Early Bird News
We’re excited by our festival lineup this year and can’t wait to share it with you. The programme is varied and showcases some of the best and most talented writers from Dorset and the Wessex region. We’re finalising agreements now and will be releasing early bird tickets in March. These tickets will be open to our mailing list subscribers, so they will be announced in this newsletter first. The early bird tickets will be available until 31st March, when they will then be sold at the programme rate.
2024 Speaker: Fiona Williams
Faber recently released Fiona William’s spring book tour, which includes the Sturminster Newton Literary Festival. Fiona lives on the Somerset Levels and won the Bridport Prize in 2021. Her first book, The House of Broken Bricks, has positive reviews and is a story about family, loss and life in the countryside. Fiona recently wrote an article for the Guardian, which you can read here.
We’re looking forward to meeting Fiona on 14th June and will have early bird ticket details in the next newsletter. You can also buy her book on the festival website here.
2024 Event: D Day
We have two speakers booked for the special D-Day event on 9th June who will be talking about aspects of that momentous day in history. More details are in the March newsletter, along with early bird ticket information.
The D-Day project for this year's SturLitFest (8-16 June 2024) is seeking contributions from local people whose family members took part in the build-up to and military invasion of Normandy 80 years ago.
We will be creating an exhibition of family testimonies and images that will be on show in the gallery at The Exchange, Sturminster Newton from June 6th. On June 9th, the exhibition will be formally launched alongside the author events commemorating the invasion.
If you'd like to contribute to the exhibition, please send us a short summary (500 words max) of your forbear's experience in June 1944. If possible, please submit a typed version via email to sturlitfest1@gmail.com or deliver a hand-written account to the Town Council Offices in Sturminster Newton. Mark it FAO CClr Pauline Batstone - D-D 80th Anniversary Project.
Volunteer Opportunities
If you are interested in project work, programme distribution, or helping steward some of the festival events, please contact us at sturlitfest1@gmail.com.
Tea with William Barnes
Artsreach and Dorset Food and Drink have partnered for an afternoon to celebrate the words of Dorset dialect poet William Barnes. The event includes a cream tea and is at the Exchange in Sturminster Newton on 25th February. And we’ve just heard that there’s a food market and maker’s event in The Exchange on the same day. The event is also being livestreamed. Sounds good? Book your tickets here.
Sherborne Travel Writing Festival
Our friends at Sherborne Travel Writing Festival have an excellent programme line up. The festival is from April 5 to 7 and includes writers Monisha Rajesh, Benedict Allen, Sir Don McCullin, Noo Saro-Wiwa, and more. Tickets are available here.