Off The Page Eclectic, vibrant and bursting with spoken word, comedy, gigs and performances, our Off the Page collection shakes up what you might expect a literature festival to look like… Guest Curator Max Porter will get the written word up off the page and ‘walking, talking, singing into the Festival’ with his performances: An English Soundwood and Lanny. Be transported to Laurel Canyon in our celebration of the words and music of Joni Mitchell, sample the ancient world with Natalie Haynes’ comedy/classics mash-up Troy Story or journey to Westeros with your team for our Game of Thrones Quiz Night. Cheltenham is renowned for bringing the best and brightest stars of poetry and spoken word to its stages and this year is no different. Don’t miss two poetry showcases devised by Guest Curator Anthony Anaxagorou, the vibrant music and word mash-up experience that is 20
Tongue Fu, raucous spoken word night Bang Said The Gun plus performances from Lemn Sissay, Hannah Sullivan, Ben Norris, Chris Tse, Nadine Aisha Jassat, Paul Muldoon and Young People’s Laureate Theresa Lola. Elsewhere, you can join New York storytelling sensation The Moth for one night of incredible true life tales, experience character comedy from ‘village-renowned novelist and son of two’ Lit Crawl hit Christopher Bliss or try out a gig from crimewriting’s very own super-group, The Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers, fresh from the stages of Glastonbury. Find all of our Off The Page events in the Festival’s day-by-day guide, from page 30.
Podcast-InResidence: Literary Friction We’re proud to have been the first major Literature Festival to create a Podcast-in-Residence role. Our inaugural resident podcast in 2018, Mostly Lit went on to win Books Podcast of the Year at London Book Fair and this year we welcome the brilliant Literary Friction to Cheltenham. Follow them for exclusive behind the scenes Festival content @LitFriction