Karen's blog: Ilkley Literature Festival, 27-28 March 2021

Full details of the digital events weekend below:

Spring 2021 Digital Events Weekend:
Programme Announced

We are delighted to share with you our Spring programme.

Nine curated talks, exclusively produced by ILF, will be broadcast free online over the weekend of Saturday 27 - Sunday 28 March, and will then be available to view on catch up until 30 April.

Keep reading for events featuring writers of fiction and non-fiction, as well as brand new commissions featuring poets and local artists.

Exploring the Natural World

After the success of our first digital events weekend in October 2020, we have again chosen to dig deeply into one key theme: an exploration of the relationship between words and the natural world.

In the past year, as we've made adjustments to life in lockdown, many of us have found ourselves reflecting on our relationships with both the natural world and the world of words, reading and writing. Some people have found themselves cut off from both, while others have found themselves connecting in new ways.

Our Spring programme is an opportunity to explore the deep links between nature, identity and writing in the company of the most brilliant, thoughtful and entertaining writers at work today. We hope you enjoy it.

Register for events

Important Note: All events are free but booking is essential. Bookers who miss the streamed broadcast will also be able to watch the events on demand up until 30 April.

Events will be streamed via Crowdcast. If you are new to Crowdcast online events, you can view their step-by-step guide to registering here.

Highlights include:

how we can rethink the function of money to save our economic & eco systems

Ann Pettifor: The Green New Deal;

the impact corporations can have on communities and their land
Imbolo Mbue: How Beautiful We Were;

what is means to be a nature writer and the launch of the
2021 Nature Writing Prize for Working Class Writers
Natasha Carthew & Tanya Shadrick: Reclaiming the Wild.

Plus, explore the benefits of nature writing for well-being & mental health, why some voices have historically been excluded from the genre, and the impact environmental policies could have on our economy...

Corinne Fowler: Green Unpleasant Land
Saturday 27 March, 2pm

Professor Corinne Fowler explores the countryside’s repressed colonial past, demonstrates its importance as a source of ideas about Englishness, and questions the countryside’s reputation as a retreat from urban life.
Book your place

Kerri ní Dochartaigh: Thin Places
Saturday 27 March, 5pm

A mixture of memoir, history and nature writing, Kerri ní Dochartaigh explores how nature kept her sane and helped her heal from the trauma she experienced during the Troubles, and how we are, once again, allowing our borders to become hard, and terror to creep back in.
Book your place

Matt Gaw: Under the Stars
Saturday 27 March, 6.30pm

Artificial light is everywhere. It is damaging to humans & wildlife, disrupting our natural rhythms & obliterating the subtler lights that have guided us for millennia. Join Matt Gaw as he ventures into darkness to find out exactly what we’re missing.
Book your place

Helen Mort: Never Leave the Dog Behind
Sunday 27 March, 12.30pm

Helen Mort sets out to understand the singular relationship between dogs, mountains and the people who love them. Along the way, she meets search and rescue dogs, interviews climbers, and spends time on the hills with hounds.
Book your place

Lev Parikian: Tangled Banks
& Disappearing Birds
Sunday 27 March, 2pm

It’s often said that Britain is a nation of nature lovers; but what does that really mean?
Lev Parikian explores our collective relationship with the natural world & reminds us to find adventure in life.
Book your place

Where is the Wild?: A Conversation on Writing, Landscape and Place
Sunday 27 March, 3.30pm

Join Testament, Harriet Fraser and Dr Pippa Marland for a fascinating discussion addressing critical questions around the politics of landscape decisions, nature writing & community that have emerged in literary & public circles.
Book your place

Browse the full programme

Anita Sethi: I Belong Here

Special Book Launch Event

Friday 30 April 2021, Online Event, 7pm
Tickets: £12, including a copy book

Writer and journalist Anita Sethi will be joining us for an online event to celebrate the launch of her new book. I Belong Here is a journey of reclamation through the natural landscapes of the North, exploring identity, nature and place of belonging.

This event will be co-hosted by The Grove Bookshop with manager Mike Sansbury putting your audience questions to Anita. If you have a question you'd like to ask, please send an email to info@ilkleylitfest.org.uk. The deadline for questions is 9th April.

Book tickets now

Don't Miss our Commissions...

Poetry Commissions

By Kim Moore, Jason Allen-Paisant, Shash Trevett and Angela Readman.
The brand-new poetry commissions on the theme of the natural world will be played during our digital events weekend.

Micro-Commissions

By six local Yorkshire artists.
Six micro-commissions from Yorkshire artists will range from poetry and spoken word to soundscapes and experimental film.

All commissions will be made available on our website from Friday 27 March.