- 28 May -30 June 2025
- Fiction
- Online
- Partner Event
The Manningtree Witches
Appetite Book Club and Essex Book Festival are very excited to host this online event with debut author A.K. Blakemore. In The Manningtree Witches fear and destruction take root in the lives of the local women when the Witchfinder General comes to town in this dark and thrilling debut. A.K Blakemore gives a striking account of the everyday mechanics of misogyny, power and privilege—and a masterfully crafted, ferociously compelling story. Read more
- Book Club Event
- Fiction
- In partnership
- Online
Essex Book Festival (UK) in partnership with Roving Heights Book Club (Nigeria) presents Ukamaka Olisakwe
A modern feminist classic in the making from a rising star of the Nigerian literature scene Ogadinma or, Everything Will be All Right tells the story of the naive and trusting Ogadinma as she battles against Nigeria's societal expectations in the 1980s. After a rape and unwanted pregnancy leave her exiled from her family in Kano, thwarting her plans to go to university, she is sent to her aunt's in Lagos and pressured into a marriage with an older man.… Read more
- In partnership
- Online
Meet the Writers – Sutton Manor
Hosted by curator Gareth Evans, this online event brings together Amina Atiq, Season Butler, Alison Moore and Martha Pailing to read from their work, discuss their approaches to the commission and share their impressions of the distant and removed Sutton Manor. It will be hosted from our Live programme page on http://www.estuaryfestival.com/ Read more
- In partnership
- Online
- Re-Writing the Archive
- Workshop
Re-Writing the Archive with Southend Museums
Essex Book Festival has joined forces with Essex Museums on an exciting new writing project: Rewriting the Archive. A team of writers and artists, assisted by four curators, have each been invited to select ten objects from the County’s heritage collections that tell difficult ‘stories’. These objects will form the basis of four two-hour online writing/artist workshops. Delaine Le Bas, British Multi-Media Artist explores life from a British Romany perspective using objects and archival material based within Southend Museum’s… Read more
- FREE
- Online
The Girl with the Louding Voice – Online event
New York Times bestselling author, Abi Daré, joins us for this very special online event in partnership with Appetite Book Club. Daré’s exuberant, moving debut revolves around Adunni; a Nigerian girl regarded as property at the age of fourteen, yet determined to find her ‘louding voice’ and live a life that she controls. Read more
- FREE
- Online
- Partner Event
- Young Essex
The Children & Authors’ Literary Fanfare – BHM 2024
Get ready for a virtual celebration of all things books and storytelling, featuring an array of engaging activities led by CALFE authors, publishers, and creatives of culturally diverse books. For 4-11 year olds, don't miss out on this exciting opportunity for children to connect with fellow book lovers, and discover new stories. Read more