Bradford LitFest: Juliet Barker on Emily + The Brontë Stones Writers

A couple of Brontë-related events today, June 7, at the Bradford Literature Festival:

Emily Brontë: A Life
Talk by Juliet Barker
7 Jul, 10.00 AM, The Midland Hotel

Join award-winning Brontë scholar Juliet Barker as she examines the key events in Emily Brontë’s life and how they, along with the social and physical landscape that surrounded her, informed her complex and beautiful writing.
She will also discuss Emily’s mysterious half-finished novel, which was burned by her sister Charlotte after her tragically early death in 1848. What might this unseen text have contributed to the world of English literature, and what were Charlotte’s motivations for destroying it?
As a former librarian and curator of the Brontë Parsonage Museum, Juliet Barker is a world-leading authority on Emily Brontë. Join us for an event that will provide a unique biographical perspective on her life, and the perfect introduction to a day of Brontë bliss.

Panel: The Brontë Stones: Meet the Writers
7 Jul  06:45 PM-08:00 PM,
The Midland Hotel

This year, we are delighted to announce the launch of the Brontë Stones Project, a unique celebration of the legacy of the famous sisters.

Originated by writer Michael Stewart, author of Ill Will, and curated and delivered by Bradford Literature Festival, the Brontë Stones project features four new, original works of writing, engraved onto stones in different locations connecting the Brontë sisters’ birthplace in Thornton and the Brontë family parsonage at Haworth. The captivating journey along the four points, of approximately 8 miles, form what is believed to have been the route the sisters themselves often took between the two locations.

In this landmark project, BLF has commissioned new works by four of Britain’s best-loved literary and cultural figures, musician Kate Bush, poet Carol Ann Duffy, poet and novelist Jackie Kay and novelist Jeanette Winterson. At this exclusive event, Carol Ann, Jackie and Jeanette will be in attendance, presenting the first official readings of their new work and discussing the many ways in which they have been personally influenced by the lives and work of Charlotte, Emily and Anne.