Tudor historian Alison Weir‘s event on Tuesday 10th June, which features her new book The Cardinal, could not be taking place in a more appropriate venue than the magnificent Chelmsford Cathedral given its’ chief protagonist, Cardinal Wolsey’s East Anglian roots.

The same applies for our event with Edward Wilson-Lee whose latest book The Grammar of Angels tells the fascinating story of Renaissance prodigy and polymath Giovanni Pico della Mirandola who dedicated his short, brilliant life to a quest to find the sublime. With angels in The Cathedral’s stained glass, carved into its stones, stitched into its kneelers, and fashioned into its reredoses’, audience members will be in excellent company for Edward’s event on Friday 20th June.

As for St Leonard at-the-Hythe Church, our special 1-day event Spirits, Salons and Sanctuary undoubtedly ‘chimes’ with this wonderful redundant church in the heart of Colchester, which has more than a story or two to tell about spirits and sanctuary. Not so sure about salons!

Join internationally acclaimed cultural historian and writer Marina Warner as she illuminates the concept of ‘sanctuary’ past and present via her new book Sanctuary, which explores how the idea of ‘sanctuary’ has shifted from what was once seen as an ancient rite to something quite different these days.

Meanwhile, poet Philip Terry will take his audience on a tour of his reimagined Purgatoria, which is set on Mersea Island, and poet and novelist Clare Pollard will invite us into the magical fairy-telling salons of Sixteenth Century Paris with her fabulous new novel The Modern Fairies.

Tickets for all events are available now at essexbookfestival.org.uk/events.

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Arranged on 16 posts, a QR code geo-locates content, offering walkers a diverse mix of materials inspired by the journey. This year’s theme is “Communities within Communities”. Join in to stay active and creative.

£300 Prize money is split for the winners, £150 for first place and £50 for 3 runner ups.
How to join:

• Travel the WWW route around Colchester
• Get creative with photos, art, poetry and more that relates to the theme.
• Go to the website https://walkwithwords.co.uk/
• add your contact details and submission
• Wait for the results.

Winners will be announced at a special awards ceremony as part of our Day on the Wild Side at The Minories, Colchester on Sunday 22nd June.

Submissions are unlimited, and we encourage you to participate with your friends or communities. Good luck!

For full details visit walkwithwords.co.uk.

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To inaugurate the series of art-themed talks, James Birch, the curator, gallerist and art impresario with many ties to East Anglia, will introduce his newest book, Gilbert & George and the Communists.

The book memorialises James’ experience of mounting major art exhibitions in Moscow and China for the irreverent and iconic art duo, Gilbert & George, after the great success of bringing Francis Bacon to Russia in 1988.

It’s a multi-faceted romp through the art world and politics of the late 80s and early 90s that James will bring to life when he joins us on stage at The Minories.

Find out more and book tickets at eafestival.com.

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Professor Robert Langdon and cryptologist Sophie Neveu embark on a pulse-pounding quest across Europe. When a brutal murder in the Louvre Museum uncovers hidden clues within Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpieces, the duo must unravel a web of intrigue that could alter the course of history…

Uncover the twists and turns of ancient secrets, relentless rivals and coded messages in a quest to protect a secret that could change the world forever.

A Mercury Theatre Colchester and Wiltshire Creative Production

From Wednesday 07 May – Saturday 24 May 2025 at Mercury Theatre, Colchester.

Visit mercurytheatre.co.uk/event/the-da-vinci-code/ for more information and to book tickets.

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We were particularly pleased to welcome Fousseny Traore, a Climate Refugee from Mali, who spoke about the environmental devastation that is already happening in parts of Africa as a result of the Climate Emergency, and the very real threat to those who speak out about it.

Read a copy of Fousseny’s deeply moving speech here.

Participants took part in a range of workshops during the day led by Eco-educator/Dramaturg Dr Andrew Burton (University of Essex), Theatre Director/Founder Wise Ram Theatre Company Sofia Bagge, Radio Producer/Presenter Michelle Durrant (Chelmsford Community Radio) and Theatre Director/Founder Mad, Who? Theatre Marina Cusi. This was followed by a feed-back and ‘what next’ brain-storming session.

It was, as ever, a very positive day. To have so many eloquent and motivated young people in one space was inspirational and a real credit to Essex. To welcome Climate Refugee Foussney Traore to speak about his journey from Mali to Colchester, and the personal sacrifices he has made along the way, was both a privilege and deeply moving (see attached photograph c. Essex Book Festival).

Ros Green, Festival Director

The Manifesto for Essex, which was set up in 2020 as part of Essex2020, goes from strength to strength. This year will be working with young people from Harlow to Harwich to help raise awareness of the positive actions everyone can take to mitigate the Climate Emergency. We look forward to celebrating their work as part of this year’s Essex Book Festival.

Thank you to Young Reporter, Ellious Woodroof, for this great write-up about the Youth Climate Summit:

Manifesto For Essex: Art and the Climate Emergency

By Ellious Woodroof,
Colchester Sixth Form College

This article was written by one of our Young Reporters, a scheme that gives 14 to 18-year-old school students a chance to write for a real newspaper. Find out more at the Young Reporter website.

This January I attended ‘Manifesto for Essex’ at Headgate Theatre for my third year.

This event aims to help young people tackle the climate emergency through all forms of art – the focus of this year was theatre.

The opening speech from Foussney Traore (a climate refugee from Mali) was incredibly powerful – he spoke in French with translation to English.

He described how women and girls spend days searching for food and water; how Mali and the Sahel have become Climate Change warzones; how his peoples’ subsistence life is collapsing; and how the work of multinationals is destroying the environment, his home.

There were references to the beauty of nature that his uncle taught him to appreciate, countered by the fragility of how the lakes he used to bathe in had become football pitches.

To combat this, he started an online movement ‘Action Sahel’ and is taking his activism international, warning that although extreme impacts of climate change do not reach the UK currently, it is only a matter of time.

I found someone recounting personal experiences brought home the reality, showing how stories shape our view and therefore our actions.

This was followed by a panel discussion on tackling the Climate Emergency through performance, chaired by Marina Cusi.

The panel included a representative from SPARK Chelmsford (a group giving young people a role in shaping Chelmsford’s cultural identity); Richard from Headgate Theatre’s youth troop; Hattie Philips (studying for a degree in Sustainable Futures, and with experience in many areas of activism such as being a youth ambassador for WWF); and Sofia Bagge from Wise Ram Theatre (a group using theatre to explore the climate crisis in ways which are funny and heartfelt).

There were discussions of how theatre can be a space for play and fun while trying to untangle the mess of the climate emergency.

Theatre is also accessible, only needing a space and an audience to bring people together, communicate ideas and create connections.

Hattie highlighted that simple communication is a creative practice and engaging people on issues is an artform itself.

The discussion also explored how interdisciplinary ideas are becoming more important in education, which is particularly significant for the climate crisis which is a huge web of linked issues.

I then did an Eco-Script writing workshop with Andrew Burton where we generated ideas through questions about emotions – what makes us angry, sad, gives us hope – and then linked these to anecdotes of our own, which was a great exercise in being creatively free with writing.

My final workshop was Eco-Podcasting with Michelle Durant from Chelmsford Community radio, and we interviewed Peter Donaldson (chair of Essex Book festival) about climate and books.

This was a great experience of how immediate and responsive audio journalism can be.

The other workshops included Eco-Performance with Sofia Bagge and Eco-Poetry with Marina Cusi.

I found the event extremely valuable for the discussions it sparked, the community it created and the hope it gives me that action is possible.

The post Manifesto for Essex Climate Action Youth Summit appeared first on Essex Book Festival.

Free to attend although booking is essential, the Youth Summit provides a platform for young people aged 13-25 years who are passionate about culture and the environment to have their voices heard, build new networks, and explore creative solutions to the Climate Emergency.

This year we will have a strong focus on theatre and performance. If you are a young person or know someone who might be interested in attending the Summit, would like to come along and volunteer on the day, or simply want to find out more about the day, visit the Climate Action Youth Summit event page at essexbookfestival.org.uk.

Climate Action Youth Summit
Saturday 25th January, 10am – 3.30pm
Headgate Theatre, 14 Chapel Street North, Colchester CO2 7AT
Tickets: Free, places limited so booking essential

Registration Link: Climate Action Youth Summit

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The true history of tattoo as both art and profession in the West

Thursday 28th November, 7pm
Firstsite, Colchester
Book tickets at eafestival.com

There is a pervasive stereotype of tattoo culture as relating to an underworld of scoundrels, sailors, and ne’erdo-wells, yet it has existed in the West as a professionalized art practice for centuries. Drawing on extensive new research and unprecedented access to largely unpublished private archives of photographs, art, and ephemera, Matt Lodder offers a new perspective on the history of commercial tattooing in Europe and the United States, beginning even before it emerged as a recognizable profession in the mid-nineteenth century. In the process, he shows that the art of tattoo has long been both practiced and commissioned by individuals across economic, gender, and class divides; he also examines the stylistic trends that have shaped tattoo’s development as an art form over its history.

Matt Lodder will introduce the many artists and professionals who shaped tattoo history, including early figures like Martin Hildebrandt, the first-known professional tattoo artist in the West; prominent woman artists like Grace Bell and Jessie Knight; mid-twentieth-century icons like Sailor Jerry and Les Skuse and the Bristol Tattoo Club; and contemporary industry stars including Ed Hardy, Davy Jones, and the Leu family.

Richly illustrated with rarely published images, this important book is the first to examine the history of tattoo in the west as both a serious profession and an art form.

“Importantly, I want to focus in this book almost exclusively on the artists themselves, and their influences, innovations, interconnections… the specific work of the artists has been too often neglected in the understanding of tattooing beyond the industry itself”

Matt Lodder, Introduction

Matt Lodder is a senior lecturer in art history and theory and director of American Studies at the University of Essex.

The post Tattoos: The Untold History of a Modern Art by Matt Lodder appeared first on Essex Book Festival.

Chelmsford Science Festival – 26th and 27th October

First up is Anglia Ruskin University’s hugely popular Chelmsford Science Festival, which is hosting two Family Science Days on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th October.

Activities include interactive exhibits, hands on activities and talks by leaders in their fields. Essex Book Festival is proud to be playing its part by hosting a Traditional Ink-Making and Eco-Printing Drop-in Activity. Why not come along and dabble in some ancient gall oak alchemy!

Find out more about Chelmsford Science Festival at essexbookfestival.org.uk.

Blythe Spirit – The Remarkable Life of Ronald Blythe
Friday 15th November

It is difficult to sum up the remarkable life of Ronald Blythe, author of Akenfield and countless other books and essays, who spent the last forty years of his life living in Wormingford near Colchester.

However, close friend and writer Ian Collins has done an equally remarkable job of distilling and condensing Ronnie’s fascinating life and work spanning 100 years into his new biography Blythe Spirit.

We are thrilled be partnering with Red Lion Books on an author event on Friday 15th November at the Old Library in Colchester Town Hall featuring Ian Collins in conversation with Festival Director Ros Green, who grew up in the now mythical ‘Akenfield’ in East Suffolk in the 1960s.

It’s not often that the venue plays a starring role in one of our events. Who could have imagined that eighty years later the shy reference librarian affectionately known as Ronnie who worked at the Old Library for 10 years, would one day become one of the UK’s leading writers, essayist and editor. Well, he did, and made Essex his home.

Find out more and book tickets at redlionbooks.co.uk.

Hot Off The Press
Tattoos – The Untold History of a Modern Art

Essex Book Festival is teaming up with EA Festival and Firstsite on another exciting event in November: The Launch of Dr Matt Lodder’s new book Tattoos: The Untold History of a Modern Art published by Yale University Press.

Tattoos is the first book to examine the history of tattoo in the West as both a serious profession and an art form.

Contrary to the pervasive stereotype of tattoo culture relating to an underworld of scoundrels, sailors and ne’er-do-wells, it has existed in the West as a professionalized art practice for centuries. Drawing on extensive new research and unprecedented access to largely unpublished private archives of photographs, art, and ephemera, Dr Matt Lodder offers a new perspective on the history of commercial tattooing in Europe and the United States, beginning even before it emerged as a recognizable profession in the mid-nineteenth century.

The event is taking place at 7pm Firstsite on Thursday 28th November.

For more information and to book tickets go to: ea-festival.eventcube.io/events.

Beach of Dreams

Essex Book Festival is hosting a special weekend of activities for four local community groups on 16th and 17th November to explore and reflect on the fascinating history of Harwich. Participants will be invited to tell their own stories of what the town means to them via workshops led by a writer, digital artist and a local archivist. All of the stories created will feed into a new national digital platform as part of the project: Beach of Dreams.

Beach of Dreams aims to engage hundreds of thousands across the UK in a major interdisciplinary programme responding to coastal, environmental and climate themes, Activities include walks; journeys; participatory creative events; digital activity; talks and other events along the UK coastline in the 4 nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland from October 2024 to May 2025.

Get involved!

In addition to our four community workshops, Essex Record Office will be hosting a free oral recording session between 4-5pm on Saturday 16th November. If you would like to take part in this session, email hello@essexbookfestival.org.uk The more story-gatherers the better!

Find out more at essexbookfestival.org.uk/beach-of-dreams and beachofdreams.org.

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Festival Patron Sarah Perry, our Finale event for the day, summed up the magic of the day in the following words:

“Just the most extraordinary day at University of Essex for the launch event of the Essex Book Festival…I couldn’t be more proud and honoured to be an Essex Girl, the Essex Chancellor, an Essex Book Festival patron and an Essex novelist. The time of mockery is over: the era of Essex has begun!”

What an amazing endorsement!

And that’s just the start. We have so much more to come with events taking place in venues across the county over the coming month. View all upcoming events at essexbookfestival.org.uk/events/.

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University of Essex are celebrating 60 years of making change happen. 60 years of boldness and bravery from their students past and present. 60 years of creating change.

Over six decades they have nurtured thinkers and doers who’ve changed our world for the better.

So, to celebrate, they are showcasing “Sixty Stories” that shed light on how their students, staff, research, and partnerships are creating global impact.

Find out more at 60stories.essex.ac.uk.

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