Great Writers at Harrogate International Festivals

Raworths Literature and Lecture Series. Henry Sutton, author, journalist and books editor of the Daily Mirror, returns as the 2012 guest Literature Curator. Henry has put together a fabulous programme that combines high quality literature with high quality debate and yet remains accessible and features a number of well-known names, featuring in some of the most magnificent venues Harrogate has to offer, including the Old Swan Hotel, Wesley Chapel and Harrogate Theatre. Bestseller Victoria Hislop, Dickens’ biographer Claire Tomalin, Grumpy Old Men’s John O’Farrell,  British Book Awards winner Kate Summerscale and the Man Booker Prize shortlisted Jon McGregor.will feature, among many other big names. We've brought you some more top picks below to help you decide! We anticipate demand to be high, so literature lovers out there should book soon to avoid disappointment. For our full programme of inspirational writers, visit www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com Box Office: 01423 502 116 Michael Frayn -Saturday 7 July, Spiegeltent, 3.30pm A modern master, acclaimed for his outstanding journalism, brilliant comic and cerebral plays and subtle novels, Michael Frayn is one of our finest contemporary writers best known for the long-running and much-loved farce, Noises Off. His dramas Copenhagen and Democracy recently featured in a high profile retrospective of his work. His latest novel Skios is a story of mislaid identity, misdirected passion and miscalculated consequences set on the Greek island. Tickets: £8 (unreserved) Box Office: 01423 502 116 | BOOK NOW Sue Townsend - Thursday 26 July, Wesley Chapel, 6pm Sue Townsend is the creator of one of the most successful characters in Britain’s modern literary history. Thirty years after writing the iconic first Adrian Mole book, Sue Townsend remains one of Britain’s most popular novelists. Her work is characterised by the combination of comedy with social commentary. Her father was a postman, she left school at 15 and after working in a factory and shop and married a sheet-metal worker and began a family. After joining a writers’ group in her thirties, her life changed. Townsend has had a difficult relationship with success. Her health battles, including a kidney transplant and blindness, are reflected in her work. Her recent novel is The Woman Who Went to Bed for a Year. Tickets: £10 (unreserved) Box Office: 01423 502 116 | BOOK NOW Tom Service Saturday 14 July, Wesley Chapel, 11am Tom Service regularly presents Music Matters, Radio 3′s flagship classical music magazine programme exploring the big ideas driving today’s music world. He writes for The Guardian, BBC Music Magazine, Opera, and Tempo and teaches at Trinity College of Music. His book, Music as Alchemy, explores the magic of the conductor’s silent gestures to inspire orchestras to the heights of musical and expressive possibility and the demigod-like status many maestros inspire. It reveals how the catalysts of place, time, and personal history are alchemised into the indelible magic of life-changing performances. Tickets: £10 Box Office: 01423 502 116 | BOOK NOW Nile Rodgers Friday 27 July, Harrogate Theatre, 12.30pm Nile Rodgers is one of the world’s greatest producers and the co-founder of hit 70s band Chic. In this very special spoken word event he’ll be talking about his life and work and the stories which make up his fascinating autobiography, Le Freak. Rodgers has worked with just about every major star, from Michael Jackson and Bob Dylan to Prince and Duran Duran. Born into a mixed-race family of dopefiend bohemians, he learned – at a very early age – everything he needed to know about love, loss, fashion, art, music, and the subversive power of underground culture. He jammed with Jimi Hendrix, took acid with Timothy Leary, toured with Big Bird on Sesame Street’s road show, and played guitar behind history’s greatest soul singers. And then, one night, he discovered disco. Tickets: £12 Box Office: 01423 502 116 | BOOK NOW Sarah Raven Saturday 28 July, Wesley Chapel, 3,30pm Gardening is the new rock ‘n’ roll, and Sarah Raven is the poster girl for all things you can grow, cut and eat from your garden. Combining an ethical approach to the earth, her BBC TV series Pollination Nation looks at the vital role of the small things that run the world: insects. Her latest book, ties in with the TV show, looking at the crucial work wildflowers play in the British countryside. She is a regular writer for the Telegraph, presenter of BBC Gardeners’ World and award-winning author for her gardening and cookery books, including Sarah Raven’s Garden Cookbook. Prepare to be inspired to get your hands dirty. Sarah Raven will be interviewed by Elizabeth Balmforth, curator of RHS Garden Harlow Carr. Tickets: £8 Box Office: 01423 502 116 | BOOK NOW