Welcome to the first South Warwickshire Literary Festival brought to you from the small village of Fenny Compton.

The festival is free and open to everyone. Our main venue is Fenny Compton village hall where you can meet our authors and poets, hear readings and take part in our Q&A session. Our workshops will take place in the tranquil and very beautiful church of St Peter and St Clare, a 3 minute walk from the main hall.

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Accessibility: The church is wheelchair accessible but please be aware that the tarmac path to the door is uphill and there are two steps to enter the building. The stone flag flooring in the church is worn and slightly uneven in places. There are no toilets at the church.

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Programme

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Saturday 24th September

10.00am

The festival opens in the village hall with a warm welcome

from organiser Jacci Gooding

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Speakers

introduced by Lynn Macwhinnie

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10.30am  Bea Hitchman: Queer fiction and the ethics of historical fiction. Bea is an author and an academic whose research focuses on queer fiction and the ethics of historical fiction. Her first novel, Petite Mort, was nominated for the Desmond Elliott Prize, the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award, the Polari Prize, and the HWA Debut Dagger.

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11.15am Jeremy Atkins, Fernhurst Books: Getting published. With over 640 books published in the UK each working day, getting published can be a challenge. The owner of independent Warwickshire-based publisher Fernhurst Books talks about the publishing process, working with a publisher and self-publishing. Fernhurst Books have 150 titles in print and operate Self Publishing House.

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12.05pm Joanne Stubbs: Joanne is the author of The Fish, a literary cli-fi exploring themes of climate change and human reactions to change. She will be reading from her book, talking of her inspiration and how she came to write it. The Fish is published by Fairlight Books and released on Oct 6th.

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BREAK FOR LUNCH 12.45-1.40

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1.45pm Poetry: with competition winner Emily Hunt, Warwickshire Young Poet Laureate Dan Wale, runner-up Jolyon Summerfield, and author, translator and award-winning poet Gwyneth Box. Introduced by Emily Davis from Warwickshire Libraries and promoter of Warwickshire Young Poet Laureate.

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2.30pm El Rhodes, Winning Words: Want to write short prose that is a hit? Want to wow a judge or magazine editor? Join award winning fiction and nonfiction writer and editor El Rhodes for a session that focuses on writing fantastic flash and super short stories that really stand out from the crowd.

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3.25pm Prose Showcase with Kathy Hoyle,  Paula Greenlees, Terri Daneshyar and Peter Coombs : Your chance to hear from some great authors as they chat about and read from their work.

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4.10pm Q&A session with Bea Hitchman, El Rhodes, Hugo Kerr, Jeremy Atkins, Jo Stubbs, and Gwyneth Box. Your chance to ask the experts! 

Parking:

CV47 2YY

Please note it will be harvest time when the festival is on which means lots of tractors and farm vehicles will be out and about. Please park in the designated parking field only - about a 3 minute walk from the main venue -  and not on any roads or pavements near the venues. Thank you.

Cafe:

Cash only - sorry no wifi.

Workshops 

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10.30am Grammar: What's That All About? with Hugo Kerr. Hugo will attempt to undermine belief in the need for, or point of, ‘grammar’, and in the common-sensical, everyday idea of language as a rule-based system. 

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11.20am Creating Compelling Characters with short story author Jenefer Heap and YA author Terri Daneshyar. Are you looking for inspiration? Or perhaps already have a character, but you’re wondering how to bring them to life? Join in this fun, interactive workshop on how to create interesting or quirky characters. Just bring your imagination and see who follows you home.

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BREAK FOR LUNCH 12.45-1.40

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1.45pm Life Writing with author and writing coach Cate West. This workshop will explore how you can use personal observations to create authentic fictional scenarios, with particular emphasis on the short story form. Writers in all genres are welcome, including complete beginners. 

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2.50pm Flash Fiction & Short Stories with author Audrey Niven.

This interactive writing workshop will look at some of the key building blocks of writing a very short story. The session is designed for any level of experience, so come along – everyone is welcome. Audrey’s writing has won prizes in flash, short story, novel, drama and stand-up comedy. She is currently working on a novel. @NivenAudrey

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See our Workshop page for more details

Member of the Global Association of Literary Festivals