Don’t make any travel plans this July – the Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival line-up for 2015 is another cracker you won’t want to miss! We have a veritable smorgasbord of delights to suit all tastes – backstabbing, scandal, politics (please note this list is in no particular order), adventure, business advice, beauty, tragedy, comedy, fantasy, and lunch.
Hosted over one long weekend in the grandeur of Harrogate’s Crown Hotel, you’ll experience inspiring talks and stimulating debate. Socialise with fellow book lovers, relax in style, and soak up our eclectic programme designed to entertain and inspire.
Some big names in fiction are appearing this year: Sadie Jones, whose prizewinning novel The Outcast is being screened on the BBC this year, literary heavyweight Louis de Bernieres with a timely romance of the First World War, and there’s a witty foray into Norse mythology from the multi-talented Joanne Harris. Meanwhile, those with a taste for beautiful things will delight in the appearance of Ultimo founder and general superwoman Michelle Mone at our Raworths Literary Lunch, followed by priestess of pottery Emma Bridgewater, and Guardian beauty guru Sali Hughes.
From the world of politics, our guests include long-serving Labour MPs Dennis Skinner and Alan Johnson, both of whom present their memoirs, and Sam Delaney, whose book Mad Men and Bad Men is a hugely entertaining behind-the-scenes tour of the election campaigns of the last four decades. Former Newsnight journalist Gavin Esler also throws light on how major players operate, revealing the leadership techniques of celebs from Bill Clinton to Angelina Jolie – many of whom he’s interviewed himself.
Other familiar faces from our screens are musicians Noddy Holder of Slade and Tracey Thorn of Everything But the Girl. Tracey will focus on singing, but Noddy will speak on everything from showbiz and beyond, as will comedian Dom Joly and the British television institution that is Bill Oddie! Media darlings Richard Madeley and Judy Finnigan are back for a second year, promoting Judy’s new novel on the disappearance of a son while sailing. In an odd coincidence, we also have Countrywise presenter Paul Heiney speaking about his moving journey to reconnect with the son who committed suicide, by going on a sailing trip they had planned together.
In the ever-muddied field of relationships, we have Robert Sackville West with his family history that rivals the best in costume
drama (and ties in with a new life of Vita Sackville West coming out this year) and Oxford muse Theodore Zeldin, who will explore our relationships to tell us how we can find the Hidden Pleasures of Life. We also dive down the rabbit hole with Robert Douglas-Fairhurst, whose Story of Alice reveals how Alice Liddell’s relationship with Lewis Carroll influenced the stories we all know and love for the 150th anniversary of Alice in Wonderland.
2015 also marks the 150th year since the death of Admiral Robert Fitzroy, whose revolutionary work on weather forecasting finally gave every Englishman something to talk about. Peter Moore tells the rather swashbuckling story of how it became a science for the first time. Lastly, from gale forces to market forces, political economist Will Hutton has a plan to change the way we do business for everyone’s benefit. As the Guardian put it, it’s not socialism – just better capitalism. Come along and you could literally profit from his advice!
Most events are now available to book via the Festival website at http://harrogateinternationalfestivals.com/raworths-harrogate-literature-festival-july/, or as always, you can phone the box office on 01423 562 303.
See you there!