- 28 February - 31 March 2020
March 2019
- Secret Water
- Young Essex
The Mothership Project Launch
The Festival is thrilled to be launching The Mothership Project at The Redoubt. A partnership project with UK/Chinese charity The Mother's Bridge of Love: Culture for Children, school children in Essex and China will be sending messages of friendship to each other via drawings, postcards and origami boats. Read more
- Secret Water
- Young Essex
A Country to Call Home
Lucy Popescu’s latest anthology explores the experiences of young refugees and asylum seekers, with newly commissioned stories, flash fiction, poetry and essays by some of our best loved children’s writers. Read more
- Theatre
- Young Essex
Malorie Blackman‘s Noughts and Crosses
Sephy and Callum are in love. It is forbidden: Sephy is a Cross and Callum is a Nought. Between Noughts and Crosses there are racial and social divides. This gripping Romeo and Juliet story is a captivating drama of love, revolution and what it means to grow up in a divided world. Recommended for 11+yrs. Read more
- Fiction
An Evening with Sophie Hannah
Sophie Hannah shares her lifelong love of Agatha Christie and how she came to be chosen to write the new Hercule Poirot novels. She reveals insights into her new Poirot novel The Mystery of Three Quarters, and will also share insights into her new self-help book How to Hold a Grudge. Read more
- Fiction
Amer Anwar
A Sikh girl on the run. A Muslim ex-con who has to find her. A whole heap of trouble. After being released from prison, Zaq Khan is lucky to land a dead-end job at a builders' yard. All he wants to do is keep his head down and put the past behind him. But when Zaq is forced to search for his boss's runaway daughter, he quickly finds himself caught up in a deadly web of deception, murder and revenge.… Read more
- Non-fiction
Nathen Amin
The Wars of the Roses were a tumultuous period in English history, with family fighting family for the greatest prize in the kingdom – the throne of England. The story of the Beauforts, with their rise, fall and rise again, is the story of England during the period, a dramatic century of war, intrigue and scandal. Read more
- Film
- Young Essex
Epping at the Movies
For Essex Book Festival, Epping at the Movies will screen three fantastic adaptations: BlacKkKlansman, Spike Lee’s masterful retelling of Ron Stallworth’s memoir; Big Bad Fox and Other Tales, a sublime animation for young audiences adapted from Benjamin Renner’s comic books; and The Big Sleep, the ultimate Raymond Chandler. Community Cinema at its best! Read more
- Unspeakable
Banned Books
Some of the most controversial books in history are now recognised as classics. Banned Books delves into the University of Essex’s Archives to reveal a fascinating collection of banned books, pamphlets and texts, dating back hundreds of years. Read more
- Discussion
- Unspeakable
The Burning Question
Trevor Phillips, writer, broadcaster, and current chairman of Index on Censorship, will discuss the impact of historic and contemporary censorship across art, history and literature with Professor Shohini Chaudhuri from the University of Essex. Read more
- Discussion
- Unspeakable
The Play’s The Thing
To mark the 50th anniversary of the end of an era, when all plays had to be signed off by the British Lord Chamberlin before performance, the panel discusses why we should worry about censorship, and how words and ideas are restricted today. Read more
- For writers
- Networking
- Workshop
Essex Authors and You
A great opportunity for book lovers, local authors or aspiring writers of all ages: Drop in to the Writers’ Slams, hear a variety of authors read from their books, meet and talk to local authors and publishers; pick up writing tips and inspiration. Read more
- Art
- Storytelling
- Young Essex
Oh, The Places We’ll Go!
Come and explore the theme of journeys, adventures and places around the world and in our imaginations. Drop-in for our Pop Up Storytelling Armchair, hear traditional tales from Africa with Djembe drumming, try your hand at Chinese calligraphy, and wrap your tongue around different languages with bilingual storytelling. Suitable for ages 4+ Read more
- Fiction
Elizabeth Haynes
From the award-winning and best-selling author of Into the Darkest Corner comes a delicious Victorian crime novel based on a true story that shocked and fascinated the nation. Brimming with lust, mistrust and guilt, this is a masterclass of suspense from one of our greatest crime writers. Read more
- Non-fiction
- ONLY A FEW TICKETS LEFT!
Robin Ince
Award-winning presenter and comic Robin Ince examines the world through the eyes of the stand-up, exploring some of life’s biggest questions. Birth, death, social anxiety, creativity and other meaty subjects are playfully picked apart... Read more
- Fiction
- Writers House
Apple and Knife
Intam Paramaditha is an Indonesian writer who re-writes traditional Indonesian folk tales through a feminist horror lens. Syd Moore's mystery thrillers are inspired by the myths of Essex. The authors discuss what it means to re-write old stories and myths with a contemporary, feminist slant. Read more
- Golden Age of Crime
- Workshop
- Young Essex
Creative Crime Writing Workshop
Come along to create a baddy (or two), a detective and a simple crime plot with Rosie Sandler, co-author of the Agatha Oddly detective series. Work as a group, pooling ideas and having fun along the way. Suitable for ages 9-13. Read more
- Art
- Workshop
- Young Essex
Weaving with Words
Join local writer and artist Wendy Constance for a fun family drop-in session where you choose words which best describe Paycocke’s House and Garden. Compose a list, a sentence or poem - then write it on fabric which we will all weave together to create a banner to celebrate this special place. Suitable for ages 4+ Read more
- Discussion
- Fiction
- Golden Age of Crime
Queens of Crime
The Golden Age of Crime produced an amazing number of new writers, good and not so good - writers who have endured from that period are mostly women. Our expert panel share their favourites and celebrate their success. Read more
- Golden Age of Crime
- Storytelling
- Young Essex
Rosie Sandler – Agatha Oddly
Agatha Oddly has been a detective for as long as she can remember – she’s just been waiting for her first big case. And nothing gets bigger than saving the City of London from strange goings-on. With a secret key that gives her access to a whole hidden side of London, Agatha is perfectly poised to solve any mystery. Read more
- Fiction
- Golden Age of Crime
Jessica Fellowes
From the pen of Jessica Fellowes, who authored five official companion books to Downton Abbey and the highly acclaimed The Mitford Murders, comes Bright Young Dead, a Golden Age-style crime novel based on a real crime of the 1920s. Read more
- Fiction
- Golden Age of Crime
Martin Edwards
A satisfying and brilliant blend of Golden Age charm and a modern-day suspense thriller, Gallow Court is set in the backdrop of 1930’s London, where a spate of violent deaths has horrified the capital and the smog-bound streets. Read more
- Golden Age of Crime
- SOLD OUT!
Murder Mystery Dinner
Whodunit? Hosted by Moonstone Theatre London, masters of interactive murder mystery events, get ready to solve the enigma whilst enjoying a sumptuous three course dinner and a night of intrigue and entertainment. Read more
- For writers
- Golden Age of Crime
- Workshop
An Introduction to Crime Writing
Crime novelist Laura Shepherd-Robinson guides participants through writing the perfect crime novel, while providing invaluable advice on how to get published. An absolute must for all aspiring crime writers. Read more
- Fiction
- Golden Age of Crime
Stella Duffy
Inspector Roderick Alleyn is back in this unique crime novel, started by Ngaio Marsh during the Second World War and now completed by Stella Duffy. Stella Duffy skilfully picks up where March left off, in a way that has delighted readers and critics alike. Shortlisted for the CWA Historical Dagger Award 2018. Read more
- Fiction
- Golden Age of Crime
- SOLD OUT!
Criminally Good Afternoon Tea
Tuck into a delicious Sunday Afternoon Tea overlooking the world’s longest pleasure pier, as Essex based crime-writer Fiona Cummins reads from her latest taut and terrifying psychological thriller, The Collector. Read more
- Discussion
- Golden Age of Crime
- Writers House
Granta Turns 40
To celebrate 40 years of the UK’s most prestigious literary magazine, join writer Stella Duffy, Professor Devorah Baum and Ros Porter, Deputy Editor of Granta Magazine, as they discuss the importance of literary magazines for both readers and writers. Read more
- Fiction
Laura Shepherd-Robinson
Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s historical crime debut is a vivid, thrilling novel set in 18th century Deptford, against the backdrop of the brutal British slave trade, and follows a young abolitionist killed in the pursuit of a better future. Read more
- Memoir
Derek Pringle
The Eighties was a colourful period in English cricket: Derek Pringle was in the thick of it. He lays bare the realities of life as a professional cricketer in a decade when the game was dominated by a cast of unforgettable characters. Read more
- Memoir
- SOLD OUT!
Patricia Volante
Patricia Volante tells her family’s story, following the lives of the Rossi family through several generations. She charts their hard work and ambition, from pushing wheelbarrows of homemade ice cream in Glasgow to setting up the first Rossi ice cream parlour in Southend. Read more
- Fiction
Vaseem Khan
Vaseem Khan takes us on a journey from the days of the Raj to the heart of modern India. Talking about the inspirations behind his Baby Ganesh Detective Agency novels, he attempts to answer the intriguing question: how do you fit an elephant into a crime story? Read more
- Fiction
Sarah Armstrong
Escaping failure as an undergraduate and a daughter, Martha marries Kit – who is gay. Having a wife could keep him safe in Moscow in his diplomatic post. As Martha tries to get to grips with her new life, she walks straight into an underground world of counter-espionage. Read more
- Non-fiction
- SOLD OUT!
Rachel Reeves MP
This inspirational account of achievements of women in parliament over the past 100 years celebrates the centenary of the first women taking her seat in the House of Commons, when Nancy Astor was elected as MP for Plymouth Sutton in 1919. Read more
- PLACE
- Workshop
- Young Essex
Tides and Tales
A writing workshop about flotsam and jetsam. Be it natural or handmade, treasure or trash, be inspired by the stories objects washed up on the beach can tell us - where did they came from and how did they get there? Read more
- PLACE
- Storytelling
- Young Essex
Susie Violet: The Little Cockroach
Essex Book Festival’s Pop-Up Storytelling Armchair will be at Firstsite all day as part of our Place weekend. Come along to hear authors of all shapes, sizes and varieties! For our first session on the day we welcome children's author Susie Violet, with her story The Little Cockroach. Young Essex at PLACE This event is part of Essex Book Festival’s Oh, The Places We’ll Go! Young Essex at PLACE weekend in Colchester on Saturday 23 March. Join us for a fab… Read more
- Art
- PLACE
- Workshop
- Young Essex
The Mothership Project
Our fantastic Mothership Project continues at Place Weekend, when we will be exchanging messages of love and friendship between young people in Essex and China. Take part in this ongoing and mammoth project - write your own message, try your hand at Chinese Calligraphy, or make an origami boat. Read more
- PLACE
- Poetry
- Young Essex
My Heart, My Heart: Live Poetry Jukebox
Step inside the Live Poetry Jukebox! A selection of delicious and delectable poems about love, life, hope, and fun will be waiting for you, pickled and preserved in jars, and stored in Mueller & Malten's marvellous Wunderkammer. Read more
- PLACE
- Workshop
- Young Essex
Imagination & Creation Workshop
Children’s author Josie Dom will help you unleash your full storytelling potential, using craft materials and objects from nature to free your mind from the everyday and take off into a fantastical world. Read more
- Fiction
- PLACE
Simon Scarrow
What would the Romans make of Brexit? How would they rate modern politics today? It’s no secret that many of our political systems date back to ancient civilisations. Simon Scarrow highlights the parallels and divisions that make ancient politics so pertinent today. Read more
- PLACE
- Storytelling
- Young Essex
Bunny Galore
Our Pop-Up Storytelling Armchair will be at Firstsite all day. Come along to hear authors of all shapes, sizes and varieties! For our headline ‘act’ we welcome a unique storytime session for children with fabulous drag queen and burlesque beauty Bunny Galore Read more
- Art
- PLACE
- Workshop
- Young Essex
Create a Secret Treasure Island
Join artists Lola Swain and Sally Chinea to make your very own handmade book, which, when unfolded, reveals a secret island with a treasure map. Within the pages create your own imaginary creatures that live on and around the island. Read more
- Fiction
- PLACE
Bridget Collins
Set in 19th century Britain with one crucial difference: Books are not for learning or pleasure, but contain our worst memories - our grief, trauma and fear. Bridget Collins’ debut novel is an exploration of mental illness, memory loss, and a shamelessly romantic love story. Read more
- Discussion
- Non-fiction
- PLACE
New Daughters of Africa
A major new anthology celebrating the work of women of African descent. Ghanaian-born publisher, editor, writer and broadcaster Margaret Busby talks to Leila Aboulela, award-winning novelist and playwright, about the sense of sisterhood that endures from generation to generation. Read more
- Guided Tour
- PLACE
Josie Watson
Throughout its history, Colchester has been the inspiration and setting for many novels. This guided walk will take you on a literary quest to discover serpents, detectives, serving wenches and many other fictional characters and their creators who have known the streets of the ancient town. Read more
- Non-fiction
- PLACE
- SOLD OUT!
Ken Worpole
The first of three talks programmed in partnership with the River Stour Festival. Writer and social historian Ken Worpole focuses on 'back to the land' and utopian experiments in NorthEast Essex, including The Adelphi Centre, Frating Hall Farm, the Othona Community and Ardleigh. Read more
- Discussion
- PLACE
Human Library
Human Libraries take place across the world. Just like in a real library, a visitor to the Human Library can choose a book from a range of titles. The difference is that Books are people, and Reading is a conversation. Come along, meet people you wouldn’t normally meet, and celebrate positive differences in our communities. Read more
- Non-fiction
- PLACE
Tim Burrows
In the second River Stour Festival talk, Tim Burrows unpicks the competing narratives about the county everyone thinks they know, from Sabine Baring-Gould's distaste at the illiterate peasants of Mersea, to the days Margaret Thatcher lived in Manningtree. Read more
- Non-fiction
- PLACE
Jennifer Lucy Allan and Luke Turner
For the final River Stour Festival talk, Jennifer Allan explores the cultural history of the foghorn, while Luke Turner reads from 'Out of the Woods', his memoir exploring sexuality and the strange woodland of Epping Forest, followed by a reading from their collaborative 'Leaves/Waves'. Read more
- Memoir
- ONLY A FEW TICKETS LEFT!
Duncan Barrett
Tales of hardship, love and happiness from the factories of Tate & Lyle, revealing the true story of the female workers who toiled in the firm’s factories in Silvertown during their East End heyday in the 40s and 50s Read more
- Non-fiction
Simon Heffer
The folk-memory of Britain in the years before the Great War is of a powerful, contented, orderly and thriving country. In this warts-and-all portrait, Simon Heffer exposes the contradictions and reveals what was really going on in late-Victorian and Edwardian Britain. Simon will be interviewed by journalist, writer and broadcaster Francis Wheen. Read more
- Fiction
Elizabeth Lowry
A thrillingly vivid novel about eight men cast adrift in 1833, with literary references to Melville, Dickens and Shakespeare. From the horrors on the high seas to an asylum for the insane, Dark Water explores desire, starvation, greed and amorality, and makes an unmissable contribution to this year’s hunger for all things ‘gothic’. Read more
- Fiction
- SOLD OUT!
Barbara Erskine
Barbara Erskine’s new novel The Ghost Tree is a tale of tracing ancestry, exploring the life of her great grandfather, five times removed, Thomas Erskine, who rose from genteel poverty in Scotland to become the Lord Chancellor in 1806. Read more
- Fiction
Kimberley Chambers
Two childhood friends. Two sides of the law. One deadly showdown. As gritty and dangerous as the London streets in which it’s set, this is No.1 Sunday Times Best-seller Kimberley Chambers at her best. Get ready for a shocking read with a sting in the tail… Read more
- Discussion
- Fiction
Essex Book Club Symposium
Join members of book groups from across Essex to hear from Sarah Moss, whose sixth novel Ghost Wall explores the intoxication of power and Northern Britain in the 90s; and Caroline Kirby talking about her stunning debut The Conviction of Cora Burns, a heart-breaking journey through Victorian Birmingham about violence, and nature vs nurture. Read more
- Fiction
Melvyn Bragg
In this special event to celebrate the Forum’s fifth birthday, join writer, broadcaster and presenter of Radio 4’s In Our Time, Melvyn Bragg as he talks about his latest novel. Love Without End brings the 12th-century into the 21st as he breathes fresh life into one of history’s most remarkable and enduring love stories. Read more
- CANCELLED
- Fiction
- Writers House
Authors Club Best First Novel Award *** CANCELLED ***
Lucy Popescu, chair of the Authors Club Best First Novel Award, announces the Shortlist for 2019. She will be in conversation with John McGhie about his 2018 shortlisted novel White Highlands, and the value of literary awards. Set in Kenya, White Highlands is an outstanding evocation of colonial imperialism and its aftermath. Read more
- Non-fiction
- Science & the Imagination
Sue Nelson
In 1961, Wally Funk was among the Mercury 13, the first group of American pilots to pass the Woman in Space programme. None of the women ever went to space. In this offbeat odyssey, journalist and fellow space buff Sue Nelson travels with Wally as she races to make her own giant leap. Read more
- Science & the Imagination
- Workshop
- Young Essex
Tides and Tales Workshop
A flotsam and jetsam inspired creative writing workshop with children’s author and artist Wendy Constance. This fun writing workshop uses plastic and natural debris washed up by the tide as inspiration, and encourages us to think about science and the natural world, pollution and how we can better look after our environment. Suitable for ages 7-11 year olds. Read more
- Science & the Imagination
- Workshop
- Young Essex
Pet Defender: Alien Workshop
The Pet Defenders are the first line in defence against alien invasion. Your dogs, cats, hamster and gerbils are fighting to keep earth safe but they need your help. Fire up you imaginations and join award winning author Gareth P Jones for an interactive, science fiction, musical, unpredictable event in which the audience has to write the story, create the aliens and ultimately save the world! Suitable for 7-11 year olds Read more
- Art
- Science & the Imagination
- Workshop
- Young Essex
Graphic Futures
Explore the fundamentals of comic book storytelling with writer and digital artist Carl Doherty. Carl will take you through visions of the future in comics and graphic novels; tell you about ‘dystopias’ and ‘utopias’; and get you thinking about how changes in the environmental might impact on our future. Come along and illustrate your own predictions of tomorrow. Suitable for 11-16 years Read more
- Fiction
- Science & the Imagination
James Smythe
Delve into the realm of artificial intelligence in this intelligent and touching science fiction novel, a powerful tale of love, loss and hope; a frightening, heartbreakingly human look at who we are now – and who we can be, if we only allow ourselves. Read more
- Science & the Imagination
- Young Essex
Curious Science Quest
Julia Golding, award-winning children's author, will explore the big questions that scientists have asked throughout history – but can science explain everything? Join Julia’s time-travelling quest of discovery as she discusses her latest books Hunt with Newton and Rocky Road to Galileo. The event will include live science experiments performed with the help of a young scientist. Read more
- Festival Finale
- Science & the Imagination
- Young Essex
Festival Finale: Family Fun
An afternoon of family fun to celebrate the end of Essex Book Festival. The Live Poetry Jukebox will beguile all ages with a magical interactive poetry installation, try your hand at making your very own traditional Chinese paper rose, and make your mark on Anita Belli’s The Big Write: Mother Earth Wall. Read more
- Festival Finale
- Fiction
Xinran Xue
British-Chinese journalist and author Xinran Xue begins with the magic and tragedy of one young couple's wedding night in 1950, and goes on to tell personal experiences of loss, grief and hardship through China's extraordinary century. A spell-binding narrative of modern China. Read more
- Discussion
- Festival Finale
- POSTPONED
- Science & the Imagination
We Need To Talk About Mother
Join in the conversation about Climate Change and its impact on all our lives with writer, broadcaster and former BBC Science Correspondent Sue Nelson, British investigative journalist and environmental activist Clare Rewcastle-Brown, author of The Sarawak Report, a stranger-than-fiction tale of how one woman uncovered the world’s biggest theft which, brought down the Malaysian government in 2018, and artist Lily Hunter Green. Read more
June 2019
Maggi Hambling: A Suffolk Eye
Join internationally acclaimed Suffolk artist Maggi Hambling for a very special event on Father’s Day as she discusses the visionary paintings of her late father and fellow Suffolk artist Harry Hambling, which form the basis of her latest book: A Suffolk Eye Read more
September 2019
November 2019
