Saturday 27 April 2024

10am-11am: Storytelling and Crafts Workshop for Children with Clare Helen Welsh (The Prop Store)

Suitable for children aged between 3yrs and 8yrs. Clare is a former teacher, now award-winning children’s author, from Torbay. She has published over 40 books and has more publishing in the next few years. When Clare isn’t writing stories, she is inspiring children to write their own. Clare loves all opportunities to meet and inspire young readers. Come along for some Saturday morning fun with thrilling storytelling and craft activities. Genre: Storytelling and Crafts for Children. Click here to buy tickets.

10am-11am: Mindfulness in Fiction with Abigail Yardimci (Stage Left)

How mindful stories help us grow. Author of contemporary, uplifting fiction, Abigail Yardimci, will speak about the themes of mindfulness in her stories and how they are central to the growth and development of the characters. The talk will include a mini mindfulness meditation and compelling readings from her books including the latest release, My Little Ramadan. Genre: Women’s Fiction. Click here to buy tickets.

10.30am-11.30am: In Conversation with Adam L. G Nevill (Auditorium)

Adam L.G Nevill was born in Birmingham, England, in 1969 and grew up in England and New Zealand. He is an author of horror fiction. Of his novels, The Ritual, Last Days, No One Gets Out Alive and The Reddening were all winners of The August Derleth Award for Best Horror Novel. He has also published three collections of short stories, with Some Will Not Sleep winning the British Fantasy Award for Best Collection, 2017. Imaginarium adapted The Ritual and No One Gets Out Alive into feature films and more of his work is currently in development for the screen. In conversation with Martin Thomas, who has lived in the local area for over 20 years, and has worked for different organisations including the Heritage Fund, Arts Council and National Trust and is a trustee of the Agatha Christie Festival. Genre: Horror Fiction. Click here to buy tickets.

12pm-1pm: Wild Swimming Adventures with Matt Newbury and Sophie Pierce (Stage Left)

Join Matt Newbury and Sophie Pierce, the authors of the best-selling Wild Swimming Walks series, as they take you on an aquatic journey through the South West’s most beautiful places. They’ll be talking about their many adventures – from the sublime to the ridiculous – and showing a series of stunning images which celebrate the beauty of immersing in Britain’s incredible watery landscapes. They will also be chatting about their latest publications – Wild Swimming Torbay and Wild Swimming Walks Exmoor and North Devon. Genre: Travel Writing. Click here to buy tickets.

12pm-2.30pm: Author Business Foundations Workshop with Elizabeth Ducie (The Prop Store)

An interactive workshop with author Elizabeth Ducie, for writers looking to turn their hobby into a business or for anyone who’s already up and running but could profit from an assessment of their business practices and a review of the way forward. Elizabeth is an independent publisher and has 20 titles to her name in a variety of formats. The experiences of being an authorpreneur, and the lessons she has learned along the way, have helped her write the Author Business Foundations series of manuals for writers. Genre: Fiction. Click here to buy tickets.

12.30pm-1.30pm: Why do readers love psychological thrillers? with Susan Wilkins (Auditorium)

Susan Wilkins is a television writer turned novelist, writing crime thrillers that dig deep into human psychology.  After a degree in Law and a stint as a journalist, Susan wrote for television for twenty-five years. She created the pioneering BBC detective drama South of the Border and has over 130 broadcast credits to her name including Casualty and Holby City, Heartbeat, Coronation Street and Eastenders. Susan’s debut novel, The Informant, was published in 2014, and since then she has been delighting readers with gripping thrillers you won’t be able to put down. Genre: Crime Thrillers. Click here to buy tickets

2pm-3pm: Self-publishing with DCR Bond (Stage Left)

Self-publishing my first book: what I learned from that experience. DCR Bond (Debbie) was born in London, but grew up Jamaica, then Zambia, and
dimensions of this international upbringing feature in her writing. In this fascinating talk she will cover many topics including learning the craft of novel writing; from story to manuscript, writing for market not just yourself, submitting to agents and much more. Genre: Women’s Fiction. Click here to buy tickets

2.30pm-3.30pm: Love, Loss and Landscape with Sophie Pierce (Auditorium)

How do we survive the death of those we love and find joy after bereavement? In 2017, Sophie Pierce’s son Felix, who was 20, died suddenly and unexpectedly. Sophie’s memoir, The Green Hill: Letters to a Son, explores the huge impact of this loss, but it is also about renewal, hope, and the restorative power of the natural world. Effectively a love letter to Devon, the book celebrates the beauty of wild landscapes including Dartmoor, the Torbay coast, and the River Dart, and explores the solace they can give. Genre: Memoir, Travel Writing. Click here to buy tickets

7.30pm-10pm: Bijou Theatre Productions Gaslight

Bijou Theatre Productions bring a classic Victorian thriller to our stage, a dark tale of a marriage based on deceit and trickery, and a husband committed to driving his wife insane in order to steal from her. The suave and confident Jack Manningham appears to live a comfortable life with his wife Bella. But a quiet malevolence and casual misogyny lurks beneath the surface.  He is slowly, deliberately driving his wife, Bella, insane. He has almost succeeded but as Bella begins to doubt her own sanity, help arrives in the form of a former detective, Rough, who believes Manningham to be a thief and murderer. Click here to buy tickets.