By Erin Evett, Sophie Dickinson and Maria Sadek
York Literature Festival
02 – 27 March 2023
York
The York Literature Festival is back for 2023 with events for everyone, whether you are interested in fiction, poetry or non-fiction. Events will take place across the beautiful city of York in the form of talks, lectures, panels, debates, performances, storytelling pieces and workshops. There will also be a children’s literature workshop. For more information about the festival and for a complete list of events, click here. A selection of events is below:
The Prime Ministers – Reflections on Leadership from Harold Wilson to Rishi Sunak
17 March 2023, 7:00 p.m.
St Peter’s School, York
Award-winning author and BBC presenter Steve Richards will be discussing his political reflections on both his books The Prime Ministers and The Prime Ministers We Never Had. To book this event, click here.
Literary walk with David Holt
18 March 2023, 11:00 a.m.
Museum Gardens, York
Join David Holt, a Blue Badge Guide for Yorkshire, as he takes you on a tour of York’s literary history. It promises to be an informative and very enjoyable event. Holt has been teaching history for nearly thirty years and knows an exceptional amount about the history of literature in York. To book this event, click here.
Say Yes to the Small Press!
19 March 2023, 4:00–7:00 p.m.
Hungate Reading Café, York
Don’t miss out on this drop-in designed to highlight local publishing talent! Local presses, whether well-established or newly founded, will be coming together for author readings and to share books that they have published. Some of the presses that will be in attendance include Scran Press, Stairwell Books, Whimsical Publishing Press and Bitterleaf Books. For more information, click here.
Keep Talking: A Broadcasting Life with David Dimbleby
21 March 2023, 7:00 p.m.
St Peter’s School, York
Meet the legendary broadcaster David Dimbleby as he discusses his memoir Keep Talking. He will be reflecting on his fifty year career, including highlights such as hosting Question Time for twenty-five years, interviewing a diverse range of world leaders, making award-winning documentaries and his coverage of historical and world events. If you want to know more about the man behind the screen, then this event will be perfect for you. To book this event, click here.
Sleep When You’re Dead with Jude O’Reilly
27 March 2023, 7:00 p.m.
St Peter’s School, York
Join Jude O’Reilly in discussion about her new thriller Sleep When You’re Dead which was named the Financial Times 2022 Thriller of the Year. The novel follows protagonist Michael North as he is given thirty-six hours to investigate a doomsday cult on a remote Scottish island and prevent the deaths of thousands of people. In her discussion, O’Reilly will talk about character development and her work as a writer. To book this event, click here.
Crime Writers of South London in Conversation
18 March 2023, 4:00–5:00 p.m.
Deptford Lounge, London OR Online
With both in-person and livestream options, this event sees South London’s best crime writers, Nadine Matheson, Adam Simcox and Lara Thompson, in conversation. It features as part of the Deptford Literature Festival, which you can find more information on here. These authors will discuss their pathways into publishing and building a career as a commercial fiction writer, as well as the influence of local places in their work. The talk will be hosted by Bobby Nayyar, programme manager and writer who started his career in publishing at Faber and Faber, Little Brown and then founded his own imprint, Limehouse Books. For more information, click here.
An Evening with Margaret Atwood
16 March 2023, 7:30 p.m.
Emmanuel Centre, London OR Online
Don’t miss this incredibly exciting opportunity to meet award-winning author Margaret Atwood and celebrate the publication of her new collection of short stories Old Babes in the Woods. As the famed author of The Handmaid’s Tale, Atwood has achieved international acclaim, writing over fifty books across the categories of fiction, poems and critical essays. This is a fantastic chance to find out more about her brand new piece of work. The short stories themselves focus on the theme of experience and how this affects different relationships and generations. Tickets to this exciting event, along with the opportunity to buy a signed copy of the collection, can be found here. If you cannot make the in-person event, there will also be a livestream, for which tickets can be found by clicking this link.
Huddersfield Literature Festival
23 March 2023 – 02 April 2023
Huddersfield
The Huddersfield Literature Festival is an award winning festival held for ten days in March annually. This is a blended festival and will host over fifty digital, outdoor and venue based events held in-person, online and at accessible spaces in Huddersfield. The festival champions accessibility, diversity and underrepresented groups. This year there will be a diverse program of author talks, workshops, discussion topics, performance poetry and wellbeing events, showcasing emerging writers alongside major names. Recognisable names include Paterson Joseph, who is hosting a talk on his debut novel The Secret Diaries of Charles Ignatius Sancho. For more information and other events in the festival, click here.