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A warm welcome to the 2011 Newcastle Winter Book Festival.
Newcastle Winter Book Festival, based in iconic venues around the city, celebrates the tradition of the Arts and Literature in Newcastle: venues such as The Lit & Phil, founded in 1793 as a ‘conversation club’ and housing the largest independent library in the UK outside of London; Seven Stories,the National Centre of children’s books; the beautifully modern Newcastle City Library, and the artistic haven that is The Star and Shadow Cinema.
From a small library-based programme last year, this event has grown into a real Festival of Books. The Festival combines local authors with a North East flavour such as the critically acclaimed David Almond, Michael Chaplin, Ann Cleeves and Simon Donald with folk from further afield too, including Liz Lochhead, the second Scots Makar or national poet, Alistair Moffat, MC Beaton and Hugh Cornwell, author and lead singer of The Stranglers.
This year’s Festival has quite a quirky feel – with a 24 hour non-stop fringe event running at Northumbria University Library, a festival club in the evenings at the Star and Shadow in Byker, a walking tour of ‘Haunted and Bloody Newcastle’ as well as ‘Writers for Hire’.
This year’s programme is innovative, diverse, wide-ranging and exciting, offering something to inspire everyone, and suit all tastes. We are delighted to be working with our main partner Newcastle Libraries. We encourage you to sample as much of the programme as possible.
Andy Peden Smith
Director
Newcastle Winter Book Festival
