New Festival Venues May 2024
Due to a fire at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on 29th April, we have had to relocate the Festival to different venues.
Please find below where your event will now be taking place.
We are offering a FREE shuttle bus service from Stratford to the Welcombe Hotel and back into town. See HERE.
Thank you for your understanding
Wednesday 1st May |
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| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 11am-1pm | Cat Weatherill WORKSHOP | WORKSHOP Inspiration from props |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 12pm-1pm | Peter Kemp | Retroland - guide to our current literary landscape |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 2pm-3pm | Derek Bardowell + Andrew Day | The Volunteer Economy - how and why volunteering is vital to society |
| Playhouse, Rother Street: CV37 6LU | 3.30pm-4.30pm | Michael Wood | In the Footsteps of Du Fu |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 3.30pm-4.30pm | Rosemary Salomone | The Rise of English |
| Playhouse, Rother Street: CV37 6LU | 5.00-6.00pm | Daniel Finkelstein | Hitler, Stalin, Mum and Dad |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 5pm-6pm | Susan Fletcher and Sam Burr | Secrets and Puzzles |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 5pm-6pm | Alex Wheatle | Suffrah |
| Playhouse, Rother Street: CV37 6LU | 6.30pm-7.30pm | David Troughton | My Stratford |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 7pm-8.30pm | Local Author Showcase | Local Author Showcase |
Thursday 2nd May |
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| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 9.15-11.15am | Ellie Stevenson | Family History Memoir WORKSHOP |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 10am-12pm | Simon Mason WORKSHOP | Plotting a story |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 10am-11am | Duncan Minshull | WALK: Globetrotters: Writers Walking the World |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 12pm-1pm | Rachel de Thame | A Flower Garden for Pollinators |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 2pm-3pm | Virginia Nicholson and Jill Burke | The Agony of Being Beautiful |
| Playhouse, Rother Street: CV37 6LU | 2pm-3pm | Simon Mason and Alan Johnson | Turning to Crime |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 3.30pm-4.30pm | Hannah Barnes and Sam Peters | The Power of Investigative Journalism |
| Playhouse, Rother Street: CV37 6LU | 5pm-6pm | Polly Toynbee | An Uneasy Inheritance |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 6pm-7pm | Alex Edmans | May Contain Lies |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 7pm-8pm | Vin Neuf | The Booklovers Wine Tasting |
| Playhouse, Rother Street: CV37 6LU | 7pm-8pm | Steve Richards | Rock 'n' Roll Politics |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 7.30-8:30pm | Becky Holmes | Online Romance Fraud |
Friday 3rd May |
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| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 10-12.30pm | Jennifer Collier WORKSHOP | Paper workshop |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 10am-12pm | Cathy Rentzenbrink WORKSHOP | Write It All Down Workshop |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 12pm-1pm | Pen Vogler | Stuffed: A History of Good Food and Hard Times in Britain |
| Playhouse, Rother Street: CV37 6LU | 12pm-1pm | Robert Hardman | King Charles III |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 2-4.30pm | Jennifer Collier WORKSHOP | Paper workshop |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 2pm-3pm | Alice Farnham and Tamara Harvey | Smashing the Creative Glass Ceiling |
| RSC Theatre, CV37 6BB | 2pm-3pm | Michael Rosen | Getting Better |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 4pm-5pm | Clare Mackintosh | I Promise it Won't Always Hurt Like This |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 4pm-5pm | Marcus du Sautoy | Around the World in 80 Games |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 5.45pm-6.45pm | Ros Atkins | The Art of Explanation |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 6pm-7pm | John Boyne | Earth |
| Holy Trinity Church, Old Town, CV37 6BG | 7.30pm-8.30pm | Val McDermid | Lady Macbeth |
Saturday 4th May |
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| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 9.30am-11.30am | Christina Strang WORKSHOP | WORKSHOP The Hidden Faces in Handwriting: what handwriting reveals |
| Playhouse, Rother Street: CV37 6LU | 10am-11am | Michael Rosen | The Big Dreaming and Other Stories KS1 |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 10.45am-11.45am | Charlie Campbell/Susan Fletcher/Susanna Wadeson | The Who's Who of Publishing |
| Playhouse, Rother Street: CV37 6LU | 11.30am-2.30pm | Lucy Jackson | Bear Hunt Workshop |
| Playhouse, Rother Street: CV37 6LU | 11.30am-2.30pm | Lucy Jackson | Bear Hunt Workshop |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 12pm-1pm | Marianna Spring | Among the Trolls |
| Playhouse, Rother Street: CV37 6LU | 12pm-1pm | David Nicholls | You Are Here |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 12.30-1:30pm | Rob Eastaway | Much Ado About Numbers |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 2-4pm | Christina Strang | Handwriting Analysis - individual people, drop in session |
| Playhouse, Rother Street: CV37 6LU | 2pm-3pm | Patrick Grant | Less - redesigning the fashion industry |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 2.15pm-3.15pm | Sarah Perry and Nicholas Hogg | The Road to Enlightment - following the book journey |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 3-4pm | Liam Byrne MP + Paul Lindley | The Haves and The have Nots: The Inequality of Wealth |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 4pm-5pm | Dr Sam Carr + Dr Bruce Hood | Being Alone and Happy |
| Playhouse, Rother Street: CV37 6LU | 4pm-5pm | Mary Beard | Emperor of Rome |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 4.30pm-5.30pm | Richard Fisher | The Long View |
| Playhouse, Rother Street: CV37 6LU | 5.45pm-6.45pm | James O'Brien | How They Broke Britain |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 6pm-7pm | James Hogg and David Nicholls | Adaptation and Ghostwriting |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 7.30pm-8.30pm | Paul C Brunson | Find Love |
Sunday 5th May |
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| Cricket Ground | 10am-1pm TBC | CRICKET MATCH | CRICKET MATCH |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 10am-11am | Richard Rogan | Coffee and the Crossword |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 10am-11am | Neill Cameron KS2 | Mega Robo Bros 7-11yrs |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 11.30am-12.30pm | Brothers McLeod | KS2 comic workshop |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 11.30am-12.30pm | Julian Sedgwick and Chie Kutsuwada | 100 Tales from the Tokyo Ghost Café 11-14yrs |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 1pm-2pm | Richard Schoch and Prof Tiffany Stern | Shakespeare's Life in Tudor Stratford |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 1.15pm-2.15pm | Oliver Soden | Masquerade - Noel Coward |
| Playhouse, Rother Street: CV37 6LU | 1:45pm-2:45pm | Will Hutton | This Time No Mistakes: How to Remake Britain |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 2.30pm-3.30pm | Jennie Godfrey + Flora Carr | Hutchinson Heinemann's Ones to Watch: Jennie Godfrey & Flora Carr |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 3pm-4pm | Anna Murphy | Destination Fabulous |
| Welcombe Hotel, Warwick Road, CV37 0NR | 4pm-5pm | AL Kennedy and Anthony McGowan | Authors and Sex |
| Playhouse, Rother Street: CV37 6LU | 4:15pm-5:15pm | Jojo Moyes | Someone Else's Shoes |
| Playhouse, Rother Street: CV37 6LU | 7.00pm-8.15pm | Alistair McGowan and Charlotte Page | Mad About the Boy: A Celebration of Noel Coward |