Middleway Words: The Programme

We recently announced news of a new book festival based in the Midlands, Middleway Words, which will take place from the 5th to 11th September 2021. You can see the original announcement and information here. This is an online festival of books and literature across the Midlands, aimed at promoting authors and books in the region. There will be events, talks, workshops, readings and interviews, and all of it is free. 

You can now register for free tickets for the festival on Eventbrite here. 

You can download the programme for the festival on the Eventbrite site, or directly here. 

On Friday 10th September at 4pm, the festival includes a conversation between novelist Kerry Hadley-Pryce and Jonathan Taylor of the University of Leicester. All are welcome, and the event, like all others in the festival, is free. 

Middleway Words: Announcing New Book Festival in the Midlands

A new online Midlands Book Festival is to be established to celebrate the large number of writers in the region – and to inspire a new generation to express their creativity.

Organised by members of the Society of Authors, Middleway Words will feature five days of free online events between September 5-11, bringing together readers and writers to discuss and discover many great books, covering a broad range of genres, from the Midlands.

"We have a long and proud tradition of great writing in the Midlands," says Ignaty Dyakov-Richmond, a co-chair of Society of Authors Warwickshire, and co-founder of the Festival, "and there are so many excellent writers in the region who readers would love if only they were introduced to their work. With Middleway Words, we aim to bring them together. We are formulating an exciting programme of events which will have something for everyone who loves books. Not only will Middleway Words promote those who are already creating great work, we want it to provide helpful advice to inspire others to write.”

The Festival will feature five days of events, interviews and videos which will be available to view live for free on the Festival’s YouTube channel. 

It will begin on Sunday, September 5, with author-led panel discussion on how a book is born. Sessions aimed at adults and children on how to write fiction and poetry to appeal to readers of all ages will follow. The closing panel, on Saturday, September 11, aims to introduce different types of writing, including script, translation, education and theatre narrative. 

In between, there will be two or three sessions a day, in which regional authors will talk and answer questions about their books and the writing process. There may also be talks from others in the book business, including a literary agent, a publisher, a book-seller and a librarian.

Short videos from other authors speaking about their books will be aired prior to and during the Festival, giving readers plenty of chance to add new names to their reading list.

For more details about Middleway Festival, you can email middlewaywords@gmail.com, and see: 

twitter.com/middlewaywords

and https://www.facebook.com/middlewaywords/