The renamed Play on Words Festival, formerly known as the English Riviera Literature Festival, returns for a third year (Thursday 25 to Saturday 27 April) at the Palace Theatre in Paignton. Including a stellar cast of well-known and emerging Southwest based authors and writers, the programme includes moreworkshops to stimulate and inspire festival goers along their own creative path. As well as individual tickets, there are festival day tickets and a new ‘buy two get third free’ ticket offer for the daytime talks.
Sarah Hemingway, Marketing and PR Executive at the Palace Theatre says, “Following on from the success of last year’s literature festival we have expanded our programme to provide something for everyone, with a wonderful mix of entertaining talks on various themes, workshops for adults and children and some first-class productions – all with a literary context”.
Thursday 25 April
Devon History Matters with Dr Todd Gray, 10.30am-11.30am
Only by examining the past can we hope to grasp the nature of modern society and anticipate the future. Dr Gray calls upon more than forty years of unparalleled archival work to demonstrate how the discovery of previously unknown documents has significantly altered how we view Devon’s past and challenge our assumptions about ourselves and the past.
Exploring and Writing Your Family History Workshop with Alison Huntingford, 12pm-2pm
A participatory workshop looking at census records; certificates of births, marriages and deaths; institution records and more to create a rounded picture of one particular ancestor and to explore your own family history.
Mothers of the Mind with Rachel Trethewey, 12.30pm–1.30pm
Virginia Woolf, Agatha Christie and Sylvia Plath are three of our most famous authors, Rachel Trethewey’s talk with explore the story of the remarkable mothers who shaped them. Rachel has written five books and her latest, Mothers of the Mind, has received the ‘Antonia Fraser Award’ from the Society of Authors.
History Tours of Torquay with Phil Badcott, 2.30pm–3.30pm
Well–known local historian Phil Badcott provides an entertaining and informative talk using digitised magic lantern slides from the Torquay Museum pictorial archive for a virtual circular tour of Torquay with lots of fascinating photos and historical facts.
Friday 26 April
Writing History with Peter Marsden, 9.30am – 10.30am
Writing history is linking up known information to tell a ‘story’, to try to get into the thinking of past people, and creating what the author thinks happened – but this may be wrong. It is helped by archaeology, the study of places and objects. Dr Peter Marsden will illustrate this.
Creative Writing Taster Session with Chris Woodhouse, 10am – 11.30am
This free ‘taster’ workshop is for adults who would like to explore their interest in creative writing. It is suitable for beginners who would like to try out and build on their skills as well as those who already enjoy writing for pleasure.
Readings by the Resident Palace Theatre Creative Writing Group, 12.30pm – 1.30pm
The resident Creative Writing group at the Palace Theatre led by tutor, Chris Woodhouse present a series of short readings. The group meet regularly on a Wednesday morning as part of the ongoing Write Time Write Place creative writing series, where they try out and build on their creative writing skills, writing for pleasure in a supportive and encouraging atmosphere.
Daughters of Devon with Rosemary Griggs, 10.30am – 11.30am
With a unique blend of theatre, history and re-enactment which draws on extensive research into 16th century Devon, Rosemary will introduce her Daughters of Devon series of historical novels and tells the stories of the forgotten women, the women beyond the royal court; wives, sisters, daughters and mothers who played their part during the tumultuous Tudor years: the Daughters of Devon.
Romance with Mary Georgina De Grey, 12.30pm – 1.30pm
Writers are in the unique position of being able to reflect on society and investigate its evolution. The romantic novel, revealing the changing dynamics of relationships, reaches a wide public. Mary Georgina will use published novels to show its importance.
Ten Writers One House with Jenny Ridd, 2.30pm – 3.30pm
Jenny Ridd, historian and writer lived in an old house visited by Pre Raphaelite poets and painters Dante Gabriel Rossetti and Elizabeth Siddal. The house also hosted a guidebook-writing lithographer; an Exeter artist and newspaper publisher; a one-book geologist; a Georgian lesbian diarist; a published archaeologist who dug up his own back garden; and a comedy writer.
Saturday 27 April
Storytelling and Crafts Workshop for Children with Clare Helen Welsh, 10am – 11am
Clare is an award-winning children’s author from Torbay who has published over 40 books. When she isn’t writing stories, she is inspiring children to write their own. Come along for some Saturday morning fun with thrilling storytelling and craft activitiesfor children aged between 3 and 8yrs.
Mindfulness in Fiction with Abigail Yardimci, 10am – 11am
How mindful stories help us grow. Author of contemporary, uplifting fiction, Abigail Yardimci will speak about the themes of mindfulness in her stories and how they are central to the growth and development of the characters. The talk will include a mini mindfulness meditation and compelling readings from her books.
In Conversation with Adam L.G Nevill, 10.30am – 11.30am
Adam L.G Nevill, author of horror fiction was born in Birminghamin 1969 and grew up in England and New Zealand. Of his novels, The Ritual, Last Days, No One Gets Out Alive and The Reddening were all winners of The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel. He has also published three collections of short stories, with Some Will Not Sleep winning the British Fantasy Award for Best Collection, 2017. Imaginarium adapted The Ritual and No One Gets Out Alive into feature films and more of his work is currently in development for the screen. In conversation with Martin Thomas, who has lived in the local area for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of cultural organisations.
Wild Swimming Adventures with Matt Newbury and Sophie Pierce, 12pm – 1pm
Join Matt Newbury and Sophie Pierce, the authors of the best-selling Wild Swimming Walks series, as they take you on an aquatic journey through the South West’s most beautiful places. They’ll be talking about their many adventures – from the sublime to the ridiculous – and showing a series of stunning images which celebrate the beauty of immersing in Britain’s incredible watery landscapes. They will also be chatting about their latest publications – Wild Swimming Torbay and Wild Swimming Walks Exmoor and North Devon.
Author Business Foundations Workshop with Elizabeth Ducie, 12pm – 2.30pm
An interactive workshop for writers looking to turn their hobby into a business or for anyone who’s already up and running but could profit from an assessment of their business practices and a review of the way forward. Workshop leader and author, Elizabeth Ducie is an independent publisher with 20 titles to her name in a variety of formats. The experiences of being an authorpreneur, and the lessons she has learned along the way, have helped her write the Author Business Foundations series of manuals for writers.
Why Do Readers Lover Psychological Thrillers? with Susan Wilkins, 12.30pm – 1.30pm
Susan Wilkins is a television writer turned novelist, writing crime thrillers that dig deep into human psychology. After a degree in Law and a stint as a journalist, Susan wrote for television for twenty-five years. She created the pioneering BBC detective drama South of the Border and has over 130 broadcast credits to her name including Casualty and Holby City, Heartbeat, Coronation Street and Eastenders. Susan’s debut novel, The Informant, was published in 2014, and since then she has been delighting readers with gripping thrillers you won’t be able to put down.
Self-Publishing with DCR Bond, 2pm – 3pm
DCR Bond (Debbie) was born in London, but grew up Jamaica, then Zambia, and dimensions of this international upbringing feature in her writing. In this fascinating talk she will cover many topics including learning the craft of novel writing; from story to manuscript, writing for market not just yourself, submitting to agents and much more.
Love, Loss and Landscape with Sophie Pierce, 2.30pm – 3.30pm
How do we survive the death of those we love and find joy after bereavement? In 2017, Sophie Pierce’s son Felix, who was 20, died suddenly and unexpectedly. Sophie’s memoir, The Green Hill: Letters to a Son, explores the huge impact of this loss, but it is also about renewal, hope, and the restorative power of the natural world. Effectively a love letter to Devon, the book celebrates the beauty of wild landscapes including Dartmoor, the Torbay coast, and the River Dart, and explores the solace they can give.
TOTAL 50s with Don Evitts, 4pm – 5pm
Author Don Evitts returns to present another one of his time machine talks. This time he goes back to the 1950s with a light-hearted whistle-stop talk of music, humour and memories of those times and based around book 1 ‘From Copper Tops to Mop Tops’ of Don’s 3-part self-published autobiographies.
To see the full programme and to book tickets please visit the Palace Theatre website: www.palacetheatrepaignton.co.uk or call the box office on 01803 665800 (normal opening hours, weekdays 11am-3pm).
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