Chester is gearing up for an influx of famous faces as the Essar Chester Literature Festival starts this weekend.
Organisers Chester Performs revealed that, with just a week to go, ticket sales were outstripping last year’s record-breaking figures by 10%, with several events sold out.
Chester Performs’ festivals manager Paul Lavin said: “This year’s festival is by far our most diverse and this is perhaps why it’s proving so popular. The programme features a huge range of events, workshops, free lectures, talks, book signings, gigs, stand-up and even a poetry pub crawl.”
The Festival fortnight begins on Friday (October 10) with an exact replica of Dylan Thomas’ Writing Shed pitching up in Town Hall Square. The public will be able to look inside the shed and will be encouraged to make up their own new words.
Friday also sees the arrival of Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon who will be talking about his extraordinary life in conversation with music journalist Mark Ellen who himself has a wealth of music stories to share on Thursday, October 16.
The first weekend of the festival sees many stars of the small screen coming to Chester, with Football Focus’s Dan Walker swapping the TV studio for the stage on Saturday and Upton’s own June Mottershead talking to ex-BBC Broom Cupboard presenter Andy Crane about the real experiences behind BBC1’s hit show about Chester Zoo, Our Zoo.
Finally, no-one has been seen by more television viewers than Charles Spencer who will be talking about the killing of Charles I on Sunday. Spencer was watched by an estimated two billion at his sister’s funeral in 1997.
And with Monday’s events - Sir Ranulph Fiennes on the Battle of Agincourt and Benjamin Zephaniah on his latest novel - almost sold out, the festival’s varied programme is proving popular.
Mr Lavin added: “We’re just put the finishing touches to our plans to give our audience and our guest speakers the best possible experience over the course of the festival.
“It’s always great to welcome diverse audiences to each different event, from novelists such as Michelle Magorian (of Goodnight Mr Tom fame) and Esther Freud to politicians and historians such as Paddy Ashdown or Kwasi Kwarteng, to people who are almost impossible to define such as comic Ben Moor with his one-man show Each of Us.
“They are all on next week and the fact that they are all so different is what makes it so exciting.”
Running until Sunday, October 26 in Chester Town Hall, the programme boasts more than 40 events, offering something for everyone.
Mr Lavin said: “For pretty much the price of a cinema ticket, you can get a completely new experience. The Essar Chester Literature Festival is all about getting the best speakers here every October.
“We live or die by the quality of our events and so I am especially proud of the line-up we have this year. Literature festival events are events like no others – everyone gets the chance to ask a question and to meet the performer and so if you’ve never been, I urge you to give it a try.
“If you go online and look at our programme I can guarantee you’ll find someone you’d love to meet and the message is definitely getting out there as we’ll have in excess of 6,000 visitors to the festival this year.”
A number of events have already sold out: punk rock legend John Lydon will discuss his new autobiography Anger is an Energy, alongside music journalist and writer Mark Ellen.
Actress and author Sheila Hancock will join BBC Radio 4’s Laurie Taylor for a discussion of her new book Miss Carter’s War only one week after its publication.
Finally England batsman Geoff Boycott will talk with cricket writer David Frith about his new book The Corridor of Certainty.
As well as talks by writers, the programme features a performance by the band Police Dog Hogan described as ‘a fantastic fusion of pop, country and folk’. They take to the stage on Friday, October 17 at 9pm. There is also a series of workshops – book binding, flash fiction, how to research a novel and poetry writing.
Festival organisers Chester Performs have collaborated with the University of Chester to programme a series of talks and events including the best-selling author Suzannah Dunn and Tennesse Willaims’ latest biographer John Lahr.
Poetry features strongly in the 17 day line-up with the popular Poetry Pub Crawl hosted by stand-up poets Tim Clare and Mark Grist in some of Chester’s cosiest pubs on Thursday, October 23.
After its huge success during February’s Wayword Festival, Stand-Up Poetry Night returns to the town hall on Friday, October 24 for an evening of thought-provoking laughter with four of the circuit’s leading stand-up poets. Plus, the university will host an evening of First World War poetry readings to commemorate the centenary of the Great War.
On Sunday, October 26, the festival comes to a close with Not Going Gentle: A Celebration of Dylan Thomas, an evening devoted to the Welsh poet’s favourite works which will be performed by actors from Clwyd Theatr Cymru in Mold.
The festival is being sponsored for the fourth consecutive year by Ellesmere Port based Essar Oil (UK).
Ian Cotton, head of communications, said: “We are proud to have played an integral role in supporting the Essar Chester Literature Festival over the past three years. It’s quickly growing in reputation, scale and quality and 2014’s programme is certain to offer something for everyone.”
For more information and how to book visit www.chesterliteraturefestival.co.uk or call 0845 241 7868.
