The dates and speakers at the 2018 Enfield Literary Festival have been announced. It will be held at the Dugdale Centre from 22nd to 30th June. The lineup below is incomplete, but is already pretty impressive. The theme is "Change".
The Festival is billed as "Enfield's first ever Literary Festival", which fails to acknowledge that there have already been four Lamb Festivals held at All Saints church in Edmonton (which arguably isn't Enfield, but that argument is rather undercut by the fact that the Enfield Literary Festival ran an event in Edmonton in January). But aside from that minor quibble, this will clearly be an excellent event.
The Festival is the brainchild of Martin Russo, who runs the ENTWO website (www.entwo.org).
Friday 22nd June at 5pm
KATHERINE GALLAGHER - HOW TO GET STARTED WRITING POETRY
Poet and tutor Katherine Gallagher offers some practical steps in writing poetry.
Tickets: £5 - Book Here
Friday 22nd June at 8pm
POETRY NIGHT WITH THE ENFIELD AND PALMERS GREEN POETS
Join leading local poets from the Enfield Poets and Palmers Green Poets groups. Poets include: Katherine Gallagher, Maggie Butt, Anthony Fisher and many more. There is also an Open Mic slot for other poets to take part.
Tickets: £5 - Book Here
Saturday 23rd June at 2pm
ALLEN ASHLEY : WANT TO WRITE FLASH FICTION?
If you found writing a novel too big a project, then why not start with smaller steps? Learn how to write from a new and emerging form called flash fiction. It might just be the answer. Acclaimed author, Allen Ashley offers a practical approach and guidance on the new form with you being able to create a draft on the day.
Tickets: £5 - Book Here
Saturday 23rd June at 2pm
A LIFE IN LETTERS AND ESSAYS: MARY & CHARLES LAMB
Dr Katy Beavers of the Lamb Society talks about the legacy of Mary and Charles Lamb's London literary life.
Tickets : £5 - Book Here
Saturday 23rd June at 3pm
KATHERINE GALLAGHER: WRITING ON A THEME OF CHANGE
In our fast-paced world Katherine Gallagher will offer a practical workshop on writing on a theme of change.
Tickets : £5 - Book Here
Saturday 23rd June at 4pm
ALLEN ASHLEY : IT'S NEVER TOO LATE TO START
Author and tutor, Allen Ashley, will run through the basics of help to get you started on your writing career.
Tickets : £5 - Book Here
Saturday 23rd June at 5pm
CATHERINE JOHNSON: HOW HISTORY AND LITERATURE COLLIDE
Acclaimed and award winning national author, screenwriter for film and television, Catherine Johnson talks about how history helped inform her works 'Sawbones and' 'The Curious Tale of The Lady Caraboo. Here she discusses her passion for research on history and explores how it has helped inform, inspire and develop her own writing.
Tickets : £15 - Book Here
Saturday 23rd June at 7.30pm
PATRICE LAWRENCE : EXPLORING FAMILY CHANGES
Award winning national acclaimed young adult fiction author, Patrice Lawrence, talks about how changes in family life have impacted on her writing
Tickets : £15 - Book Here
Sunday 24th June at 11am
LOCAL LITERARY GUIDED TOUR OF ENFIELD WITH JAYWALKS
Literary history guided tour of Enfield on foot with Local Historian Joe Studman and Jaywalks. Joe Studman spent his youth wandering the streets of London. For the past 40 years he has lived in Enfield and has discovered the borough’s rich history. He now shares his knowledge and enthusiasm for both areas on his walks, talks and courses.
Tickets : £5 - Book Here
Sunday 24th June at 3pm
RETELLING STORIES : KATY BEAVERS AND FELICITY JAMES
Katy Beavers & Felicity James from the Lamb Society talk about how the re-interpretation of Shakespeare helped promote it to a new young audience.
Tickets : £5 - Book Here
Sunday 24th June at 5pm
MARY LAMB, NEEDLEWORK AND FEMINISM
Pioneer, thinker and early feminist, just before suffragetters, Mary Lamb confronted some of the early issues around work for women, liberation and opportunties on her published essay on Needlework. Join Lamb society members Dr. Katy Beavers and Dr. Felicity James for a talk about her legacy.
Tickets : £5 - Book Here
Sunday 24th June at 7pm
SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY : THE CLOCKHOUSE LONDON WRITERS
Allen Ashley, an acclaimed and published poet, flash fiction and science fiction writer leads this workshop celebrating and reading from leading science fiction writers.
Tickets : £5 - Book Here
Friday 29th June at 8pm
"TURF" WARS ARE NEVER EASY TO ESCAPE : JOHN LUCAS
Turf wars, knives, gangs fighting and complex challenges are explored in John Lucas’s debut novel. Author John Lucas offers readings, talks and conversions about his work. Turf is based on John’s own experiences of growing up in Hackney – he has been a victim of and witness to multiple acts of street violence. His debut novel TURF came out out in August 2012. His ebook short TROUBLE is a reimagining of the London riots through the eyes of characters from TURF.
Tickets : £8 - Book Here
Saturday 30th June at 12pm
DEE SHULMAN : HOW PICTURES & WORDS MAKE A STORY
Author and illustrator, Dee Shulman will run a talk and workshop on how pictures and words make a story. Dee Shulman has written and /or illustrated over 50 books, including the popular, highly original My Totally Secret Diary series. She has been translated into many languages, including Japanese, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Welsh, Dutch, and Finnish.
Tickets : £5 - Book Here
Saturday 30th June at 1pm
ALAN GIBBONS : ARE YOU IN A "TRAP"?
Award winning national children's author Alan Gibbons talks about his new book "Trap", exploring how 'change' impacts on his characters from ‘The Trap.’ A teen thriller about espionage, a missing brother and the ever-raging war on terror. Alan Gibbons has been writing children's books for twenty three years. He is the winner of the Blue Peter Book Award 2000 'The book I couldn't put down' for his best-selling book Shadow of the Minotaur.
Tickets : £5 - Book Here
Saturday 30th June at 1pm
HAVE YOU A SECRET CREATIVE PULSE?
Education officer, Linda Carey from Keats House will run a creative writing workshop for children, explaining how inspiration for poets like Keats can be found it surprising places.
Tickets : £5 - Book Here
Saturday 30th June at 2pm
COMMUNITY JOURNALISM
Can Community Journalism help fill the gaps in Local news? Founder and editor of entwo for Enfield, Martin Russo asks if community journalism could help?
Tickets : £5 - Book Here
Saturday 30th June at 2pm
ALEX WOOLF : WRITING CHILDREN AND YOUNG ADULT FICTION
Published children and young adult author, Alex Woolf offers some top tips and advice on writing. Alex Woolf's career as a professional author began in 2001, writing children’s non-fiction and, later, fiction for children and young adults. In that time, he has written anywhere between 80 and 100 books.
Tickets : £5 - Book Here
Saturday 30th June at 3pm
KURT BARLING : WHAT'S ABOUT THE "R" WORD
Acclaimed academic, journalist and author, Kurt Barling will be talking about journalism and his book, the 'R' word that explores his experience of racism in Britain today.
Tickets : £5 - Book Here
Saturday 30th June at 4pm
WHAT'S THE LINK TO KEATS AND ENFIELD?
Education officer, Linda Carey from Keats House, offers an exploration of life for Keats in Enfield and discusses how it could have informed inspiration for his work Despite his death at the age of 25, Keats is one of the greatest English poets and a key figure in the Romantic movement. He has become the epitome of the young, beautiful, doomed poet.
Tickets : £5 - Book Here
Saturday 30th June at 7.30pm
ROGER MCGOUGH + LITTLE MACHINE
Roger McGough’s new show with Walter, Steve & Chris of LiTTLe MACHiNe features a fine selection of vintage, classic & surprising poems set to music. It’s a gala gig that’s making waves! New album The Likes of Us. Hilarious and surreal, McGough is a poet of many voices. Menace and melancholy there may be, but with plenty of McGough's characteristic wit and wordplay too. His latest book It Never Rains is a collection of new verses with drawings by the author. President of the Poetry Society, he has been honoured with a CBE for services to literature and the Freedom of the City of Liverpool.
Tickets : £21.50 - Book Here
