Radical Islands Launch

Join us for an event like no other – take a boat trip to the Packing Shed at Mersea Island, a unique piece of our Essex heritage and join two fascinating talks. There will also be an opportunity to explore the small island and Packing Shed building, ask the authors questions and get books signed. Ticket includes both author talks and boat crossings to and from the island.

Sunday 01 June, 2.30pm – 5.30pm
Venue: The Packing Shed, West Mersea, Colchester, CO5 8PA
Tickets: £20, includes both talks and boat crossing to and from the Packing Shed
Box Office: essexbookfestival.org.uk or Mercury Theatre 01206 573948

Ken Worpole – The Bulwark Shore

The Essex coastline is one of the longest of England’s seashores, with many distinctive islands, some playing a key defensive role in wartime, while others have provided sanctuaries for wildlife and long-standing residential settlements with rich histories. In Brightening from the East: Essays on landscape and memory (2025), writer Ken Worpole details the unique contribution the Essex islands have made to modern notions of ‘Englishness’, not only in landscape character but also in the 20th century story of environmental and social change.

Order a copy of Brightening from the East by Ken Worpole at bookshop.org

Jules Pretty – Sea Sagas of the North

The isles of Essex once were hilltops. Then glaciers and ice-sheets melted, and the sea rose up. At that time, the North Sea was a wide dry plain called Doggerland. The Sky People roamed with all the herds. What happened when they became the first climate migrants, forced to flee in small boats? In Sea Sagas of the North, Jules Pretty uses story and saga to explore how the Essex archipelago came to be, and how the Sky People were welcomed with kindness at the shore.

Order a copy of Sea Sagas of the North by Jules Pretty at bookshop.org