In Penarth Literary Festival is back for 2023
It’s what we’ve all been waiting for! The Penarth Literary Festival is back for 2023. This very popular event, run by award-winning local bookshop Griffin Books, is bringing us 12 days of events, workshops and bookish fun for all ages and interests.
This year it promises to be bigger and better, so here is the full programme!
Reverend Richard Coles- BOOK SIGNING
Bestselling author and all-round national treasure, the Reverend Richard Coles will be popping into Griffin Books to sign copies of his new novel, A Death in the Parish, providing a unique opportunity to meet the much-loved author and have your book personally signed and dedicated. This is a ticketed event and places are strictly limited. Pre-booking is essential.
| Date | Wednesday 14th June |
| Time | 4pm-5pm |
| Location | Griffin Books |
| Price | £18 |
The Reverend Richard Coles: A Death in the Parish
We can’t think of a better way to kick off the Penarth Literary Festival than by welcoming bestselling author and all-around national treasure, the Reverend Richard Coles, to talk about his new novel A Death in the Parish.A Death in the Parish– the sequel to the number one Sunday Times bestseller Murder Before Evensong– sees Canon Daniel Clement and the parish of Champton embroiled in another crime caper that you won’t want to tear yourself away from!
| Date | Wednesday 14th June |
| Time | 7:30pm |
| Location | All Saints Church |
| Price | £20 |
Reverend Richard Coles- LIVE STREAM
Due to unprecedented demand, we are now live-streaming our sold out event with bestselling author and all round national treasure, the Reverend Richard Coles! You can join us (from the comfort of your own sofa) as Richard chats to Griffin Books owner, Mel, about his must-read new novel, A Death in the Parish– the sequel to his Sunday Times number on bestseller Murder Before Evensong.
The event will also be recorded for ticket-holders to view at a later date.
| Date | Wednesday 14th June |
| Time | 7:30pm |
| Location | Online, via live-stream |
| Price | £20 (including a signed hardback copy) / £10 (event only) |
Gwobr Llyfr y Flwyddyn: Y Rhestr Fer
Gwobr Llyfr y Flwyddyn yw prif wobr llenyddol Cymru, sy’n cynnig llwyfan hynod werthfawr i egin awduron ac awduron profiadol fel ei gilydd. Byddwn yn sgwrsio gyda rhai o’r awduron sydd wedi cyrraedd Rhestr Fer 2023 am eu cyfrolau, a beth fyddai ennill y Wobr yn ei olygu iddyn nhw. Caiff yr enwau eu cyhoeddi maes o law. Mewn partneriaeth â Llenyddiaeth Cymru
This is a Welsh-language event.
| Date | Thursday 15th June |
| Time | 7:30pm |
| Location | All Saints Lesser Hall |
| Price | £7 |
Children’s Illustration Workshop with Jack Skivens
Night of the Animal Wall, by illustrator and author Jack Skivens, follows the creatures of Cardiff’s famous Animal Wall as they magically come to life to explore the city after dark. In this hands-on workshop you will create your own enchanted animal characters and learn how to produce artwork that can tell a story.
For ages 6+. Parents must stay within the library building. All art materials are included.
| Date | Saturday 17th June |
| Time | 11am-12pm |
| Location | The Makers Space, Penarth Library |
| Price | £6 per child |
Lizzie Huxley-Jones: Vivi Conway and the Sword of Legend
Vivi Conway and the Sword of Legend is inspired by Lizzie Huxley-Jones’ own upbringing in North Wales, surrounded by the old castles, windswept coastline, awe-inspiring mountains and deep lakes of the Welsh landscape. Join us at Penarth Library as Lizzie guides you through their Welsh-myth inspired adventure story and shows you can put your own twist on ancient tales.
| Date | Saturday 17th June |
| Time | 2pm |
| Location | Penarth Library |
| Price | £6 per child |
Novel Beginnings: A Taste of Eighteenth Century Prose Fiction
Penarth-based scholar and lecturer Vicki Joule presents a special one-off seminar about the conception of the ‘novel’ as we know it today. No previous knowledge of the period or literary studies is needed- only curiosity and a pen!
This discussion-based seminar will give you a taste of the wonderful world of eighteenth-century fiction: the place where the novel really started to take shape. The session will cover the genre of ‘the novel’ and how it was perceived in this time, the different narrative styles and approaches, and the range of content and authors. To do this, we will explore the opening pages of a small selection of novels. As well as introducing you to the fiction of the period, the session might also provide creative inspiration for developing your own writing.
| Date | Sunday 18th June |
| Time | 10am-12:30pm |
| Location | Griffin Books |
| Price | £15 |
Paul Moorcraft: Churchill’s German Special Forces
The existence of German-speaking units fighting for the Allied cause during WW2 has largely remained a well-kept secret. In his ground-breaking new book, leading historian and foreign correspondent Paul Moorcraft uncovers the elite refugee troops who took the war to Hitler. Paul will be in conversation with fellow author historian, Phil Carradice.
| Date | Sunday 18th June |
| Time | 3pm |
| Location | All Saints Lesser Hall |
| Price | £7 |
Natalie Haynes: Stone Blind- Online Event
“So to mortal men, we are monsters. Because of our slight, our strength. They fear us, so they call us monsters.”
Join us online for a very special Zoom event with author and “rock star mythologist” Natalie Haynes, to celebrate the paperback release of Stone Blind. Long-listed for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023, Stone Blind brings the infamous Medusa to life as you have never seen her before.
| Date | Monday 19th June |
| Time | 7:30pm |
| Location | Online via Zoom |
| Price | £12 |
Diana Evans: A House for Alice
We’re delighted to welcome acclaimed novelist Diana Evans to Penarth to talk about her new book, A House for Alice. Set in the harrowing aftermath of the Grenfell tragedy, this powerful and moving novel from the author of Ordinary People follows the titular protagonist and her three daughters, as they search for a place Alice would be happy to call her last home.
| Date | Tuesday 20th June |
| Time | 7:30pm |
| Location | Penarth Pier Pavilion |
| Price | £7 |
The Full Welsh with Mike Parker & Jon Gower
New books from two of Wales’ most popular writers takes us on journeys right around the country’s edge. In The Turning Tide, Jon Gower delivers a hymn to a sea passage of world-historical importance: The Irish Sea, our watery, western border. In All The Wide Border, Mike Parker steers us landward, to the shifting line that has for two thousand years defined our eastern limits. Both books mix travelogue, history, nature, politics and identity, garnished with wit and served red hot.
Join Mike and Jon at Penarth Yacht Club for The Full Welsh- an event that circles all around Wales and back again.
| Date | Thursday 22nd June |
| Time | 7:30pm |
| Location | Penarth Yacht Club |
| Price | £7 |
Laura Shepherd-Robinson: The Square of Sevens
The Square of Sevens is the stunning new novel from rising literary star Laura Shepherd-Robinson. An epic and sweeping novel set in Georgian high society, it is a dazzling story offering up mystery, heartbreak, and audacious twists.
Join Laura in the dramatic setting of Penarth Pier Pavilion for an afternoon of mystery and intrigue, as we delve into the wonderful world of fortune-teller turned high society lady, Red.
| Date | Saturday 24th June |
| Time | 3pm |
| Location | All Saints Church |
| Price | £7 |
The BIG Festival Quiz!
Put your book knowledge to the test! Our popular festival Quiz Night is back (hurrah!), but this year there’s an added twist…Each team will be captained by a local author who will guide you through the rounds with their superior literary knowledge (or maybe not!). Expect themed tables, themed rounds and even book-themed drinks! We’re (not so secretly) looking forward to bringing out the competitive streak in our lovely local author friends.
Come as a group of up to six or join a team on the night to put your own bookish credentials to the test. You can choose whose team you’d like to join, but please note there are only 6 spaces available on each team.
The captains include, Chris Lloyd, Sophie Buckaillard, Louise Mumford, Carole Hailey, Laura Kemp, Rebecca F. John and Katie Munnik.
| Date | Saturday 24th June |
| Time | 7:30pm |
| Location | St Augustine’s Parish Hall |
| Price | £5 |
Poetry Showcase
The final day of this year’s Penarth Literary Festival sees the return of the hugely popular Poetry Showcase, hosted as in previous years by Penarth-based poet Stephen Payne. Join us for a lively evening of poetry and music as we close the festival in suitably poetic style.
Line-up to be announced soon!
| Date | Saturday 25th June |
| Time | 7:30pm |
| Location | All Saints Lesser Hall |
| Price | £7 |
