Stratford Literary Festival 2010

Stratford upon Avon Literary Festival PLUS presents:

An Evening with Alexander McCall Smith

Thursday, 7th October 2010

Prolific columnist and author of the multi-million best-selling No.1 Ladies Detective Agency 44 Scotland Street novels, and Isabel Dalhousie Series

Stratford Civic Hall, Rother Street

7.30pm

Tickets: £10 (£1 concessions for 60 and over and 16 and under)

Call 01789 207100

or go to www.civichall.co.uk to book online.

2010 Festival
We had a wonderful time and a hugely successful festival with audience numbers breaking all last year's records.

Audiences enjoyed a feast of author events, workshops and panel discussions, events for young people and children, exhibitions and advice of getting published.

Featured authors included:
Wendy Cope, Roger McGough, John O'Farrell, Rommi Smith from The Arvon Foundation, Annie Sanders, Jonathan Miller, Charles Dance, Vanessa Whitburn, Jack Dee, Jeremy Hardy, Felix Dennis, Angela Hugh and John Simpson,

Highlights were the school events. We took the following into schools in and around Stratford: Guy Bass and Dinah Capparucci, Knife and Packer, David Calcutt, Leila Rasheedand illustrators Korky Paul and Sarah McIntyre.

Click here to download the full programme.

Provisional Festival Dates for 2011 -
Sunday 24th April to Monday, 2nd May

The Stratford Literary Festival has commissioned a novella for 2010! Birmingham writer LEILA RASHEED, author of the Bathsheba Books, has written a superb novel which will be published on 19th April. It is aimed at teenagers and adults alike and is set around Stratford during the English Civil War. Alex Pritchard, art student at Stratford College Art, won the contest to design the cover for the book.

Look out for The World Turned Upside Down was published 19th April or order your copy through Amazon.

Read Leila's Blog as she went along!

Highlights of the 2010 Stratford Literary Festival included:

SHORT STORY COMPETITION

Click here to find out the names of the 2010 winners! Books of stories can be purchased a The Shakespeare Bookshop, Henley Street, Stratford.

THROUGHOUT THE FESTIVAL...

At the Civic Hall, We exhibited the work of veteran BBC photographer Willoughby 'Gus' Gullachsen who, over 20 years, has taken engaging and amusing images of Stratford at work and play. The images were displayed alongside recent images commissioned by the Festival and taken by students of Stratford College and Welcombe Hills School.
Gus' images were on sale with proceeds going to the Shakespeare Hospice. We are grateful to Warwickshire Life Magazine and the NFU for their support with this exhibition.

At The Gallery@Stratford Leisure Centre ALPHABET AND LETTERS EXHIBITION from 15th April to 17th May. An exhibition of work by local artists to complement our Short Story Competition theme.

Festivals need friends!
If you are interested in event sponsorship at the 2011 Stratford Literary Festival please call us on 01789 470185. If you'd like to become a Friend of the Festival, you can find out more by clicking here.

We are extremely grateful to Arts Council England, Scottish Widows, Stratfordward and Stratford Town Trust who have once again given us a grant towards the success of the Festival.