Eschewing book readings from celebrity personalities, the Festival offers an intensive nine-day programme of events, featuring fascinating literary specialists discussing ideas with fellow experts and enthusiastic audiences.Bath Literature Festival has gone from strength to strength since its inception in 1995, becoming a well-established event in the country’s literary calendar. In recent years the Festival has hosted a vast selection of literary figures including Terry Pratchett, Joanna Trollope, Doris Lessing, Tony Benn, Margaret Atwood, Alexander McCall Smith, Tariq Ali, Jacqueline Wilson, Ian Banks, George Monbiot, and Sue Townsend.
Artistic Director James Runcie has recently taken over from writer and broadcaster Sarah LeFanu, and is looking to build on the success and vibrancy to the Festival.
Bath Literature Festival 2010 (Saturday 27 February – Sunday 7 March) offers its audiences exhilarating debate, controversy, inspiration and entertainment as acclaimed novelist and documentary filmmaker James Runcie takes over the reins as Artistic Director.
With more events and authors in a wider variety of venues, the Festival presents its largest programme ever, offering a diverse, theme-based diary of literary events unique to Bath.
Here’s how it works: Each day of the Festival focuses on a different theme, exploring topics as wide-ranging as Britain, Shakespeare, Food, Politics, Music, Mind, Body, Rome and France.
Alongside this, specific types of events will take place at recurring time-slots each day, such as Prospect Debates at 1pm, History at 4.30pm and Face to Face at 8pm. There will also be music, poetry, performance and themed walks across Bath, as well as a literary Salon running intimate events throughout the Festival.
This innovative approach towards Festival programming provides a unique, tailored literary experience that is entirely one’s own.