Ilkley Literature Festival kicks off tonight with the sold out Sally Wainwright event (that I am attending), but there are still tickets available for other events, plus applications are sought for apprentice poet in residence, details below:

Dajlit Nagra is the 2017 Poet in Residence!

We are delighted to announce that Daljit Nagra is the 2017 Poet in Residence!

Forward Prize winner Daljit Nagra is from a Sikh background and was born and grew up in West London then Sheffield. He has published three collections of poetry and in 2014 was selected as a New Generation Poet by the Poetry Book Society. He is also the inaugural Poet in Residence for BBC Radio 4/ 4Extra and teaches at Brunel University.

Daljit said "I am honoured to be selected as Poet in Residence for one of the most open-minded and inclusive festivals of literature in Britain. I will aim to continue the excellent work of previous poets who have been in my role such as Andrew McMillan by inviting the most exciting new and experienced poets to the festival."

Daljit will be reading at the Festival, including some newly commissioned work as well a currating a strand of events and working with the Apprentice Poet in Residence.

Apply to be Apprentice Poet in Residence

Applications for 2017 Apprentice Poet in Residence are now open.

The Festival’s Apprentice Poet in Residence is an opportunity for an exceptional, emerging poet who is based in the Northern region and at the start of their career. As Apprentice Poet in Residence they will shadow this year’s Poet in Residence, Daljit Nagra. The apprentice will also spend time at Festival events and stage their own Fringe or other reading/event/workshop as appropriate.

Click here for more information.

Closing date for applications: 9am Friday 28 April

The Spring Series Starts Tomorrow!

The Spring Series kicks off tomorrow with a sold out event with the fantastic Sally Wainwright but there is still time to get your hands on tickets for the other events.

Baroness Sayeeda Warsi: The Enemy Within

Britain’s first Muslim cabinet minister discusses her book, The Enemy Within, which explores British attitudes and policy towards Islam and unpicks the challenges for British Muslims with brutal honesty, offering solutions to the big issues of our time with much-needed clarity and humour.
Thursday 20 April, 7.30pm, Kings Hall, Ilkley, LS29 8HB, £12/10, TICKETS AVAILABLE ON THE DOOR

Harriet Harman: A Woman’s Work

The former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party talks frankly about everything from campaigning with small children to increasing the number of women in Parliament and tackling a parliamentary culture which made no allowance for family life.
Tuesday 9 May, 7.30pm, Kings Hall, Ilkley, LS29 8HB, £12/10, Click here to book.