- June 6 - August 29 #wordsmatter
- Essex Writers House
- ESTUARY 2021
- Partner Event
Cafe Valise
WED – SUN, 22 MAY – 29 AUG, 12.00 – 7.00PM Enjoy a cuppa at Metal’s pop-up Cafe Valise on the veranda of the grade II listed Chalkwell Hall and be inspired by the beautiful surroundings of Chalkwell Park whilst you write your novel, do your homework or share your ideas. From Voltaire to Hemingway and Sue Townsend to JK Rowling, writers have a long tradition of writing and observing life from cafés and bars. www.essexwritershouse.com Read more
- Digital
- Essex Writers House
- Partner Event
ESSEX WRITERS HOUSE 2021
June - August Essex Writers’ House pop-up festival in partnership with Essex Book Festival is back for 2021. We are bringing you a range of inspiring online and uplifting outdoor events with opportunities to raise the spirits and reconnect through writing and words. Anchored to the grade II listed Chalkwell Hall in Chalkwell Park - Essex Writers’ House is an opportunity to meet new people, share ideas, get inspired and explore the power of creative writing on the road to… Read more
- In My Steps - Radical Walks in Essex
- Partner Event
Beach of Dreams, 500 Miles 500 people, 500 Dreams,500 Silks
A collaborative walk from Lowerstoft to Tilbury. Beach of Dreamsis an epic journey to discover hidden gems of the East of England Coast line, inviting collaboration from communities and artists along the way in Suffolk, Essex, Southend and Thurrock. Kinetika’s Artistic Director, Ali Pretty, and Guardian journalist Kevin Rushby are walking the entire route, joined by artists, writers, scientists, and local residents. Together, guided by strong environmental themes and the challenges of our current time, they will consider the question… Read more
- Essex Writers House
- For Writers
- In partnership
Hotdesks
Wednesday - Saturday 10.30 - 17.30 Essex Writers’ House Hot Desks are back by popular demand and with additional slots and social distancing protocols. Two FREE hot desks will be available each day at Chalkwell Hall, with inspiring Thames Estuary views. BOOK HERE www.esssexwritershouse.com Read more
- In Conversation
- In person
- Layer Marney Tower
- Non-fiction
Henry ‘Chips’ Channon: The Diaries (Volume 1): 1918-38
Born in Chicago in 1897, Henry 'Chips' Channon settled in England after the Great War, married into the immensely rich Guinness family, and served as Conservative MP for Southend-on-Sea from 1935 until his death in 1958. His political career was unremarkable. His diaries are quite the opposite. Elegant, gossipy and bitchy by turns, they are the unfettered observations of a man who went everywhere and knew everybody. Whether describing the antics of London society in the interwar years, or the… Read more
- In person
- Partner Event
- Spoken Word
Spoken Word at Hedingham Castle
One of the UK’s most feted spoken word artists, Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa, will be performing a range of poems from her forthcoming collection ‘The Inheritance’, to be published by Out-Spoken Press in 2022/23. Her poems have been cultivated from her ground-breaking technique, where she incorporates both dance and body language into her performance. She has been showered with numerous accolades, including the 2020 New Voice in Poetry Prize by Culture Recordings, the 2019 BBC Edinburgh Fringe Slam Championship and the… Read more
- In My Steps - Radical Walks in Essex
- Outside
- SOLD OUT!
No Matter How Many Skies Have Fallen: a rural community in time of war
Join writer Ken Worpole in a walk from Wivenhoe Station to Frating Hall Farm, the subject of his new book, No Matter How Many Skies Have Fallen. This tells the story of how a group of Christian socialists and pacifists took over the farm in 1942 and created a thriving community. The walk finishes at the farm, where some of those who grew up there will recall those heady days. Meet: Wivenhoe Station Length: 4 miles Difficulty: Easy to Moderate… Read more
- Discussion
- In person
- Partner Event
“Let’s Talk About Sex”
1 Aug @ 2:15 PM – 3:00 PM Writers Rowan Pelling, Daisy Buchanan and Jonnie Bayfield compare notes on how behaviour and attitudes towards sex and relationships have changed because of mass media, technology, social media and economic forces. Each panelist brings their unique perspective on the subject, illuminating the dilemmas of dating and loving in today’s society. Pelling is well known for editing the Erotic Review and launching the Amorist, Buchanan is author of The Times’ best-selling novel Insatiable:… Read more
- Fiction
Unsettled Ground
What if the life you’ve always known is taken from you in an instant? What would you do to get it back? Claire Fuller returns with her fourth novel, a tale of a dysfunctional family hiding dark secrets. Unsettled Ground is a heart-stopping novel of betrayal and resilience, love and survival. It is a portrait of life on the fringes of society that explores with dazzling emotional power how we can build our lives on broken foundations, and spin light from… Read more
- Fiction
This Lovely City
Observer Top 10 Debut Novelist 2020, Louise Hare, will be discussing her debut novel This Lovely City, a poignant, conversation-starting story set around Brixton’s Windrush community in London in the aftermath of the Second World War. Beautiful and soaring, this heart-breaking yet hopeful debut explores themes of race, poverty and community. Read more
- Fiction
The Manningtree Witches
Fear and destruction take root in the lives of the women of Manningtree when the Witchfinder General comes to town in this dark and thrilling debut. A.K. Blakemore gives a striking account of the everyday mechanics of misogyny, power and privilege—and a masterfully crafted, ferociously compelling story. It is a visceral, thrilling book that announces a bold new talent. Tickets: £7 / £5 Read more
- POSTPONED
- Workshop
- Young Essex
Makaton Workshop (am)
Makaton is a unique language programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate. Join Ace Music Therapy CIC for a fun and interactive sessions. It is suitable for under 5’s and their parents. You will learn to sign along to popular children’s stories and well-known nursery rhymes, with Makaton signs. It will be a great opportunity for you to introduce live music making, singing and signing to your little ones. Tickets available by telephone from Mercury… Read more
- POSTPONED
Makaton Workshop (pm)
Makaton is a unique language programme that uses symbols, signs and speech to enable people to communicate. Join Ace Music Therapy CIC for a fun and interactive sessions. It is suitable for under 5’s and their parents. You will learn to sign along to popular children’s stories and well-known nursery rhymes, with Makaton signs. It will be a great opportunity for you to introduce live music making, singing and signing to your little ones. Tickets available via Mercury Box office… Read more
- Workshop
- Young Essex
The Tindims of Rubbish Island
Turn rubbish into treasure with the tiny Tindims. Mother and daughter duo, prize-winning Sally Gardner and Lydia Corry, team up to create a fun and funny cast of characters and adventures in their empowering new series for 5-8 year olds inspiring conservation and inventive ways to recycle. Printed in dyslexia- friendly font with pictures on every page and perfect for the reluctant reader, the Tindims show keen young ecologists how to help protect our planet for the future. Tickets: £10… Read more
- Digital
- Essex Writers House
- In partnership
- Young Essex
Jacqson Diego – The Vampirates
Online Author event for 8 – 12 years and their families. We are so excited to be joined by author Justin Somper for his thoughts on this exhilarating series of books, beloved by everyone who has read them. First published in 2005, the Vampirates were instant international bestsellers, this white-knuckle series is ready for a new generation of young readers. Tickets: £10 including a signed copy of Vampirates: Demon of the Seas or £42 Ticket available to include all 6… Read more
- Fiction
The House that Alice Built
A heart-warming summer read set in Portugal. Home is where the heart is. Alice Mathews is very much a homebody until a postcard from her ex turns her life upside down. She finds herself on the coast in Portugal ‘going with the flow’. A lesson that sees her cat-sitting, paddle boarding, dancing on top of bars and rediscovering her artistic talents. But perhaps the most important part of the lesson for Alice is that you don't always need a house to… Read more
- Fiction
Common Ground
Did you ever have a friend who made you see the world differently? From the acclaimed author of the story collection Escape Routes comes a timely, bittersweet and beautifully observed coming of age story about a friendship that defines two lives, and about the value of loyalty in a divided world. **An Evening Standard Must Read for 2021** Read more
CREATE98 in partnership with Essex Writers house presents a Beginners Writing Workshop
Don't know how to get started? Getting going on that first writing project can be difficult, so Create98 resident screenwriter Richard Kurti and novelist Samantha Lierens are here to take you through the various ways to overcome the blank page. Are you a planner or a dreamer? Are you led by interesting characters or pulled in by a dynamic plot or compelling theme? There are many different approaches to writing, we can help untangle them and find a way-in just right for you. in-the-Park (Chalkwell Park) Saturday 14 August (conditions permitting) £20 for 2 hour session Read more
- Digital
- Essex Writers House
- For Writers
- LAB
Essex Rebels : Emerging Writers OPEN CALL
In partnership with English Pen as part of their centenary celebrations and as part of Essex Writers House 2021, ten young writers are invited to join this week-long online writing LAB inspired by protest & freedom of expression. This remote writing LAB is designed for emerging & early career writers aged 18 - 25 years based in Essex working in any genre. Tickets: Free - emerging writers receive a fee of £200 to attend the LAB Ticket MORE INFORMATION… Read more
- Partner Event
- Poetry
Poetry in Lockdown
During the lockdown in 2020 prisoners at HMP/YOI Chelmsford were invited to write poems about how lockdown made them feel and the difficulties they faced. The project was a great success with over 70 wonderful entries. To ensure the project to be inclusive to all, the project was opened out to those who prefer to express themselves creatively with drawings representing ‘hope’ and a further 90 fantastic entries were received. The poems have now been made into a short book.… Read more
- Fiction
Girl A
The Sunday Times best seller, an astonishing new crime thriller debut novel from the biggest literary fiction voice of 2021. She thoughts had escaped her past. But there're some things you can't outrun. Following the news that their abusive mother has died in prison, Lex and her siblings must face the horrors of their past once more in this arresting debut that is both a page-turning thriller and a searing portrait of survival. Read more
- Fiction
A More Perfect Union
This extraordinary debut novel heralds the arrival of an exciting new voice in Black women’s writing. It is an interracial love story set in pre-Civil War America, and inspired by the true story of author Tammye’s great-great grandparents. Along with love and race, it touches on themes of identity, sacrifice, belonging and survival. **BBC Radio 2 Book Club choice" and "The Times Best Books for October** Read more
- In My Steps - Radical Walks in Essex
- SOLD OUT!
Destination St. Peters
Author of Excellent Essex, Gillian Darley’s walk offers a day’s immersion in the strange, remote Dengie peninsula, with a very compelling destination: the tiny 7th century church of St Peter-on-the-Wall which sits on the foundations of Othona Roman fort. Salt marshes, cockle beds, birds and ships combine to make up the landscape, but it’s the resonance of history that will make the day memorable. Meet : Tillingham - TBC Length : 8 Miles ( 4 miles each way) or 1.5… Read more
- Memoir
- Non-fiction
Why Can’t We All get Along : Shout Less and Listen More
Why Can’t We All Just Get Along: Shout Less and Listen More is part-memoir, part-polemic about the state of public discourse in Britain and the world today. LBC radio presenter and political commentator Iain Dale talks about our increasingly divided society, and explores the reasons behind why we have all become so disrespectful and intolerant. Tickets: £15 / £12 Read more
- A Criminally Good Day
- Fiction
The House of Killers
Samantha Lee Howe began her professional writing career predominantly writing writing horror and fantasy under the pen name Sam Stone. To date, Samantha has written 20 novels, 3 novellas, 3 collections, over 40 short stories, an audio drama and a ‘Doctor Who’ spin-off drama that went to DVD. Samantha will be discussing her success with The Stranger in Our Bed (2020) and her latest spy thriller series The House of Killers (2021). Tickets: £8 / £6 Read more
- A Criminally Good Day
- Workshop
Period Writing Workshop
The past is a different place, they do things differently there – in this workshop Alec Marsh explores how the past can be used to bring your creative writing to life, just as your creative writing can also bring the past to life too. Read more
- A Criminally Good Day
- Non-fiction
Patricia Highsmith Centenary Discussion
Patricia Highsmith, who was born in the USA, spent much of her life in Europe and lived for some time in Suffolk. She was a complex person and there were many who did not like her character or her views. However no one is in doubt that she wrote some brilliant psychological thrillers, notably Strangers on a Train and The Talented Mr Ripley, both of which have been made into successful films. Read more
- A Criminally Good Day
- Workshop
Character Driven Action in Suspense and Thrillers Workshop
Samantha Lee Howe delivers one of her inspiring writing workshops. Explore the art of increasing suspense and introducing twists in action, thriller and suspense writing. Learn about character motivation and its impact on the story arc. This is a participatory workshop so please bring paper and pen or other preferred writing materials. Tickets: £20/£15 Read more
- A Criminally Good Day
- Workshop
How To Start Writing A Novel (even if you’re not a Rock Star)
Join Mat Osman, novelist and bass player of the acclaimed British rock band Suede for a special writer’s workshop on writing your first novel, finding time to write around a busy schedule and life’s demands, and how to find joy in the process. £20 / £15 Read more
- A Criminally Good Day
- Non-fiction
Dorothy L Sayers Lecture: Crime Fiction – A Readers Guide
Barry Forshaw, the UK’s leading crime fiction expert, examines – in lively detail – how female writers have energised the genre from the Golden Age to the present. Barry has met most of the key women writers from Patricia Highsmith to Patricia Cornwell and has a fund of fascinating anecdotes. Barry’s Crime Fiction: A Reader’s Guide covers everything from the beginnings of the genre to current bestselling writers from America, Britain, and all across the world. Read more
- A Criminally Good Day
- Memoir
In Black and White
In her debut book, In Black and White, Alexandra Wilson re-creates the tense courtroom scenes, the heart- breaking meetings with teenage clients, and the moments of frustration and triumph that make up a young barrister’s life. Alexandra shows us how it feels to defend someone who hates the colour of your skin, or someone you suspect is guilty. Read more
- A Criminally Good Day
- In Conversation
The Ruins
Spend an Evening with Mat Osman - author and bass player of acclaimed British rock band Suede - as he opens the pages on his intoxicating debut novel magic, music and murder; The Ruins Sitting down with BBC Essex's Tony Fisher, Osman will draw us into his turbulent 2010 where banks are on the edge of oblivion, a volcano is erupting in Iceland and marauding gunmen sport Donald Duck masks. Exploring the place where music and literature meet, Osman will… Read more
- Fiction
You, Me and the Sea
Compelling, moving and teeming with feral desire: You, Me & the Sea is a contemporary story of love and redemption set on a remote, windswept Scottish island from the bestselling author of Into the Darkest Corner and The Murder of Harriet Monckton. “This is escapism in the best possible way"- Marian Keyes Read more
- Layer Marney Tower
Katharine Parr : The Sixth Wife
Two husbands dead: a life marred by sadness. And now Katharine is in love for the first time in her life. The eye of an aging and dangerous king falls upon her. She cannot refuse him. She must stifle her feelings and never betray that she wanted another. She is the sixth wife. Her queenship is a holy mission yet fearfully she recalls the tragic parade of the women that went before her. Alison Weir recounts the extraordinary story of a… Read more
- Essex Book Camp
- Festival Finale
- In person
- The Children's University
- Young Essex
Animalympics Workshop
The greatest sporting event of the century is happening at Cressing Temple Barns on 29 August. Join the Animalympics crew to get involved in creating sport/animal-inspired crafts with children’s author Josie Dom while listening to extracts of the story with badminton-playing peacocks, javelin-throwing octopus and hurdling gazelles amongst many others. Come dressed as your favourite animal to win a prize! Tickets : £4 per child Read more
- Discussion
- Essex Book Camp
- Festival Finale
- Fiction
- For Writers
- In Conversation
- In partnership
- In person
- Non-fiction
- Outside
- Science & the Imagination
- Storytelling
- The Children's University
- The Story Hunters
- Workshop
- Young Essex
Essex Book Camp
Join in the fun at the Essex Book Camp With a huge range of events for all ages, from author events with the likes of Good Morning Britain’s Dr Hilary Jones through to our fabulous storytelling yurt; woodland crafts and meditation walks; drop-in family yoga sessions and more, Cressing Temple Barns is the place to be this August Bank Holiday Sunday. Free Drop-In Activities for all ages we just need one large image of Shane Ibbs telling stories for this… Read more
- Essex Book Camp
- Festival Finale
- In partnership
- The Children's University
- Workshop
- Young Essex
Scallywag Press : Workshops for younger readers
Scallywag Press : Author WorkshopsWe are teaming up with multi-award children’s publisher Scallywag Press for four fabulous hands on author and artist workshops for young children. Ages vary. Deborah will help little ones explore the food they eat every day to find out where it comes from and how it ends up on the table in her fun Follow My Food writing workshop. She’ll also read from her new book Milly Cow Gives Milk. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/152741866033 Age 4+ ( Adults Free) Children must be… Read more
- Essex Book Camp
- Fiction
Harvest
Acclaimed author Georgina Harding will be talking about her latest book Harvest: an illuminating, tense and masterly meditation on memory, place and trauma set on a Norfolk farm in the 1970s. The third in Harding’s cycle of novels about the Ashe family unearths the secrets of the past. “A masterly achievement, illuminating with wisdom and compassion the darkest corners of the human heart.” – The Guardian Read more
- Essex Book Camp
- Festival Finale
- In person
- Podcast
- Science & the Imagination
- The Children's University
- Workshop
- Young Essex
Make your own Podcast Workshop
CCR FM presenter Michelle Durant will be sharing insights into developing your own podcast for broadcast. Take part in an interview with a special guest. Contribute to Essex Book Festival and Chelmsford Community Radio’s special Eco-Cast Project to be launched in September at British Science Festival in Chelmsford. Read more
- Essex Book Camp
- Festival Finale
- Workshop
- Young Essex
Shelter Building with Belinda Kirk
Belinda has walked across Nicaragua, searched for camels in China's Desert of Death, discovered ancient rock paintings in Lesotho, pioneered inclusive expeditions for people with disabilities, lead dozens of youth development expeditions around the world and gained a Guinness World Record for rowing unsupported around Britain. An expert expedition leader, Belinda has managed remote trips for, amongst others Ray Mears, Chris Ryan & Bear Grylls. Today she is the leading voice promoting the psychological benefits of adventure and our need… Read more
- Essex Book Camp
- Festival Finale
- Fiction
Frontline
Introducing a sweeping, sumptuous World War One medical drama and an epic new historical series from TV’s Dr Hilary Jones. Frontline is a riveting epic of WW1, the Spanish flu – and a love so powerful it can survive both. “A masterly achievement, illuminating with wisdom and compassion the darkest corners of the human heart.” – The Guardian Ticket £10 / £8 Read more
- Essex Book Camp
- Festival Finale
- For Writers
- Workshop
Script-writing Workshop
Join writer Neil D’Arcy-Jones, artistic director of Packing Shed Theatre, for a 2-hour scriptwriting workshop looking at the theatre of place. Packing Shed Theatre was set up in 2016 to create and produce work inspired by the people and places of East Anglia. In this work shop aimed at adults and older teens, you will explore script writing and how to structure pieces to develop your ideas. Tickets : Limited numbers: £15 / £12 Read more
- Festival Finale
- In Conversation
- In person
- Residency
Building Imaginary Worlds : Life Made Magic
Following her week-long residency at Talliston House and Gardens, Britain’s most extraordinary house, writer and storyteller Glenys Newton chats to author John Tarrow about his own extraordinary twenty-five year journey transforming a semi- detached ex-council house in Great Dunmow into a wonderland of inspirational rooms and locations, each set in a different time and place. Read more