Tag Archives: 2024

NEXT EVENT: HULF Christmas Special

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Saturday 7th December, 11am-3pm

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.

BUY YOUR TICKETS HERE VIA EVENTBRITE.

NEXT EVENT: A Sense of Place (Saturday 27th April)

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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:

  • AA Abbott, psychological thriller author
  • Sophia Ashe, author of “Ride Like a Gaucho”, an memoir of Argentina
  • Lucienne Boyce, historical novelist and historian
  • 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.

BOX OFFICE

Click here to book your tickets in advance via our box office hosted by Eventbrite.

Please note advance booking is essential to ensure we have plenty of cake for all!

photo of the Festival venue, St Mary's Hawkesbury
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.