Norfolk and Norwich Festival, 26 May - 28 May 2023

Tickets are available to book now:

 

Join us for the last weekend of Norfolk & Norwich Festival       Featuring Caleb Azumah Nelson, Katherine May, Raymond Antrobus, Don Paterson, Amy Key, Charlotte Higgins and more, this year's City of Literature weekend at Norfolk & Norwich Festival invites you to join the conversation and consider love, class, grief, family ties, cultural differences and identity.   We’re excited to present a global edition of Page Against the Machine in partnership with the Book Hive, with simultaneous events taking place in Melbourne, Nanjing, Iowa City, Tartu and other UNESCO Cities of Literature across the world.    The weekend will close with the third edition of our popular City of Literature Publishing Fair at Dragon Hall, celebrating the vibrant publishing culture of the East of England.   Tickets are now on sale! Book 3+ events and get 10% off*.     Friday 26 May   Intricate Worlds: Caleb Azumah Nelson & Jyoti Patel 10.30am, Adnams Spiegeltent, £10 (£7.50 conc) Fathers, sons, secrets and sacrifices are explored in two beautiful new books by Caleb Azumah Nelson, the award winning author of Open Water, and #Merky Books debut novelist Jyoti Patel. Book here →   Workshop: Writing the Climate with Sally O'Reilly 10.30am, National Centre for Writing, £35 (£25 conc) An introduction to climate and creativity. Through practical exercises and discussion you will consider how your writing can address and interpret the climate crisis, and encourage readers to make changes in their own lives. Book here →   Handle with Care: Roopa Farooki & Fiona Mason 2pm, National Centre for Writing, £10 (£7.50 conc) Dr Roopa Farooki and Fiona Mason draw on their personal and professional experiences to demonstrate how storytelling through fiction and memoir can address difficult conversations around life, death and grief. Book here →   Enchantment in an Anxious Age: Katherine May 6pm, National Centre for Writing, £10 (£7.50 conc) In the wake of seismic events, Katherine May, the internationally bestselling author of Wintering, explores the restorative properties of the natural world and how wonder and magic can be found in the everyday.   Katherine will be in conversation with writer and performer Molly Naylor. Book here →   Saturday 27 May   Workshop: Pushing the Boundaries of Poetry with Will Harris 10am, National Centre for Writing, £35 (£25 conc) Forward Prize winner Will Harris leads a workshop which will combine collaborative writing exercises and games with explorations of our environment, to help you push the boundaries of your poetry. Book here →   Workshop: Life Lines with Fiona Mason 10am, National Centre for Writing, £35 (£25 conc) Personal narratives can be informative, funny, cathartic, tragic, healing and revealing. Writer and coach Fiona Mason will explore writing from lived experience, setting out tools and techniques that will help you to turn a personal account into an engaging story. Book here →   Loving and Living Alone: Amy Key & Sarah Perry 10am, Adnams Spiegeltent, £10 (£7.50 conc) With profound candour and intimacy, Amy Key’s Arrangements in Blue explores the realities of a life lived in the absence of romantic love. Amy will be joined by Sarah Perry for an open and honest conversation about painful feelings we are usually too ashamed to discuss. Book here →   Harriet Martineau Lecture: Charlotte Higgins 12noon, Adnams Spiegeltent, £10 (£7.50 conc) The Harriet Martineau Lecture celebrates the legacy of a remarkable, world-changing woman by inviting globally-renowned radical speakers to respond to her life and work. This year’s lecture will be delivered by award-winning author and the Guardian’s chief culture writer Charlotte Higgins on the power of art during difficult times. Book here →   Supported by The Martineau Society   Page Against the Machine 1.30pm, the Plantation Garden, £2 donation on entry Our shared reading event goes global! Pick a book, bring a cool drink and turn off your phone for a well-deserved detox read. Simultaneous events will be taking place in UNESCO Cities of Literature across the world. Book here →   In partnership with the Book Hive   Family workshop: Make a Concertina Book 2pm, National Centre for Writing, £5 (adults go free) Let’s work together to make a concertina book! Draw, stick and fold a story inspired by the history of Dragon Hall and the objects bought and sold within it when it was a merchant’s building, hundreds of years ago. Suitable for children aged 5-11 years and their accompanying grown-ups. Book here →   From Toy Fights to Poetic Heights: Don Paterson 2.30pm, National Centre for Writing, £10 (£7.50 conc) Legendary poet Scottish Don Paterson OBE discusses his new memoir Toy Fights — an uproarious, tenderhearted tale of growing up in working-class Dundee in the 1970s and 1980s. Book here →   A Republic of Poetry: 100 Issues of The Rialto 6pm, National Centre for Writing, £10 (£7.50 conc) The Rialto poetry magazine celebrates its 100th issue with the launch of a new anthology. Featuring poetry performances by Raymond Antrobus, Hannah Lowe, Laura Scott and Richard Scott. Stay for the afterparty! Book here →   Sunday 28 May   Sir Thomas Browne: The Opium of Time 10.30am, Adnams Spiegeltent, £10 (£7.50 conc) Bestselling writer and doctor Gavin Francis examines the extraordinary life and writing of Norwich-based physician, writer, and polymath Thomas Browne through a personal, 21st century lens. Book here →   City of Literature Publishing Fair 10am - 4pm, National Centre for Writing, free Drop in and celebrate the vibrant independent publishing culture of the East of England. Meet the publishers, browse and purchase their work, take part in writing workshops, and listen to lightning talks from authors and publishers. Read more here →   Celebrating ten years of Norwich UNESCO City of Literature   Family workshop: Make a Concertina Book 11am, National Centre for Writing, £5 (adults go free) Let’s work together to make a concertina book! Draw, stick and fold a story inspired by the history of Dragon Hall and the objects bought and sold within it when it was a merchant’s building, hundreds of years ago. Suitable for children aged 5-11 years and their accompanying grown-ups. Book here →   Workshop: Book Binding with Judith Ellis 2pm, National Centre for Writing, £15 Try your hand at bookbinding in this practical session led by writer and professional bookbinder Judith Ellis. If you’re a zine maker, poet or dabble in creative nonfiction, learn how to turn your work into a simple but beautiful binding and leave with your very own book. Book here →   Book your tickets nnfestival.org.uk 01603 531800 Norwich Guildhall, Gaol Hill, Norwich, NR2 1JS   *Applies to events only, not workshops. Discount automatically applied during checkout.     City of Literature Weekend is a Norfolk & Norwich Festival and National Centre for Writing presentation, programmed by the National Centre for Writing.   The National Centre for Writing is supported by:   Copyright © 2023 National Centre for Writing, All rights reserved. Registered charity number: 1110725 Our mailing address is: National Centre for Writing, Dragon Hall, 115 - 123 King Street, Norwich, Norfolk NR1 1QE