(l-r) Xanthe Arvanitakis, director, Chiswick House & Gardens Trust; Clare Gough, director, Pitzhanger Manor; Torin Douglas, Chiswick Book Festival Director; Martin Rowson, cartoonist.
Last year’s Chiswick Book Festival took place from September 10th to 16th 2020. We met online, with sessions taking place on video, Zoom and in podcasts. You can still catch up with all the events on video and podcast by clicking this link.
We welcomed, among others: Antonia Fraser, Michael Billington, Alexandra Shulman, Loyd Grossman, Polly Toynbee and Patricia and Jean Owtram, Mihir Bose, Peter Hennessy, Jeremy Vine, Amanda Craig, Mavis Cheek, Iain Dale, Rosamund Lupton, Hashi Mohamed, Oliver Soden, Jo Pratt, Steve Richards, Ariana Neumann, Trevor Barnes and for the children’s festival, Konnie Huq, Rob Biddulph, Zoe Antoniades and Joshua Seigal. There was also an Ernest Hemingway winetasting, several Ealing events, and our Local Authors Evening.
Instead of selling tickets, we relied on donations and sponsorship. We kept costs as low as possible and the surplus went to the Festival charities as usual. If you would like to support the Festival in 2021, please donate via DonorBox.
We are very grateful to our Diamond partners, without whom the Festival could not have taken place in this way: Savills, The Arts Society Chiswick, Waterstones and our two technical partners Chiswickbuzz and The Chiswick Calendar, who provided video and podcast facilities, as they did for the Bedford Park Festival Online. Thanks too to our other partners, listed on our Partners page.
The authors’ books are still on sale via Waterstones online and many are available to click and collect at Waterstones, 220-226 Chiswick High Road W4 1PD.
On Sunday September 13th, we remembered our wonderful author programme director, Jo James, who set up many of the Festival sessions. Her beloved husband Simon died in July from an aggressive brain tumour. On Sunday afternoon they celebrated his life with many of their friends in Chipping Campden. If you would like to make a donation to Campden Home Nursing in his memory, you can do so here.
A-Z of Speakers See News coverage of the 2020 Festival
Programme Schedule – September 9th to 16th 2020
Podcasts
A series of specially commissioned podcasts from The Chiswick Calendar – and others shared with the Chiswick Book Festival by Belle Media – were released on Friday September 11th, to listen to at your leisure. Listen to them here.
The speakers are: Mavis Cheek (Amenable Women), Peter Hain (The Rhino Conspiracy), Mihir Bose (The Nine Waves – The Extraordinary History of Indian Cricket), Tim Richardson (Sissinghurst: The Dream Garden), Oliver Soden (Michael Tippett: The Biography), Polly Toynbee & David Walker (The Lost Decade: 2010 – 2020), James Rodgers (Assignment Moscow) and Christopher Tugendhat (A History of Britain Through Books 1900-1964).
Enjoyed them? Please donate now!
On Video
wednesday september 9th 2020
7pm-7.40pm Preview event: Local Authors Evening at Chiswick Playhouse
(Photo above). Filmed and sponsored by Chiswickbuzz
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Please donate
thursday september 10th 2020
7pm-8pm 21st Century Influencers – Hogarth, Soane and A Rake’s Progress
Filmed at Chiswick House by Chiswickbuzz, sponsored by The Arts Society Chiswick. Photo by Roger Green. Speakers (l-r) Martin Rowson, cartoonist, Xanthe Arvanitakis, director, Chiswick House & Gardens Trust; Clare Gough, director, Pitzhanger Manor; Torin Douglas, Chiswick Book Festival Director. Not pictured: John Collins, heritage manager, Hogarth’s House.
See it here on YouTube Please donate
friday september 11th 2020
5pm-5.30pm: Young People’s Poetry Competition Prize Giving
Zoom recording by Chiswickbuzz.net. Supported by ChiswickW4.com, prizes donated by Quarto Kids, Otter-Barry Books and the Give A Book charity.
See it here on YouTube Please donate
7pm-8pm: Harold Pinter: From Chiswick & The Caretaker to the Nobel Prize – Lady Antonia Fraser and Michael Billington.
Filmed in St Michael & All Angels Church by Chiswickbuzz, sponsored by Savills
See it here on YouTube Please donate
saturday september 12th 2020
9am Zoe Antoniades: Cally & Jimmy
Chiswick children’s favourite Zoe Antoniades returns to read from her first book of four hilarious stories about twins Cally & Jimmy – perfect for newly confident readers. Interviewed by Kimberley Okoye for Chiswickbuzz.
See it here on YouTube Like it? donate now
9.30am Joshua Seigal: Welcome to My Crazy Life
This new collection by Joshua Seigal is perfect for fans of Michael Rosen. In two videos recorded specially for the Chiswick Book Festival, Joshua reads some of his haikus (sponsored by Blossom Day W4) and also some unpublished poems. Supported by Chiswick & Bedford Park Preparatory School.
See his haikus here on YouTube
See his unpublished poems here on YouTube. Like them? Donate now
10am: Draw Along with Rob Biddulph: Dog Gone
During lockdown, Rob Biddulph‘s hugely successful videos kept thousands of us entertained and proved that anyone can draw! Join the world record-breaking illustrator and picture-book creator for an exclusive ‘Draw with Rob’ drawalong, revealed especially for the young artists of Chiswick! Supported by Falcons Pre-Preparatory School for Boys.
Streamed for one day only. Watch how to draw a rabbit on the #DrawWithRob video next Saturday. Please donate now
11am-12 Noon State of the Nation: Iain Dale and Hashi Mohamed
LBC presenter Iain Dale‘s book Why Can’t We All Just Get Along? is part-memoir, part-polemic about the state of public discourse in Britain and the world today. Barrister Hashi Mohamed came to the UK aged nine, as an unaccompanied child refugee, with hardly any English. Raised on benefits and attending low-performing schools, he knows about social mobility, sharing his experiences and insights in People Like Us.
See it here on YouTube. Please donate now
12 Noon-1pm Too Close to Home? Rosamund Lupton and Diane Chandler
Diane Chandler‘s new novel Only Human is set in Chiswick. Rosamund Lupton‘s Sunday Times bestseller Three Hours takes place in a school in rural Somerset. What are the pleasures and pitfalls of setting a book near where you live – or far away? Interview by Rachel Schofield. Part of a ‘Fiction Double Bill’ with the following session. Photo by Roger Green.
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Please donate now
1pm-2pm Jeremy Vine: The Diver and the Lover, a novel of love, sacrifice and the art of obsession
The new novel from Radio 2 and Channel 5 presenter Jeremy Vine is a meditation on art and love set in 1950s Catalonia and featuring the iconic painter Salvador Dali. The Diver and the Lover is inspired by true events and by the writer’s obsession with a painting that hangs in the Kelvingrove Gallery in Glasgow. He talks about the novel with the Festival director Torin Douglas.
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Please donate now
2pm-3pm Ariana Neumann: When Time Stopped, A Memoir of My Father’s War and What Remains.
A haunting, delicately written memoir that gives up its astonishing secrets with grace and sensitivity, Ariana Neumann’s investigation into her father’s hidden past and quiet heroism is a profoundly moving and inspirational read. She talks to Anne Sebba, author of That Woman and Les Parisiennes.
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Please donate now
3pm-4pm: Peter Hennessy & Paddy O’Connell: Winds of Change
Historian Peter Hennessy’s acclaimed postwar trilogy (Never Again; Having It So Good; Winds of Change), has just been published in paperback. His next book is about Britain before and after Corona. In a Zoom recording he talks to Paddy O’Connell of R4’s Broadcasting House.
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Please donate now
4pm-5pm: Manoj Badale and Simon Hughes: A New Innings
In their new book – and the first of two sessions devoted to sport – award-winning cricket writer and broadcaster Simon Hughes and technology entrepreneur Manoj Badale – lead owner of the IPL franchise, the Rajasthan Royals – explore how the reinvention of cricket through T20 will shape the future of the game post-Covid, talking to Simon Mann of the BBC’s Test Match Special
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Please donate now
5pm-6pm David Berry: A People’s History of Tennis
Thrillingly uncovering a world of sedition and politics beneath the genteel veneer of lawn tennis, David Berry’s wonderfully entertaining book reveals the radical origins of the beloved sport. Gay rights, class struggle, racism and feminism all inform A People’s History of Tennis. With James Munro, former BBC sports correspondent and comms director for the Lawn Tennis Association.
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Please donate now
6pm Jo Pratt: The Flexible Family Cookbook
The Flexible Family Cookbook is full of simple and delicious recipes to keep the whole family happy. Festival favourite Jo Pratt provides flexible adaptations for each recipe to account for allergies, intolerances and lifestyle choices. Filmed in her kitchen as she cooks, Jo speaks to Fran Warde of the Cookbook Kitchen.
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Please donate now
6.20pm Followed by Charities Chat – Live!
Normally we’d be meeting the Festival’s three charities – InterAct Stroke Support, Doorstep Library and The Felix Project – and hearing more about their work over drinks in St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall. Instead, in a live Zoom discussion, they talk to Festival director Torin Douglas about how their work has been affected by the lockdown and how your Festival donations can help.
See it here on YouTube. Please donate now
7pm Trevor Barnes: Dead Doubles
The Portland spy ring was one of the most infamous espionage cases from the Cold War. Former BBC correspondent Trevor Barnes tells the astonishing but true story of the MI5 spyhunt, using hitherto secret MI5 and FBI files, private family archives and original interviews. Interviewed by Steve Anderson in St Michael & All Angels Church.
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Please donate now
sunday september 13th 2020
9am to 11am CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL
9am – Lucy Barnard: Ruby and Graham
Ruby loves fun while Graham loves organising. In their own unique ways, they make sure that Acorn Wood is a beautiful and lively place. But when Graham decides to party all the time like Ruby, the chaos and confusion in the wood gets out of hand. Who will step up to set things right?
In a video recording, Lucy Barnard talks about her new book and shows you how she draws the pictures – and how you can too! Supported by Chiswick & Bedford Park Preparatory School
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Donate now!
9.30am Nicole Prust: The Sloth and the Dinglewot
When Samuel the Sloth feels brave enough to leave his cosy hut, he meets the mysterious Dinglewot. Together they discover incredible places, and Samuel will learn that overcoming fears and doubts means more adventures, friendships and happiness. The book is illustrated by Amanda Enright. In a video recording, Nicole Prustexplains how she came to write the book, reads from it and answers readers’ questions.
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Donate now!
9.45am Christiane Kerr – Yoga Animals in the Forest
Filled with adorable artwork (by Julia Green) and simple, step-by-step guides, Yoga Animals is a charming introduction to yoga and mindfulness for children aged three and above. Guided by a narrative and written by a children’s yoga expert, this book is an ideal first yoga book for young children.
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Donate now!
10am Konnie Huq: Cookie… and the Most Annoying Girl in the World
The former Blue Peter presenter’s loveable protagonist Cookie rides again in this hilarious tale of stolen party plans and fake best friends. Bursting with fun and ideas yet also delivering a serious message about pollution and the environment, Cookie and the Most Annoying Girl in the World is a delightful sequel. Supported by Orchard House School.
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Donate now!
11am-12 Noon Steve Richards: The Prime Ministers: Reflections on Leadership
Inspired by the author’s BBC Radio 4 and television series, Steve Richards expertly examines the men and women who have defined the UK’s role in the modern world and sheds new light on the demands of the highest public office in the land. The Prime Ministers, from Wilson to Johnson is just out in paperback with a new chapter on Boris Johnson. Steve Richards talks to Phil Harding, former BBC controller of editorial policy and editor of Radio 4’s Today .
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Donate now!
12 Noon-1pm Loyd Grossman: An Elephant in Rome: Bernini, The Pope and The Making of the Eternal City
Famous for presenting MasterChef and Through the Keyhole, Loyd Grossman has also been deeply involved in heritage and art history. His love of Rome was kindled by his first encounter with an elephant carrying an obelisk: the enigmatic monument to the relationship between the artist and the pope. Together, he writes, Alexander VII and Bernini made the greatest artistic double act in history, creating Baroque Rome as a city more beautiful and grander than any since the days of the Emperor Augustus. He talks to Fr Kevin Morris, vicar of St Michael & All Angels, filmed in the church.
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Please donate now
1pm-2pm Amanda Craig: The Golden Rule
A stunning contemporary twist on Patricia Highsmith’s psychological chiller Strangers on a Train, Amanda Craig’s gripping new novel blends edge-of-the-seat thrills with razor-sharp satire. lt turns on two women who meet by chance and discover that they are both victims of abusive husbands. Together, they plot their revenge . . . The author discusses her book with the Chiswickbuzz Book Club.
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Donate now!
2.15pm-3pm Alexandra Shulman: Clothes… and other things that matter
The former Editor of British Vogue, Alexandra Shulman, explores how we use the contents of our wardrobe to communicate, influence, and to empower and transform ourselves. Witty, entertaining and bold, Clothes and Other Things… is an enticing mix of memoir, fashion history and social commentary, touching on issues such as body image, motherhood, sexual identity, ambition and power. Interviewed on video in St Michael & All Angels Church by Jacks Thomas, former director of the London Book Fair, which has supported the event.
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Donate now!
3pm-4pm Christopher Joll: Spoils of War: The Treasures, Trophies, & Trivia of the British Empire
In the first of three sessions marking the end of the Second World War, Christopher Joll, Regimental Historian of the Household Cavalry, describes how the United Kingdom has acquired an array of treasures as a direct result of its military activities – from Joan of Arc’s ring to the Rock of Gibraltar to Hitler’s desk.
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Donate now!
3.45pm-5pm Patricia and Jean Owtram: Codebreaking Sisters: Our Secret War
Chiswick’s Patricia Davies (nee Owtram), now 97, was awarded the Legion D’Honneur for her wartime work in top-secret listening stations on the British coast, intercepting German shipping radio. Her sister Jean Argles (Owtram), now 95, landed a secretive role as Code & Cipher Officer and was posted to Cairo, before moving on to Italy to support allied agents and aid partisan efforts against the Nazis. They never spoke of their work, even to each other, because they had signed the Official Secrets Act. Now they tell all, in conversation with Simon Robinson, filmed in St Michael & All Angels Church. Sponsored by Savills.
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Donate now!
5pm-6pm Nicholas Young: Escaping with His Life: From Dunkirk to D-Day and Beyond
The former chairman of the British Red Cross, Sir Nick Young, concludes our Second World War sequence with the story of his father Leslie, who survived the evacuation from Dunkirk; joined the Commandos and took part in the raid on the Lofoten Islands; was captured in Tunisia; went on the run before his POW camp was taken over by the Nazis; and spent six months in the Apennine mountains, eventually reaching Allied lines. On return to England he signed up for the invasion of North West Europe and fought through to Germany. He is interviewed by Alexander Matheour, international director of the British Red Cross, and will then take questions live via Zoom.
See it here on YouTube. Like it? Donate now!
monday september 14th 2020
7pm Ealing Fiction Panel
In the first of three evening events with Ealing authors, to be streamed online, award winning playwright Lisa Evans will host the Festival’s first Ealing Fiction Writers’ Panel. It will feature three leading writers of contemporary fiction: Marianne Holmes (All Your Little Lies), Ruth Heald (I Know Your Secret), Eleni Kyriacou (She Came To Stay).
See it here on YouTube. Enjoyed it? Donate now!
8pm Ernest Hemingway Winetasting
Victoria Daskal has sourced four of the wines featured in Ernest Hemingway’s A Moveable Feast for Mummy Wine Club’s September subscription box. This limited edition box is also being offered as part of the Chiswick Book Festival and will contain 4 specially selected wines, a vintage copy of A Moveable Feast, full tasting notes and information on the wines in digital format…
… Plus an invitation to a virtual discussion on the book and the wines taking place via Zoom on Monday September 14th at 8pm. The price is £100, which includes delivery within mainland UK and a small donation to the Chiswick Book Festival funds.
Booking closed.
Tuesday September 15th 2020
@TorinDouglas @W4BookFest #ChiswickBookFestOnline #EalingLocalHistory
7pm Secret Ealing
In the second of our Ealing events, writer and local historian Jonathan Oates and co-author Paul Lang will be at Gunnersbury Park & Museum to unveil Secret Ealing.
See it here on YouTube. Please donate now
Wednesday September 16th 2020
5pm Emily Caston: British Music Video and the Artist’s Voice
In our final Ealing event, Emily Caston, Professor of Screen Industries at Ealing’s University of West London (UWL) will discuss her forthcoming history of British Music Videos 1966-2016 in a panel discussion with Mike O’Keefe VP Creative at Sony Music Entertainment; Trudy Bellinger director, producer and former head of video at EMI; Liz Kessler award-winning producer; Tim Pope, film and director.
Watch a recording here on the University of West London Facebook page.
Festival Extra: Thursday November 26th 2020
The War Against the BBC – a Zoom Webinar with the authors, Patrick Barwise and Peter York, chaired by Bridget Osborne, in conjunction with The Chiswick Calendar Media Club. Patrick Barwise, Emeritus Professor of Management and Marketing at London Business School, and cultural commentator Peter York argue that our most important cultural institution is in peril as never before.
In their new book, they say it is facing ‘relentless attacks by powerful commercial and political enemies, including deep funding cuts – much deeper than most people realise – with imminent further cuts threatened’.
You can read more about the book and its authors here.
Read the Guardian review by Dorian Lynsey here.
Read a GQ article by Peter York here.
Order a copy here.