Author Talk Archives - Bridport Literary Festival

Special Event | Apothecary | Jonny Fluffypunk

£5.00

Apothecary
Apothecary, Bridport’s legendary spokenword gathering, is celebrating its 10th anniversary at this special event which will be MCed by poet, comedian and author Jonny Fluffypunk and opened by Bridport Mayor, Anne Rickard. The audience will be treated to a diversity of contributions, embracing poetry, stories, comedy and music. These will include a set by the great Fluffypunk himself. With the motto, 'Take the Talking Cure', Apothecary has seen over 200 different local people perform or read their original writing. Its supportive, inclusive ethos has helped nurture a vibrant community of writers and performers, of all ages and abilities, from the region. Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901

When: Tuesday 11th November 2025 @ 7.00 pm

Where: Bridport Town Hall

BUY TICKETS Details
Event 33 | Victoria Taylor | Eagle Days | THE GEORGE MILLAR LITERARY DINNER

£90.00

Victoria Taylor - Eagle Days - Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain
We are delighted to welcome Victoria Taylor, historian and broadcaster, to talk about her fascinating new book Eagle Days: Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain, a revelatory study that reexamines the German air force’s role during the RAF’s ‘Finest Hour’. Drawing on extensive new research, including never-before-translated letters, diaries and combat reports, Taylor offers a powerful and deeply human portrait of the men who fought for Hitler’s Luftwaffe in the summer of 1940. Through their words and experiences, she transforms our understanding of the Battle of Britain, revealing the military, political and cultural forces that shaped both their courage and their collapse. Eagle Days is a striking and original account of the air war that changed the course of modern history. Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901

When: Thursday 6th November 2025 @ 7.00 pm

Where: Tithe Barn, Symondsbury

Sponsored by: Venetia Ross Skinner

SOLD OUT Details
Event 42 | Andrew Graham-Dixon | Vermeer

£16.00

Andrew Graham-Dixon - Vermeer - A Life Lost and Found

Andrew Graham-Dixon’s book places Vermeer’s work in the context of its time and paints a dramatically new picture of the artist, revealing many of the painter’s hitherto unknown friendships as well as his previously undetected allegiance to a radical movement driven underground by persecution. In the past Vermeer has been imagined as a remote and enigmatic figure but in this account he emerges as a man deeply engaged with his own society, well read and well travelled and greatly affected by the struggles that shook his world. Graham-Dixon reassesses both the paintings and their meanings.
an illustrated talk - Introduced by Hugo Morgan Grenville Priority booking - Become a Friend - Contact TIC Bridport to book tickets - 01308 424901

When: Saturday 8th November 2025 @ 2.00pm

Where: Electric Palace

Sponsored by: Andy and Deborah Gray

SOLD OUT Details
Special Event | Paul Lashmar | Drax of Drax Hall

£12.00

Paul Lashmar - Drax of Drax Hall - How One British Family Got Rich (and Stayed Rich) from Sugar and Slavery The Dorset based Drax family are unique in that they are the only colonising family to still own a plantation in the West Indies. As global movements for racial justice continue to challenge the legacies of empire, Drax of Drax Hall offers a vital case study of how Britain’s colonial wealth survives—and thrives—in plain sight. From the violent origins of British colonialism in the Caribbean to the quiet entrenchment of inherited privilege in the English countryside, this is a history that lays bare the enduring legacies of empire—and the families who still profit from them. Through meticulous research and gripping storytelling, Paul Lashmar exposes the deep roots of inequality, the persistence of elite privilege, and the unfinished business of reparations. Drax of Drax Hall tells the full, unflinching story of the ancestors that pioneered the British sugar industry and created the blueprint for slave-based plantation economies. In this final event in the BridLit calendar 2025, local journalist Paul Lashmar will be in conversation with Alan Smith, First Estates Commissioner of the Church of England about his recently published book Drax of Drax Hall. The event will be chaired by David Olusoga, who wrote the foreword to the book. in conversation with Alan Smith and chaired by David Olusoga David will be in the Electric Palace in the evening for his own event and book signing. Become a friend

When: Friday 12th December 2025 @ 4.30pm

Where: The Bull Ballroom

Buy Ticket £12 Details