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June 2024
Photo of Helen Lederer. Book cover image of Not That I'm Bitter.
June 6, 2024 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
  • Memoir

Not That I’m Bitter

Helen Lederer

Helen Lederer is in joyous flow, mixing startling self-revelation with nail-sharp observation. Occasionally painful, yet unashamedly revealing, this laugh-out-loud account offers a front row seat to Helen’s life and explores how laughter can defeat the darker moments. Read more

November 2024
Ian Collins Blythe Spirit cover
November 15, 2024 @ 7:00 pm - 8:30 pm
  • In partnership
  • Memoir

Blythe Spirit

Ian Collins

Ronald Blythe (1922-2023) lived all his life in East Anglia and is considered one of the greatest writers on the English countryside. Drawing on unparalleled access to letters, notebooks, published works, drafts, and conversations from decades of friendship, he tells the full story of Ronald Blythe for the first time. Read more

June 2025
Photo of Diane Abbott alongside book cover image of A Woman Like Me
June 6, 2025 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
  • Politics
  • Memoir

A Woman Like Me

Diane Abbott in conversation with Professor John Bartle

We are thrilled to be joined by Britain's first ever Black female MP, Diane Abbott, who will be telling her astonishing story of groundbreaking achievement and the political and social challenges she has faced in Parliament. Read more

June 7, 2025 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
  • Memoir

The Bullet

Tom Lee in conversation with Chris Penhall

In The Bullet, Tom Lee attempts to understand what happened to his parents - both were patients at Severalls Psychiatric Hospital in Colchester at different times in their lives - and what happened to him. It is a powerful and deeply personal exploration of mental health, and an indelible account of the legacy of familial illness and living with a fracturing mind. Read more

September 2025
Photo of Liliane Lijn alongside book cover of Liquid Reflections
September 30, 2025 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
  • Art
  • In Conversation
  • In partnership
  • Memoir

Liquid Reflections

in conversation with Liliane Lijn

Join us for an evening with trail-blazing contemporary artist, Liliane Lijn, whose seminal kinetic artworks redefined the possibilities of creative and artistic expression. Don’t miss this chance to hear, in her own words, the story of an artist who refused to be categorised. Read more

June 2026
June 2 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
  • FREE
  • Memoir
  • Partner Event

The Book of Coincidences

Patricia Borlenghi

An introduction to local author's memoir about her Italian family background, various anecdotes from her life and her career in publishing. Read more

June 6 @ 12:45 pm - 1:30 pm
  • FREE
  • Memoir
  • ONLY A FEW TICKETS LEFT!

A Celebration of Dave Monk

Join us as we celebrate the Essex life of ‘BBC legend’ and festival patron, Dave Monk, who sadly died last year. We will be sharing fond and funny memories, talking about his memoir, Whatever Happened to Dave Monk? and the contribution he made to Essex. Read more

June 6 @ 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
  • Memoir

Death of An Ordinary Man

Sarah Perry

Festival Patron Sarah Perry's Death of an Ordinary Man is a deeply moving, unstinting account of death by cancer, a reportage into the daily experience of caring, and most importantly a testament to her father-in-law David’s life, that of an ordinary man. Read more