In our previous post, we shared the programme for our next Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival Event, Mysterious Ways, on Saturday 26th September at the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Hawkesbury Upton GL9 1BN from 11am until 4pm.

Here’s a lightning tour of our guest speakers. As you’ll see, we’ve got a great range of authors of fiction and non-fiction, poets, performers and readers, and, for the first time, a photographer who uses pictures to tell his stories,

Tickets cost just £10 plus a small booking fee, and include tea and cake throughout, plus a £2 book voucher valid at the event.

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Debbie Young – Festival Founder & Director and author of 18 mystery novels

Debbie Young writes warm, witty cosy mystery novels and short fiction set in the Cotswold countryside, where she has lived for over 30 years. Deeply involved in many aspects of village life, she’s founder and director of the Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival, and also a course tutor for Jericho Writers. As well as compering this event, she’ll be contributing to the panel discussion about why crime writers love putting aspiring authors in their mystery novels.

Annie Elliot – Historical novelist

Annie Elliot is the author of the historical novel “Mr and Mrs Dickens: Her Story – ‘So the World May Know He Loved Me Once'”, telling the story of Charles Dickens’ first marriage from his wife’s perspective. Annie will give a spirited performance in the guise of Mrs Dickens.

Caroline Mills – Travel writer

Travel writer and author of This Is Not My Land, a memoir of 30 years on a small Cotswold farm. She will be telling us about the mysteries of the evolving land of which she is guardian, based on her three decades of observation and intimate knowledge of her farm.

Fiona Walker – Author of romantic comedy and cosy crime

Fiona Walker is the million copy bestselling author of joyously funny romantic comedies who has recently turned to crime – cosy crime, that is, with her new Village Detectives series. Fiona will be joining the panel about crime writers writing about crime writers.

Gerard Boyce – Reader

Gerard Boyce read English at UCL and unsurprisingly became an English teacher. He was Head of English and then Director of Sixth Form at Colston’s School, now Collegiate School in Bristol. Now retired, he keeps his hand in by being a Principal Examiner for Cambridge Assessment, and he volunteers at the Amnesty International Bookshop on the Gloucester Road. At this event, he’ll be sharing some of his favourite classic mystery pieces, including Wilkie Collins’ seminal mystery novel, The Woman in White.

Hugh O’Connell – Poet

Hugh O’Connell’s poetry is inspired by the animals, birds, fish and insects found in the Cotswolds, where he lives and writes. In keeping with our Mysterious Ways theme, he will be reading his poem about that strange unsung hero of the natural world, “Fabulous Fungus”, from his latest poetry collection, Wild Cotswolds.

Jayne Chard – Crime writer & TV & film producer

Award-winning TV and film producer Jayne Chard is writes the Julia and Frankie comedy mystery series, featuring two very different half-sisters, one of whom is an aspiring crime writer. She’ll be joining out panel of crime writers who write about crime writers.

Josephine Lay – Poet & novelist

Poet Josephine Lay is deeply involved in the running of Gloucestershire poetry events and is also Creative Advisor to Black Eyes Publishing. She’ll be sharing her latest collection of poetry, A Kind of Alchemy.

Judy Heminsley – Non-fiction author

The author of a self-help book Work From Home long before Covid made WFH common practice, Judy has now drawn on her own experience of the sudden death of her partner to create the book she wishes had been there to read when she needed it, One Foot in Front of the Other.

Lesley Bootiman – Scriptwriter, journalist & novelist

Lesley Bootiman is an award-winning comedy scriptwriter, newspaper and broadcast journalist.
Gifts – A blessing or a curse you can’t give back – is her first novel. She began her career as a junior reporter aged 17 in the North East and now lives in Old Sodbury.

Lucienne Boyce – Historical novelist and historian

Lucienne Boyce writes historical fiction (To The Fair Land, The Dan Foster Mysteries) and non-fiction (The Bristol Suffragettes). She also blogs about the eighteenth century, women’s history, books and writing. At this event, she’ll be revealing the mysteries of the suffragettes’ interest in spiritualism.
Lucienne is a member of the Historical Novel Society and the steering committee of the West of England and South Wales Women’s History Network.

Mark Rutterford – Author and performer of short stories

Mark Rutterford has been writing and performing short stories for over a dozen years including his one-man show, ‘Love Stories’. Mark is delighted to be back at HULF but knows he does not have the strength of character to say ‘no’ to a biscuit with his cup of coffee. We’re very lucky that he’s agreed to write another new story especially for our Festival, to fit its theme – something of a tradition at HULF now!

Nicola Kelsall – Novelist, artist & illustrator

Nicola Kelsall is the bestselling author of the Diary of a Stressed Out Mother series and of Deep Water, a novel about a crime writer who finds himself accused of murder – so she’s the perfect person to speak on our panel about crime writers writing about crime writers. Nicola is also a professional illustrator and artist.

Nigel Messenger – Historical novelist

Nigel Messenger will give a reading from his novel The Michmash Miracle, inspired by a biblical battle which took place 3000 years ago at Michmash, recorded in the Old Testament: 1 Samuel 13/14. In 1918 the British Army marched to the same place facing the Turks, copying the Bible tactics and won the subsequent battle.

Trevor Stubbs – Author of young adult fiction

A retired Church of England vicar and youth worker, Trevor now writes inspiring fiction for young adults and is passionate about encouraging them to read.

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