Essar Oil Chester Literature Festival 2011

The Essar Oil Chester Literature Festival is an annual festival held every Autumn in the beautiful city of Chester.

The Festival which has been running for 23 years is renowned for its wide ranging programme. The Festival is jam-packed full of events, and has several ‘strands’ to the two week long programme in October, guaranteeing something for everyone!

The ‘Written Word’ strand invites writers, authors and poets to come to the festival to speak about their up and coming books, novels and anthologies; this strand often attracts big name celebrity speakers and famous faces, in the past few years we have welcomed the likes of Alastair Campbell, David Peace, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Mark Kermode, Carol Ann Duffy and Simon Armitage, to name but a few.

The ‘Spoken Word’ strand celebrates the act of performance or reading aloud. Performance is a vital part of the Literature Festival, it is important that this strand offers the best in visual and auditory entertainment! It is also a fantastic opportunity for the Festival to commission plays, often working with local theatre companies such as Action Transport Theatre Company and Theatre in the Quarter.

‘Bitesize @ Lunchtime’ says what it does on the tin… basically, shorter events at lunchtime! This strand focuses on first time authors and critically acclaimed local writers. We love the excitement of finding new talented writers and providing a showcase for those who form the bedrock of creative writing in the North West.

Finally the ‘Performance Saturdays’ strand provides a non-stop plethora of scintillating poetry, performance and prose events. The first Saturday in the Festival gives you the chance to participate in stimulating and thought provoking workshops and the second Saturday is your opportunity to come and enjoy some talented amateurs showcase their work through performance.

In addition in 2010 Chester Festivals introduced a brand new festival for Chester… a Literature Festival for children called GobbleDEEbook. GobbleDEEbook, now also an annual Festival takes place in the second week of the main Literature Festival, which just so happens to be half term week! For more information on this fantastic and exciting Festival for your little ones go to www.gobbledeebook.co.uk

The 2012 Festival is currently being programmed, please check back for details. We look forward to seeing you there!

Become a Friend of the Festival:

Do you want to get your hands on tickets earlier than the general public and receive other fantastic benefits? Then why not become a Friend of the Festival? Membership only costs £10 for the year. Please contact us - info@chesterfestivals.co.uk - and we will put you in touch with the Friends of the Festival who will provide further information.

Essar Oil Literature Fetival - Past Brochure from 2011

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