festival and plans to become a landmark cultural event bringing the best in new and established writers to the historic and beautiful city of Cambridge. Authors appearing in April are Douglas Alexander, Pat Barker, Melvyn Bragg, Jim Crace, Carol Ann Duffy, Adam Foulds, Simon Garfield, Alan Johnson, Rachel Joyce, Hanif Kureshi, David Runciman, Simon Singh, Germaine Greer, Ali Smith, Joanna Trollope, Kirsty Wark and Jacqueline Wilson. In addition to high-profile speakers from the worlds of literature, media, science, history, politics and philosophy will be a series of special events including: themed events in celebration of the 2014 World Cup, a strand devoted to the commemoration of World War 1, an event celebrating Dylan Thomas’ centenary and the inaugural Cambridge Literary Festival Debate – with further details to be revealed. Tickets are on sale now. For further information about the festival please visit www.cambridgeliteraryfestival.com. To book tickets go to https://www.cambridgeliteraryfestival.com/schedule/ or call the Box Office on 01223 300085. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Chipping Norton Literary Festival 24 - 27 April 2014

Chiplitfest-main-logo_smChipping Norton Literary Festival is a four-day celebration of books, reading and writing, with a host of author talks, signings, discussions and workshops. This year’s speakers include crime writers Nicci French, Tania Carver and Mark Billingham; columnists Tim Dowling, Lucy Mangan and India Knight; novelists Kate Mosse, Joanna Trollope, and Rachel Joyce; as well as Jonathan Aitken, Alan Johnson, Kate Adie, and economist Tim Harford. Kids will love meeting Charlie and Lola’s Lauren Child, with the chance to see Winnie the Witch illustrator Korky Paul in action! The Playbus will be in town, along with a special ‘Meerkat Mayhem’ hunt organised by Cotswold Wildlife Park. Tickets on sale now: 01608 642350 Visit www.chiplitfest.com for the full programme of events. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Stratford Literary Festival 26 April - 4 May

Strat-Lit-fest-logo-2014_smJoin StratLitFest’s One for the Road campaign: You’re off on your travels and you can squeeze only ONE novel into your suitcase.  What’s it to be? #myonefortheroad https://onefortheroad.org.uk via @StratLitFest. Appearing this year at Stratford-upon-Avon Literary Festival are Ray Davies of The Kinks, comedian and broadcaster Tim Brooke Taylor and the gardening guru Chris Beardshaw. Also Baroness Shirley Williams who will not only be talking about why the 20th century was one of such violence, she’ll also be on a panel with Melissa Benn and writer Judith Allnatt talking about how WWI affected the lives of women. BBC correspondents Gavin Esler, Frank Gardner and Hugh Pym; Hugh will be giving an insider’s view of the banking crisis, Frank will be describing some of the world’s most terrifying theatres of war and his own incredibly painful personal story, and Gavin Esler will explain how and why great world leaders manipulate the way we think about them. This year sees the launch of the first Big Issue lecture with the internationally renowned human rights lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, who’ll be asking why the US justice system can be far from just. Also appearing is Jon Canter, a former flatmate of Douglas Adams and writer for some of the biggest names in comedy from Peter Cook to Dawn French. There’ll be tea with the Queen of ceramics Emma Bridgewater, Sally Magnusson will be talking about her mother’s dementia  and how we can deal with this growing issue, the MP Alan Johnson recollects his own amazing mother and the brilliant David Crystal on why we talk like what we do. Val McDermid is talking about crime and about the challenges of reworking Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey.  Joanne Harris of Chocolat fame on her Norse legend, and workshops on how to get published from some leading editors and writers, including Rachel Joyce, whose Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry sold in such huge numbers last year. Also, bestselling thriller writer Gerald Seymour who - as a journalist - witnessed everything from Bloody Sunday to the slaughter of athletes at the Munich Olympics, two Danish authors talking about Scandimania,  local author Brian Halford and cricketer Jim Troughton talking about the Real Percy Jeeves – the cricketer whose name caught PG Wodehouse’s eye, but who tragically died at the front, and a whole afternoon given over to First World War memoirs and poetry reading, with the author of Blood River, Tim Butcher, on the extraordinary story of the man who killed Archduke Ferdinand on that fateful day in Sarajevo. And last of all, Sunday 4th May is a full day of events for children up at the Croft School, including the brilliant illustrators Nick Sharratt, and Axel Scheffler, and the authors Philip Ardagh and Tracey Corderoy. Kids can do Lego, learn samurai and bodyguarding skills, design a nappy for the royal baby or make shadow puppets.  For more information and to book tickets visit www.stratfordliteraryfestival.co.uk . -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------