Birmingham Book Festival is kicking off on 4th October. A 10-day programme of literary delights is scheduled for book lovers in the second city and beyond.
Globally acclaimed authors, writers and poets will be heading to the city, including Simon Armitage, Jackie Kay and David Edgar. Oh, and let’s not forget the small matter of Caitlin Moran and Stuart Maconie. There will be talks, Q&As, performances and writing development workshops alongside innovative and unusual events.
Ahead of the official launch, an all night writing workshop will be taking place on 29th September. Novelist, Anna Lawrence-Pietroni will be guiding guests on a journey around an 18th century locksmith’s cottage.
The official launch will take place on 4th October at the city’s creative epicentre: The Custard Factory in Digbeth. Birmingham’s official Poet Laureate will be announced at the event and poetry themed activities and performances will be taking place throughout the day to mark National Poetry Day.
Poetry “doctor”, Deborah Alman will be at the Custard Factory 1pm-6pm to prescribe some poetic medicine to world weary patients. She’ll be ably assisted by her colleague “Nurse Verse” to administer some life-enhancing stanzas from their Cold Comfort Pharmacy.
For those feeling creative, there will be plenty of opportunities to indulge in some word play. Reliable Witness is an installation that will run throughout the festival, allowing visitors to influence the outcome of a story – think “Choose Your Own Adventure” for grown ups!
Writing workshops will be held covering a wide range of techniques and disciplines, from poetry to play writing and short stories to scent association. A fringe festival will run alongside the main programme, giving visitors access to a host of free events and workshops free of charge. The Central Library foyer will be home to a pop-up bookshop for the duration of the festival.
Whether you want to find out about out of this world sci-fi from multi-million selling authors, find out what life was like for writers under Gaddafi’s regime in Libya, take a tour through modern European literature or discover the finest new writing talent that Birmingham has to offer – Birmingham Book Festival has it all.
View the full festival programme online or install the Birmingham Book Festival App for iPhone.
Images via Birmingham Book Festival