cheltenhamfestivals.com
XX XX OCTOBER
WELCOME
A very warm welcome to The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival 2017 – what an exceptional ten days of diverse events lie within the pages of this programme! It is thanks to our inspirational speakers, valued sponsors and dedicated team behind the scenes that the Festival comes to vibrant life. By sharing ideas, provoking debate, opening young and old eyes to new worlds, the Festival is one of the gems of the UK’s cultural scene in one of our most beautiful towns. Thank you for coming and enjoy every moment. Caroline Hutton Chair, The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival
Behind The 2017 Festival Programme The Festival Village
NEW!
The Daffodil
NEW!
Lit Crawl
We have transformed Montpellier Gardens into a lively festival village with food, drink, live performances and free family activities to keep you entertained from breakfast until late – more on pages 4/5
Fabulous themed events and fine dining in a sumptuous 1920s style venue – more on pages 16/17
Turning a bar crawl into a fastpaced night of free literary delights – more on page 11
Leaders In Their Field
Lit Crawl supported by bottlegreen and Cheltenham BID
Who Do We Think We Are?
The most exciting and brightest minds bring you the latest thinking from the UK and beyond – more on pages 18/19
Festival Club @ Hotel du Vin
New Perspectives
After hours comedy, spoken word and music to round off your Festival day – more on page 11
We’re asking key questions about British identity in our 2017 Festival Theme and celebrate Britain’s rich literary and cultural heritage – more on pages 12/13
Off The Page Keeping true to our aim of supporting fresh voices and providing a vibrant Festival experience – more on pages 14/15
Meet our Guest Curators: Will Gompertz, Nikesh Shukla, Robin Niblett, Jess Phillips & Sarah Moss – more on pages 27, 43 , 53, 85 & 95
Education Projects We welcome more than 7,000 students on site and many more take part in our year-round education projects – more on pages 22/23
Free Family Fun
NEW!
NEW!
Have a magical time in our new, free family hubs on site, The Den and The Woodland Trust Wild Wood – more on pages 8/9
Young Adults View our family brochure for amazing events and follow our Young Adult badge throughout the programme – from page 28
* Plus transaction fee: charged per order, not per ticket. £2.50 for online and telephone bookings, £1.50 for in person bookings with credit/debit cards. No fee for cash bookings.
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