A-Z of Speakers 2021 – biographies
Note: Watch here for any changes from the Festival brochure – see Updates and Amendments. Events last one hour unless stated otherwise.
See: The Chiswick Calendar Sessions at The George IV
10am
CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL
10:15-11am: Chitra Soundar – Nikhil and Jay
Listen to author Chitra Soundar tell a story from the Nikhil and Jay series of books, and join in a workshop to draw your family tree! Age 5+.
CBPPS Nursery, 1-2 Woodstock Studios, Woodstock Road, £3
CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL
10:30-11.30am: Zoe Antoniades: Cally and Jimmy writing workshop
Join Zoe Antoniades on a journey of story discovery, learning how to plot a tale, and plan a brand-new story during the session. Ages 6-11.
Chiswick Playhouse, Bath Road, £3
WORKSHOP
11am-1pm: How to write a successful thriller: Peter Hanington
Following on from Saturday’s session discussing ‘The Thriller after le Carre’ with Charles Cumming, this workshop will look at the key ingredients of a successful thriller from The Spy Who Came in from the Coldto the latest and last Lee Child book. Peter Hanington has written three successful thrillers and read hundreds more and this session will examine the importance of plotting, characterisation, pace and the question of whether you have to write thrillers in a shed. Please bring paper and pen! https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/peter-hanington/a-cursed-place/9781529305210/
Classroom 2, ArtsEd £20
12pm: London Clay: Journeys into the Deep City – Tom Chivers
Join Tom Chivers to discover hidden pathways and islands beneath London as explored in his book, London Clay: Journeys into the Deep City. Chaired by Julia Wheeler.
St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall, £8
12:15pm: Life on the NHS Frontline – Dr Jim Down & Dr Amir Khan
Two doctors talk about life in the NHS. Dr Jim Down’s book Life Support provides a personal account of the reality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Amir Khan’s The Doctor Will See You Now tells of the highs and lows of life as a GP. Chaired by Hugh Pym.
St Michael & All Angels Church, £8
12:15pm: Puritan Princess: English Civil War – Miranda Malins
Historian and local author Miranda Malins talks about her novel Puritan Princess and previews the next instalment, out next year – The Rebel Daughter, set in 1643 during the Civil War. Chaired by Lea Sellars.
Chiswick Playhouse, Bath Road, £8
CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL
12:15-1pm: Meet Astrid Lindgren’s Pippi Longstocking: Storytelling Performance by Sofie Miller
A playful and quirky one-woman storytelling performance with audience participation, to introduce children to ‘the strongest girl in the world’ – who has just celebrated her 75th birthday! Age 4+. Supported by Chiswick & Bedford Park School.
Boston Room, George IV, Chiswick High Road, £3
1pm
CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL
1:45-2:30pm: Frederick the Fox: Kim Ansell, Lisa Read
Fun with author Kim Ansell and illustrator Lisa Read in a creative reading and craft event based on their beautifully illustrated Frederick the Fox book. Age 4+.
CBPPS Nursery, 1-2 Woodstock Studios, Woodstock Road, £3
CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL
2-3pm: Neal Zetter and Joshua Seigal: Performance poets
Join award winning children’s authors and poets Neal Zetter and Joshua Seigal for a joint hour of fun. Age 5-11 years.
Boston Room, George IV, Chiswick High Road, £3
WORKSHOP
2pm-4pm: Writing characters we care about: Elise Valmorbida
How do you create compelling characters on the written page? Where do they come from and where might they go? Good storytelling needs characters we care about, warts and all. This hands-on creative writing workshop by the author of The Madonna of the Mountains will help you to explore, discover and develop characters who matter. For beginners and experienced writers alike. Please bring paper and pen! http://elisevalmorbida.com
Classroom 1, ArtsEd £20
WORKSHOP
2pm-4pm: Writing for audio drama: Caroline Raphael
Headphones in, press play. Everyone is listening to audio. For aspiring writers, this session with the former BBC Head of Radio Drama will use examples from actual drama productions to help you discover the variety of ways you can tell stories in audio: how you can play with time, hear what someone is thinking, travel to the moon and back…all with just words and sounds. Participants will be asked to listen and consider clips (approx. 20 mins in total) that will be sent to you in advance. Please bring paper and pen! https://doraproductions.wordpress.com/about/
Classroom 2, ArtsEd £20
2pm: Dreams of a Different World: Dystopia, Spies, Dissent – and Middlemarch! – CJ Carey and Anne Sebba
Jane Thynne (writing as C.J. Carey) talks about Widowland, her vividly imagined story of a Nazi Britain that might have been. She is joined by Anne Sebba whose Ethel Rosenberg: A Cold War Tragedy tells the full story of the 37-year-old housewife and mother who was executed as a Soviet spy. Chaired by Amelia Fairney.
St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall, £8
2pm: What is History Now? – Suzannah Lipscomb
On the 60th anniversary of EH Carr’s influential book What is History?, historian Suzannah Lipscomb talks to Julia Wheeler about What is History Now?, addressing how we interpret history today, including the history of faith, disability and racism. Chiswick Playhouse, Bath Road, £8
2:15pm: Alan Johnson: The Late Train to Gipsy Hill
Former Home Secretary Alan Johnson talks to Julia Langdon about his debut novel, the thriller The Late Train to Gipsy Hill.
St Michael & All Angels Church, £8
WRITERS WALK
2.30-4.30pm: Chiswick’s Writers Walk 2: Strand-on-the-Green to Grove Park
Chiswick’s picturesque riverside has been home to political journalists, thriller writers, playwrights, humourists, poets and classic novelists. As you wander along the Thames with your Ealing & West London Guide you’ll encounter the likes of Nancy Mitford, Geoffrey Household, Margaret Kennedy, Robert Bolt and John Osborne.
The 2-hour walk begins outside the Strand Café, Strand-on-the-Green (Kew Bridge end) and ends by Chiswick mainline station. Booking via Eventbrite.
4pm
CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL
4-4:45pm: Rob Biddulph: Peanut Jones and the Illustrated City
Join Guinness World Record-breaking, award-winning and bestselling author/ illustrator Rob Biddulph and hear about Peanut Jones, the first book in a new series. Age 9+. Supported by Orchard House School.
Boston Room, George IV, Chiswick High Road, £3
4pm: The Authority Gap: Mary Ann Sieghart
Journalist and radio presenter Mary Ann Sieghart talks to award-winning Radio 4 broadcaster (and podcaster) Jane Garvey about her book The Authority Gap, which looks at how to address systematic sexism.
St Michael & All Angels Church, £8 (Change of venue)
4:15pm: Anthony Burgess: Why No Blue Plaque in Chiswick? And if not him – who?
When English Heritage said no to a blue plaque for Anthony Burgess on his former home in Glebe Street, Chiswick, John Walsh wrote: “If Anthony Burgess doesn’t merit a blue plaque, then few do”. In a panel discussion chaired by Festival director Torin Douglas, we’ll look at how plaques are awarded with Anna Eavis, curatorial director of English Heritage, and discuss who deserves one – if not Burgess – with John Walsh and other speakers. And we’ll be inviting Festival-goers to suggest authors they would like to be celebrated in this way. Supported by Chiswick Auctions.
St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall, £8 (Change of venue)