Event Information:
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Fri06Sep2019Sun08Sep2019Gladstone's Library, Church Lane, Hawarden, Flintshire CH5 3DF
GLADFEST 2019
Gladstone’s Library is delighted to reveal the lineup for the seventh year of Gladfest, which takes place at the Library in Hawarden, 6th – 8th September 2019.
Award-winning novelists Patrick Gale (Take Nothing With You) and Salley Vickers (The Librarian) return with their latest works, while Sarah Perry (Melmoth), Michael Nobbs (Drawing Your Life) and Oliver Emanuel (The 306: Day) run new and exclusive masterclasses. The literary world is buzzing with news of Damian Barr’s first novel (You Will be Safe Here) and it’ll be right here with us, and the buzz continues with Kit de Waal (Common People), Alix Nathan (The Warlow Experiment), and Suzette A. Hill (The Cambridge Plot), who’ll all be talking about their latest books.
As always, it’s not just fiction! Melanie Reid (The World I Fell Out Of), Damian Le Bas (The Stopping Places) and Dan Richards (Outpost) share their journeys and some of the UK’s most creative minds will be showcasing their research: Joe Moran (First You Write a Sentence) on shyness and creativity, Danny Dorling (Rule Britannia) on Brexit, Charlotte Higgins (Red Thread) on labyrinths, Rachel Hewitt (The Revolution of Feeling) on women in the mountains. And we remember William Gladstone with our 19th century strand - Deborah Wynne (The Sensation Novel) on Victorian recycling, Claire O’Callaghan (Emily Bronte Reappraised) on Emily Bronte and Simon Grennan (Marie Duval Rediscovered) on comics.
Plus there are spiritual reflections with Pádraig Ó Tuama (In the Shelter) and Zia Chaudhry (Just Your Average Muslim), life reflections with actor Neil Pearson (Obelisk) and a look to the future of local with Artistic Director of Theatr Clwyd, Tamara Harvey, and founder of Pedlars and The Good Life Experience, Charlie Gladstone.
The festival is also excited to extend the offering of its Gladfest Fringe, a carefully-curated space bustling with FREE performances and stalls. Gladfest has worked with the Laura Ashley Foundation to design a space with music, storytelling and open mic poetry, and there will also be a range of free space crafting activities for young people and the young at heart curated by InterAct Imaginatons!
The festival continues its partnership with Arriva NW & Wales, offering discounted tickets to those travelling to the festival by bus. Lisa Pearson, Head of Marketing for Arriva NW & Wales said,
‘We are delighted to once again be involved with this years’ Gladfest – following a great first year supporting the festival last year, we fully understand the importance of being a part of Gladfest again in 2019, showing a commitment to key events happening across the communities we serve in North Wales’.
Priority booking for Gladstone’s Library Friends opens on Wednesday, 1st May. Tickets sell out during this window. For access to priority booking plus advance notice of special offers and events, find out more about becoming a Friend at www.gladstoneslibrary.org. Tickets go on general sale on Wednesday, 15th May.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Gladfest is the biggest event in the Gladstone’s Library calendar. Now into its seventh year, previous guests have included Diarmaid MacCulloch (All Things Made New: The Reformation), Loyd Grossman (Benjamin West and the Struggle to be Modern) Sarah Dunant (Blood and Beauty), and Melissa Harrison (All Among the Barley). www.gladfest.co.uk
Gladstone’s Library is situated just six miles from Chester with good transport links to Liverpool and Wrexham. It is Britain’s only Prime Ministerial library and the national memorial to William Gladstone. It is home to a unique collection of more than 150,000 printed items and offers a comfortable, sociable and stimulating environment in which to read, relax, converse and become inspired. It is the UK’s only residential library. www.gladstoneslibrary.org
For further information and press tickets, please email amy.sumner@gladlib.org. www.gladfest.co.uk | @gladlib | #Gladfest19