Annual festival takes place November promising over a fortnight of fabulous literary events.
2024 festival sponsored by Aaron & Partners.
Historian Lucy Worsley, adventurer Simon Reeve, actors McKenzie Crook and Richard Ayoade and singer Martin Fry are among the headliners set to take part in this year’s Chester Literature Festival
Ruby Wax, George the Poet, Pam Ayres, comedian and author Shaparak Khorsandi and Gulf War hero John Nichol will also visit the event which takes place at Chester Storyhouse from 6-16 November.
Festivalgoers can expect 10 days of unmissable events, performances and conversations with a wide-ranging programme packed with special guests from the world of literature, poetry, stage and screen.
There will also be workshops on writing your own book and getting published, a poetry open mic night, local authors’ party, debut writers panel and the return of the hugely popular annual Poetry Pub Crawl.
Ahead of the main festival, on Sunday, 6 October Richard Ayoade visits Storyhouse to talk about his new book The Unfinished Harauld Hughes.
In it the actor, gifted filmmaker and corduroy activist embarks on a fictional quest to rescue Hughes, almost mythical mid-century playwright – and Ayoade’s uncanny doppelganger, from obscurity.
The main 2024 festival opens on Wednesday, 6 November when TV historian, author and novelist Professor Kate Williams presents HistFest at Chester Literature Festival on the main stage.
On Thursday, 7 November Gulf War veteran and former prisoner-of-war turned broadcaster and Sunday Times bestselling author John Nichol talks about his new book The Unknown Warrior.
The personal journey of discovery and remembrance delves into the story of the ‘unknown warrior’ removed from the battlefields of Northern France and buried in Westminster Abbey in 1920, representing more half-a-million British soldiers killed in the First World War who still have no known grave.
Meanwhile poet Luke Wright brings joy to the festival on the same evening. Following the success of his Silver Jubilee show, Wright returns to the stage with a new set of poems that get to grips with the idea of JOY! and if it’s possible for a 42-year-old to feel pure unbridled happiness.
Friday, 8 November sees a sold-out appearance from author, adventurer and filmmaker Simon Reeve. The former investigative journalist turned award-winning global traveller (his journeys have taken him to 130 countries) and documentary maker has captured his adventures in books like Tropic of Capricorn, Step by Step and Journeys to Impossible Places.
On his visit to Storyhouse he will offer stories, surprises, deep thoughts and hearty laughs as he takes his audience To The Ends of the Earth.
And in the Garret Theatre, join bestselling authors Ava Glass, Greg Mosse and Jack Jewers discuss Writing Spies in the Shadow of Bond.
Glass, author of Alias Emma and The Traitor, is a former crime reporter and civil servant while Greg Mosse is the man behind the Coming of Darkness trilogy and the Maisie Cooper mysteries, and Jack Jewers is the writer of action-packed historical thriller The Lost Diary of Samuel Pepys.
Penelope Tree and Lady Jean Campbell invite festivalgoers to join them Beyond the Catwalk in the Garret Theatre on Saturday, 9 November.
Penelope Tree rose to fame as a fashion model during the Swinging Sixties, photographed by Diane Arbus, Cecil Beaton, Richard Avedon and David Bailey among others. Asked to describe her in three words, Beatle John Lennon reportedly said ‘hot, hot, hot, smart, smart, smart.
She will be interviewed about her life and career by fellow fashion model Lady Jean Campbell.
And ABC’s gold lamé -jacketed frontman Martin Fry also visits Storyhouse on the same date to talk about his new autobiography A Lexicon of Life.
The ‘intimate evening with’ on main stage will feature music and conversation which will give festivalgoers the chance to relive the glamour and stories behind the Sheffield band’s biggest hits including The Look of Love, Poison Arrow and All of My Heart.
Along with general admission there are also goody bag ticket options, and a limited number of pre-event meet-and-greet, goody bag and admission tickets available.
Actor, director, screenwriter and author Mackenzie Crook also visits the LitFest for the first time when he appears in the Storyhouse main stage on, 11 November with his new book If Nick Drake Came to My House.
Crook, best known for his screen roles in Pirates of the Caribbean, Game of Thrones, The Office, Worzel Gummidge and The Detectorists is also a writer of children’s books.
In If Nick Drake Came to My House, his first book for adults, Crook explores the power of art to impact our lives expressed through an imaginary visit from the late, great singer-songwriter – a book for anyone who has ever wished they had the chance to tell their hero how much they meant to them.
Actress, comedian, writer and mental health campaigner Ruby Wax brings her live touring show I’m Not as Well as I Thought I Was to Chester on Wednesday, 13 November.
Described as her ‘rawest, darkest, funniest and most compelling’ stage show yet, I’m Not as Well as I Thought I Was is based on her 2023 book of the same name which is an insight into the depths of her psyche and a stark exploration of what trauma can do to someone.
Then on Thursday, 14 November acclaimed rapper and podcast host George the Poet makes his first appearance at Hunter Street when he brings his ground-breaking memoir Track Record: Me, Music and the War on Blackness to the festival.
Born in Neasden to Ugandan parents, George Mpanga has always been aware of his community; it was both his teacher and his inspiration, giving him the language, experience and skills to become the person he is today.
In the honest, thought provoking and passionate Track Record, he reveals the power dynamics that shape our world, shedding light on the forces that restrict Black creativity and put limits on Black excellence.
Hot on the heels of her hugely successful Agatha Christie tour, the acclaimed and endlessly engaging historian Lucy Worsley is back to lead readers into the life of one of English literature’s most famous and cherished figures – Jane Austen.
She will invite Chester Literature Festival audiences to step inside the world of the author of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion in a special ‘evening with’ on Friday, 15 November, taking a fascinating look at what home meant to Austen and the women like her who populate her novels.
On Saturday, 16 November, Shaparak Khorsandi brings her latest book Scatter Brain to Chester.
The comedian was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in her 40s, and says it ‘felt like the light had been turned on after a lifetime in the dark’. In Scatter Brain she looks back on her life through the lends of ADHD and finally makes sense of the chaos in what is described as a hilarious journey of self-discovery.
And also on Saturday, 16 November, writer, broadcaster, entertainer and poet extraordinaire Pam Ayres teams up with award-winning composer George Fenton for Who are you Calling Vermin?, a stage musical version of Ayres’ lyrical satire about the undercurrents simmering beneath the countryside’s idyllic exterior.
More events are yet to be announced.
Chester Literature Festival remains one of the longest-running annual literature events in the country.
It was launched in 1989 by volunteer organisation Chester Arts 89 and city booksellers who programmed a week of literary activity including a reading by the niece of novelist D H Lawrence.
This is the 13th year that the festival has been programmed by Storyhouse, and along with visiting names, special artists in residence have included the late Benjamin Zephaniah, Lemn Sissay and Ted Hughes Prize-winner Hollie McNish.
Storyhouse Creative Director Suzie Henderson said: “Chester Literature Festival is a firm favourite in Storyhouse’s annual programme of events, and the team works very hard behind the scenes to create a fantastically diverse line-up offering something to appeal to everyone.
“I’m delighted we’re able to reveal the first headlining names for the 2024 festival which includes visits from both old friends and new faces and promises a thoroughly entertaining and thought-provoking three weeks this November.
“The wider programme also offers advice on how to write your own novel and get published and celebrates our talented local writers. And, of course, it wouldn’t be the Chester LitFest without the annual Poetry Pub Crawl.”
To find out more and book visit storyhouse.com
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