New for 2025 – an #SWLitFest evening!
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So even more people can join the #SWLitFest fun, this year we’ll also be hosting a superb evening event at the renowned creative hub, 1 Mill Street, just round the corner from Jephson Gardens in central Leamington Spa.
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​Even if you can’t join us for the day on September 20th, you can still share in the spirit of the Festival as we sit back and enjoy the insightful and entertaining words of our guest authors.
​Ticket price for the evening £22.50 (includes booking fee). Our evening event at 1, Mill Street starts at 7pm with a chance to buy a drink at Fluters Bar and mingle before the main event kicks off at 7:30pm.
Thursday June 12th
1, Mill Street, Leamington Spa
Enjoy a lively summer evening of literature and laughs with authors Dr Adam Sharp and Sarah Jane Downing in the company of compere and journalist Jo Durrant.
Wordsmith Adam Sharp’s entertaining show blends monologue, stand-up and a reading of excerpts from his books as he journeys around the world in idioms, proverbs and general nonsense. A composer and curator of the best, worst and most nonsensical lists, Adam developed a following of over 90,000 like-minded language enthusiasts on social media (@AdamCSharp on Twitter and Bluesky). This led to a series of books published by Hachette: The Correct Order of Biscuits (2020) and most recently The Wheel is Spinning but the Hamster is Dead (September 2023). His lists have been featured in the Guardian, Irish Times, Stylist, Good Housekeeping, The Poke, The Bookshelf, The Knowledge, and Harper’s.
Sarah Jane Downing is an author and freelance journalist with a particular passion for the history of fashion and beauty. Fascinated with the interplay of fashion, culture and personality, she has written widely about the arts, contributing to Selvedge magazine since the first issue as well as national and local magazines and newspapers. She has written five books: The English Pleasure Garden 1660-1860, Fashion in the Time of Jane Austen, Beauty and Cosmetics 1550-1950, Fashion in the Time of William Shakespeare, and Pastimes and Pleasures in the Time of Jane Austen. This evening, Sarah Jane will be celebrating Jane Austen's 250th anniversary by focusing on the Gothic in Austen, framing it within the atmosphere of stern disapproval that surrounded female novel reading in the final decade of the 18th century when Jane wrote Northanger Abbey.
Jo Durrant is the award-winning presenter of the independent arts & science podcast ‘Jo Durrant’s Beautiful Universe’. She’s a highly respected and accomplished interviewer and event chair, and a familiar face at literature, history, and science festivals. For over 20 years Jo was a presenter, producer & reporter with BBC radio and interviewed hundreds of people, from Melanie C to Tim Peake. She is now freelance.
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Jo will be compèring an evening of literature and laughs with authors Dr Adam Sharp and Sarah Jane on June 12th at 1, Mill Street.