Welcome to the Bournemouth Literary Festival website!
The dates for this year's festival are: 22 - 28 October, 2010, and the theme is: Freedom, Books & Imagination.
The theme for 2010 is: Freedom, Books & Imagination. The events are from 22nd to 28th October and include: a play inspired by Thomas Hardy, poetry slam, genre-specific creative writing workshops, panel discussion about getting into print, literary walk, words into pictures session, a writers' group networking party, a literary walk celebrating Bournemouth's bicentenary, writing and publishing a 'how to' book and guitar-making event, a children's storytelling session plus an event inviting local charities to showcase their creative writing.
Bournemouth Literary Festival - A World of Words!
Arts and culture are growing in Bournemouth and the town's impressive literary heritage, international community and language schools are the festival's inspiration. The festival is an annual celebration of all genres of creative writing from around the world and also showcases, mentors and supports local artists. We support local talent because it is good, insipirational and we want the world to know about it!
Past Dorset-based writers that have been featured at the festival include: Christine Aziz, Keith Bennett, Pam Fudge, David Hay, Brian Jenner, Julie Musk, Louisa Adjoa Parker, Janine Pulford and Mario Reading. Our 2010 local writers and artists include: Martin Baum, Christopher White, Peter John Cooper, Jackie Edwards, John Houghton, John Kay, Penny Legg and Anna Scanna.
We are proud to announce that Jobshop UK Recruitment Specialists is the sponsor of the 'Write by the Sea' event on Saturday 23 October 2010. For more details on JobshopUK, please visit the sponsors page.
www.jobshopuk.com
Thank you to Dani Perry at AQUA Designs - www.aqua-designs.co.uk - for designing our 2010 leaflet and poster.
Left: Actors from "She Opened the Door", a play about Thomas Hardy's women.
Right: Alex Willis, guitar and lute maker.
Left: Penny Legg, chair of getting into print panel.
Right: Martin Baum book signing.
Left: "A Bed by the Sea" by Jackie Edwards.
Middle: John Houghton.
Right: Anna Scanna's latest poetry collection.
The dates for 2010 are: 22 - 28 October and the theme is: Freedom, Books & Imagination.
The theme for 2010 is: Freedom, Books & Imagination. The events are from 22nd to 28th October and include: a play inspired by Thomas Hardy, poetry slam, genre-specific creative writing workshops, panel discussion about getting into print, literary walk, words into pictures session, a writers' group networking party, a literary walk celebrating Bournemouth's bicentenary, writing and publishing a 'how to' book and guitar-making event, a children's storytelling session plus an event inviting local charities to showcase their creative writing.
Write by the Sea in a beach hut - Saturday 23rd October, 3 - 5 p.m.
Sponsored by Jobshop UK recruitment specialists - www.jobshopuk.com
You are all invited to our Write by the Sea in a beach hut event on Saturday 23rd October, 3 - 5 p.m. It is a free event and you don't have to be a writer so just come along and soak up the ambience. Bring your laptop, piece of paper or iPad and listen, watch, write, perform or read your work and interact with others. Our guest writer is bestselling author Martin Baum and the beach hut is his 'office by the sea'. The venues are: beach huts 2310, 2311, and 2312 situated on Bournemouth West, between the Happylands Amusement Arcade and the West Cliff lift.
Jobshop UK Ltd, an independent recruitment company based in Poole, is proud to sponsor the 'Write by the Sea' event. The Directors of Jobshop say, "Every year we like to sponsor and support a local event or charity. When we were approached to support the Bournemouth Literary festival it matched Jobshop’s ethos perfectly, as it provides a unique opportunity for would be writers to be encouraged to take that first step towards a new career. We are particularly excited about being involved in an event where people can come along and experience an unrestricted approach to writing and unleash their creativity in the unorthodox ambience of a beach hut."
New event - She Opened the Door a new play by Peter John Cooper.
AsOne Theatre's She Opened the Door is now scheduled for matinee performance on Sunday 24 October at The Royal Bath Hotel's Victorian in-house theatre. Thomas Hardy himself always claimed that he only based one character in his books on a real life person; but which one? Come to the play and find out.
Panel discussion on different writing genres and getting into print
Penny Legg is again chairing this popular panel discussion. Penny's latest book, Folklore of Hampshire is published by The History Press and can be purchased at www.pennylegg.com. This book reveals some of the county’s saints, witches, superstitions, music, ghosts and legends and talks to the ‘Hampshire Hogs’ who ensure that folklore from the past retains a place in modern society.
Debut Books:
We are happy to announce the launch of Debut Books. Debut Books is an independent imprint of the Bournemouth Literary Festival that publishes new guides for debut writers of adult literary and commercial fiction. The latest publication, The Debut Writers' Guide - hot and top tips for aspiring & unpublished writers of fiction (ISBN 978-0-9566120-0-7) is out now. To buy your copy (£6.50 for UK including postage and packaging) visit www.debutbooks.co.uk. If you are a debut writer and want to get published then please visit www.debutbooks.co.uk. It will be the best investment you ever made! 
Our Theo Paphitis 'Enter the Dragon' night on 29 September 2008. From left to right: David Jones (Co-Director, BLF), Theo Paphitis, Lillian Avon (Director and Founder, BLF), Steve Worth (MC for the evening) at the Opera House in Boscombe, Bournemouth.
Photo: copyright of Noel White, Rowan White Photographic, 2008. Noel is the festival's official photographer. Find more photos of the festival at: www.rowanwhite.co.uk
The Bournemouth Literary Festival is a self-funded, voluntary association.