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The Festival: 6 - 14 November 2026 | Tickets: 01308 424901|bridport.tic@bridport-tc.gov.uk
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Electric Palace

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    Event 3 | Oliver Bullough | Everybody Loves Our Dollars

    £16.50

    Oliver Bullough - Everybody Loves Our Dollars - How Money Laundering Won

    Why is the world flooded with illicit cash and how did Britain become ground zero for laundering it? In Everybody Loves Our Dollars, acclaimed investigative reporter Oliver Bullough reveals why multi-billion-dollar efforts to prevent financial crime have failed. In conversation with festival chair Stuart Rock, Bullough demonstrates how organised crime groups and kleptocrats routinely exploit legal loopholes and regulatory blindspots. Following his bestselling exposés Moneyland and Butler to the World, Bullough delivers an eye-opening exploration of the shady areas of global finance, showing why, for the worst bad actors, cash remains king.

    When: Saturday 7 November 2026 @ 10.30 am
    Where: Electric Palace
    Sponsor: James and Emma Farquharson
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  • Event 6 | Robin Niblett | After America

    £16.50

    Robin Niblett - After America - The End of the Old Order and the Future of Geopolitics

    After eighty years of Western dominance, what next? In After America, Sir Robin Niblett, former Director of Chatham House, examines the collapse of American global leadership and the rise of transactional imperial power politics driven by the US, China and Russia. Rather than assuming the old West can simply regroup, Niblett explores how smaller nations and middle powers can navigate this fractured landscape to build a stable future. He is joined by former BBC North America editor Gavin Esler to dissect what this dramatic geopolitical shift means for global stability and diplomacy.
    When: Saturday 7 November 2026 @ 3.00 pm
    Where: Electric Palace
    Sponsored by: Martin & Lindsay Bowdery
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  • Event 15 | Matthew Sweet | The Great Dictator

    £16.50

    Matthew Sweet - The Great Dictator - A Life of Barbara Cartland

    Penniless virgins. Reckless dukes. Flappers. Airmen. Suffragettes. Barbara Cartland made them all fall in love. She wrote 723 books without touching a typewriter: instead she reclined on her sofa with a Pekinese on her lap, and romantic fiction billowed out of her. Making use of unprecedented access to Cartland’s archives, broadcaster Matthew Sweet’s wickedly funny biography reveals the woman behind the mascara. After 49 proposals, she chose the wrong man; what followed was a life stranger than any novel, including terrorist plots, seances, plagiarism battles, and even a surprise turn as a campaigner for Romany rights. Chaired by Vivian French.

    When: Sunday 8 November 2026 @ 2.30 pm
    Where: Electric Palace
    Sponsored by: Susan Bradbury
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  • Event 16 | Lachlan Goudie | The Secrets of Painting

    £16.50
    Lachlan Goudie - The Secrets of Painting - The Hidden Art of the Masterpiece from Prehistory to Today How do you paint a masterpiece? Artist and broadcaster Lachlan Goudie returns to Bridport to explore how 20 of the greatest paintings in human history were created, from a blank surface to the finishing brushstroke. From 36,000-year-old cave paintings to the digital art of David Hockney, he interrogates each artist’s individual methods and techniques. And there’s a bigger picture: this is the story of how the evolution of painting materials – from spit, bone marrow and blood to digital image-making – has changed the course of human creativity. “Stupendous … a wonderful gift to the world of art loversˮ Simon Schama.
    When: Sunday 8 November 2026 @ 4.30 pm
    Where: Electric Palace
    Sponsor: Buffy Sacher
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  • Event 22 | Jeremy Hunt | Can We Be Rich Again?

    £16.50

    Jeremy Hunt - Can We Be Rich Again? - The Surprising Potential of Britain’s Economy

    Stagnant growth, oppressive national debt and record tax burdens have convinced many that Britain’s economic best days are behind it. In Can We Be Rich Again?, the former Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt offers an urgent riposte to widespread doom-mongering. Drawing on decades in government, Hunt outlines a roadmap to reignite prosperity. From uncorking the potential of the United Kingdom’s world-leading tech and financial sectors to reforming stagnant state machinery, he argues that low growth is a solvable crisis. Join us for a compelling discussion on how Britain can change its financial fortunes.

    When: Monday 9 November 2026 @ 2.00 pm
    Where: Electric Palace
    Sponsored by: Tim & Sara Clarke
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  • Event 26 | Greg Doran | Walking Shadow

    £16.50

    Greg Doran - Walking Shadow - Love, Loss and Shakespeare

    Following the loss of his husband, Sir Antony Sher, former RSC Artistic Director Greg Doran set out on an extraordinary quest: to track down as many surviving copies of Shakespeare’s First Folio as possible. He weaves a moving account of Sher’s final illness together with a captivating travelogue spanning four continents. Seeking out more than two hundred Folios – from Tokyo to South Africa – Doran slowly uncovers their unique histories. Part love story, part literary detective story, Walking Shadow explores how he faced down deep personal grief with the inspiration of the world’s greatest playwright. Chaired by author Vivian French.

    When: Monday 9 November 2026 @ 7.00 pm
    Where:  Electric Palace
    Sponsored by: David & Angela Neuberger
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  • Event 32 | Sarah Churchwell & Jon Lee Anderson | America’s Stories

    £14.00

    Sarah Churchwell & Jon Lee Anderson - America’s Stories

    The United States is defined by the tales it tells about itself, a land of freedom, opportunity, self-sufficiency and equality. But, as America marks its 250th year, these foundational myths have never looked more fragile. Bridport-based New Yorker writer Jon Lee Anderson and Sarah Churchwell, professor of American Literature and Public Understanding at the University of London, discuss how these narratives have found expression through history, and whether they remain fit for purpose. Jon Lee Anderson’s latest publication is To Lose a War. Sarah Churchwell’s books include studies of Gone with the Wind and The Great Gatsby.

    When: Tuesday 10 November 2026 @ 3.00 pm
    Where: Electric Palace
    Sponsored by: Diana & Robert Clarke
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  • Event 41 | Tobias Ellwood | Ten Steps to Prevent World War Three

    £16.50

    Tobias Ellwood - Ten Steps to Prevent World War Three

    Putin’s Russia at the throat of Ukraine. War across the Middle East. China seeking leadership of the Global South. Nuclear-armed rogue states. The world is closer than it ever has been to midnight on the Doomsday Clock. So how worried should we be? In conversation with former BBC correspondent Andrew Cassell, politician and military veteran Tobias Ellwood introduces his book Ten Steps to Prevent World War Three. Drawing on his frontline service in the Royal Green Jackets and his experience as a defence minister and chair of the House of Commons Defence Select Committee, Ellwood and asks what the west can do to avert the unthinkable.

    When: Wednesday 11 November 2026 @ 4.30 pm
    Where: Electric Palace
    Sponsored by Barry Mawhinney | Helen & Andrew Carless
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  • Event 42 | Debbie McGee | A Magical Life

    £15.00

    Debbie McGee - A Magical Life

    Famously, and cruelly, the comedian Caroline Aherne asked Debbie McGee: “What attracted you to the millionaire Paul Daniels?” But the ultimate magician’s “assistant” has had the last laugh. Her self-described “first and only” memoir depicts a rich and varied life. A dancer by trade, she spent time at the Royal Ballet School before joining Iran’s national ballet – having to flee the country during the revolution. While she is universally recognised as Daniels’ wife, few people know she was the first woman to be admitted to the Magic Circle. One of the great showbiz survivors talks to journalist Teddy Jamieson about her life on and off stage, facing breast cancer, coping with the public loss of her husband, and finding a new fanbase through Strictly.

    When: Wednesday 11 November 2026 @ 6.30pm
    Where: Electric Palace
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  • Event 47 | Ed Davey | Why I Care

    £16.50

    Ed Davey - Why I Care - And Why Care Matters

    Care is the thread that runs through Sir Ed Davey’s life. At four, he lost his father. When his mother also became ill with cancer, Ed and his brothers nursed her until she died when Ed was just 15, and that experience was one of his main inspirations to enter politics. Now he and his wife care for their son, who has severe physical and learning disabilities. In Why I Care, the Liberal Democrat Leader reveals his deeply moving personal story. Shedding light on the often invisible, he calls for society and government to lift up the silent carers who form the backbone of our communities. He talks about his experiences with former BBC correspondent Andrew Cassell.

    When: Thursday 12 November 2026 @ 2.30 pm
    Where: Electric Palace
    Sponsored by: Fenella Wynford
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  • Event 54 | Mary Berry | Mary All in One

    £18.00

    Mary Berry - Mary All in One

    Join broadcaster and cook Dame Mary Berry in conversation with the author and food writer Lucy Brazier. This event marks the publication of Mary: All in One, a collection celebrating effortless, one-dish cooking. Alongside these new recipes, from chicken tartiflette to strawberry and white chocolate cheesecake, the discussion will trace Mary’s journey from her classic Cordon Bleu training in Paris during the 1950s to her decades spent teaching Britain how to cook and her time as a judge on The Great British Bake Off. An intimate and lively hour in the company of a woman who for over half a century has helped shape the way the nation gathers round the table and made us all aware of our “soggy bottoms”.

    When: Friday 13 November 2026 @ 1.00 pm
    Where: Electric Palace
    Sponsored by: Symonds & Sampson
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  • Event 55 | Patrick Gale | Love Lane

    £16.50

    Patrick Gale - Love Lane

    One of Britain’s best-loved storytellers returns to Bridport Literary Festival to talk about his beguiling new work of fiction, an epic portrait of what it means to make a home spanning three generations of one family. Although it’s a standalone novel, Love Lane features one of Gale’s most memorable characters, Canadian farmer Harry Cane, protagonist of the Costa Award-shortlisted A Place Called Winter. Forced to sell up on the prairies and return to a Britain transformed by two world wars, he receives a mixed reception from his family. Can Harry make a new life for himself or will he be cast out again? Patrick talks with fellow novelist Raffaella Barker. “A tender, delicately devastating novel”, Sarah Waters.

    When: Friday 13 November 2026 @ 3.00 pm
    Where: Electric Palace
    Sponsored by: Maggie & John Mills
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  • Event 61 | Tony Parsons | Man and Dog

    £16.50

    Tony Parsons - Man and Dog - A Love Story

    “Nobody will ever love you like a dog”: Tony Parsons wrote a newspaper column about the loss of his beloved spaniel, Stan, a bandy-legged bundle of joy, loyalty and bright red fur, the story went viral on the internet. Now it has inspired this deeply affecting and very funny memoir. Set against the backdrop of Tony’s life in Hampstead and daily walks across the Heath – with its rolling hills, ponds and cast of star-studded, dog-walking neighbours – Man and Dog brilliantly brings to life the eternal love affair between humans and their canine companions. He talks to Jo Willett. Tony Parsons is an award-winning journalist and bestselling novelist. His multi-million selling novel Man and Boy won the British Book of the Year prize in 2000.

    When: Saturday 14 November 2026 @ 12 noon
    Where: Electric Palace
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  • Event 65 | Sarah Raven | A Year of Cut Flowers

    £16.50

    Sarah Raven - A Year of Cut Flowers - A Life of Growing and Arranging for All Seasons

    Teacher, broadcaster and nurserywoman, Sarah Raven is a pioneer of productive, beautiful gardening. Drawing on decades of experimentation at Perch Hill, she has transformed how we think about growing flowers and food together. Sarah shares the secrets behind year-round success, from sowing and selecting high-performing plants to designing gardens that overflow with scent, structure and seasonal interest. Join her for an inspiring and informative session that will change the way you garden, whether your patch is a windowsill or an acre – and send you home brimming with ideas.

    When: Saturday 14 November 2026 @ 4.30 pm
    Where: Electric Palace
    Sponsored by: Emily & Richard Cave
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  • Event 67 | Jonathan Freedland | The Traitors Circle

    £16.50

    Jonathan Freedland - The Traitors Circle - The Rebels Against the Nazis and the Spy Who Betrayed Them

    Berlin, 1943. A group of high-society anti-Nazi dissenters gather for a tea party one late summer afternoon. They form a circle of unlikely rebels, drawn from Germany’s elite: two countesses, a diplomat, an intelligence officer and a pioneering headmistress. What they don’t know is that someone at the table is poised to reveal their secrets to the Third Reich’s most ruthless detective. Award-winning author Jonathan Freedland discusses his remarkable study of heroism. He asks a timely question: what does it take to risk everything and stand up to tyranny?

    When: Saturday 14 November 2026 @ 6.30 pm
    Where: Electric Palace
    Sponsored by: Andy & Deborah Gray
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The Bridport Literary Festival © Copyright 2004 - 2026
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