At once a literary salon, a grand prix, a business conference and more, this year's Surbiton festival - rebranded The Surbo - will be bigger than ever.
At once a literary salon, a grand prix, a business conference and more, this year's Surbiton festival - rebranded The Surbo - will be bigger than ever.
Bookworms and aspiring scribes take note – this year’s festival will have a whole day dedicated to you. The annual festival begins today and runs until next Saturday, September 27. And, for the first time, organisers have set aside the Wednesday of the festival week for poetry workshops, writing discussions and more, run by authors acclaimed locally and nationally.
Pat Freestone-Bayes, from the Regency Bookshop in Victoria Road, has got involved and hopes her shop’s new partnership with the festival will help raise awareness of reading. Big names signed up for the Surbo Yarns sessions include bestselling children’s author Emma Dodds, who will talk to school pupils about the characters she has created. The day’s events will see poet Reg Starkey hold a poetry workshop at the YMCA, titled A trip to Limerick via Haiku and Villanelle.
Writer and former nurse Anne Watts will visit St Mark’s Church to talk about her life looking after children in war zones, and how her experiences influenced her writing. In the evening, travel writer David Le Vay and novelist David Shaw Mackenzie will give a joint presentation on their work at the Pickled Pantry.
The week-long festival will also offer cooking demonstrations by Kingston foodbank chefs, as well as musical performances at the Cornerhouse community theatre. Visit surbitonfestival.co.uk or call 020 8399 2188.
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