The literature festival season is well underway, last night I watched the actor Rob Lowe in conversation with Mariella Frostrup at the Hay Book Festival on the Sky Arts TV channel. He's not my cup of tea at all, even though I loved The West Wing, but the theatre seemed packed and the audience were lapping up the irrepressible actor's bons mots. Friends who are at the UK's biggest book event in the Welsh border town, have tweeted that they've seen and enjoyed VS Naipaul (want to know more about that one!) and the human rights lawyer, Gareth Peirce. If the weather is good, which it has been so far this year, Hay is a wonderful event, and the main street of the town, lined with what seems to be 100s and 100s of bookshops, some little more than barns, stuffed with books, is a bookophile's heaven. Hay runs until the 5 June and this year's media sponsor is The Daily Telegraph newspaper, they are recording each and every moment online here: Hay
Coming up in London next weekend is the Stoke Newington Literary Festival (3,4, & 5 June), this is my local lit fest, and it has a brilliant programme and an exciting range of authors, including well known local authors, taking part. Stokey lit fest will be followed by the Southbank Centre's London Literature Festival, which runs from the 30 June through 14 July. Here are a few of what I consider to be the highlights from each festival.
Stoke Newington Literary Festival
The second year of this festival kicks off with a Gala Launch event with the MP for Hackney North & Stoke Newington, Diane Abbott. There are a number of writing events throughout the programme, one of which mixes professional writers with amateurs; and another event discussing how small groups - such as book clubs - achieve big things. I also think that the events that give emerging writers the chance to show off their work look really excellent. However the session that I am particularly looking forward to is the conversation on urban fiction between the novelists Alex Wheatle and Courttia Newland. It is on Sunday 5 June at 2pm.
The final event of the festival is the Ska Panel, this is a discussion about the music that West Indians brought to London in the 1960s. Speakers will include Colin Grant, author of I&I: The Natural Mystics,(about Bob Marley and The Wailers) Viv Albertine, guitarist with legendary punk band The Slits, Newton Dunbar, founder of From CBGB to the Roundhouse. The Ska Panel is to be hosted by Danny Kelly, and includes performances by Tim Wells and DJ Mistah Brown. It is on Sunday 5 June at 8pm.
The online ticket booking system is painful and tiresome to use, it keeps crashing on me, but if you get through the booking fee is very tiny. Alternatively book tickets through the Stoke Newington Book Shop: here. [I notice that the book shop plans to have Andrea Levy there on the 13 June talking about her book The Long Song. ]
Where to begin, so many events to choose from. Below I have only listed the fiction events, but there is also a rich programme of poetry and spoken words events too, a couple of which include the brilliant poet Inua Ellams. And also for a very reasonable £50, there is a course of four creative writing workshops, that run from the 30 June through to the 3 July. Full London lit fest list programme: here
Sunday 3 July
Under the rather cringing title of National Treasure - who decides these things? - Alexander McCall Smith, author of The No1 Ladies Detective Agency novels set in Botswana, will be talking about his work. I know that many of you will feel that Alexander McCall Smith's view of Botswana is unreal, but others do buy up his books on the crime fighting and tea drinking Precious Ramotswe by the truckload. So I include him here.
Tuesday 5 July
The Libyan author, Hisham Matar, takes to the stage to discuss his latest novel Anatomy of a Disappearance. As we watch with dismay how things are panning out in Libya, Hisham's work provides the chance to understand a little more about the country and it's people.
Thursday 7 July
This season's African Writers' Evening event has Ben Okri and Sarah Lapido Manyika in conversation about the bar as a key location in fiction. Ben is always an inspiring and encouraging person to hear talk about writing and life generally, and I am looking forward to seeing Sarah again. Sarah was a guest speaker at a 2009 Black Reading Group book club event, where she told us all about her book In Dependence.
Friday 8 July
Carlos Moore in conversation with the Southbank's artist in residence, poet Lemn Sissay. Carlos is best known for his authorised biography of Fela Kuti, Fela: In this Bitch of a Life. He'll also be talking about his newest book Pichon: Race and Revolution in Castro's Cuba.
Saturday 9 July
Leila Aboulela, the first ever winner of the Caine Prize, will be at the London lit fest to discuss her latest book Lyrics Alley. On 12 July the Southbank Centre Book Club will be exploring her break through novel Minaret.
Saturday 9 July
If you miss Colin Grant at the Stokey lit fest, catch up with him at an event called Trench Town Rock. This time he will be in conversation with wonderful Jamaican poet Linton Kwesi Johnson.
Sunday 10 July
Already mentioned the Caine Prize event, in a previous post about the 2011 prize, but I am happy to list it again here, since this really is a wonderful opportunity to hear from the authors of the best new fiction from Africa.
Monday 11 July
Helen Oyeyemi will be reading from her new novel Mr Fox. I have to say that I've not yet met anyone who has read any of Helen's books. That's very strange, as she's an acclaimed writer. So this is an opportunity to be persuaded to get on with reading her books.
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