Brontë Festival of Women's Writing 2011

An alert from the Brontë Parsonage Museum:

BRONTË PARSONAGE MUSEUM HOSTS SECOND ‘BRONTË FESTIVAL OF WOMEN’S WRITING’ 16 – 18 SEPTEMBER 2011

The Brontë Parsonage Museum will host its second Brontë Festival of Women’s Writing this September, a weekend of readings, talks, workshops and family events dedicated to celebrating and showcasing women’s writing.

The weekend, which takes place as part of the Brontë Parsonage Museum’s contemporary arts programme, will feature readings from novelists Joanna Briscoe and Barbara Trapido, a talk by screenwriter Moira Buffini who has written the screenplay for the new film adaptation of Jane Eyre (released nationwide on 9 September) and writer Kate Walker, who has published a modern retelling of Wuthering Heights for Mills & Boon and will give a talk about the project, as well as a creative writing workshop on ‘How to Write Romance’. There will also be poetry readings by local publishers Grey Hen Press and local poet Anne Caldwell will be creating a poetry trail in and around the Parsonage to encourage visitors to explore their own writing. Full programme details are included below.

“Our first literary festival last September was a great success, and we’re delighted to be hosting our second festival dedicated to women’s writing. We have a great line-up of events this year. The Brontës were pioneering women writers and continue to inspire contemporary literature in limitless ways, so it’s fitting that the museum should explore their legacy and showcase the work of both high profile and emerging women writers working today”. (Jenna Holmes, Arts Officer, Brontë Parsonage Museum.)

The festival will take place thanks to grant funding from Arts Council England and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, and the festival is sponsored by Holiday Inn Express Bradford City Centre.

Events will take place at various locations in Haworth, and tickets can be booked from the museum: jenna.holmes@bronte.org.uk / 01535 640188. Events can be booked individually, or a festival pass for all events (excluding writing workshop) costs £20.

FULL PROGRAMME:
Friday 16 September

Joanna Briscoe 2pm West Lane Baptist Centre, Haworth

Joanna Briscoe discusses her latest novel You, a story set on the wilds of Dartmoor that draws inspiration from Wuthering Heights.
Joanna Briscoe is a novelist and literary critic. She has published four novels, Mothers and Other Lovers (1994) which won a Betty Trask Award, Skin and Sleep with Me (2005), which was adapted for television by Andrew Davies. Joanna Briscoe is literary critic for The Guardian.
Tickets: £5 and should be booked in advance.

Barbara Trapido  7.30pm West Lane Baptist Centre

Critically acclaimed novelist Barbara Trapido discusses her work and her most recent novel, Sex and Stravinsky (2010).
Barbara Trapido is the author of seven novels including Brother of the More Famous Jack (1982; winner of a Whitbread special prize for fiction), Temples of Delight (1990), The Travelling Horn Player (1998) and Frankie & Stankie (2003). She has been twice shortlisted for the Whitbread Novel Award and was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize. She lives in Oxford.
Tickets: £6 and should be booked in advance.

Saturday 17 September

Writing Romance with Kate Walker
10am – 12pm
West Lane Baptist Centre

Romantic fiction writing is big business. This workshop, based on Kate Walker’s award winning 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance, is intended to provide information and advice for anyone who wants to learn how to write in this popular genre. If you’re just starting out, or you’ve written a manuscript or two but are not yet published and want to hone your skills, this workshop is for you.
Tickets: £15. Places are limited so early booking is recommended.

The Return of the Stranger: Wuthering Heights meets Mills & Boon 2pm
The Old Schoolroom, Church St, Haworth

Kate Walker discusses her newly published contribution for Mills & Boon, The Return of The Stranger, a reworking of her favourite novel, Wuthering Heights.
Kate Walker wrote her first book for Mills & Boon, The Chalk Line, in 1984 and is currently working on her sixtieth title. A huge admirer of the Brontës, she wrote her MA thesis on the work of Charlotte and Emily Brontë and one of her most recent titles, Bedded by the Greek Billionaire, was loosely inspired by Wuthering Heights. Kate Walker is the author of The 12 Point Guide to Writing Romance which won a Cata Romance Award and she frequently lectures on romance writing.
Tickets: £5 and should be booked in advance.

Jane Eyre: From Page to Screen 8pm West Lane Baptist Centre

Moira Buffini, screenwriter for the new film version of Jane Eyre, discusses how she adapted the novel for the screen.
Moira Buffini is a screenwriter and playwright. She has won the LWT, Whiting, and Susan Smith Blackburn Prize awards and has written for the RSC and National Theatre. Welcome to Thebes debuted at the National Theatre in 2010 and was directed by Richard Eyre. Other plays include Loveplay, Gabriel, A Vampire Story and Dinner, which transferred to the West End and was nominated for an Olivier Award. Her film credits include Tamara Drewe for Ruby Films, directed by Stephen Frears. Moira Buffini is currently writer in residence at the National Theatre Studio.

Jane Eyre 2011 is scheduled for UK cinema release on 9 September.
Tickets: £8 and should be booked in advance

Sunday 18 September

Into the Wild: Poetry Trail with Anne Caldwell
11am – 4pm
Brontë Parsonage Museum

Poet Anne Caldwell is writer in residence at the museum for the day, drawing on the Parsonage and its surroundings to create a poetry trail for museum visitors. Follow the trail of poetry and prompts to explore the rooms of the house, the garden and the graveyard and use them as starting points to explore your own writing.

Free with admission to the museum

Poetry Readings with Grey Hen Press 2pm
Brontë Parsonage Museum

Join poets from Grey Hen Press as they read a selection of poems from the Grey Hen anthologies, including Get Me Out of Here! a shrewish look at the trials and tribulations of modern life.

Free with admission to the museum

Holiday Inn Express Bradford City Centre is just over 10 miles from the Brontë Parsonage Museum and within easy reach of the motorway network. Advance purchase rates are available from £39 and book online at www.hiexpressbradford.co.uk or 01274 302100 quoting ‘Brontë’.

For further information contact jenna.holmes@bronte.org.uk / 01535 640188.

Categories: Brontë Parsonage Museum, Talks