New author in literary line-up

British actress turned bestselling author, Sarah Winman, is the latest name to join the literary line up for this year’s Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, the festival has announced that Liza Klaussmann is no longer able to appear at the festival on Saturday 19th September. Organisers are delighted that author Sarah Winman has agreed to step in at the last minute, to discuss her second novel A Year of Marvellous Ways.

Sarah’s first novel, When God was a Rabbit, was released in 2011 and was an instant Sunday Times bestseller in both hardback and paperback. The book received widespread critical acclaim, won numerous awards and went on to be published in 26 countries.

Her second novel is equally rich and captivating, set in Cornwall in the aftermath of the Second World War, it chronicles the unlikely friendship between an old woman coming to the end of her life and a young soldier who sees little point in going on with his.

Championed by fellow authors Patrick Gale, Rosamund Lupton and Emylia Hall, A Year of Marvellous Ways is a truly life-affirming tale of love, death, landscape, storytelling and sloe gin. Author, musician and academic Emma Hooper described the novel as ‘A book to savour, to read in wonderful, rich little bits like dark chocolate. Winman’s prose is poetry, with a rhythm, a heartbeat, that carries you through like music.’

Sarah will be in conversation with American author and critic and former literary editor of The Times, Erica Wagner, at 12 noon on Saturday 19th September.

Tickets for the Budleigh Salterton Literary Festival are flying off the shelves with several events, including Kaffe Fassett, Hilary Mantel The Mirror and the Light and Paula Hawkins already sold out. Tickets for David Lloyd and Hilary Mantel’s event My Life in Books are also very limited.

Tickets can be booked online at www.budlifest.org.uk or in person / phone from the Tourist Information Centre: 01395 445275.