The Chiswick Book Festival:
September 25th-27th 2009
The Festival's official website has gone live. These pages will no longer be updated. Please click here: www.chiswickbookfestival.org
Make a Weekend of it!
Scroll down to see how to buy tickets:
Saturday or Sunday Daypass (£5 per day); individual tickets for Antonia Fraser (£5), Anthony Horowitz (£3) and Jacqueline Wilson (£3)
Festival leaflets are now available in Waterstone's, Savills, Trotters, Sam's Brasserie & Bar, Chiswick Library, the Oxfam Bookshop, Lad's Newsagents and at St Michael & All Angels Church (right).
Watch for programme updates, including additional events and venues:
More information, updates, news and Advance Booking Form
Programme of Events
Friday September 25th 2009 *
4.30 for 5.00pm Anthony Horowitz – Alex Rider and Beyond
The best-selling creator of Alex Rider, the Diamond Brothers and The Power of Five tells us what happens next….! Books on sale for signing afterwards. www.anthonyhorowitz.com
St Michael & All Angels Church (above right). £3. From Waterstone’s or via advance booking form. Refreshments available from 4.30pm.
7.00 for 7.30pm Antonia Fraser – Mary Queen of Scots Revisited
To mark publication of the 40th anniversary edition of her first major biography, Antonia Fraser discusses one of history’s most romantic and controversial characters. Books on sale for signing afterwards. www.antoniafraser.com
St Michael & All Angels Church. £7.50. From Waterstone’s or via advance booking form. Refreshments available from 7pm. Supported by Savills, Chiswick High Road.
* Details correct at time of going to press (26.08.09) but some may be subject to change. Watch Festival website, posters and noticeboards for updates.
Saturday September 26th 2009 *
Saturday Morning - Children's Book Festival
All events free. Supported by Trotters in Turnham Green Terrace
10am: Captain Yellowbelly opens his treasure chest!
Preston Rutt
(Captain Yellowbelly: The Tale of the Terrible Pirate). St Michael & All Angels Hall downstairs.
10.30am: Sir Ian McKellen & Michelle Paver - Ghost Hunter
The best-selling author of the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series introduces the sixth and last in the series, with the eminent actor who reads the stories on audio-book. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs.
11am: Dragons Den!
Timothy Knapman (Guess What I Found in Dragon Wood) and Gareth Jones (Dragon Detective Agency). St Michael & All Angels Hall downstairs.
12 noon: Green Fingers and Vegetable Glue
Susan Chandler,
writer of Vegetable Glue, and Karen Liebreich, co-author of The Family Kitchen Garden, read from their books and show that vegetables can be fun.
St Michael & All Angels Hall downstairs.
Authors will sign copies of their books, which will be on sale in the Church. Refreshments will be available after sessions. And look out for details of the Chiswick Book Festival Treasure Hunt.
Saturday Afternoon
12 noon: Lynn Barber – An Education
Britain's "pre-eminent newspaper interviewer" talks to best-selling journalist and novelist Jane Gordon about her new memoir, being filmed with Emma Thompson and Rosmund Pike, with a script by Nick Hornby. Signings afterwards.
St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Saturday Day Pass.
2pm: Chick Lit for the Thinking Woman
Katie Fforde (Loves Me, Loves Me Not), Judy Astley (Other People’s Husbands), Olivia Lichtenstein (Things Your Mother Never Told You), Rebecca Farnworth (Valentine). Chair: Rebecca Jones (BBC Arts Correspondent, Costa Prize 2009 judge). St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Saturday Day Pass
2.30pm-4.30pm: Poetry in the Church
Reading by acclaimed poet James Berry, followed by the launch of the Ealing Arts Poetry Competition 2009 (www.ealingarts.org.uk) and poetry workshops. St Michael & All Angels Church. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Saturday Day Pass
3.30pm: Christina Odone - The Good Divorce Guide
The former Catholic Herald editor and deputy editor of the New Statesman talks to Celia Brayfield about her new novel. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Saturday Day Pass.
4.30pm: Do Creative Writing Courses work?
Author Celia Brayfield teaches on the MA in novel-writing course at Brunel University. Does it help writers get published? An agent, a publisher and a graduate have their say. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall downstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Saturday Day Pass.
4.30pm: David Nicholls - One Day
The best-selling writer of Starter for Ten has had rave reviews for his new book - from Nick Hornby, Tony Parsons and Kate Mosse! But would he rather be writing screenplays like Cold Feet and Tess of the Durbervilles? St Michael & All Angels Church. Admission by Saturday Day Pass. Followed by Book Festival Drinks and Audiobook of the Year awards.
6pm-7.15pm: Book Festival Drinks
With special guest Sir Peter Blake, who will sign copies of his books. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall downstairs and Church. Admission free. Drinks on sale: profits to Festival charities.
7 for 7.30pm: Book Quiz Supper
Enjoy a three-course meal with friends and a highly entertaining literary quiz.
St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Tickets £20 (wine not included), or book a table for 8. Tickets only via Advance Booking Form (Box Office email: Helen@may.be).
* Details correct at time of going to press (26.08.09) but some may be subject to change. Watch Festival website, posters and noticeboards for updates.
Sunday September 27th 2009 *
From 9.30-11am: Sam’s Family Book Brunch at Sam’s Brasserie & Bar
Bring the children to meet, eat and be entertained - with Helen Nathan, writer of Flossie Crums and the Fairy Cupcake Ball, and other children's authors. No charge but donations to Festival charities. Reservations (space is limited) direct to Sam’s Brasserie & Bar, 11 Barley Mow Passage, London W4 - through Fiona in the office, Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm on 020 8987 0555.
12 noon: From the Virgin Queen to the King of Scots
Historian Tracy Borman (Elizabeth’s Women – the week's BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week) and novelist Christie Dickason (The King’s Daughter) on the dazzling courts of Elizabeth I and James I. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Sunday Day Pass.
2pm: Michael Frayn – Travels with a Typewriter
When not writing novels and plays, Michael Frayn worked as a journalist. He discusses his travel writings, with his daughter Rebecca Frayn, screenwriter and novelist. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Sunday Day Pass.
2.30pm: Jacqueline Wilson – Cookie and My Secret Diary
The best-selling creator of Tracy Beaker, and former Children’s Laureate, talks about her new books and gives a rare sneak preview of Hetty Feather, due to hit the shops in October. Books on sale for signing afterwards. St Michael & All Angels Church. £3. From Waterstone’s or via advance booking form. Refreshments available afterwards.
3pm: The Perfect Book Club Book
Which books are most popular with local book clubs and which work best? What influence have Richard & Judy had? Discussion with book club members, led by Celia Brayfield. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Sunday Day Pass
3pm: Jane Kelly – Inside - a writer’s guide to life in prison
Journalist Jane Kelly talks with Matthew Hickley about her new book, Inside, about life working inside Wormwood Scrubs. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall downstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Sunday Day Pass.
4pm: The Perfect Crime - from book to screen
Top crime writers discuss their craft, including Sophie Hannah (The Other Half Lives), Roy Mitchell (creator of BBC One’s New Tricks), Stav Sherez (The Black Monastery) and Dan Waddell (Blood Atonement) www.danwaddell.net. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Sunday Day Pass.
4pm: Sam Delaney - Night of the Living Dad: Confessions of a Shabby Father
Columnist and broadcaster Sam Delaney, on his entertaining memoir about growing up in Chiswick and becoming a father. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall downstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Sunday Day Pass
4pm: Candida Lycett-Green (Unwrecked England) and Matthew Rice (Architectural Primer)
The Oldie and Country Life columnist (daughter of Sir John Betjeman, who loved Bedford Park and called it "probably the most significant suburb in the western world") celebrates 100 of her favourite lesser-known places, from every county in England. With Matthew Rice, designer and husband of Emma Bridgewater. His new book was described in the Independent as "this excellent and beautiful guide to British architecture". St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Admission by Sunday Day Pass.
7.30pm Comedy: An Evening with Dan Brown…and other Literary Figures
Book-themed comedy night at the Tabard Theatre with The Aspidistras, fresh from their successful run at the Edinburgh Festival. Supported by Savills, Chiswick High Road. The Tabard Theatre. Tickets £8. Only via Advance Booking Form.
How to buy tickets
We’ve tried to keep ticket prices simple and reasonable. Admission to most events is by a Festival Day Pass, costing £5 per day (Saturday and Sunday). The Children's Book Festival on Saturday morning is free of charge.
A few events require individual tickets: Antonia Fraser (£5), Anthony Horowitz (£3) and Jacqueline Wilson (£3). We recommend booking early.
Day passes and tickets for author events are on sale at Waterstone’s, 220 Chiswick High Road, W4 1PD and by post via the Advance Booking Form. Forms can be found at: St Michael & All Angels Church (in the porch and inside); Lad’s Newsagents, Bedford Corner; or downloaded from this website www.chiswickbookfestival.org.
Tickets for the Book Quiz Supper on Saturday night cost £20 per head (for the quiz and a three-course meal, excluding wine) and can only be booked via the Advance Booking Form. Quiz-goers are invited to make up tables of 8.
Tickets for the comedy night at the Tabard Theatre cost £8 each and should be bought through the Advance Booking Form.