The Oundle Festival of Literature’s tenth anniversary programme, which will run from 7-18 March, 2011 will include: The return of Alexander McCall Smith, author of the highly successful No 1 Ladies Detective Agency series and the new Corduroy Mansions novels, who will be entertaining the audience with the latest tales of his characters, including dogs! He will be supported by the Rusty Players, a group of local musicians that came together aft er being inspired by The Really Terrible Orchestra which was cofounded by Mr McCall Smith and in which he plays the bassoon.

The Oundle Book Fair in conjunction with the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association (PBFA). Founded in 1972 to enable provincial booksellers to trade in London, the PBFA has grown in numbers, strength, and diversity. The Oundle book fair will have over twenty  professional book sellers retailing a wide variety of books, maps and ephemera.

Local poet, Nic Aubury, will perform poetry from his new book Small Talk. Describing himself as part grumpy dad, part pedant, part armchair philosopher, Nic, a Classics teacher at Oundle School, has expertly trained the English language to do his bidding; watch it heel, roll over and walk on its hind legs all for your amusement. Small Talk is packed full of pithy one-liners, sharp observations and impeccable metre concerning the inanities of modernity and the pett y grievances of everyday life. Within these pages lie joy, frivolity and just a touch of sadness.

A Poetry Takeaway - ever wanted to have that special poem writt en for a loved one, or a verse about an event in your life or that of someone you know? Look no further; fresh from festivals including Edinburgh and the Tate Gallery and Southbank Centre, The Poetry Takeaway, heavily disguised as a burger van, will be at the Farmer’s Market ready to deliver a made to order poem to you. The poetry chefs will perform and deliver a handwritt en, boxed copy of your poem free of charge within 10 minutes. This innovative, fun way of bringing poetry to the public has been gett ing rave reviews.

A night at The Bull with Charles Collingwood. Known for his role as Brian Aldridge (the JR of The Archers) in Radio Four’s long running series, Charles has also appeared in Midsomer Murders, Inspector Morse, London’s Burning, Just A Minute, Celebrity Weakest Link, which he won, and is renowned for his aft er dinner speeches. There will be only 120 tickets on sale so book early to avoid disappointment.

The fi rst of the Festival’s ‘Meet the Author’ events featuring Grace Harwood. The romantic comedy Blind Ambition is a must for all readers, not just for those who have ever dreamed of show-jumping glory or of making it big in a rock band. Critics have described this book as ‘an engaging and entertaining debut novel’; it is also the only book you will read this year featuring punk rock, show jumping for the visually impaired and the lead singer of Iron Maiden in cross-stitch! Intriguing…

Vanessa Kimbell‘s debut cookery book says ‘Be Delicious. Be Spontaneous. Be Prepped!’ Spontaneous parties, unstructured suppers, impromptu invitations, unexpected guests at any time of the day - welcome to Prepped! a new time-saving, inspirational and delicious cooking book. Vanessa takes a selection of fabulous fl avours and creates a basic‘wardrobe’ of go-anywhere dishes.

Thoughts and Happenings of Wilfred Price, Purveyor of Superior Funerals a fi rst novel by Wendy Jones - an enchanting and moving depiction of love and secrecy set against the rural backdrop of a 1920’s Welsh village. Wendy also co-wrote Grayson Perry’s memoir The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Girl and hosts a book show on Resonance FM. It is suggested that book clubs read this book and then come along andmeet the author.

Salley Vickers, whose fi rst novel ‘Miss Garnet’s Angel’ became an international wordofmouth best seller. Since then fi ve other books have followed just to prove she is not a one book wonder; they are just as delightful! She now writes full time and lectures on many subjects particularly on the connections between art, literature, psychology and religion.

The return of ever-popular children’s author, Pat Thomson - pre-schoolers are the priority on this occasion. There will be stories of squeaky beds, socks full of treasure and an extremely fat cat read by Pat herself. Aft er that, it is over to the children (adults stand back) while the under-fi ves start creating craft y things with the help of Heather and staff from the Oundle Community Playgroup.

The return of storyteller Shonaleigh who will give us a wise, witt y, ironic look at the most important question ever asked and what happened to some of the many people who have tried to answer it - What Women Want! Drawing on fi ve thousand years of eastern traditional wisdom and - by the look of it - all of twenty-one years of personal life experience Shonaleigh comments with characteristically incisive grace and vigour on the question everyone’s been asking, and explains exactly what happened to the totally awesome Precious Pearl of Bahrain, and why? Essential listening for anyone who has ever att empted to communicate verbally with a member of the opposite sex, let alone share the world with the whole three billion of them. Don’t miss it!

A ‘Meet the Author’ event featuring Pam Fish, author of ‘Last Resort’, an evocative fi rst novel depicting a tale of love and loss across the decades. Pam Fish att ributes her talent for visual and descriptive writing to her early career as a photo journalist. Originally from South London, for the last ten years Pam, who is also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the National Association of Writers’ Groups, has made her home in nearby Peterborough.

Tea and Treats - a fun event for the retirement community involves tea and the wonderful treat of our old friend Dave Garrett who is making a welcome return with his own hilarious one man show.

The return of Luke Wright with Cynical Ballads. Having just stormed the Edinburgh Festival with his Cynical Ballads which received 5 star reviews, Luke Wright of Radio 4’s ‘Saturday Live’, makes a welcome return to Oundle with his eight caustic tales of broken Britain. Let
him lead you through Blighty’s run- down shopping precincts, provincial high streets and airless television studios to introduce to you a cast of tone deaf wannabes, terrorized single mums and baby boomers.

A ‘Meet the Author’ event with Jude Morgan whose historical novels have been widely acclaimed and translated into nine languages. His novel about the Romantic poets, Passion, was chosen as Book of the Year 2004 by Hilary Mantel, Joanna Trollope and Tracey Chevalier. The Taste of Sorrow, about the Brontë sisters, was longlisted for the TV Book Club and shortlisted for the Portico Prize in 2010. His new novel The Secret Life of William Shakespeare is to be published by Headline Review.

Susan Waters - Jean Overton Fuller was a writer, painter and mystic and a friend and the first biographer of SOE agent Noor Inayat Khan, the fi rst woman to be parachuted into enemy occupied France. Susan Waters and two other narrators will bring to life through Miss Fuller’s writings and conversations the lives of these two remarkable women.

The hugely popular Oundle Festival of Literature Quiz. Get together a team of 6-8 people and prepare for a fun evening at our quiz with a twist! It is our tenth year which might or might not give you a clue. Bring your own refreshments and glasses. Please register your team in advance: paula@ oundlelitfest.org.uk

A ‘Meet the Author’ event with Margaret Winham. Margaret has writt en six books in total - two about the social history of Polebrook, a small village near Oundle, another about the wartime experiences of Polebrook Airfi eld and three have been historical fi ction set in the 19th century and mainly focused in and around Oundle. She has tutored creative writing courses and is defi nitely worth enjoying a cup of coff ee with.

The hugely popular Andrew Taylor who grew up in the Fens and went to school in Ely and Woodbridge. Andrew is a writer of historical novels (The American Boy) and crime novels (The Roth Trilogy and Lydmouth series). He is the only author to receive the CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award twice. His fi rst novel won the John Creasey Award and in 2009 Andrew was awarded CWA’s Cartier Diamond Dagger - the international lifetime achievement award in the genre.

The return of Simon Brett with A Crime in Rhyme. Simon is making his third appearance at the festival - the creator of the Charles Paris crime novels and writer of television  series such as No Commitments and Aft er Henry, Simon will perform A Crime in Rhyme - a hilarious one-man show during which he sends up all the clichés of the golden age of whodunit. Prepare for your sides to ache!

A ‘Meet the Author’ event with Nick Perry - our very own home grown poet. His day job is teaching but at night and weekends he turns into a performance poet. Nick is launching his new book at the Festival called Perversery, a book fi lled with rhythmic wit and  illustrations by Laura Coppolaro.

Write that Novel Workshop run by Jude Morgan. Jude was born in Peterborough and has an MA in Creative Writing from the University of East Anglia, where he studied under Angela Carter and Malcolm Bradbury. His historical novels have been widely acclaimed and translated into nine languages. He teaches creative writing and literature at City College Peterborough.

The Festival welcomes back a double whammy of our favourite children’s poetry duo Paul Cookson and David Harmer with Spill the Beans. This whacky couple are celebrating 20 years of appearing together. Jason Pott er talks on the Mystery of Rennes Le Chateau. Owner of the Courthouse Bookshop in Oundle, Jason, who has worked as a scientist in Universities and Government Research Agencies, became interested in the Mystery of Rennes le Chateau aft er having read the Holy Blood and the Holy Grail and many other books on the subject. His talk
will outline the mystery, separate the facts from fi ction, describe the characters  involved and decode a few symbols along the way.

Mitch Benn - time to rock and roll and celebrate the Festival’s ten years by having a party. Welcome Mitch Benn from BBC Radio 4’s Sony Nominated Now Show and BBC 1’s One Show who will perform with his band a two hour show packed with new songs and old favourites including I’m proud of the BBC which reached No 11 in the Offi cial Independent Singles Charts. Described by the Times as ‘the country’s leading musical satirist’, this is a show for music and comedy fans alike. Please bring your own refreshments and glasses.

To celebrate Charles Dickens’ bicentenary the Festival presents The Squire of Gadshill brought to us by Lloyd Lee. A famous author nears the end of his life. One aft ernoon, as he works on his fi nal novel, memories of his past creations come upon him. The preposterous bureaucrat, Young Barnacle; that hammy old trouper Mr Vincent Crummles; our much respected, benign, and learned Mr Pickwick; all are brought to life as the author interweaves their dramas with his own personal narrative. Here, in the privacy of his study, the great man takes us into his trust, lett ing us share memories, revelations, and - with The Mystery Of Edwin Drood open and unfi nished on the desk behind him - perhaps, even… ...a new mystery for us to solve?

Schools will be bringing well over a thousand children to a Kid Lit programme that includes highly respected children’s poet and author, Tony Mitt on, writer and editor Steve Coles, singer and writer, Harriet Goodwin, actor, writer, circus performer and keen observer of trolls, Steven Butler and journalist, author and broadcaster, Ali Sparkes. Tickets can be booked through the Festival Kid Lit coordinator at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For full details of all events, dates, times, venues and ticket prices, see the Festival brochure or go to www.oundlelitfest.org.uk Brochures and tickets are available from  Oundle Box Offi ce, 4 New Street, Oundle, PE8 4ED, on 01832 274734 or via www.oundlefestival.org.uk

Oundle Festival of Literature

Oundle Festival of Literature

Oundle Festival of Literature

Oundle Festival of Literature

Oundle Festival of Literature

Oundle Festival of Literature

Oundle Festival of Literature

Oundle Festival of Literature