Trio of renowned Cornwall-based authors confirmed for 2015 Penzance Literary Festival

Acclaimed travel writer Philip Marsden and novelist and memoirist Nina Stibbe will be joined on the bill by festival regular Patrick Gale, author of the hugely successful Notes from an Exhibition, whose latest book is due out in March.

The four-day festival, which will run from 8 to 11 July, is now in its sixth year.

Festival producer Joy Salisbury said:“We’re absolutely delighted to have Philip Marsden, Nina Stibbe and Patrick Gale appearing at the festival this year. They’re authors who really reflect what Penzance Literary Festival is all about.”

“Here in Cornwall we have a wonderful situation. The local literary culture is so strong, and there are so many major writers based in the county that it’s very easy to put together a festival with a world-class line-up that still feels like a thoroughly local affair.”

Philip Marsden, who lives on the River Fal in south Cornwall, will appear on the first day of the festival to talk about his critically acclaimed book Rising Ground: A Search for the Spirit of Place.

Marsden first found fame in the 1990s with travel books about such far-flung places as Armenia and Ethiopia, but this most recent title sees him exploring the landscapes and histories of Cornwall itself.

Nina Stibbe, meanwhile, is a Truro-based author whose recently published novel, Man at the Helm, has gained rave reviews on par with those for her successful debut memoir, Love, Nina.

Penzance Literary Festival began life in 2010 as a minor gathering on the fringes of a craft fair, but has expanded rapidly into a significant and diverse celebration of books, reading and writing, with music, theatre and performance poetry added to the mix. 

“Penzance Litfest is now a major event, but unlike many other festivals we’ve deliberately steered clear of corporate sponsorship, the whole thing is still totally volunteer-run, and we’ve kept ticket prices spectacularly low,” said Rachel Viney from the festival’s executive committee.

“We’re now regularly getting approaches from very famous authors and major publishers, which is fantastic. But we also still make plenty of space on the bill for local experts talking about all sorts of topics, and for writers and poets unknown outside of Cornwall, and this year for the first time we’re also actively encouraging a festival fringe to develop.

One local writer is festival patron Patrick Gale, whose bestselling novels Notes from an Exhibition and A Perfectly Good Man have been set in West Cornwall. This year he’ll be talking about his forthcoming book, A Place Called Winter – which for once eschews Gale’s Cornish homeland, and is set on the Canadian prairies.

Patrick said: “Beautiful, quirky, rich in history, mercifully unspoilt by tourism and chock full of interesting and interested people – Penzance is the ideal setting for a festival of books and reading."

Penzance Literary Festival, runs from 8 July to 11 July 2015 at venues across Penzance.

More details of the programme will be announced in the coming weeks and months. For more information see the official festival website – www.penzance-literary-festival.org.uk