The Writers Room

Saturday 13 June 2026, 11.00am – 8.00pm
Lakeside Theatre, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ

Essex Book Festival and the University of Essex are hosting an exciting 1-day programme of writers’ and writing events.

Events include author talks and workshops, multi-genre panel discussions, and The Pitch (a speed-date with an industry professional). Plus, an opportunity to engage with and explore the J.A. Baker Archive.

This event is kindly funded by The Bean Trust.

Day Pass Tickets: £25 / £15 concessions – includes five events (individual event tickets are £8 / £5)
Book a Day Pass at Eventbrite.co.uk.

The Pitch

A speed-date with an industry professional. Attendees who have purchased a ticket for at least one of The Writers Day events will have an opportunity to take part in The Pitch. More details coming soon.

If you would like to find out more once details are confirmed, register your interest by emailing us hello@essexbookfestival.org.uk with ‘The Pitch’ in the subject line.

11.00am – 5.00pm
J.A.Baker Exhibition

J.A. Baker was passionate about the Essex countryside and was best known for his first and most successful work, The Peregrine (1967), summarising his ten-year observations of the bird. Held in the Special Collections at the University of Essex, Albert Sloman Library, the archive includes Baker’s letters, early manuscripts, unpublished works, ornithological diaries, photographs, and binoculars among other items. As part of The Writers Room day, selected items from the archive will be on display in the Special Collections Reading Room.

11.00am – 12.00pm
What it takes to Make a Book – Eva Verde in conversation with Sabah Khan

Identity, class and female rage are recurring themes in Eva Verde’s work. She has published three novels including Them Girls, and will be discussing with Sabah Khan, publicity director at Simon & Schuster Books, what it takes to write and publish a book.
Tickets: £8 / £5 concessions (students, under 27s and unwaged)
Box Office: eventbrite.co.uk

12.30pm – 2.30pm
Writing the Archive Workshop with Andrew Burton

Ignite your creative imagination. Join us for a practical writing workshop using the J.A. Baker Special Collection as a catalyst. Everyone welcome – no experience necessary.
Tickets: £20 / £15 concessions (students, under 27s and unwaged)
Box Office: eventbrite.co.uk
The Writing the Archive workshop is not included in The Writers Room Day Pass

1.00pm – 2.00pm
Nature Memoir: What Next? – Panel Discussion chaired by James Canton

In the last decade from H is for Hawk to Raising Hare via The Salt Path, nature memoir has witnessed a meteoric rise. Where does the genre go from here? Join our panel, chaired by James Canton, author of The Oak Papers and Renaturing, to discuss what the future holds for this compelling genre.
Tickets: £8 / £5 concessions (students, under 27s and unwaged)
Box Office: eventbrite.co.uk

2.30pm – 3.30pm
Breaking the Mould – Panel Discussion with Holly Pester, Ben Pester and Rebecca Perry

Granta Books is renowned for championing challenging and innovative ground-breaking literature. Join three acclaimed Granta authors Holly Pester (The Lodgers), Ben Pester (The Expansion Project) and Rebecca Perry (May We Feed The King) as they discuss their individual and shared writing processes.
Tickets: £8 / £5 concessions (students, under 27s and unwaged)
Box Office: eventbrite.co.uk

4.00pm – 5.00pm
Freedom to Read, Freedom to Write, Freedom to Move – English PEN Panel Discussion

Join English PEN, in partnership with Essex Book Festival, for a conversation between writers on the relationships between literature, place, and movement.

Palestinian writer, scholar, and activist Tareq Baconi, Namibian author, editor, and publisher Rémy Ngamije, and Syria-born author and journalist Khaled Alesmael will appear in conversation with Turkish Cypriot writer and multidisciplinary artist from North London Tice Cin.

They will ask: how do experiences of home, migration, diaspora, and safety inform their writing? How do relationships to place – to land, to sea, to borders, to movement across them, to departures, to arrivals – shape creative identity and the literary landscape? And how do the freedoms to write and to read relate to the freedom to move – and to its restriction?

Tickets: £8 / £5 concessions (students, under 27s and unwaged)
Box Office: eventbrite.co.uk

6.45pm – 8.00pm
How to Become a Peregrine – The Cabinet of Living Cinema – Film-screening and Panel Discussion

Join the Cabinet of Living Cinema for the world premiere of its new film How to Become a Peregrine inspired by J.A. Baker’s The Peregrine, and accompanied by a soaring and immersive live soundscape by composer Kieron Chissick.
Tickets: £8 / £5 concessions (students, under 27s and unwaged)
Box Office: eventbrite.co.uk

Day Pass Tickets: £25 / £15 concessions – includes five events (individual event tickets are £8 / £5)
Book a Day Pass at Eventbrite.co.uk.