2014 raworths harrogate literature festival guide

The Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival, launched in 2012, has become the hot ticket on the national Festival circuit thanks to its stellar line-up of literary names.

Hosted over a long weekend in the Edwardian grandeur of Harrogate’s St George Hotel, you’ll experience inspiring talks and stimulating debate – all in a convivial atmosphere. Socialise with fellow book lovers, relax in style, and soak up our eclectic programme designed to entertain and inspire. Come for a day-long experience, dip into one-off events, or indulge in the whole weekend!

Book Online | www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.comBook Online | www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com Box Office | 01423 562 303Box Office | 01423 562 303

Viv Groskop: I Laughed, I Cried | 1pm

Viv Groskop is a prolific journalist, BBC Radio 4 broadcaster and stand-up comedian. She first performed with Stephen Fry in a Footlights show in Cambridge at 18 and then did nothing on stage for 20 years. Pushing forty,

recession-scarred, wondering what to make of the rest of her life, Viv plunged into one of the most difficult-to-achieve art forms. She succeeded, and you will see why.

Tickets: £12 Unreserved

MP Kwasi Kwarteng In Conversation with Hugh Pym | 2.30pm

In his latest book War and Gold Kwasi Kwarteng turns his expert gaze to the fascinating history of international finance. From the Spanish conquistadors’ discovery of the

New World in the Sixteenth Century to the financial crash of 2008, Kwarteng will be In Conversation with the Chief Economics Correspondent for BBC News, Hugh Pym. Hugh is one of only a handful of broadcast correspondents to have covered the financial crisis from its origins in 2007 to the present. He was part of the BBC News Team which won an award for their coverage of the crisis.


RAWORTHS HARROGATE LITERATURE FESTIVALSir Ranulph Fiennes Cold: Extreme Adventures at the Lowest Temperatures on Earth | 6.30pm

Sir Ranulph Fiennes (OBE) has spent much of his life exploring in conditions of extreme cold. Dubbed as ‘the world’s greatest explorer’, Fiennes takes us on a voyage through his

latest book Cold. Historically questioning and intensely personal, Cold is a celebration of a life dedicated to researching and exploring some of the most hostile and brutally cold places on earth.


Kate AdieFighting On The Home Front | 8pm

Bestselling author and award-winning former BBC Chief News Correspondent Kate Adie reveals the ways in which women’s lives changed during WWI and what the impact has been for women in its centenary year. In 1914

the world changed forever. When WWI broke out and a generation of men went off to fight, Kate Adie shows how women emerged from the shadows of their domestic lives.


Raworths Literary Lunchin association with Yorkshire Life | 12pm

Join us for a delicious three course lunch and enlightening speakers including: BBC Presenter Kirsty Wark, Newsnight anchor for over fourteen years; comedy writer David Nobbs, creator of the unforgettable character Reginald

Perrin; and journalist, author and political commentator Nick Cohen.Tickets: £35 Including Lunch

Simon Thurley: The Building of England3.30pm

Throughout England’s cultural history, its buildings have reflected changing economic circumstances and fashions, and architecture has always been an expression of power and influence. The Building of England is a

fascinating exploration of the history of English architecture with leading architectural historian Simon Thurley who has been the Head of English Heritage since 2003.


Linda ColleyActs of Union, Acts of Disunion | 5.00pm

In a year that sees a Scottish referendum on independence, historian Linda Colley analyses some of the forces that have unified Britain in the past. She examines the mythology of Britishness, and how far – and why – it has

faded. She discusses the Acts of Union with Wales, Scotland and Ireland and considers how the pieces might be put together anew.


BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner6.30pm

On 6 June 2004 BBC Security Correspondent Frank Gardner and cameraman Simon Cumbers were ambushed by Islamist gunmen in a quiet Riyadh back street. As he lay in the dust, a figure stood over him and pumped

four more bullets into him at point-blank range. Frank survived. Ten years on, although partly paralysed, he continues to travel reporting for the BBC. Ex-ITV Political Editor, Gerry Foley, interviews.


SALON NorthGets Up Close to Personal Taste | 8pm

SALON North is a revolutionary movement for the heart and mind, in which three speakers bring you stimulating ideas in art, science and psychology. We will hear from: author and musician Daniel Rachel, who will reveal the

stories behind the UK’s best songs and help us enjoy our playlists on a whole other level; renowned philosopher Julian Baggini who examines our taste in food, and asks could food be better for the soul than art?; and Ella Berthoud will be leading the audience in a bibliotherapy session LIVE to ensure you get the right book for you.


The Financial Times’ Mrs Moneypenny10.30am

The hilarious and wise Mrs Moneypenny will show you how to set your own financial finish line, and then how to go about reaching it. From cutting your grocery bills to buying a house, from starting a business to saving a

pension, she gives practical ways to think about your money and take control of your life. Mrs Moneypenny will inspire you, inform you, and above all, empower you.


DCI Banks From Page to Screen | 12.00pm

Much loved TV drama DCI Banks returned to our screens for a third series on ITV in February 2014. In this unique event we join best-selling author Peter Robinson, as he discusses watching DCI Banks move from page to screen with none other

than Stephen Tompkinson. The two will be joined by executive producer Gabriel Silver from Left Bank Pictures.


Bibliotherapy LIVE with Ben Aaronovitch and Ella Berthoud | 2.00pm

Where do you place yourself on the book scale? Do you judge others by the books they have on their shelves? Bibliotherapy allows us to unleash in to our lives the magic held between two end papers.

Witness a bibliotherapy LIVE session with bestselling author Ben Aaronovitch in the chair, ready to have his literary past probed and future prescribed.


Digesting Literature with John Crace and John Sutherland | 3.30pm

‘The Two Johnnies’ team up for a fantastic literary double act. Crace is best known for the Digested Read in the Guardian: deadly parodies of contemporary books. Sutherland is an academic, biographer,

and author of the recent A Little History of Literature. Expect an irreverent look at today’s literary landscape from this unorthodox pairing. What a tonic!


Mark Watson: Hotel Alpha | 5.00pm

Mark Watson is the author of four acclaimed novels and is also a stand-up comedian, well-known for his appearances on Never Mind the Buzzcocks and Mock the Week. His highly original live shows consistently

delight audiences and critics alike the world over. Mark will discuss his latest release Hotel Alpha, his most ambitious and accomplished novel to date.


FRIDAY 11 JULY

THURSDAY 10 JULY

SATURDAY 12 JULY

Box Office | 01423 562 303www.ha r r oga te in te r na t iona l f e s t i va l s . com

Book Online | www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.comBook Online | www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com Box Office | 01423 562 303

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Jay Rayner: A Greedy Man in a Hungry World | 6.30pm

Restaurant critic and BBC One Show reporter Jay Rayner combines hard-nosed reporting with witty memoir to take you on a journey through the world’s edible landscape. From debunking a

supermarket trolley full of myths to shooting the food world’s most cherished sacred cows, this talk will change the way you shop, cook and eat forever.


Arthur Smith: At Your Service | 8pm

Join comedian, writer, broadcaster and all-round British institution Arthur Smith, known for his appearances on TV’s Grumpy Old Men, Q.I., Have I Got News For You, The One Show, and host of Radio 4 Extra’s Comedy Club.

Expect an evening of sublime playfulness, crammed with jokes, anecdotes, and readings from his critically acclaimed memoir My Name Is Daphne Fairfax.


Matthew Dennison - Queen Victoria: A Life of Contradictions | 12.30pm

Queen Victoria embraced photography, railway travel and modern art; she resisted compulsory education for the working classes and recommended for a leading women’s rights campaigner ‘a

good whipping’. She may or may not have been amused. Fresh, witty and accessible, Matthew Dennison gives a compelling assessment of Victoria’s mercurial character and her impact, with the irony, flourish and insight that this Queen and her rule so richly deserve.


Ben Crystal: The Once and Future Shakespeare | 2.30pm

As we approach Shakespeare’s 450th birthday celebration, what do the next 50 years hold for his works? Actor and producer Ben Crystal discusses why our approach to Shakespeare’s works may

need to change, how we can learn from the practices of the

past to see our way forward, and the dramatic effect these lessons may have on the existing canon. Excerpts from Shakespeare will be performed by Crystal and members of his Shakespeare ensemble.


Rock Stars Stole My Life:Mark Ellen and Mark Billingham | 4.00pm

Journalist and broadcaster Mark Ellen talks to crime-writer Mark Billingham about his ‘big bad love affair with music’. Ellen will talk about working on Smash Hits, the NME, Radio 1, the legendary Old Grey Whistle Test and

presenting Live Aid, which took place 29 years ago. He will reveal which rock stars were most ‘difficult’, which was stark naked during an interview and may even demonstrate the dance moves of the former university band-mate who went on to become Prime Minister!


Word Perfect: Mark Forsyth and Simon Garfield | 5.30pm

Bestselling authors Mark Forsyth and Simon Garfield take a jaunt through the English language, from workaday notes and letters between friends to advertising slogans and legendary speeches. Simon Garfield explores

how we have written to each other over the centuries and what letters reveal about our lives. Mark Forysth divulges the tricks of his writing trade and convincingly argues that you don’t need to have anything to say, you just need to say it well!


Pity of War | 8pmMatthew Trussler, violinMartin Rodscoe, pianoTimothy West

In this Centenary year of WWI, one of our greatest actors, Timothy West, reads the writings of iconic war poet Wilfrid Owen.

West is accompanied by internationally-renowned pianist, Martin Roscoe, and Britain’s leading violinist Matthew Trusler, who will perform the elegiac sonatas of Elgar, Janácek and Debussy written during the Great War. Be moved and inspired by Owen’s moral courage and humanity, and the power and glory of the world’s greatest composers, triumphing over the global conflict that took warfare to a new level of horror.


SUNDAY 13 JULY

HOW TO BOOKPhone: 01423 562 303Online: www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.comEmail: [email protected] Person: Harrogate International Festivals, 32 Cheltenham Parade, Harrogate, HG1 1DBOpeningTimes: Monday – Saturday, 10am – 5pm

Payment: Harrogate International Festivals Box Office accepts all major credit/debit cards (except American Express), cash and cheques. Cheques should be made payable to ‘Harrogate International Festivals’. Please note that all transactions are subject to a £1.75 booking fee.

Harrogate International Festivals is a registered charity, no. 244861. All information correct at time of going to print. Harrogate International Festivals reserves the right to make such alterations as may become necessary.

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2014 raworths harrogate literature festival guide

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