- 31 May -30 June 2024
- In Conversation
- In partnership
- Non-fiction
How Britain Ends
Award-winning TV and Radio presenter, Scottish novelist and Journalist Gavin Esler will be discussing his latest book How Britain Ends to Professor Lorna Fox O’ Mahoney. Essential reading for anyone interested in how the UK has become so fractured, and how it might be put back together. This is a partnership event with University of Essex. Tickets : £10/ £8 /£5 Read more
- In Conversation
- In partnership
- Non-fiction
1, 2, 3, 4 The Beatles in Time
From the bestselling author of Ma’am Darling comes a kaleidoscopic mixture of history, etymology, diaries, autobiography, fan letters, essays, parallel lives, party lists, charts, interviews, announcements and stories. Best known for his parodies in Private Eye, critic and satirist Craig Brown’s One Two Three Four: The Beatles In Time, Winner of the Baillie Gifford Prize for Non-Fiction 2020. This a partnership event with Anglia Ruskin University. Tickets are £10/ £8 / £5. 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
- Fiction
- In Conversation
**Moved to Digital Platform more tickets available ** 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** THIS EVENT HAS MOVED TO DIGITAL PLATFORM if you have purchased tickets you will receive an email shortly. Read more
- A Criminally Good Day
- In Conversation
The Ruins – Mat Osman in conversation with Zoe Howe
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. Mat will be talking in depth to Zoe Howe, acclaimed author, music and presenter, sharing thoughts, stories and how The Ruins took shape. Osman will draw us into his turbulent 2010 where banks are on the edge of oblivion, a volcano is erupting in Iceland and marauding… Read more
- Discussion
- Festival Finale
- Fiction
- For Writers
- In Conversation
- In partnership
- In person
- Non-fiction
- Outside
- Storytelling
- The Children's University
- 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
- Festival Finale
- In Conversation
- In person
- Residency
- Storytelling
Building Imaginary Worlds : Life Made Magic – Change of venue –
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. This event will now take place in the Storytelling Tent due to circumstances beyond our control! Read more
- In Conversation
- Partner Event
Sex Matters: Intimacy and Aging
Both Seema Anand (The Art of Seduction) and author Syd Moore (Essex Girls Liberation Front) have challenged stereotypes before. In this conversation they explode the myths around sex in middle age, and empowerment though positive sexuality as we get older. Read more
- In Conversation
- Non-fiction
- SOLD OUT!
SOLD OUT – The Seaside
Journeying clockwise around England from Scarborough to Morecambe, The Seaside is Madeleine Bunting’s exploration of England’s great seaside resorts to understand their origins and their heyday, their ongoing influence, and their current struggle. Read more
- In Conversation
- Memoir
One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up
An evening with Labour MP and the Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting who will be in conversation with Professor Pam Cox, discussing his honest, uplifting, affectionate memoir and how the power of family and education helped him transform his life. Read more
- Fiction
- In Conversation
Authors in Conversation
Poet and writer, Holly Pester, and author of two poetry collections and two novels, Keiran Goddard, join us at Red Lion Books in Colchester to discuss their latest books: The Lodgers and I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning Read more
- In Conversation
- Non-fiction
Taking the Long View – Rural
Work in the countryside ties you, soul and salary, to the land, but often those who labour in nature have the least control over what happens there… In this beautifully observed book, Rebecca Smith paints a picture of the working class lives that often go overlooked. Read more