Manifesto For Essex Youth Climate Summit
We will be holding our 3rd Youth Climate Summit on Saturday 13th January as part of EA Sustain at Firstsite in Colchester - more details coming soon.
Free
- 28 May -27 June 2027
66 events found.
Events
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Firstsite Lewis Gardens, High Street, Colchester
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Authors in Conversation
Red Lion Books 125 High Street, Colchester, Essex, United KingdomPoet and writer, Holly Pester, and author of two poetry collections and two novels, Keiran Goddard, join us at Red Lion Books in Colchester to discuss their latest books: The Lodgers and I See Buildings Fall Like Lightning
£5 -
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National Saturday Club – Writing & Talking
Anglia Ruskin University Bishop Hall Lane, ChelmsfordOur new Writing and Talking National Saturday Club which will be taking place every Saturday 10am-1pm from March to July. Open to all 13-16 year olds living in and around the Chelmsford area who are passionate about writing and talking. Explore zine-making, poetry, fiction, non-fiction, blogging, spoken word poetry, podcasting and more.
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No Ordinary Day – A Red Lion Books event
Colchester Arts Centre Church Street, ColchesterOn 17 April 1984 WPC Yvonne Fletcher was shot outside the Libyan embassy in London. As his friend lay dying, PC John Murray made her a promise that he would seek justice. 37 years would pass before he was able to fulfil that undertaking. John Murray will be in conversation with Matt Johnson.
£16 -
Restless Brilliance: The Story of J.A. Baker and The Peregrine
Chelmsford Museum Oaklands Park, Moulsham Street, Chelmsford, Essex, United KingdomThe exhibition explores J.A. Baker’s life, his love of nature and writing, through the archive of his work held by the Albert Sloman Library, University of Essex. It is the first time that this archive has been on public display.
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Super Short Story Competition
OnlineTo celebrate the 25th Edition of Essex Book Festival, we are inviting young people (ages 7-11) living in Essex to join in our Super Short Story Competition.
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Get Ready to Get Booking: 4th April, 10am
The full programme for 2024 will be announced on 4th April and will go live on our Events List page.
Tickets for all Essex Book Festival 2024 events will go on sale at 10.00am on Thursday 4th April.
Mark the date in your diary and Get Ready to Get Booking!
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Allow Me to Introduce Myself
Art Exchange, University of Essex Wivenhoe Park, ColchesterGet ready to question your ‘harmless’ social media habit in this stunning second novel from one of the most exciting new voices in fiction.
£8 -
Charlie Cook’s Favourite Book
Mercury Theatre Balkerne Gate, ColchesterCome and delve into a range of books with Charlie Cook, brought to life with puppetry and enchanting songs, and perhaps you will be able to help his sister discover the wonderful world inside a book…
£17 -
The Lodgers
St Leonard-at-the-Hythe Church Hythe Hill, Colchester, Essex, United KingdomNovelist and poet Holly Pester teaches at Essex University and will be discussing her highly praised for her new debut novel, The Lodgers.
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Mania
Anglia Ruskin University Bishop Hall Lane, ChelmsfordLionel Shriver turns her piercing gaze on the policing of opinion and intellect, and imagines a world in which intellectual meritocracy is heresy. Hilarious, deadpan, scathing and at times frighteningly plausible, Mania will delight the many fans of her fiction and journalism alike.
£10 -
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This Land: Launch Day
University of Essex Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, United KingdomJoin us for a day of talks, performances, debates, walks and workshops to mark the 25th Edition of Essex Book Festival and the 60th Anniversary of University of Essex.
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Radical Essex Procession
St Leonard-at-the-Hythe Church Hythe Hill, Colchester, Essex, United KingdomEssex Book Festival is teaming up with internationally acclaimed arts organisation, Kinetika, for its Radical Procession from St Leonard-at-the-Hythe Church, a key player in the Siege of Colchester (1648), to University of Essex, famed for its foundational radical innovation in the 1960s.
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Harlow Sculpture Tour
Harlow Town Station Burnt Mill, Harlow, Essex, United KingdomCome take a unique guided tour with Peter Aylmer and explore the sculptures of Harlow and find out about the planning principles that Sir Frederick Gibberd brought to the town. Includes a visit to the Gibberd Gallery where you can view the exhibition ‘New Town New Art’.
£10 -
Game Changer Workshop
Art Exchange, University of Essex Wivenhoe Park, ColchesterTransform classic video games into arcade quests for environmental action and climate change awareness
£3 -
Radical Translation Workshop
Lakeside Studio Lakeside Theatre, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex, United KingdomCan a poem be translated into a picture? Or a recipe? A novel? In the world of experimental translation, the answer is “yes”. Canadian Gregory Betts and poet Philip Terry will discuss their own work with experimental translation in their recent publications. Participants will explore different experimental translation methods in this hands-on workshop.
£15 -
This Land: The Launch Pad Workshops
Art Exchange, University of Essex Wivenhoe Park, ColchesterLearn how to make traditional ink out of ink gall gathered from 25 destinations across Essex. Explore the art of calligraphy. Try your hand at a range of traditional printing and basic book-making techniques.
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Charters and Radicals
Special Collections Reading Room University of Essex Library, Wivenhoe Park , Colchester, Essex, United KingdomFrom charters that trace the region's heritage to student protests and social movements, this exhibition explores continuity and change in Essex’s identity.
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Don’t Starve the Arts – Feed Them
Lakeside Theatre, University of Essex Wivenhoe Park, ColchesterDon't Starve the Arts – Feed Them will be debated by authors, artists, poets, performers, actors, and students. All welcome to join in. Talking is the only course!
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The Tasting Menu: Poetry Open Mic returns!
Art Exchange, University of Essex Wivenhoe Park, Colchesterlease join us for two hours of poetry from across our community. Come and hear headline poets from the University of Essex, student voices, and share and explore all things Essex poetry in this diverse and inclusive event.
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Woman Life Freedom
Lakeside Theatre, University of Essex Wivenhoe Park, ColchesterSaqi Books presents Woman Life Freedom: Voices and Art from the Women's Protests in Iran. Extolling the power of art, writing and body politics this collection is a universal rallying call and a celebration of the women the regime has tried and failed to silence.
£10 -
This Land: Writing the Place Workshop
Art Exchange, University of Essex Wivenhoe Park, ColchesterExplore the magic of alchemy by turning places and ideas into new stories. You never know, your story or poem might make it into our 25th Edition festival anthology, This Land.
£15 -
Beach of Dreams 25 Launch and Creative Writing Workshop
Lakeside Studio Lakeside Theatre, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, Essex, United KingdomCome along and meet the Kinetika team, our flag-makers/bearers, and find out how you and/or an organisation you belong to, can get involved in the epic new nationwide Beach of Dreams 25 project. Then, take part in a special Beach of Dreams creative writing workshop led by Dr James Canton, and the Wild Writing team based in the Centre for Creative Writing at the University of Essex.
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Launch Event: Enlightenment
Essex Business School Lecture Hall, University of Essex Wivenhoe Park, ColchesterMulti award-winning and best-selling author, Festival Patron and University of Essex Chancellor, Sarah Perry, will be launching this year’s festival. Talking to our Essex Book Festival Chair, Peter Donaldson, about her highly anticipated new novel, Enlightenment.
£10 -
Discover the Art of Letterpress
Colchester Makerspace Trinity Works, 24 Trinity Street, ColchesterLearn how to design, typeset, and print your own postcard to your future self using a vintage type and presses to create your unique message.
£40 -
How We Live In Essex Through the Seasons
Jaywick Martello Tower The Promenade, Belsize Avenue, Jaywick SandsStep into an interdisciplinary world of poetry, sustainable textiles, illustrations, photography, performance, community collaborations, and workshops.
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Essex Writers House
Metal at Chalkwell Hall Chalkwell Avenue, Southend-on-SeaThis June, Metal Southend will become a house for writers to read, to write overlooking the Thames Estuary, to get help and feedback on your work or to have lively, meandering conversations with other writers.
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All Change Exhibition
Harlow Library Cross Street, HarlowHarlow College photography students chose the theme All Change to express their sincere concerns for their environment and ideas for a better future, but also the desire to see change that is collective.
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How We Live In Essex: Poetry Workshop
Jaywick Martello Tower The Promenade, Belsize Avenue, Jaywick SandsExplore your relationship to Essex and the seasons through poetry, with exhibition poet Lelia Ferro.
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The Silence Factory – Sold Out
Wivenhoe Library 104/6 High Street, WivenhoeFrom Bridget Collins, author of breakout sensation, number 1 bestseller and bookseller favourite The Binding, comes an inventive, spellbinding blend of speculative and historical fiction. The Silence Factory is a story of complicity, desire and corruption - a novel to lose yourself in.
£8 -
Not That I’m Bitter
Anglia Ruskin University Bishop Hall Lane, ChelmsfordHelen Lederer is in joyous flow, mixing startling self-revelation with nail-sharp observation. Occasionally painful, yet unashamedly revealing, this laugh-out-loud account offers a front row seat to Helen’s life and explores how laughter can defeat the darker moments.
£10 -
One Love – EVENT CANCELLED
Harlow Library Cross Street, HarlowFrom the author of Becoming Ted and The Secret Life of Albert Entwistle comes an utterly joyful novel about 20 years of love and friendship, culminating at Manchester Pride. Two men. Twenty years of friendship. One love.
£8 -
Living Books
Grays Central Library Thameside Complex, Orsett Road, Grays, ThurrockBorrow a human as well as a book from the library! Turn up on the day and explore a different kind of book as people share their life experience with you. Be challenged, excited and inspired as you browse a range of human books.
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Design Your Own Tote Bag
Colchester Makerspace Trinity Works, 24 Trinity Street, ColchesterDesign your own tote bag, and learn the basic principles of screen printing. You will come away with a bag that celebrates the character(s) of Essex and its diverse communities. You will be inspired by the people, heritage, and social history of the county, and use our screen printing equipment to transfer your design onto fabric.
£40 -
unJudge Someone
Samaritans Colchester Walsingham Road Community Hall, 34 Walsingham Road, Colchester, Essex, United KingdomWelcome to the Human Library. Just like in a real library, a visitor to the Human Library can borrow a book from a range of titles. The difference is that books are PEOPLE, and reading is a CONVERSATION.
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How We Live In Essex: Coastal Plant Botanical Drawing Workshop
Jaywick Martello Tower The Promenade, Belsize Avenue, Jaywick SandsLearn about the plants that live on the Essex coast and have a go at drawing them yourself, with exhibition illustrator Louisa Charrington.
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Meet the Author
Chicken and Frog Bookshop 30 Crown Street, Brentwood, Essex, United KingdomCalling all Middle Grade book lovers! Join this Q&A session with Emily Kenny, author of The Extraordinary Adventures of Alice Tonks.
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How We Live In Essex: Live Poetry Performance
Jaywick Martello Tower The Promenade, Belsize Avenue, Jaywick SandsLelia Ferro's poetry performed by professional actors at the atmospheric Martello Tower. Witness the poetry coming to life in a unique collaboration between Lelia Ferro, theatre director Sofia Bagge and fantastic actors.
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Like Water Like Sea
Samaritans Colchester Walsingham Road Community Hall, 34 Walsingham Road, Colchester, Essex, United KingdomSometimes we swim, sometimes we float, other times we are drowning. It’s not always easy to know which is which. Set against the vibrant backdrop of London, Like Water Like Sea is an immersive novel of self-discovery, resilience, and the unifying power of love.
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Will You Read This, Please? – POSTPONED
Samaritans Colchester Walsingham Road Community Hall, 34 Walsingham Road, Colchester, Essex, United KingdomWill You Read This, Please? is a frank and impactful collection of twelve stories as told to our best British writers, based on the lived experience of people who have faced mental illness in the UK. Join contributing author, Hafsa Zayyan (We Are All Birds of Uganda) for an open and honest conversation about mental health and the power of giving a platform to unheard voices.
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How We Live In Essex: Photography Workshop
Jaywick Martello Tower The Promenade, Belsize Avenue, Jaywick SandsSea, Sky, and Landscape Photography Workshop with Dan Sceats. Learn photography techniques using the beautiful views from Jaywick Martello Tower with the exhibition professional photographer.
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How We Live In Essex: Textiles Workshop
Jaywick Martello Tower The Promenade, Belsize Avenue, Jaywick SandsExplore netting and knotting using sustainable plant fibres with exhibition textiles artist Clare Sams.
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Stand Up for Diversity
Metal at Chalkwell Hall Chalkwell Avenue, Southend-on-SeaAn evening of three-minute mini-talks and short soap-box shout-outs that put a spotlight on diversity, writing, words and storytelling.
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Writing Buddy Meet Up
Fête Grays Yard 10-13 Grays Brewery Yard, Chelmsford, Essex, United KingdomWhether you're a published author, or a budding writer looking to kickstart your new hobby, come and join international bestselling author Lizzie Chantree & award-winning author Chris Penhall for a morning of writing in this FREE writing buddy session at Fête Grays Yard, Chelmsford!
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Taking the Long View – Rural
Chelmsford Cathedral New Street, Chelmsford, Essex, United KingdomWork in the countryside ties you, soul and salary, to the land, but often those who labour in nature have the least control over what happens there… In this beautifully observed book, Rebecca Smith paints a picture of the working class lives that often go overlooked.
£10 -
Experience the Beauty of Lino Cutting
Colchester Makerspace Trinity Works, 24 Trinity Street, ColchesterExperience the beauty of lino cutting, we will guide you through the process of creating your own print inspired by the county's biodiversity. Whether you choose to depict a bird, a flower, a fox, or something else you will learn how to carve your design into the linoleum surface and then print it onto paper or fabric using our proofing press.
£40 -
The Glutton
Maldon Library White Horse Lane, MaldonFrom the winner of the 2021 Desmond Elliot Prize comes a novel of desire and destruction set in Revolutionary France and inspired by a true story. avels from the South of France to Paris and beyond, through the heart of the Revolution, The Glutton is an electric, heart-stopping journey into a world of tumult, upheaval and depravity, wherein the hunger of one peasant is matched only by the insatiable demands of the people of France.
£8 -
Date changed: Depraved New World
This event has been rearranged to Sunday 28th July 7pm at Chelmsford Theatre Studio.
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A Bird in Winter
Basildon Library The Basildon Centre, St Martins Square, BasildonFrom the author of the bestselling Apple Tree Yard comes a riveting thriller of a woman on the run from both sinister pursuers and the ghosts of her past.
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Essex – A County of Contrasts
Metal at Chalkwell Hall Chalkwell Avenue, Southend-on-SeaA fast moving programme not to be missed - Author talks,interviews,video shorts and poetry readings. Part of Essex Writers House.
£3 -
A Peasant’s Pilgrimage
St Michael's Church High Road, Fobbing, Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, United KingdomThis six-mile walk, organised in partnership with Kinetika’s T100 Festival, commemorates the 1381 Peasants’ Revolt’s links to Fobbing, as Thurrock’s walking, talking and making festival T100 Goes Wild for 2024.
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How To Start Your Novel And How To Keep Going
Metal at Chalkwell Hall Chalkwell Avenue, Southend-on-SeaA two-hour workshop with bestselling author Louise Doughty on the basics of novel construction, plus writing exercises and top tips.
£12 -
Blood and Belonging Panel Discussion
Metal at Chalkwell Hall Chalkwell Avenue, Southend-on-SeaThree different writers from a variety of Romany Traveller backgrounds come together for a reading and event chaired by Louise Doughty. Join us for discussion and celebration of what we have in common.
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How We Live In Essex: Poetry Performance Workshop
Jaywick Martello Tower The Promenade, Belsize Avenue, Jaywick SandsLearn to lift the words off the page and sharpen your performance techniques in this fun and friendly workshop, hosted by theatre director Sofia Bagge and a professional actor. Why not bring along a poem of your own to the workshop and perform it shortly after at the spoken word evening!
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How We Live In Essex: Live Poetry Performance
Jaywick Martello Tower The Promenade, Belsize Avenue, Jaywick SandsLelia Ferro's poetry performed by professional actors at the atmospheric Martello Tower. Witness the poetry coming to life in a unique collaboration between Lelia Ferro, theatre director Sofia Bagge and fantastic actors.
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How We Live In Essex: Exhibition Finale – Spoken Word Evening
Jaywick Martello Tower The Promenade, Belsize Avenue, Jaywick SandsCome and celebrate an evening of spoken word at the Jaywick Martello Tower by reading a poem of your own, or simply enjoying an evening of poetry . No need to book, just turn up and give your name!
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How We Live In Essex: Poetry Workshop
Jaywick Martello Tower The Promenade, Belsize Avenue, Jaywick SandsExplore your relationship to Essex and the seasons through poetry, with exhibition poet Lelia Ferro.
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One Midsummer’s Day
Hylands House London Road, Writtle, Chelmsford, Essex, United KingdomDrawing deeply on science, history, literature and a lifetime of close observation, One Midsummer's Day is a dazzling and wide-ranging celebration of all life on Earth by one of our greatest nature writers.
£10 -
Restless Brilliance: Singing Like Larks
Hylands House London Road, Writtle, Chelmsford, Essex, United KingdomJoin local nature and folk history writer, Andrew Millham, for a joyous celebration of song, the seasons, and our love of birds.
£10 -
How Nature Keeps Time
Hylands House London Road, Writtle, Chelmsford, Essex, United KingdomHow Nature Keeps Time discovers the natural world’s most important and intriguing patterns of time. From the lifecycle of immortal jellyfish and identifying the perfect amount of time for a ‘good sleep’, to mass extinction and the destruction of the coral reef, Helen Pilcher will tackle highly relevant and fascinating topics in this thought-provoking and deeply entertaining discussion.
£10 -
Maybe, Perhaps, Possibly
Hylands House London Road, Writtle, Chelmsford, Essex, United KingdomJoanna Glen, author of the Costa Prize shortlisted debut, The Other Half of Augusta Hope, explores her latest novel, Maybe, Perhaps, Possibly. A beautifully observed and life-affirming novel about finding yourself, and then allowing someone else to find you.
£10 -
A Walk in J.A. Baker Country – Sold Out
Little Baddow History Centre Chapel Lane, Little Baddow, Chelmsford, Essex, United KingdomJoin us for a walk through ‘Baker Country’ visiting sites listed in J.A. Baker’s diaries and identified in his seminal work The Peregrine (1967).
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Death on the Thames
Chelmsford Library County Hall, Market Road, ChelmsfordMuch-loved former politician turned award-winning author, Alan Johnson, makes a welcome return to Essex Book Festival to discuss his latest thriller, Death on the Thames. There is blood in the water. And this is just the beginning...
£8 -
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Eco-printing and Ink-making workshops – Chelmsford Science Festival
Anglia Ruskin University Bishop Hall Lane, ChelmsfordWe are delighted to be taking part in Chelmsford Science Festival again this year. We will be at the Family Science Days at ARU Chelmsford. On Saturday 26th October Zoe will be running an eco-printing workshop and on Sunday 27th October Selena will be running an ink-making workshop.
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Blythe Spirit
Colchester Town Hall High Street, Colchester, Essex, United KingdomRonald Blythe (1922-2023) lived all his life in East Anglia and is considered one of the greatest writers on the English countryside. Drawing on unparalleled access to letters, notebooks, published works, drafts, and conversations from decades of friendship, he tells the full story of Ronald Blythe for the first time.
£8 -
Tattoos
Firstsite Lewis Gardens, High Street, ColchesterEA Festival, Essex Book Festival and Firstsite are excited to present a talk with Matt Lodder, author of a new book entitled, Tattoos, published by Yale University Press. This important book is the first to examine the history of tattoo in the west as both a serious profession and an art form.
£15