Hurrah, hurrah, Durham’s annual book festival returns, celebrating the power of the written word. Produced by New Writing North, the Durham County Council event features an exclusive dramatic reading of Pat Barker’s new novel The Voyage Home in association with Live Theatre. The Booker Prize winning Durham novelist will also be in conversation with writer Adelle Stripe.
Sunderland-born Terry Deary is behind the global-hit Horrible Histories, selling over 38 million books in 45 languages. He’ll be presenting his first book for adults, A History of Britain in Ten Enemies. This home-grown talent stars alongside blockbuster American authors Jodi Picoult and Rebecca F. Kuang.
Jodi Picoult has written 30 books and sold 40 million copies. She’ll discuss her latest historical novel, By Any Other Name. On to Yellowface which was an instant #1 Sunday Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick. Rebecca F. Kuang discusses her page-turning phenomenon that follows the misadventures of failed novelist June Hayward.
Rebecca Wilkie, Durham Book Festival Director at New Writing North, said: “Our flagship book festival builds on a remarkable legacy. 2024 features a new commission to tell new narratives of our region, and welcomes a local literary icon, Pat Barker, with the premiere of a commission inspired by her new book. Durham is leading on a new era of creativity for the North East.”
The author of The Damned Utd, Yorkshire-born David Peace, will talk about Munichs: A Novel. The New York Times praised Peace for writing “the boldest and most original British fiction of his generation.” Here, he tells the story of the crash and aftermath of Flight 609 carrying the young Manchester United team.
The festival also showcases a new commission, North East Now, which tasked 12 northern writers to pen new narratives for the North East to mark devolution. Three of the writers – Arlen Pettitt, Louise Powell, and Richard Benson – will take part in a discussion exploring their themes that challenge northern stereotypes.
Another Booker Prize-winning author, Alan Hollinghurst, will discuss his astonishing first novel in over a decade – Our Evenings, a dark, luminous, and wickedly funny portrait of modern England. And Tracy Chevalier, of Girl with a Pearl Earring fame, brings her Venetian historical novel, The Glassmaker.
For the first time, Durham Book Festival will host the renowned Forward Prizes for Poetry. An unmissable fixture on the literary calendar, twenty outstanding poets will perform their work at an awards ceremony hosted by poet and performer Joelle Taylor, featuring BBC Radio 6 Music’s Craig Charles. Poetry lovers can also enjoy an evening with the former National Poet for Scotland, Jackie Kay, with her new poetry collection, May Day. The poet-turned-novelist Andrew McMillan will explore the theme ‘writing the north’ with fellow novelist Tawseef Khan.
The above is just a short taster, there are ‘many and varied’ authors at the Durham Book Festival, indeed, a feast, and also a screening of a documentary on the life of the working-class photographer, Tish Murtha, and a talk on capturing working-class lives with writer Tom Newlands and documentarian Jen Corcoran. And yes, I am slightly out of breath as I list so many treats, when, frankly, I am merely skimming the surface. Do go, it all sounds fabulous.
Founded in 1990, Durham Book Festival is a Durham County Council event produced by New Writing North, with support from Durham University and Arts Council England. To book, visit www.durhambookfestival.com