Friday 25 October
Workshop 2.00 p.m. — 4.00 p.m.

Another exciting workshop with Aaron Wright. You don’t need to have attended the first workshop as Aaron will be guiding everyone through new techniques and ideas.

Friday 25 October
6.00 p.m.

Poet Aaron Wright will be running writing and performance poetry workshops leading up to an Open Mic Showcase on the evening of Friday 25th October.  Everyone is welcome to this festival of Wordslinging in all its glorious literary forms. So come along, enjoy a glass of wine and some fantastic entertainment. You’ll find information about Aaron’s workshops by scrolling the workshops menu.

Saturday 26 October
11 a.m. – 12.00 p.m.

Sue Reed is a force of nature! She lives in rural Northumberland with her husband Tim where their love of wild places can be realised. When not writing, Sue divides her time with her husband in the garden, travelling in their converted campervan or looking after the grandchildren. They try to live as sustainably as possible, leading gentle lives in tune with the seasons, and growing their own fruit and vegetables. Sue also writes about organic gardening, seasonal eating and foraging at The Bridge Cottage Way.  Her debut YA novel ‘The Rewilding of Molly McFlynn’ , is an intriguing time-travelling tale of  reinvention and true friendship.

Saturday 26 October
12.30 p.m. – 1.15 p.m.

‘What the Flock’ …From high heels to welly boots – one woman’s misadventures in becoming a farmer, raising a family and making a living from the land.

Twenty five years ago, Sally Urwin was living in a tiny flat in the city with a high-pressure job. She was depressed, surviving off rescue remedies and wine, and longing for a different life when she met and married farmer Steve. Returned to the rolling hills of Northumberland, a place she’d adored as a child, Sally imagined herself wafting around High House Farm in floral dresses followed by a bevy of rosy-cheeked children.The reality is quite different…

But despite the chaos of juggling motherhood with running a farm, financial hardship and dealing with poorly animals, the exhilarating freedom of rural life has helped Sally to heal her own body and mind. Lambing season might be backbreaking, but the utter joy in cradling a new-born lamb is worth all the sweat and tears. With a mix of grit, humour and the love of family, Sally shows us that it’s never too late to live the life you’ve always dreamed of.

Saturday 26 October
1.45 p.m. – 2.30p.m.

The Dark Months’ by Steve Chambers is a fast-moving contemporary thriller set in the winter wilderness of the Northumbrian hills, English towns and the anonymity of London. Steve Chambers is an award-winning dramatist who now divides his time between the North-East and the South-West where he writes and walks. He has written for ‘Casualty’ and ‘Byker Grove’.and his feature film ‘Hold Back the Night’ starring Sheila Hancock opened Critics Week at the Cannes Film Festival. He adapted ‘Robinson Crusoe’, ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ and Graham Swift’s ‘Waterland’ for BBC Radio 4. His successful BBC Radio 4 sitcom ‘Highlites’ (co-written with’Shameless‘ writer Phill Nodding) ran to six seriesas well as a theatre spin-off. ‘The Dark Months’, published earlier this year, is his second novel.

Saturday 26 October
3.00 p.m. – 3.45 p.m.

Margaret Manchester was born in Weardale and taught archaeology, local history and genealogy before turning to writing. Her historical novels, set in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, are based in County Durham and Northumberland. We are delighted to welcome Margaret back to WordFest to talk about it her latest novel ‘The Dress in the Window’ ,  set in Tow Law:

‘Rose Lawson falls for a handsome Irishman lodging next door, but her mother’s substantial prejudice against Catholics prevents her from courting him. Instead, she looks elsewhere for a suitor and meets William Ashworth, a man new to the town and the manager at the pit where her father works. Flattered by his attention and in awe of his status, she marries him, and too late, she discovers he is not all that he seems.’

Sunday 27 October
11.00 a.m. – 11.45p.m.

Wolsingham writer Andrew Marshall’s book ‘Through The Eyes of a School – A History of Wolsingham National School’ is the result of over 5 years work, including research into almost 500 local individuals. It is a fascinating insight into Victorian school and village life in a County Durham village in the 1800s and takes us on an intriguing journey through the trials and tribulations of running a school for the poor.

Sunday 27 October
12.15 p.m. – 1.00 p.m.

‘A Pease Myers Pastoral’

Liz Haynes was born in 1967 in Hong Kong, the daughter of a soldier. Her childhood was spent on the move, living on army bases in Germany, UK and Northern Ireland. She lives with her partner  Martin and son Joe on a hill farm in the North Pennines and combines farm work with writing and teaching. She taught at St John’s Chapel Primary School for many years before leaving to complete a Masters in Creative Writing at Newcastle University, which is when she began to write poetry. ‘A Pease Myers Pastoral’ is her first collection.

Sunday 27 October
1.15 p.m. – 2.15 p.m.

Mr Cornish and Mr Lowry — A Tale of Two Artists,

There are few people who would fail to instantly recognise the work of Norman Cornish. Mike Thornton is Norman Cornish’s son-in-law and we are thrilled to welcome him back to WordFest with his illustrated talk, Mr. Cornish and Mr. Lowry,  a fascinating story that Mike has devised in tandem with the major exhibition, Kith and Kinship: Norman Cornish and LS Lowry currently on at The Bowes Museum.

The presentation will place a selection of their work in the context of their life and times revealing some interesting and unusual aspects going beyond the popular understanding and misconceptions associated with their work.

Sunday 27 October
2 p.m.

Lead and Silver
North Pennines Playwrights & Drama in the Dale
Dramatised reading & discussion

‘Mary Emerton was brought to Allendale as a new bride and raised her family there on a small farm with lead-miner husband, Davy. Now it’s 1849, Davy is dead and buried, and her two eldest sons are out on strike against the lead company. Mary has a secret that could cause turmoil if revealed to her family…

North Pennines Playwrights Is a new group currently working on a community play about the Allenheads Lead Miners’ Strike of 1849. The play is a tale of a fictional family set against the real backdrop of the strike and was initiated in response to the North Pennines National Landscape Land of Lead and Silver project. This will be its first outing before an audience and we’d love to hear your feedback.