ADULT PROGRAMME:

CAROL ANN DUFFY – POETRY Dame Professor Carol Ann Duffy is the UK’s twentieth Poet Laureate. She is one of Britain’s best known and most admired poets, her work appearing on the national curriculum. She has won multiple awards, including the Forward Prize, T.S Eliot Prize, Costa Book Award and Pen/Pinter Prize. She is also an acclaimed playwright and editor.

IMTIAZ DHARKER - POETRY Imtiaz Dharker is a poet, artist and documentary film-maker. Awarded the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry in 2014, recipient of the Cholmondley Award and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, her collections include Purdah (Oxford University Press), Postcards from god, I speak for the devil and The terrorist at my table (all published by Penguin India and Bloodaxe Books UK), Leaving Fingerprints and Over the Moon (Bloodaxe Books UK). Her poems are on the British GCSE and A Level English syllabus, and she reads with other poets at Poetry Live! events all over the country to more than 25,000 students a year. She has been Poet in Residence at Cambridge University Library, for Thresholds, and has recently completed a series of poems based on the Archives of St Paul’s Cathedral.

SATISH KUMAR – ‘SOIL, SOUL AND SOCIETY’ Satish Kumar is an Indian activist, editor and writer. He has been a Jain monk, nuclear disarmament advocate, pacifist and is the current editor Resurgence and Ecologist magazine. He became internationally famous with his peace walk in the 1960s. Now living in England, Kumar is founder and Director of Programmes of the Schumacher International centre for ecological studies. The author of seven acclaimed books, his latest being ‘Soil, Soul and Society’.

JOHN LEWIS-STEMPEL - ‘THE RUNNING HARE: THE SECRET LIFE OF FARMLAND’ Author and farmer John Lewis-Stempel is one of the UK’s leading natural historians, selling over one million books. His last book Meadowland: The Private Life of an English Field, an Amazon Top 40 bestseller, and a Sunday Times non-fiction Top 30 hardback. The book won the Thwaites Wainwright prize and was also short-listed for BBC Countryfile's Country Book of the Year 2014. He frequently appears on radio and TV. His latest book’ The Running Hare’ tells the story of the wild animals and plants that live in and under our ploughland, recording the ongoing destruction of the unique, fragile, glorious ploughland that exists just down the village lane.

NICK DAVIES – ‘CUCKOO – CHEATING BY NATURE’ Cambridge professor Nick Davies is ‘one of the UK’s leading naturalists’ (David Attenburgh). In his acclaimed book ‘Cuckoo – Cheating by Nature’ Davies reveals new evidence of how cuckoos trick their hosts. The book has been listed in the must-read lists of the Spectator, Guardian, Times, Independent, Mail on Sunday and is described by the Guardian as ranking among the best nature writing.

ALI SHAW – THE TREES Ali Shaw grew up in Dorset and graduated from Lancaster University with a degree in English Literature. He has since worked as a bookseller and at Oxford's Bodleian Library. His first novel, The Girl With Glass Feet, won the Desmond Elliot Prize, was shortlisted for the Costa First Book Award and longlisted for the Guardian First Book Award. He is also the author of The Man Who Rained. The Trees will be published in March 2016.

ADAM FEINSTEIN – NATURE POETRY OF PABLO NERUDA Adam Feinstein is an acclaimed author, translator, journalist and Hispanist. His biography Pablo Neruda: a passion for life was first published by Bloomsbury in 2004 and reissued in an updated edition in 2013 (Harold Pinter called it ‘a masterpiece’). Also in 2013, Feinstein launched Cantalao, a biannual magazine dedicated to Neruda’s life and work. Feinstein’s translations from Neruda, Lorca, Benedetti and others have appeared in many publications, including Modern Poetry in Translation and Agenda. Feinstein has written for the Guardian, the TLS and the New Statesman and has broadcast for the BBC on Neruda and autism. He is currently writing a novel, as well as preparing a book on Cuban cultural policy since the Revolution.

TONY JUNIPER – WHAT’S REALLY HAPPENING TO OUR PLANET Tony Juniper is a British campaigner, writer, sustainability advisor and environmentalist, and former Executive Director of Friends of the Earth. He has written numerous books on the environment, the latest ‘What’s Really Happening to our Planet’ looks at the way in which unchecked human activity could change the world forever, with a perspective on what we can do to reverse the damage.

NOEL KINGSBURY – OUTDOOR EVENT ON PLANT COMMUNITIES AND TALK ON NATURALISTIC GARDEN DESIGN Dr Noel Kingsbury is one of the UK’s foremost garden writers and leading advocate of the new naturalist style of planting. The author of 30 books, he has collaborated extensively with internationally-known garden designers such as Piet Oudolf. Kingsbury also writes for Gardens Illustrated, The Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Garden, Hortus, The New York Times and many other publications. In 2009, he was awarded a doctorate for his research on long-term perennial planting at Sheffield University

CHRISTINE WALKDEN – THE LIFE OF A GARDENER Christine is a British presenter and gardener, best known for her appearances on gardening programmes and The One Show. She has hosted her own series, Christine's Garden on the BBC. Formerly a horticulturalist at Kew Botanic Gardens, she is a past winner of the Garden Writers’ Guild Radio Broadcasting Award and has written a number of books and presented programmes such as The Great British Garden Revival and Gardens From Above.

JULIAN NORTON ‘THE YORKSHIRE VET’ Julian will talk about his experiences as the Yorkshire vet, captured in the recent Channel 5 series ‘The Yorkshire Vet’. He will give readings from his book "Horses, Heifers and Hairy Pigs: The Life of a Yorkshire Vet" – which is out in early September with Michael O'Mara.

CHILDREN’S PROGRAMME: HATTIE GARLICK – BORN TO BE WILD Journalist and author Hattie Garlick explores ways to fire children’s imagination outdoors with fun activities and suggestions of how to find magic in every season. Along the way Hattie talks to families, organisations and communities who have rebuilt their relationships with nature with extreme or inspiring results, and she introduces scientists, psychologists and other experts who explain why, as modern families, we should revive our waning relationships with nature, whatever age or stage we're at. HELEN STEPHENS – HOW TO HIDE A LION Helen Stephens is one of the UK’s leading author and illustrators. Helen won the Dundee Picture Book Award for her 2008 book, Fleabag. The same book was recently named by children’s laureate Julia Donaldson as one of her top ten picture books. She has been shortlisted for many other prizes. The Big Adventure of the Smalls, which was published in March, was shortlisted for Junior Design Awards’ Picture Book of the Year 2012. Her latest books include the hugely popular How to Hide a Lion.

BRAMBLY HEDGE – RECREATION OF WILFRED’S BIRTHDAY PARTY Re-launching in 2016, the Brambly Hedge stories by Jill Barklem are classics of children’s literature. Translated into thirteen languages, with over 5million copies sold. The event will recreate Wilfred’s Birthday Party, with children to bring sandwiches/cakes etc and prize for best cake by celebrity chef. Jill Barklem’s daughter Lizzie will give readings from her mother’s books.

MUSIC: KATHRYN WILLIAMS – HYPOXIA UK Singer/songwriter Kathryn Williams has released nine solo albums, including 2000’s Mercury Prize-nominated Little Black Numbers. She has performed internationally and appeared on the BBC and other radio/TV. She has also collaborated widely: with Ewan MacColl’s son Neill (on 2008’s Two), Newcastle punk Anna Spencer (their band for kids, the Crayonettes, released Songs for Children and Robots in 2010) and Portishead’s Adrian Utley. Her latest album Hypoxia, was inspired by poet Sylvia Plath’s ‘Bell Jar’. THE BARROWBAND The Barrow Band sing songs about vegetables. You never knew how good this could be. The band play songs that can be enjoyed by all ages, anywhere, creating a performance that is unsparingly musical, energetic, surprising, participatory and educational. The band range in age from 22 to 64 and between them play many instruments varying in style from folk and bluegrass to thrash jazz.

Beyond The Tent
NiddFest will host a range of outdoor events, making the most of the beautiful, habitat-rich landscape of Upper Nidderdale. There will be wild swimming in a lake in the woods, a woodsmans talk and picnic, a dawn chorus bird walk with one of the UK's foremost naturalists, stargazing (weather permitting!), a talk avbout the landscape of Upper Nidderdale by a local farmer, and an exploration of the flora of Nidderdale with Noel Kingsbury.

Family Friendly
NiddFest is committed to inspiring and engaging children of all ages, with events to suit even the littlest visitors. Saturday 6 August will begin with a talk by Hattie Garlick, author of Born to be Wild, on how families can make the most of nature in their busy lives. From there, we move to a day of brilliant events and music in our riverside children's tent - featuring nature games with Hattie Garlick and music from The Barrowband.
Our special guest is Brambly Hedge - the classic nature children's books. To celebrate this, there'll be face painting and prizes for best Brambly Hedge costumes - from the smallest mouse and upwards! At lunchtime, we'll put on a big BYO picnic to recreate Wilfred's Birthday Party, with readings by Brambly Hedge's Lizzie Barklem.
Later on in our main venue, there will be a big draw with aurhor and illustrator Helen Stephens, then the awards ceremony for the 2016 NiddFest poetry prize with Carol Ann Duffy.
Sunday will see a day of adventures in Fish Pond Wood, including woodland games and activities, a lesson on building the perfect outdoor den and hot chocolate and marshmallows around the campfire. There will be sessions in the morning and afternoon, for 5-11 year olds.

Later on in our main venue, there will be a big draw with aurhor and illustrator Helen Stephens, then the awards ceremony for the 2016 NiddFest poetry prize with Carol Ann Duffy.

Sunday will see a day of adventures in Fish Pond Wood, including woodland games and activities, a lesson on building the perfect outdoor den and hot chocolate and marshmallows around the campfire. There will be sessions in the morning and afternoon, for 5-11 year olds.