SUNDERLAND LIBRARIES LITERATURE FESTIVAL BEGINS THIS FRIDAY

A month long celebration of the city's rich literary talent with local authors, local artists and local themes begins in Sunderland this Friday.

The Sunderland Literature Festival, which is organised by Sunderland Libraries Services in partnership with the University of Sunderland, School of Culture, runs through until Saturday 3 November.

The festival begins with an opening evening of murder, mystery and guesswork when the Time Bandits stage a Murder Mystery Evening at The Place Café in Silksworth Row this Friday.

People can also look forward to an audience with ever popular folk artist Jez Lowe, North East poet Scott Tyrell, a performance of The Muddy Choir, written by award winner Jesse Briton and Propaganda, Revolution and Victory to commemorate Armistice Day and the end of World War One.

There is also the chance to bring along any old film footage, to see if this can be part of a major Search & Rescue project with North East Film Archive. Staff will be on hand with video players and hand winders to enable these to be seen once again. Short archive film screenings will also be played.

For those who like historical costume, Meridith Towne will be talking about working women’s battle for the vote. There is even a Peaky Blinders interactive session with the Time Bandits.

Councillor John Kelly, Cabinet Member for Communities and Culture said: "The city has a real wealth of literary and creative talent which we should all be proud of and it's only right that we should celebrate that.

“What’s really great about this year’s festival is that we have such a wide range of themes and events on offer with something for everyone. The majority of the events are free so I'd urge everyone to have a look through the programme to see what they're interested in and to come along and join in."

Other highlights include:

- University of Sunderland lecturers Colin and Alison Younger launch “Grimmer Fairy Tales”
- ‘Propaganda, Revolution and Victory’ conference on Saturday 13 October commemorating the end of World War One. Key note speakers include Peter Hart, author of The Last Battle: Endgame on the Western Front and Taylor Dowling, author of Secret Warriors: Key Scientists, code Breakers and Propagandists of the Great War.
- British-Asian writer A.A. Dhand talking about work set against a background of crime and inter-communal challenges.- Time Bandits’ talk on the Last 100 days before Armistice.
- Ancestry taster sessions
- Local author Jane Lowes talks about her debut book “Horse keeper’s Daughter”
- Creative writing workshop with self-published author, Jamie Richards
- Time for Rhyme sessions and craft activities for children
- Dyslexia Awareness sessions in partnership with Sunderland Social Inclusion & Dyslexia Project.

To keep up to date with any changes or addition to programme Click here