Marlborough.
The Home of Great Writing. |
When it comes to literature we can all feel very proud to live in the Marlborough area. William Golding, Siegfried Sassoon and John Betjeman are just some of the names that have affirmed Marlborough’s place in this country’s literary history.
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William Golding, author of Lord of The Flies and Nobel and Booker prize winner, spent his formative years at No.29 The Green, Marlborough. He attended Marlborough Grammar School and went on to teach at Bishop Wordsworth’s School in Salisbury, living in Wiltshire for most of his life.
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Judy Golding, William’s daughter, has always made a point of stopping off to see the old house whenever passing nearby. Her new book The Children of Lovers suggests how this period may have affected her father’s writing. |
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Lauren Child is the creator of Charlie & Lola. She will talk about how her new book Ruby Redfort, aimed at children aged 11-12, as well as Clarice Bean for younger readers.
Lauren now lives in London but attended both St John’s and Marlborough College. This is a great opportunity to treat your children or grandchildren to an insight into the way she creates her fabulous characters.
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Peter Davison lives in the area. He is a recognized expert on another of our most important writers, George Orwell.
Orwell had strong views on what constitutes Englishness, be it The Lion and The Unicorn or the perfect way to make a cup of tea, and it’s just possible that Marlborough would have epitomised the English market town for him. When Peter visits The Merchant’s House you can discover how compiling the great author’s complete works almost constituted an Orwellian nightmare in its own right.
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The concept of 'Englishness' and 'Non-Englishness' is one of many that will be further explored during our festival.
Mario Petrucci and Nikesh Shukla form a highly contrasting pairing, but one which collectively celebrates words and poetry, whether from the standpoint of ecological science or hip-hop music.
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Between September 22nd and 25th Marlborough will be the host, as well as the home, of great writing. |
This year’s Literature Festival will complement Marlborough’s writing heritage with a brilliant range of authors from the length and breadth of The UK, across a wide cultural spectrum and with influences from as far away as Denmark, Jamaica and even Australia. All will be visiting our beautiful pocket of England and adding to our town’s remarkable literary connections.
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The Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society will this month be paying out over £6million to over 17,000 writers. If you have had anything published then visit www.alcs.co.uk to find out how to join and make sure you receive any payments you might be due. We pay money to all types of writer.
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For tickets and more information:
www.marlboroughlitfest.org
01249 701628
The White Horse Bookshop,
136 High Street, Marlborough |
