Literary Leicester is among the city’s leading annual festivals of the written and spoken word. Now in its eighth year, the festival brings together a wealth of award-winning and renowned writers from many different fields. A vibrant and dynamic fringe events also offer fascinating insights into research at the University, present local authors and works in performance, showcase new writing commissions, and much more. Between events, there is a chance to meet the writers, buy books and have them signed, catch a coffee or a glass of wine, and browse the exhibitions in the award-winning University Library.
Sessions, which are FREE, are held mostly in the evening and at the weekend, attracting big, positive, passionate audiences from across the region.
When? November 11 -14, 2015
Where? Various locations, University of Leicester, Leicestershire, UK
Who? 2015 (Programme see below) - Louis de Bernières, Linton Kwesi Johnson, Caryl Phillips, Bruce Robinson, Raving Beauties, David Almond
Website? www.le.ac.uk/literaryleicester
Twitter? @LiteraryLeic
Facebook? https://www.facebook.com/LiteraryLeicester
Book a ticket - All of the events are free
| Day/Time | Venue | Event | About the Event |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wednesday 11 November 2015 | |||
| Fringe 12-1pm |
Attenborough Arts | Jamie Mollart: A Reading and Conversation with Henderson Mullin. | Jamie Mollart’s debut novel, The Zoo, is described by Alison Moore as a ‘grippingly dark and…moving story about exploitation, destruction and the possibility of redemption.’ Jamie and Writing East Midlands’ director Henderson Mullin will discuss the book’s themes, including consumerism, global banking and the mining of 'Blood Minerals.' |
| Fringe 3.30pm | Leicestershire Records Office | Writing Women in the Midlands: Workshop | Learn to turn historical material into creative work in this free writers’ workshop led by Deborah Tyler Bennett, winner of the Centre for New Writing’s creative commission ‘Women’s Writing in the Midlands’. The workshop uses archival materials by and about Elizabeth Heyrick and Susanna Watts, two 19th century Leicestershire authors, abolitionists and political and animal rights activists. Contact Elizabeth-Anne Grummitt to book a free place (numbers are limited): [email protected] |
| Fringe 2.30-3.30pm |
Quaker Meeting House | James Joyce: Apocalypse and Exile | In this talk medievalist and Joycean Dr Anne Marie D'Arcy sheds new light on James Joyce’s attitudes to Irish identity, exile as pilgrimage, and the medieval apocalyptic tradition. |
| Main Day 12.50-2.30pm |
English Martyrs’ School | David Almond (Schools Event) | We are delighted to welcome multi-award-winning author David Almond as part of this year’s festival. Everyone remembers reading Skellig at Primary school – but have they read the prequel, My Name is Mina? Have they encountered The Savage? Do they know about his wonderful new story A Song for Ella Grey? Meet the man and ask the questions inspired by his philosophical, lyrical stories.
|
Main 8-9pm |
Attenborough Arts | Raving Beauties - "Hooray for 50 Foot women" | Raving Beauties, the celebrated women’s theatre company, perform poetry from their recent edited collection of the country’s leading female poets, writing on women’s relationship to their bodies. Expect it to be raucous, rude, open and fun. 'In their performances and anthologies Raving Beauties have done a great service to women writers' – Guardian |
| Thursday 12 November 2015 | |||
Fringe 3-4pm |
University of Leicester Library bookshop | Remembering G.S Fraser: Renowned Leicester Poet and Academic | G.S Fraser was both a renowned poet and a respected scholar who taught of many years in the University of Leicester’s English department. With the publication this year of his selected poetry, we celebrate his work on the day that Leicester City Council erects a blue plaque on the house where he lived. |
Main 3.30-4.30 pm |
Attenborough Arts | Literary Salon: 'Unlearning Childhoods with novelists Caryl Phillips and Elleke Boehmer' |
Renowned authors Caryl Phillips and Elleke Boehmer read from their new novels, and discuss how they evoked troubled childhoods, race, the buried, unspoken violence of history. Philips’ The Lost Child (‘complex and compelling’ Independent) investigates Northern England’s slavery connections, reimagining the figure of Heathcliff. Boehmer’s sixth novel,The Shouting in the Dark, described by J.M. Coetzee as ‘disturbing as it is enthralling,’ tells of a girl's struggle against her father's oppression while searching for a secure footing amidst the moral chaos of apartheid South Africa. |
Main 6.30-7.30pm |
Peter Williams Lecture Theatre | Linton Kwesi Johnson and Caryl Phillips in Conversation | Join two of the country’s leading writers, Linton Kwesi Johnson and Caryl Philips, in conversation. Old friends, they will be discussing their lives in writing, the important role which writing of all kinds can play in an ever-changing world, and many other topics. Expect a dynamic and enjoyable discussion, chaired by distinguished Professor John McLeod. Multi-award winning Kittitian-British novelist, Caryl Philips’ tenth novel, The Lost Child is published this year. Jamaican-born Linton Kwesi Johnson is among this country’s best-loved performance poets. |
Main 8-9pm |
Peter Williams Lecture Theatre | Louis de Bernières |
Celebrated Captain Corelli’s Mandolin author Louis de Bernières’ new novel is published this summer. The Dust that Falls from Dreams is set before and during World War One and has been described as "A feast of a novel…peculiarly de Bernières …very much a hit" (The Times). |
| Friday 13 November 2015 ‘Film Friday’ | |||
Fringe 12.30-1.30pm |
Leicester Central Library | Missed Encounters: Sebald, Stendhal and the Battle of Waterloo | On the Battle of Waterloo’s 200th anniversary, Professor Philip Shaw, author of Waterloo and the Romantic Imagination, considers two literary accounts. Focussing on Sebald's The Rings of Saturn and Stendhal's The Charterhouse of Parma, Philip investigates how these authors engage with the chaos and carnage of a defining battle of the nineteenth century. |
Fringe 2-3pm |
Attenborough Arts | Why did Samuel Pepys keep his Diary? | Samuel Pepys’s diary of 1660s famously describes experiences ranging from Charles II’s coronation to bouts of flatulence. This talk investigates why Pepys wrote such an extraordinary journal. Kate Loveman is Senior Lecturer in English and author of Samuel Pepys and his Books. |
Main Day 1.15-2.45pm |
Peter Williams Lecture Theatre | SDSA Event: ‘Does it Make A Difference if a Writer is Male or Female?’ | Join us for a panel discussion with leading YA author, Lisa Williamson (The Art of Being Normal), senior editor at Myriad Editions, Vicky Blunden, local author Bali Rai, and local young readers. This open event is held in partnership with schools literacy charity, SDSA |
Main 6.30pm |
Phoenix Arts | Who Loves Jack the Ripper? with Bruce Robinson (plus screening ofWithnail and Ito follow) |
Legendary Withnail and I film director and author Bruce Robinson discusses his new book, They All Love Jack, about his long obsession with Jack the Ripper. Robinson has directed and/or written many leading films, including Oscar-winner The Killing Fields and The Rum Diary with Johnny Depp. Expect humour, film business anecdotes and more. Following the free talk and book signing, Phoenix Arts will screen his filmWithnail and I, which Bruce will introduce (this event is charged). This event is held in partnership with Everybody’s Reading and Phoenix Arts |
| Saturday 14 November 2015 'Fantasy Fiction Saturday' | |||
Main 11-12pm |
Peter Williams Lecture Theatre | Letterbox Club Event – Emily Gravett | We are delighted to welcome leading children’s author and illustrator, Emily Gravett, twice winner of the Kate Greenaway Medal. Emily will be telling the story of how she became an illustrator, and offering readings from her latest works, including Meerkat Mail. For ages 6 and up. This event is held in partnership with The Letterbox Club |
Fringe 1-3pm |
David Wilson Library Seminar Room | Rigby Graham - Artist and Writer: A Man Against the Grain | Artist Rigby Graham (1931-2015) made a significant contribution to the private press movement, illustrating over 350 publications from pamphlets to his magnificent book Leicestershire (1978). A display of some rare Rigby Graham books will be followed by a talk about his life and work by gallery owner and publisher Mike Goldmark |
Main 3-4pm |
Peter Williams Lecture Theatre | Stuart Hill – “BLOOD, BLAST AND FIRE!!" The Icemark Chronicles | Stuart Hill is the award-winning author of the acclaimed Icemark Trilogy of historical fantasy novels. Stuart was born and still lives in Leicester and he’ll talk about his life, his love of history (the story of real people and not just boring dates), read exciting extracts from his novels and answer audience questions. For 10-15 year olds and readers of all ages |
Fringe 4.30-5.30pm |
Ogden Lewis Suite | The Uncanny Worlds of Graham Joyce | Award-winning author and Leicester alumni Graham Joyce died in 2014, leaving behind much-loved novels, many set in his native Coventry and Leicestershire, which explore the magical in the mundane. This talk introduces and discusses his work. Kevan Manwaring is a Creative Writing PhD student at Leicester and the author of many books |
Main 6.30-7.30pm |
Peter Williams Lecture Theatre | 'The Story of Alice: Lewis Carroll and the Secret History of Wonderland': a talk by Robert Douglas-Fairhurst | Acclaimed biographer Robert Douglas-Fairhurst explores the other story lurking behind the most popular and influential children’s story of all time: Carroll’s mysterious friendship with Alice Liddell, and the history of the imaginary world he created for her. (Radio 4 Book of the Week). |
Main 8-9pm |
Peter Williams Lecture Theatre | ‘Why Do We Need Fantasy Fiction?’ Panel Event | World-renowned local fantasy fiction author, Graham Joyce, died this year. 2015 was also the 150th anniversary of the publication of Alice in Wonderland and the 60th of the completion of The Lord of the Rings. Join us as we ask ‘Why Do We Need Fantasy Fiction?’ A panel event with biographer Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, who wrote this year’s bestselling biography of Lewis Carroll and ‘Alice’; Stuart Lee, who has written may books on Tolkien’s Middle Earth; and Juliet E. McKenna, fantasy author and founder of ‘The Write Fantastic’, which promotes science fiction and fantasy writing. Chaired by Professor Farah Mendlesohn, who won the 2005 Hugo Award for The Cambridge Companion to Science Fiction. |
Previous Festivals? Born in 2007
Will Self, Carol Ann Duffy, Julia Donaldson, Amitav Ghosh, Michael Frayn, Antonia Fraser, Roger McGough, Germain Greer, Jaqueline Wilson, David Lodge, Sue Townsend, Colin Dexter, Sarah Waters, RJ Ellory, Joanne Harris, Colm Tóibín, Bali Rai, Alan Hollinghurst, Kes Gray, Chris Mullin and Winnie the Witch!
2014 Festival
John Banville (right); Penelope Lively, Evelyn Waugh
If you are involved in this festival you can update or change details via the organisers page . Authors can list here.