Cheltenham Festival of Literature celebrates its 60th anniversary (From Hereford Times)

Cheltenham Festival of Literature celebrates its 60th anniversary

1:52pm Thursday 24th September 2009 in

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OUR LOCAL global festival of literature, Hay Festival, is a mere stripling beside the Cheltenham Festival of Literature, which this year marks its 60th anniversary.

It’s a landmark that makes it the longest-running literary festival in the country.

Six decades on from its first outing, which featured just nine events, this year’s festival offers almost 450 and expects to welcome more than 100,000 visitors to the spa town.

From debates and discussions to interviews, performances, live literature, poetry, book groups and talks there is plenty of food for thought at this year’s festival.

Running from October 9 to 18, it includes events programmed by guest directors Simon Armitage, Richard Eyre, Sandi Toksvig, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Monica Ali, Rageh Omaar, Anthony Horowitz, Jonathan Coe, Mark Watson and Alice Roberts.

Many of the household names appearing at the festival have proved a big draw, with several events – James Cracknell and Ben Fogle, Chris Evans, Sandi Toksvig, Jo Brand, Andy Williams, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and Alan Davies – already sold out and others promising to do the same.

But with 440 events over the festival’s nine days, that leaves at least another 430 to choose from.

The current state of the economy is, unsurprisingly, a hot topic for discussion, with Vince Cable, Stephanie Flanders and John Micklethwait debating The Credit Cruch: Where do We Go From Here? on October 10, while Martin Bell and Anthony Seldon join Sue McGregor on the same day to ask whether Parliament can recover its reputation following the expenses scandal.

Britain’s best-loved wit Stephen Fry appears with zoologist Mark Carwardine to talk about their remarkable trips to remote corners of the world as they seized the Last Chance to See some of the rarest and most threatened wildlife in the world.

BBC Newsnight host Gavin Esler joins Henry Porter to explore the challenges of translating current affairs into fiction, and Oleg Gordievsky, the highest ranking KGB officer ever known to defect, makes a rare appearance to discuss his fascinating life and career.

One of Britain’s most popular poets, Jenny Joseph – remember “When I am an old woman, I shall wear purple...” – will read from her new collection, Nothing Like Love, and Sarah Waters, whose latest novel The Little Stranger is a sinister tale of a haunted country house, will discuss her compelling storytelling.

An exciting programme of events for young readers is also on offer, with appearances from a ‘who’s who’ of children’s authors, among them Michael Rosen, Michelle Paver, Frank Cottrell Boyce, Michael Morpurgo and Lauren Child.

On both Saturdays of the festival, there will be family fun days in Imperial Gardens and a fantastic free-for-all around the town as roving minstrels, transcontinental troubadours, street theatre, dancers, circus artistes, musicians and stiltwalkers take words on the move.

For full programme details and booking information, visit cheltenhamfestivals.com.