culture
manx litfest 2012 When Thursday, September 27 till Sunday, September 30
Where Festival hub within the Villa Marina
This month sees the inaugural Manx Litfest, with authors,
gardens; other events taking
poets, performers, publishers and agents from around the
place at venues around the Island,
British Isles descending on the Island for a book-tastic four
including Castle Rushen, Milntown,
days of events. The full festival schedule is on the website
Greeba Castle, Erin Arts Centre,
– www.manxlitfest.com – and official programmes will be on
Manx Museum
sale from Thursday, September 13.
Who’s appearing Martin Bell OBE R.J. Ellory Ann Cleeves Jasper Fforde Elizabeth Buchan Chris Ewan
So what’s in store?
Jeremy Strong
Here’s a taste:
Gez Walsh
Castle Rushen will be transformed into a fantasy world for ‘Narnia meets Middle-Earth’, a family fun event on the Sunday (11.00am-4.00pm)
Hilary Robinson Neil Ansell Ben Haggarty Colin Duriez
Young children can go Gruffalo hunting in Glen Helen on the Saturday (10.00am-2.00pm)
Thommie Gillow Trevor Norton Fiona O’Brien
An Evening with Martin Bell OBE – the former BBC war correspondent and MP is appearing at the Gaiety Theatre on the Friday night (8.00pm-10.00pm)
Roisin Meaney Tom Palmer Michael Curtis
Martin Bell OBE
Elizabeth Buchan
Jasper Fforde
Criminally Talented Authors – a panel of leading British crime writers, featuring Ann Cleeves, R.J. Ellory and Chris Ewan, will be in discussion on the Saturday night (7.30pm-9.00pm) The Book Fanatics’ Quiz Night – quizmaster Jasper Fforde will be keeping order as teams battle it out to be named Litfest champions on the Thursday night (8.15pm-11.00pm) J.R.R. Tolkien scholar and biographer Colin Duriez will take the stage in the Manx Museum lecture theatre on Friday night to celebrate the 75th birthday of The Hobbit (7.30pm-9.00pm)
This is just a fraction of what we have in store,’ said Festival Director John Quirk. ‘We’ve got talks, storytelling, signings and a book fair each day in the festival hub marquees, located in the Villa Marina Gardens. On the Friday, we’re working with the Department of Education and Children to stage a ‘national story day’, with our children’s authors and poets visiting participating schools during the day. If anyone has any questions about any aspect of the weekend, feel free to email us on manxlitfest@gmail.com
Fairytales for Grown-ups – acclaimed UK performance storyteller Ben Haggarty will wow an audience at the Erin Arts Centre on the Saturday night (8.00pm9.30pm) Manx Litfest is a registered charity (number 1100), supported by Manx Heritage Foundation, Manx Lottery Trust and Isle of Man Arts Council.
36
isle of man premier magazine