Penzance literary festival returns
10:42am Wednesday 16th May 2012 in News
England's most westerly literary festival returns this summer with a programme designed to whet the appetites of people from near and far - and not only avid readers.
From Wednesday 25 to Sunday 29 July 25-29, Penzance will be buzzing with an astonishing variety of talks, discussions, readings, workshops, dramatic events, guided tours and musical entertainment - all linked to this year's theme of 'Journeys'.
The 2012 Penzance Literary Festival will be launched by its Patron, local author Patrick Gale, whose latest novel A Perfectly Good Man, set in nearby Pendeen, has been getting rave reviews. He said: "The programme nicely balances local talent against national bestsellers and one genre against another - a bookish feast which should do wonders for cultural tourism in our lovely corner of Cornwall. Lucky us!"
Among other nationally-known headline guests will be Guardian columnist and author Michele Hanson, whose latest book, What the Grown-ups were Doing, charts her childhood and teenage odyssey through 1950s suburbia, and Litfest favourite Jane Johnson, whose latest novel 'The Sultan's Wife' has just been published. Also in this year's line-up is Sarah Winman, author of the controversial best-selling novel When God Was a Rabbit. And marine biologist and adventurer Monty Halls, recently seen on our TV screens in 'The Fisherman's Apprentice', will be talking about what he learned during the eight months he spent living and working with the fishermen of Cadgwith on The Lizard.
Joining them in the line-up, announced this week, will be an impressive array of speakers, both from Cornwall and further afield, covering a huge range of subjects - from Bertolt Brecht to the Brontë sisters (whose mother, Maria Branwell, came from Penzance), suffragettes to surfing, and just about everything in between. All ages are catered for too, with special events for children and young people.
Festival Chairman Peter Levin said: "Quirky, fun and affordable, this is a festival with a very special community feel. Our venues are small, the atmosphere is friendly and informal, and we've stuck to our policy of keeping admission charges really low so no-one is priced out. There'll be a warm welcome for everyone!"
He added: "In terms of quality the Penzance Literary Festival is up there with the best of them. But this is also very definitely a proper Cornish festival with local poets, Cornish history and traditions all featuring, not to mention talks on topics as varied as seals, Cornish saints and dowsing, plus Cornish pub songs and a 'tongue pie' session with stories, songs and recitations."
The full line-up for the festival is available now on the festival website: www.pz-litfest.org.uk , where visitors can also find regular news and updates and sign up for the festival email newsletter.
