Saturday 27 June 2026 at Harlow Museum & Walled Gardens
Sunday 28 June 2026 at The Gibberd Garden, Harlow
Essex Book Festival is delighted to be heading to Harlow for a weekend of writing workshops, author and artist talks, family games, and poetry.
Saturday 27 June
Harlow Museum & Walled Gardens
Muskham Road, Harlow, CM20 2LF
Writing the Archive with Syd Moore
10.30am – 12.30pm
Join best-selling author Syd Moore for a special writing workshop using objects from the archives of Harlow Museum to inspire your work.
Find out more and book a place at eventbrite.co.uk.
Syd Moore – The Great Deception
1.30pm – 2.30pm
Join us in the enchanted Harlow Museum’s Walled Garden and enter a world of mystery, espionage and illusion with author Syd Moore as she discusses the second in The Great Deception, set in Iceland, is the second in her thrilling new series about Britain’s secret wartime history.
Find out more and book tickets at essexbookfestival.org.uk/event/the-great-deception/
Family Storytelling & Games
12.00pm – 3.00pm
Come and celebrate stories in Harlow Museum’s Walled Gardens with storytellers, crafts and games for all the family. Free to attend.
Find out more at essexbookfestival.org.uk/event/family-storytelling-games/
Ditty Bag on the Road with Rebecca Leek
3.30pm – 4.30pm
Harlow-born writer Rebecca Leek will be hosting a showcase of poetry in Harlow Museum’s Walled Gardens, inviting other poets to collaborate in a mixed session. Expect different voices, a celebration of words, and fresh poems to enjoy.
Find out more at essexbookfestival.org.uk/event/ditty-bag-on-the-road/
Sunday 28 June
The Gibberd Garden
Marsh Lane, Harlow, Essex, CM17 0NA
Join us for a fascinating afternoon of artist talks in The Gibberd Garden, an inspirational 9-acre garden with over 80 sculptures and architectural pieces set in a series of enchanting spaces.
Make an afternoon of it with our ticket deal – both events for £25 / £18.
Maggi Hambling in conversation with James Cahill
2.00pm – 3.00pm
Maggi Hambling, one of the most influential artists of her generation, will be talking with author, writer and art critic James Cahill about a new monograph of her work recently published by Rizzoli New York. Join us for an afternoon to celebrate and shine a light on Hambling’s fearless spirit and trailblazing art.
Find out more and book tickets at essexbookfestival.org.uk/event/maggi-hambling/
Darren Coffield – Hen, Mistress of Mayhem: A Portrait of Henrietta Moraes
4.00pm – 5.00pm
Darren Coffield will be exploring his book, Hen Mistress of Mayhem: A Portrait of Henrietta Moraes, providing a unique insight into 1950-60s Bohemia and the key players of the fashion, music and art scene.
Uniquely told from the viewpoint of the women who knew her, including Maggi Hambling, not the famous male artists who painted her.
Find out more and book tickets at essexbookfestival.org.uk/event/hen-mistress-of-…henrietta-moraes/