Box office opens for literary festival

Tickets go on sale on Monday 28 July for the sixth annual Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival, taking place Thursday 18th – Sunday 21st September.

The festival, which attracts international interest, has grown year upon year and attracts some of the nation’s top authors.

The line-up for this year’s event includes best-selling and prize-winning author Paddy Ashdown who will discuss his new book, The Cruel Victory: the French Resistance and the Battle for the Vercors 1944.

Inventor, scientist and originator of the Gaia theory James Lovelock will also be at the festival talking about his latest book A Rough Ride to the Future, as well as British author and journalist John Lanchester who will discuss his forthcoming book, How To Speak Money.

Author of the Labyrinth Trilogy and founder of Women’s Fiction Prize, Kate Mosse, will discuss her forthcoming novel The Taxidermist’s Daughter and ahead of his 10th anniversary tour in October, popular comedian and writer Mark Watson will be talking about his forthcoming novel Hotel Alpha.

Critically acclaimed authors Sadie Jones and Linda Grant will be in conversation with Carol Ackroyd and well-known authors Fay Weldon and Louise Doughty, Kate Adie and Kate Atkinson are just a taste of the famous names amongst the literary line-up.

Returning for his second appearance at the seaside town is children’s author Michael Morpurgo. Michael will be talking about his World War One anthology Only Remembered as well as his forthcoming novel, Listen to the Moon.

Furthermore, festival organisers are also delighted to welcome the return of award-winning author Dame Hilary Mantel CBE, who is the festival’s President and only the third author to be awarded the Man Booker Prize twice.

Hilary will be present at two events throughout the festival including her Saturday night event that will see Hilary and Mike Poulton in conversation with Erica Wagner about Mike’s adaptations of Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies at the RSC in Stratford and the Aldwych Theatre in London.

On Sunday afternoon, Hilary will once again take to the stage in an exclusive conversation about her forthcoming book, The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher. The title story features a little known episode from the life of the Iron Lady whilst the remaining stories have a variety of contemporary settings at home and abroad.

Hilary said “We have five successful festivals behind us, and every year our organisers and volunteers aim higher. This year’s programme is ambitious and wide-ranging, and we hope its mix of art and science, fact and fiction, poetry and prose will entice persons of all ages and tastes. We aim to be topical. We aim to be timeless. We are up with the news and we are steeped in history. Like our beach, we are continually reshaping, with the aim of pleasing not only our own community, but visitors from all over this country and from abroad. We hope to welcome them, make them happy and make them tea. We hope to persuade them to write in their unbought diaries: ‘Budleigh, this year, next year, and the year after that…’”

Tickets for Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival start from £7.50 and will be available from 28th July 2014. Tickets can be booked in person or by phone from The Budleigh Salterton Tourist Information Centre: 01395 445 275.

For more information visit www.budlitfest.org.uk. Follow the festival on Twitter @BudleighLitFest and like it on www.facebook.com/BudleighSaltertonliteraryfestival