Programme of Events
Competitions
Book Review Competition
Can you write a witty book review in not more than 300 words? Entries close on Friday September 25th 2009.
Treasure Hunt
And don’t miss the The Chiswick Book Festival Treasure Hunt in Turnham Green Terrace before the festival begins.
Please note that details may be subject to change. Watch the Festival website, posters and noticeboards for updates.
Download the Festival programme (PDF)
Friday September 25th 2009
4.30 for 5.00pm: Anthony Horowitz – Alex Rider and Beyond
The best-selling creator of Alex Rider, the Diamond Brothers and The Power of Five tells us what happens next….! Books on sale for signing afterwards. Anthony Horowitz is also judging the Divine Poetry Competition 2009. St Michael & All Angels Church. Tickets £3 from Waterstone’s. Refreshments available from 4.30pm.
7.00 for 7.30pm: Antonia Fraser – Mary Queen of Scots Revisited
To mark publication of the 40th anniversary edition of her first major biography, Antonia Fraser discusses one of history’s most romantic and controversial characters. Books on sale for signing afterwards. www.antoniafraser.com.
St Michael & All Angels Church. Tickets £5 from Waterstone’s. Refreshments available from 7pm. Supported by
Savills (8987 5550), Chiswick High Road.
Saturday September 26th 2009
Saturday Morning - Children's Book Festival
All events free. Supported by Trotters in Turnham Green Terrace.
10am: Captain Yellowbelly opens his treasure chest!
Preston Rutt (Captain Yellowbelly: The Tale of the Terrible Pirate). St Michael & All Angels Hall downstairs.
10.30am: Sir Ian McKellen & Michelle Paver - Ghost Hunter
The best-selling author of the Chronicles of Ancient Darkness series introduces the sixth and last in the series, with the eminent actor who reads the stories on audio-book. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs.
11am: Dragons' Den!
Timothy Knapman (Guess What I Found in Dragon Wood) and Gareth Jones (Dragon Detective Agency). St Michael & All Angels Hall downstairs.
12 noon: Green Fingers and Vegetable Glue
Susan Chandler, writer of Vegetable Glue, and Karen Liebreich, co-author of The Family Kitchen Garden, read from their books and show that vegetables can be fun. St Michael & All Angels Hall downstairs. Authors will sign copies of their books, which will be on sale in the Church. Refreshments will be available after sessions. And look out for details of the Chiswick Book Festival Treasure Hunt.
Saturday Afternoon
12 noon: Lynn Barber – An Education
Britain's "pre-eminent newspaper interviewer" talks to best-selling journalist and novelist Jane Gordon about her new memoir, being filmed with Emma Thompson and Rosamund Pike, with a script by Nick Hornby. Signings afterwards. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Saturday Day Pass.
2.00pm: Chick Lit for the Thinking Woman
Katie Fforde (Loves Me, Loves Me Not), Judy Astley (Other People’s Husbands), Olivia Lichtenstein (Things Your Mother Never Told You), Rebecca Farnworth (Valentine). Chair: Rebecca Jones (BBC Arts Correspondent, Costa Prize 2009 judge). St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Saturday Day Pass.
2.30pm-4.30pm: Poetry in the Church
Reading by acclaimed Caribbean poet James Berry, followed by the launch of the Ealing Arts Poetry Competition 2009 (www.ealingarts.org.uk) and poetry readings. Chaired by Judy Miller, co-chair of the Camden Poetry Group, whose collection A Long Malachite View was published last year. St Michael & All Angels Church. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Saturday Day Pass.
3.30pm: Christina Odone - The Good Divorce Guide
The former Catholic Herald editor and deputy editor of the New Statesman talks to Celia Brayfield about her new novel. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Saturday Day Pass.
4.30pm: Do Creative Writing Courses work?
Author Celia Brayfield teaches on the MA in novel-writing course at Brunel University. Does it help writers get published? Literary agent Sarah Such, course graduates Kate Vick and Colette McBeth and a publisher have their say, with Celia. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall downstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Saturday Day Pass. Sponsored by AuthorHouse UK Limited, who provide 'author solutions'.
4.30pm: Beyond Books
Join author and screenwriter David Nicholls and audiobook stars Adjoa Andoh, Michael Brandon, Andrew Sachs and Kerry Shale in conversation with The Guardian's Alison Flood, as they discuss developing literature into audio and film, and announce the winner of The Best Audiobooks of the Year 2009. St Michael & All Angels Church. Admission by Saturday Day Pass.
Sponsored by 
6.00pm-7.15pm: Book Festival Drinks
With special guest Sir Peter Blake, who will sign copies of his books. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall downstairs and Church. Admission free. Drinks on sale: profits to Festival charities.
7.00 for 7.30pm: Book Quiz Supper
Enjoy a three-course meal with friends and a highly entertaining literary quiz. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Tickets £20 (wine not included), or book a table for 8. Almost fully sold - a handful of tickets are left. (Box Office email: Helen@may.be).
Sunday September 27th 2009
From 9.30-11am: Sam’s Family Book Brunch at Sam’s Brasserie & Bar
Bring the children to meet, eat and be entertained - with Helen Nathan, writer of Flossie Crums and the Fairy Cupcake Ball, and other children's authors. No extra charge but donations to Festival charities. Reservations (space is limited) direct to Sam’s Brasserie & Bar, 11 Barley Mow Passage, London W4 - through Fiona in the office, Monday to Friday from 9am to 6pm on 020 8987 0555.
12 noon: From the Virgin Queen to the King of Scots
Historian Tracy Borman (Elizabeth’s Women – the week's BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week) and novelist Christie Dickason (The King’s Daughter) on the dazzling courts of Elizabeth I and James I. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Sunday Day Pass.
2.00pm: Michael Frayn – Travels with a Typewriter
When not writing novels and plays, Michael Frayn worked as a journalist. He discusses his travel writings, with his daughter Rebecca Frayn, screenwriter and novelist. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Sunday Day Pass.
2.30pm: Jacqueline Wilson – Cookie and My Secret Diary
The best-selling creator of Tracy Beaker, and former Children’s Laureate, talks about her new books and gives a rare sneak preview of Hetty Feather, due to hit the shops in October. Books on sale for signing afterwards. St Michael & All Angels Church. Tickets £3 from Waterstone’s. Refreshments available afterwards.
3.00pm: The Perfect Book Club Book
Which books are most popular with local book clubs and which work best? What influence have Richard & Judy had? Discussion, led by Celia Brayfield, with novelist and broadcaster Amanda Lees and book club members Jane Atkinson and Kate Vick. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Sunday Day Pass.
3.00pm: Jane Kelly – Inside - a writer’s guide to life in prison
Journalist Jane Kelly talks with Matthew Hickley about her new book, Inside, about life working inside Wormwood Scrubs. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall downstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Sunday Day Pass.
4.00pm: The Perfect Crime - from book to screen
Top crime writers discuss their craft, including Sophie Hannah (The Other Half Lives), Roy Mitchell (creator of BBC One’s New Tricks), Stav Sherez (The Black Monastery) and Dan Waddell (Blood Atonement). St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Sunday Day Pass.
4.00pm: Sam Delaney - Night of the Living Dad: Confessions of a Shabby Father
Columnist and broadcaster - soon to be editor of Heat magazine - Sam Delaney, on his entertaining memoir about growing up in Chiswick and becoming a father. St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall downstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Sunday Day Pass.
4.00pm: Matthew Rice on Architecture and Design*
Matthew Rice, designer and husband of Emma Bridgewater, was brought up in Chiswick and bought his Airfix kits in Turnham Green Terrace! Now Emma Bridgewater has opened in Devonshire Road, W4 and is part of the Chiswick scene. Matthew's designs are highly recognisable and much loved and his new Architectural Primer was described in the Independent as "this excellent and beautiful guide to British architecture". St Michael & All Angels Church. Admission by Sunday Day Pass.
* Please note that Candida Lycett-Green will not now be speaking in this session - we apologise for any disappointment.
7.30pm Comedy: An Evening with Dan Brown…and other Literary Figures
Book-themed comedy night at the Tabard Theatre with The Aspidistras, fresh from their successful run at the Edinburgh Festival. Supported by Savills, Chiswick High Road. The Tabard Theatre. Tickets £8 from Waterstone's, or at the theatre door on Sunday.