Buy Tickets - Bridport Literary Festival

Event 1 | Barney White-Spunner | Berlin

£12.00

Berlin is seen by many as the most fascinating and exciting city in Europe. Barney White-Spunner tells the story of this extraordinary city from its medieval origins to the present day, describing it as a city on the edge - geographically, culturally, politically and morally. A city that has given rise to movements that changed Europe - the Reformation, Marxism and Fascism. This is a story of tension and contradiction, of ground breaking cultural experiment and artistic and social liberation. It is the compelling story of a unique, absorbing and multi-faceted city.

When: Wednesday 4th November 2020 @ 11.00am

Where: Electric Palace

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Event 2 | Raynor Winn | The Wild Silence

£12.00

Following the runaway success after The Salt Path, Raynor Winn introduces her second book, The Wild Silence. Slightly more daring in format, Winn uses her own life story to explore themes of grief, relationships and illness against the backdrop of the natural environment. In it, she delves into childhood memories alongside the ongoing exploration of Moth’s illness, culminating in a walking expedition in Iceland. With her down to earth style which is both humorous and lyrical, she uncovers the inevitable deep connection we all have with nature.

In conversation with Deirdre Coates

When: Wednesday 4th November 2020 @ 2.30pm

Where: Bridport Arts Centre

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Event 3 | Robert McCrum | Shakespearean

£12.00

In this fresh and engaging study of Shakespeare and his work, writer and former Observer Literary editor Robert McCrum takes us on a personal exploration of the world’s most famous poet and playwright and asks: what is it that makes his work so enduring? Why do we consistently return to him, particularly in times of change and difficulty? Drawing on scholarly interpretation as well as personal experience and reflection, this is a fascinating and very timely portrait of Shakespeare and his relationship with ourselves.

In conversation with Jason Webster

When: Wednesday 4th November 2020 @ 4.30pm

Where: Electric Palace

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Event 4 | Lachlan Goudie | The Story of Scottish Art

£12.00

From the earliest enigmatic symbols of Neolithic times to the artistic innovation of present day Glasgow Lachlan Goudie tells The Story of Scottish Art. With great energy and compelling storytelling Lachlan brings his own passion and knowledge as a practicing artist to give an often surprising account of how a nation sees itself. With an understanding of the joys and struggles of artists to fulfil their vision, he looks at how and why masterpieces were created, the changes they reflect and the impact they have had on the world.

When: Thursday 5th November 2020 @ 11.00am

Where: Electric Palace

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Event 5 | Lisa Jewell | Invisible Girl

£12.00

***CANCELLED***
Lisa Jewell is unable to be with us and event 5 has been cancelled. Apologies for any disappointment caused.
Please consider supporting the festival as tickets can be transferred to Alastair Campbell, Jonathan Coe, Dan Pearson, Robert Mccrum, Lachlan Goudie, Andrew Ziminski or Barney White-Spunner. Ring Bridport TIC 01308 424901
Lisa Jewell wrote her first best selling psychological thriller in 1999 and has since appeared continuously on the New York Times and Sunday Times best seller list. Saffyre Maddox is The Invisible Girl whose disappearance leads the affluent residents of a suburban neighbourhood to focus their attention on Owen, the odd-ball, loner who has just lost his job.This is a taut, haunting and compelling thriller. A story woven on the injustice of looking in the wrong place when the real danger is hidden amongst us.
In conversation with Sally Laverack

When: Thursday 5th November 2020 @ 2.30pm

Where: Bridport Arts Centre

CANCELLED Details
Event 14 | Alastair Campbell | Living Better

£12.00

Alastair Campbell, best known as Tony Blair’s chief spokesman and strategist, is also a writer of fiction and non-fiction and an Ambassador for several mental health charities. His new book: Living Better is an honest, moving and life affirming account of his lifelong struggle with depression. It is an autobiographical, psychological and psychiatric study which explores his own childhood, family and relationships. It also examines the impact of his professional and political life on himself and those around him. Tony Blair says of him: ‘Alastair is living proof that it is possible to have depression and yet achieve so much’.

Living Better is a raw and revealing narrative and possibly the most important achievement of Alastair’s colourful and varied life. It is also a book which could save lives.
In conversation with Susannah Simons

When: Thursday 5th November 2020 @ 6.30pm

Where: Electric Palace

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Event 6 | Charles Spencer | The White Ship

£12.00

On 25 November 1120, Henry I’s only legitimate heir, William, Duke of Normandy, together with the cream of Norman society, drowned when their ship foundered off Brittany. The tragedy led to decades of civil war of untold violence and rebellion, and the collapse of Henry I’s legacy of stability and wealth. It changed English history for ever. In The White Ship, written to mark the 900th anniversary of the disaster, Charles Spencer evokes the brutal story of the Normans from the Conquest to Anarchy.

In conversation with Sally Laverack

When: Thursday 5th November 2020 @ 4.30pm

Where: Electric Palace

SOLD OUT Details
Event 7 | Amanda Craig | The Golden Rule

£12.00

***CANCELLED***
Amanda Craig is unable to be with us and event 7 has been cancelled. Apologies for any disappointment caused.
Please consider supporting the festival as tickets can be transferred to Alastair Campbell, Jonathan Coe, Dan Pearson, Robert Mccrum, Lachlan Goudie, Andrew Ziminski or Barney White-Spunner. Ring Bridport TIC 01308 424901
Amanda Craig’s new novel The Golden Rule has been described as “Strangers on a Train meets #MeToo.,” and acclaimed as the novel of the year as well as the best thriller to be set in Cornwall since Rebecca. In a country divided by poverty, class and Brexit, two women make a pact to murder their husbands. Fans in Westminster include Nicola Sturgeon who praised the “gripping story coupled with excellent ‘state of nation’ insight.” The author is a skilful story-teller who vividly dramatises our lives with wit, wisdom and compassion.

In conversation with Celia Brayfield

When: Friday 6th November 2020 @ 11.00am

Where: Electric Palace

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Event 8 | Andrew Ziminski | The Stonemason

£12.00

For over 30 years, stonemason Andrew Ziminski has worked on many of the greatest monuments and buildings in Britain, from Neolithic monoliths to the engine houses, mills and aqueducts of the Industrial revolution. The Stonemason is a journey with a master craftsman whose expertise connects him to the past and the generations of craftsmen before him. Ziminski takes us across Britain by river, road and sea, piecing our island history together, stone by stone and from the inside out.

When: Friday 6th November 2020 @ 2.30pm

Where: Bridport Arts Centre

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Event 9 | Jonathan Coe | Mr Wilder & Me

£12.00

The latest dazzling new novel from prize-winning, best selling author, Jonathan Coe, is set first in Greece in the heady summer of 1977 and then in Germany. Based on the final productive years of the famed Hollywood director, Billy Wilder, this is a story of how to recapture youth and how to manage an exploration of a dark family history. A naïve young woman, Calista, joins the film mogul on his journey into an unfamiliar way of life. This is undoubtedly one of Coe’s most intriguing novels – a mixture of nostalgia and humour bound together against a brilliant backdrop of the highs and lows of the film industry and with just a hint at Me Too.

In conversation with Susannah Simons

When: Friday 6th November 2020 @ 4.30pm

Where: Electric Palace

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Event 10 | James Rebanks | English Pastoral

£12.00

James Rebanks’s grandfather taught him to work the land the old way. Their family farm in the Lake District was part of an ancient landscape: a patchwork of crops and meadows, of pastures grazed with livestock, hedgerows teeming with wildlife. When James inherited the farm, it was barely recognisable - labourers vanished from the fields, stone barns had crumbled and the skies emptied of birds. English Pastoral tells of how the countryside has been brought close to collapse. Yet this elegy is also a song of hope and how a farmer can salvaged a legacy.

In conversation with James Crowden

When: Saturday 7th November 2020 @ 11.00am

Where: Electric Palace

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Event 11 | Dan Pearson | Tokachi Millennium Forest

£12.00

Dan Pearson has created a remarkable garden which combines Japanese culture and long held respect for nature with contemporary ecological planting and naturalistic design. His book shares the insights gained into how to plant gardens that feel right for their location and to reconnect the land and wildlife that surround us. The Tokachi Millennium Forest brings together the culture, aesthetics and horticultural practices of the East and West combining an awareness of the past and protection of the future.

When: Saturday 7th November 2020 @ 2.30pm

Where: Electric Palace

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Event 13 | Lord Kim Darroch | Collateral Damage

£12.00

Kim Darroch was British Ambassador to the US as the age of Trump dawned and Brexit unfolded. One of the UK’s most experienced and respected diplomats, he was given the task of explaining Trump to the British and Brexit to the Americans. Choosing to resign after confidential cables criticising the administration were leaked to the press, this is the first time Darroch has spoken of his time in the top job, how the leak unfolded, that Trump tweet and Boris Johnson’s (then Foreign Secretary) headline making reaction. The best informed insider and the first British official to be candid on the current situation, Darroch details the highs and lows of life in the swamp and the challenges of dealing with the former TV star’s White House and his extraordinary inter-action with key players inside the administration including Jared Kushner and Michael Cohen. He gives a pacey, honest account rich in anecdote and colour.

Lord Darroch flies back to England from the US on the 6th November having been an influential part of the Sky News team covering this year’s Presidential Election. We will know by then whether Trump has managed to win back the Presidency and Darroch will share his views which will be as ever frank and revealing.

In conversation with Sir Oliver Letwin

When: Saturday 7th November 2020 @ 6.30pm

Where: Electric Palace

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