Mysterious Ways – Saturday 26th September at St Mary’s Hawkesbury
Christmas Special – Saturday 5th December at the Bethesda Chapel
Tickets will go on sale via Eventbrite 90 days before each event, and we’ll share the link on this website and on our Facebook page as soon as it goes live.
We are now planning the programme for the September event, and we already have some excellent speakers lined up.
Authors, poets and artists who would like to pitch for a spot in the programme are warmly invited to send brief details of their proposal, stating how it ties in with the theme, via our Contact Form.
We will then curate a balanced programme to create the best audience experience we can.
Submission does not guarantee inclusion.
Author Ali Bacon and festival director Debbie Young share the fun of the September 2025 Festival (Photo by Peter Salenieks)
Like to know a little more about the guest speakers at our “Strength of Character” Festival event on Saturday 27th September? Here’s a handy guide.
A A Abbott
A A Abbott chose her pen name to snag first place on your bookshelf. Also known as Helen, she writes psychological thrillers about women finding strength in the face of danger. She publishes in a range of formats, including audiobook, ebook, Kindle Unlimited, hardback, paperback, large print and dyslexia-friendly Lexend font.
Ali Bacon
Ali Bacon is a local writer inspired by her Scottish roots. Her second historical novel, The Absent Heart, was published by Linen Press in March 2025. She is also a prize-winning short story writer who has appeared in events around the west country and is proud to have been at the very first HULF!
Gerard Boyce
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.
Lucienne Boyce
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. She is a member of the Historical Novel Society and the steering committee of the West of England and South Wales Women’s History Network.
Sarah Siân Chave
Sarah Siân Chave has forty years’ experience as a teacher and researcher. Her passions are sustainability, social justice and encouraging new ways of being in the world together. Raised by a Welsh mother in the English Midlands, she enjoys connecting with her Welsh roots and exploring Afon Hafren (River Severn).
Frances Evesham
One day Frances Evesham saw Burnham on Sea’s nine-legged lighthouse. As she murmured, ‘What if I found a body there?’ Murder at the Lighthouse, the first of her eleven Somerset murder mysteries published by Boldwood Books, was born.
Lorna Fergusson
Lorna Fergusson is an award-winning short story writer and novelist, editor and writing coach. She runs Fictionfire Literary Consultancy and teaches on Oxford University summer courses. Her latest story collection is One Morning in Provence. She is working on more stories, a novel and a book on mindset for writers. https://www.lornafergusson.com
Stefania Hartley
Stefania Hartley was born in Sicily and immediately started growing, but not very much. She left her sunny island after falling in love with an Englishman and now she lives in the Cotswold. Having finally learnt English, she’s enjoying it so much that she writes short stories and novels.
Helen Idris-Jones
Helen Idris Jones is retired, now, writing novels that explore strength of character. “Missing Ella” addresses family trauma with hope, while “Where no shadows fall” follows Esther Morgan’s journey toward self-forgiveness and redemption. Now writing her third novel, exploring community resilience using her experience of living in a Worcestershire village!
James Nickells
James Nickells is a portrait artist and NHS doctor who is currently working on an ambitious project to paint 193 portraits of 193 subjects each from a different country with each subject involved in positive environmental action. This is The Global Portrait Project.
Mark Rutterford
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.
Debbie Young
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.
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Together, these speakers will provide a fascinating day’s entertainment, talking about their work, and their perspective on strong characters in literature and art.
As ever, this will be a quick-fire day that keeps you on your toes – and thankfully also supplies you with tea, coffee and cake to help you keep up with it all!
BOOK NOW TO ENSURE WE HAVE ENOUGH CAKE TO GO AROUND!
THEME: Strength of Character (10th Birthday Special)
VENUE: The Church of St Mary the Virgin, Hawkesbury GL9 1BN
Come and join us for a fascinating day of talks by authors (plus one artist!) on the theme of Strength of Character in an event marking our Festival’s 10th Birthday.
Overview
Our Autumn 2025 event will approach its theme of “Strength of Character” from many different angles, including talks, readings, and panel discussions by the following special guests:
AA Abbott, author of the Lies thriller series, on writing villains you love to hate
Ali Bacon, historical novelist, speaking about Robert Louis Stevenson’s first love as featured in her new novel The Absent Heart
Gerard Boyce, retired academic, on characterisation in Shakespeare
Lucienne Boyce, historical novelist and historian, on Charles Dickens’ characters
Sarah Sian Chave, author of Hafren: The Wisdom of the River Severn
Frances Evesham, cosy crime writer of two series set in Somerset
Lorna Fergusson, novelist and writing coach on the impact of place on character, as demonstrated by her new collection of short stories, One Morning in Provence
Stefania Hartley, reading one of her short stories about strong Sicilian characters
Helen Idris-Jones, nurse and nurse educator, and author of Missing Ella
James Nickells, portrait artist at the Global Portrait Project
Mark Rutterford, storyteller, performing a story written especially for the event
Debbie Young, cosy mystery author and festival founder, chairing a panel on the strength of character required to be an author
The event will be chaired by HULF Founder and Director Debbie Young, who will combine this fascinating line-up into a coherent whole.
This occasion marks the 10th Birthday of the Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival. There will be cake!
TICKETS
Tickets are now available to order online via the Eventbrite link below. Tickets are priced at £10 and a small admin charge will be added per ticket to cover box office costs.
We hope that by the end of September, the beautiful ancient parish church of St Mary the Virgin, will be warmer than it has been at past events held in the spring, but so please wrap up warm just in case. Seating is on antique wooden church pews, so feel free to bring a cushion.
Free parking available in the adjacent field. Please leave the hardstanding in front of the church free for those with limited mobility.
Our beautiful venue, the Church of St Mary the Virgin, Hawkesbury
REFRESHMENTS
Tea, coffee and cake are included in the ticket price of £10. A small booking charge will be added at the time of booking to cover administration costs. Please book early to avoid disappointment – and to make sure we have enough cake for everyone! Feel free to bring your own refreshments if you prefer.
BOOKSHOP
A £2 book voucher is included with the ticket, valid at the event. All our speakers give their time for free, so please make the most of your voucher to support them by buying their books. A book stall manned by the authors will be open before and after the talks and during the breaks.
A NOTE ABOUT FUNDING
Like all Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival events, this is a not-for-profit venture run by and featuring volunteers, who receive no payment for their time. Ticket prices are kept low to make the event accessible and affordable to as many people as possible. Additional donations would be most welcome, and may be made in cash or by card on the day. Thank you for your continuing support that enables us to run this event for benefit of the local and wider community of all who love books and reading.
Come along to enjoy the fun of ourtraditional village show on Saturday 30th August 2025, where various authors will be signing and selling books on the Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival’s stall.
Do come and say hello – we’d love to hear about your experience of the Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival, and to collect your suggestions for future HULF events!
There is an admission charge to the showground, but it’s a terrific event and it’s totally worth it!
Showground opens at 12.30pm, and the stalls close around 5pm, although the beer tent and fairground will remain open into the evening.
Find out about the entry fee, parking, and other details at the event website, www.hawkesburyshow.org.
at Hawkesbury Upton Village Hall, High Street, Hawkesbury Upton GL9 1AU
Our next HULF Talk will be a celebration of Christmas stories and poems to get you into the festive spirit. The full programme is currently being finalised, but it will includes the following – and much more!
readings from favourite seasonal poetry and prose performed by Gerard Boyce
two festive short stories written especially for our event: “Hearth & Home: A Dan Foster Christmas Special” by Lucienne Boyce and “An Alien’s View of Christmas” by Mark Rutterford
a chat about cosy Christmas mysteries with author Frances Evesham and Debbie Young
Carole Britton reflecting on Christmases past and present with reference to her new book Past, Present, Presence about the Athelstan Pilgrim Way
festive readings from their books for children by Tiggy Greenwood, Betty Salthouse & Linda Alvis
an introduction to the fabulous Hawkesbury Soup and Cake recipe book, edited by Louise Roberts with the help of local cooks
a talk by Linda Cohen about children’s reading charity Read With Me, of which she is founder and director
The event will include a pop-up shop selling signed copies of the guest authors’ books which make great Christmas presents for all the family!
As ever, the ticket price of £5 includes coffee, tea and cake, plus a £2 book voucher valid at the event.
During the lunch break, you’ll be able to try some home-made soup made from recipes in Hawkesbury Soup and Cake, in return for a donation in aid of Read With Me.
Two important notes:
The venue has changed Hawkesbury Village Hall because our original venue of the Bethesda Chapel is currently undergoing refurbishment.
The running time will be 11am-3pm, by popular request, to avoid the need for anyone to drive to or from the Festival in the dark.
Come along to enjoy the fun of our traditional village show, where various HULF authors will be signing and selling books on Stall B19. Do come and say hello – we’d love to hear about your experience of HULF, and to collect your suggestions for future HULF events! There is an admission charge to the showground, but it’s a terrific event and it’s totally worth it! Find out about the entry fee, parking, and other details at the event website, www.hawkesburyshow.org.
The first Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival event will take place on Saturday 27t April from 10.30am until pm in the beautiful, historic parish church of St Mary the Virgin – a highly atmospheric setting for this event’s theme, A Sense of Place.
The programme will address the theme from many different angles, with talks by the following authors:
Tiggy Greenwood, author of a children’s trilogy of novels, starting with The Holder of Annanbourne
Felice Hardy, travel writer and author of family biography The Tennis Champion Who Fled the Nazis
Stephen Oram, author of near-future speculative fiction
Lisa Overton, author & art historian
Bill Wood, undertaker and author of “An Odd Undertaking”
Mark Rutterford, performing a story he has written especially for the occasion
Plus there’ll be readings of poetry and prose by the ever-popular Gerard Boyce.
The event will be chaired by HULF Founder and Director Debbie Young, who will combine this fascinating line-up into a coherent whole.
VENUE
Our venue, the beautiful ancient parish church of St Mary the Virgin, may be chilly, so please wrap up warm. Seating is on antique wooden church pews – feel free to bring a cushion! Free parking available in the adjacent field. Please leave the hardstanding in front of the church free for those with limited mobility.
REFRESHMENTS
Tea, coffee and cake are included in the ticket price. Savoury food such as soup and sandwiches will be on sale for lunch during the break at 1pm.
BOOK SALES
A £2 book voucher is included with the ticket, valid at the event. All our speakers give their time for free, so please make the most of your voucher to support them by buying their books! A book stall manned by the authors will be open before and after the talks and during the breaks.
Please note advance booking is essential to ensure we have plenty of cake for all!
Our venue: the historic parish church of St Mary the Virgin, which predates the Domesday Book
This event will be dedicated to the memory of Clare Weiner, who wrote as Mari Howard, a fervent supporter of HULF from its founding in 2015, and a frequent speaker and reader at past events.
at the Bethesda Chapel, Park Street, Hawkesbury Upton GL9 1BA
Our next HULF Talk will be a celebration of Christmas stories and poems, with
readings from favourite seasonal poetry and prose, such as an extract from Dylan Thomas’s A Child’s Christmas in Wales and Robert Frost’s On Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening, by the ever-popular readers Gerard Boyce and Michael Macmahon
Robert Louis Stevenson‘s thoughts on Christmas, presented by historical novelist Ali Bacon
an introduction to a Sicilian Christmas by romantic novelist Stefania Hartley
an interview with cosy mystery author Kat Ailes, because everyone needs a cosy book to read at Christmas
a festive short story performed by author Mark Rutterford
armchair travel courtesy of wildlife documentary maker John Ruthven, author of The Whale in Your Living Room, andHimalayan travel guide Steve Berry, author of Straight Up
readings from their books for children by local authors Tiggy Greenwood, Betty Salthouse, and Marie Whitehead
top tips for dealing with self-care at Christmas by Alice Rosewell, author of A Little Book of Encouragement
timely advice for dealing with post-Christmas debt from Michael Macmahon, author of Back to the Black
seasonal thoughts from the Reverend Trevor Stubbs
The event will include a pop-up shop selling signed copies of the guest authors’ books, which make great Christmas presents for all the family!
As ever, the ticket price of £5 includes coffee, tea and cake, plus a £2 book voucher valid at the event.
The first HULF Talk of 2023 will be a new departure for us: an all-day event at the parish church of St Mary the Virgin, Hawkesbury, situated in the delightful ancient hamlet just down the hill from Farm Pool, Hawkesbury Upton.
All profits from the day will be donated to the Friends of St Mary’s, which exists to maintain this beautiful part of our local heritage for the enjoyment of present and future generations.
The event will be provide a wonderful assortment of talks and readings to celebrate the rich delights of English language and literature, including:
The Language of Bells A talk by Tower Captain Colin Dixon with readings by Bill Fairney, Michael Macmahon & Debbie Young
Jargon in Fiction 1) School Story Slang A talk by Debbie Young 2) Pugs, Bruisers & the Fancy: The Language of Pugilism A talk by Lucienne Boyce
Cracking Codes in the Second World War 1) The Enigma Machine – A talk byBill Fairney 2) The Colditz Code – A talk by Ian Macfadyen
Utter Nonsense! – Jabberwocky and other nonsense verse Readings and interpretations by Gerard Boyce
Putting Words in Other People’s Mouths A talk about the challenges of ghostwriting by professional ghostwriter John Lynch
How New Words Are Chosen for the Dictionary A talk by professional lexicographer Jennifer Hurd, from the Oxford English Dictionary
How Tyndale Enriched the English Language A talk tb Lisa Overton about William Tyndale, as influential as Shakespeare in the development of English
Lost in Translations A talk by Gerard Boyce with readings from Brian Friel’s play Translations
Setting Words to Music A conversation about lyrics with Ben Humphries, Music Director of Badminton Benefice
Ancient or Modern 1) Gadzookery or OK? – A conversation about historical novels with historical novelists Lucienne Boyce & Jean Burnett 2) Trespasses or Sins? – A conversation about the language of the liturgy with Rev Richard Thomson & Rev Trevor Stubbs
The Old Testament – Word of God or History Book? A talk by Tina Stubbs, author of Disowning the Violence
Brevity as the Soul or Wit Clever quotes & memorable mottos with Michael Macmahon
A calligraphy exhibition of pieces celebrating words and language
Chairing the afternoon will be HULF Director and local author Debbie Young.
REFRESHMENTS
As ever, tea, coffee, cake and biscuits will be included in the ticket price of £5 per head.
There will be a one-hour break for lunch when guests are welcome to picnic in the church and its grounds, and to enjoy the calligraphy exhibition.
An optional sit-down lunch of home-made quiche, salad, and fruit, served in the historic setting of the ancient Malthouse opposite the church, by kind courtesy of Lisa and Christopher Overton, will be bookable in advance for £10 per head. Wine and soft drinks will be available to buy on the day for a small extra charge. With just 30 seats available, early booking is advised.
PARKING
There will be ample free on-site parking in the adjacent field on the day.
Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival is a series of not-for-profit book-related events run by Debbie Young. This is a HULF Mini event. For more information about HULF, please visit www.hulitfest.com.
Our stunning venue: St Mary the Virgin, Hawkesbury – photo by Sir Ian Macfadyen
Hawkesbury Upton Literature Festival 