Bridport Literary Festival: Day 3

In 2024 The Bridport Literary Festival celebrates its 20th year.  The Festival was spawned from the Bridport Prize, established in 1973 and one of the first significant international literary awards for short story writing and poetry.   In 2004 a group of literary loving locals – including the then director of the Bridport Arts Centre, the director of the Eype Centre for the Arts and the director of BridLit – got together to ‘brew’ the idea of a celebration of literary voices. Under Tanya Bruce-Lockhart’s direction, the Festival has grown and expanded over the years and events take place at venues throughout the town and West Bay, attracting audiences from across the County and beyond.

The Festival became a registered charity in 2011 and is dependent upon the generosity of Sponsors and Donors and the Friends of the Bridport Literary Festival to sustain a high standard of programme of events while trying to keep ticket prices affordable. Once a prosperous centre of the rope and net making industry, Bridport has now reinvented itself to become a centre of excellence for Culture and the Arts.

This year Dorset County of Culture’s pilot initiative has designated Bridport as  Bridport Town of Culture with a programme of events running from July to December. BridLit is very much a part of this initiative and welcomes to the festival all those who read books and love literature.

Day Three: Tuesday 05 November

Event 11 | Henry Hemming |  Four Shots In The Dark

10.30am at The Bull Hotel, 34 East Street, Bridport DT6 3LF

Tickets: £12.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online Henry Hemming

Henry Hemming an illustrated talk Best selling author of seven non-fiction books about the thrilling world of espionage, Henry Hemming’s latest story is a blend of scrupulous investigative journalism and true crime narrative. In Four Shots in the Dark, he delivers a jaw-dropping narrative of double agents and unsolved murders set in the parallel worlds of the IRA and British Intelligence in a timely and urgent exploration of the ramifications of The Troubles.

 

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Event 12 | Charlotte Philby | The End Of Summer

12noon at The Bull Hotel, 34 East Street, Bridport DT6 3LF

Tickets: £12.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online Charlotte Philby

Life seldom works out to what is planned. How much of this is due to circumstance and fate?
When a telephone rings in a french farmhouse, Judy knows her past has finally caught up with her. Her daughter, Francesca, insists on knowing why there are so many journalists in pursuit of her. Charlotte Philby writes a gripping nuanced literary thriller which exposes the secrets and lies so many mother/daughter relationships have to come to terms with.

Event 13 | Rick Stroud |  I Am Not Afraid Of Looking Into Rifles

2pm at The Bull Hotel, 34 East Street, Bridport DT6 3LF

Tickets: £12.00 THIS EVENT HAS SOLD OUT

This is the untold story of the women in the Resistance in Belgium and occupied France during that conflict. Relating their heroism and their inevitable tragedies, Rick Stroud tells an enthralling narrative and reveals the inspirational work of eight exceptionally brave women who affected the course of war. They included Gabrielle Petit, an ordinary working class girl, Edith Cavell, a member of the bourgeoisie and the Princess de Croy from the upper echelons of society

Event 14 | Oliver Smith |  On This Holy Island

4pm at The Bull Hotel, 34 East Street, Bridport DT6 3LF

Tickets: £12.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online Oliver Smith

Travel writer, Oliver Smith, sets out radically to reframe our idea of ‘pilgrimage’ in Britain by retracing sacred travel made across time; from ritual journeys in the depths of Ice Age to new pilgrimages of the 21st century. He embarks on an epic adventure across British landscapes – sacred routes to churches, cathedrals, standing stones – exploring prehistoric, pagan and Christian places. He reveals how football stadiums and music festivals have become contemporary sites of pilgrimage. The routes walked are ancient and the pilgrims he meets are modern.

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Event 15 | Sue Prideaux |  Wild Thing

6pm at The Bull Hotel, 34 East Street, Bridport DT6 3LF

Tickets: £12.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 or online Sue Prideaux

Paul Gauguin is chiefly known as the giant of postimpressionist painting whose bold colours and compositions rocked the Western art world. Less known, he was a stockbroker in Paris and after the 1882 financial crash, struggled to sustain his artistry. As a journalist he exposed the injustices of French colonial rule in Tahiti. Award winning biographer, Sue Prideaux, re-examines the artist’s adventurous and complicated life, illuminating the people, places and ideas that shaped his vision.

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Event 16 | Julius Roberts Supper Club|  The Farm Table

6pm at Mercato Italiano, 3b Dreadnought Trading Estate, Bridport DT6 5BU

Tickets: £12.00 from Bridport Tourist Information Centre 01308 424901 – THIS EVENT HAS SOLD OUT

Celebrated first generation local farmer and chef Julius Roberts hosts a supper club event for BridLit with the wonderful team at Mercato Italiano.

In his book, The Farm Table, Julius shares tales of farming life alongside easy, thoughtful dishes to reconnect us to nature and the seasons.  Making the most of simple ingredients, his food comforts and inspires – a few good things on a plate, assembled with joy. Enjoy a simple supper with the author.

 

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More information about the festival can be found at http://www.bridlit.com