- Friday 25 September
-
Mad Dog Mcrea
We are delighted to welcome to this year’s festival the highly acclaimed band Mad Dog Mcrea. They blend a unique mixture of folk rock, pop, gypsy jazz, bluegrass and ‘shake your ass’ music.
- Saturday 26 September
-
Liz Fenwick
The Path to the Sea
Award wining author, Liz Fenwick, sees her seventh novel, The Path to the Sea, published to universally high acclaim.
William Ivory
Through the Eyes of a Scriptwriter
One of Britain’s leading television and theatre writers, William Ivory, has written award-winning dramas for film, television and theatre, including: Journey to Knock, Common as Muck, The Sins, Burton and Taylor, Bomber’s Moon, Diary of a Football No-Body and was a BAFTA nominated writer for the film Made in Dagenham.
- Sunday 27 September
-
Learn the skills of Bookbinding
Mandy Flockton owner of Learn Bookbinding
Spend a day with professional bookbinder, Mandy Flockton, from Learn Bookbinding. In this full day workshop you will learn traditional multi-signature binding, suitable for beginners and those who enjoy bookbinding.
Picturesque Charlestown
The charming little harbour of Charlestown was built during the Napoleonic Wars and is one of the most beautiful ports in the country. Sally Penhaligan, an accredited local guide will help you explore the history of the port and the days of sail.
sponsored by
Dr Laura Varnam
DAPHNE DU MAURIER AND THE BRONTËS: DU MAURIER ANNIVERSARY TALK
This year sees the 60th anniversary of the publication of Daphne du Maurier’s groundbreaking biography, The Infernal World of Branwell Brontë (1960).
Meet The Festival Team
Calling all Festival Friends. Join the team that organises the Festival each year, for a drink and light lunch.
Natasha Carthew
Song for the Forgotten
Poet and author Natasha Carthew, will be in conversation as she explores how she researched her own Cornish Heritage, Levant Mine and the infamous Cornish Knockers, in order to write, Song for the Forgotten, her new prose-poem for the National Trust.
Daphne du Maurier’s Fowey
This is your opportunity to learn about Daphne, her life, her novels and Fowey.
Dr Helen Taylor
WHY WOMEN READ FICTION: THE STORIES OF OUR LIVES
For her latest book, Why Women Read Fiction: The Stories of Our Lives , Dr Helen Taylor conducted over 500 interviews with readers and writers including Hilary Mantel, Helen Dunmore, Katie Fforde, and Sarah Dunant, asking why women read fiction.
Andrew Lownie
THE MOUNTBATTENS: THEIR LIVES AND LOVES
Writer, historian and literary agent, Andrew Lownie tells the story of the unique marriage between a member of the Royal Family, Dickie Mountbatten, and one of the richest women in Britain, Edwina Mountbatten.
One World
AN EVENING OF POETRY AND SONG
One World is an original choral theatre production by international award-winning songwriter Helen Yeomans.
- Monday 28 September
-
sponsored by
Mary Anne by Daphne du Maurier: A Reading Group with Dr Laura Varnam
Come along to Fowey Hall Hotel for an informal reading group discussion of du Maurier’s historical novel Mary Anne (1954), with Dr Laura Varnam from University College, Oxford.
Collage Print Workshop
Mary Harold
Join Mary Harold for a day-long creative printing workshop, using collage, print & paint to create a flock of fantastical birds!
Hidden Bodinnick
An exploration of the nooks and crannies of this ancient settlement and gateway to Fowey. Bodinnick was the first home of the du Maurier family and where Daphne’s writing career began.
Jeremy Rowett Johns
The Smugglers’ Banker
Founder of the Polperro Heritage Press, author and Cornish historian Jeremy Rowett Johns tells the extraordinary story of Zephaniah Job, the ‘Smugglers’ Banker’ of Polperro who masterminded the flourishing contraband trade in one small Cornish fishing village at the end of the 18th century.
ARKangel
Lullaby of Andalusia
The traditions of Andalusia owe more to the wonderfully strange and sensual world of the Orient, than to mainland Europe. The themes of love and death pervade the spicy music and poetry of the region.
Eve Chase and Fiona Neill
IN CONVERSATION WITH VERONICA HENRY
Writer and journalist, Eve Chase’s The Glass House, is a gripping, dual-narrative story about family secrets, lies and belonging, from the acclaimed author of Black Rabbit Hall and The Vanishing of Audrey Wilde.
Wind in the Willows River Trip
Join us for this exclusive morning trip up to the delightful riverside village of Lerryn. Kenneth Grahame based some of Wind in the Willows around Fowey and the River Fowey.
Francesca Wade
SQUARE HAUNTING – FIVE WOMEN, FREEDOM AND LONDON BETWEEN THE WARS
Mecklenburgh Square, on the radical fringes of interwar Bloomsbury, was home to activists, experimenters and revolutionaries; among them were the modernist poet H. D., detective novelist Dorothy L. Sayers, classicist Jane Harrison, economic historian Eileen Power, and writer and publisher Virginia Woolf.
David Parker
LAURIE LEE - DOWN IN THE VALLEY – THE LOST RECORDINGS
Reflections on love, landscape, writing, poetry, childhood, music and much more, from the voice of one of the great English writers of the last century, Laurie Lee.
Festival Jazz Night
with Tina May and The Craig Milverton Trio
Sing and Swing the Fabulous Forties. Join us this evening as internationally acclaimed jazz vocalist, Tina May, and The Craig Milverton Trio take the stage to celebrate the wonderful singers and bandleaders from the fabulous forties swing era.
- Tuesday 29 September
-
Choir Workshop
Andy Virr
Tap into your inner Glee and Malone for a Pitch Perfect morning session of singing. Hospital Consultant and Fowey River Singers’ Musical Director, Andy Virr, has a passion for all things choral.
Round Table with Veronica Henry
How to Write a Bestseller
In this intimate workshop, bestselling author Veronica Henry gets under the bonnet of her 21st novel, A Wedding at the Beach Hut and describes her writing process in detail, from the first light bulb moment to the final polish.
Dr Laura Varnam
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Introducing a Medieval Masterpiece
Dr Laura Varnam is known at the Festival as a du Maurier expert but in her day job she teaches Medieval English Literature at University College, Oxford. Over the past few years Laura has entertained festival-goers with tales from Geoffrey Chaucer, the Anglo-Saxon poet of Beowulf, and the medieval mystic Margery Kempe.
Truro School Senior Chamber Musicians
Lunchtime Recital
Truro School’s talented senior chamber musicians present a short recital of music from the 18th and 19th centuries.
Raynor Winn
The Wild Silence
We are delighted to welcome back to the Festival, Raynor Winn, author of The Salt Path, in which she and Moth go out to find the sea, the windswept and wild coastline, to find a way through homelessness, to find themselves again.
St Sampson’s Circle
Join Mark Camp as he makes a rare venture across the River Fowey to explore the lanes and pathways of St Sampson’s Parish
Adult Short Story Awards Presentation
Following on from Raynor Winn’s event, as guest judge for this year’s Adult Short Story Competition, she will be announcing the winners and presenting the prizes.
The Story Republicans
A CORNISH CORNUCOPIA OF STORY AND SONG
The Story Republicans are a colourful band of tale-telling troubadours who are wowing audiences with songs, short stories and poetry with a strong Cornish flavour.
Turin Brakes
Acoustic Show
The estimable London 4-piece Turin Brakes are touring an acoustic show in 2020 in-between playing their full electric set at a handful of festivals in the Summer. They are playing a range of songs spanning their 20-year career which includes seven top 40 singles and 6 top 40 albums with sales over a million worldwide.
- Wednesday 30 September
-
sponsored by
Julius by Daphne du Maurier: A Reading Group with Dr Laura Varnam
Come along to the Fowey Hall Hotel for an informal reading group discussion of du Maurier’s compelling third novel, Julius (1933), with Dr Laura Varnam from University College, Oxford
Rebecca Walk
Rebecca, Daphne’s most famous novel, is set along this dramatic coastline. Come and celebrate the anniversary of Daphne’s birth and enjoy the beauty of this walk with Dr Ella Westland, a literary expert and specialist in Daphne du Maurier and her work.
David Parker
Sea Fever - The Pleasures and the Perils
Using remarkable home movie cine film, some of it never seen before, documentary film maker, David Parker, will tell the story of our relationship to the sea over the last hundred years.
Nina Leonard Savicevic
Piano Recital
Nina was born in Plymouth, but from age 4 to 6 she and her family lived in Russia, where she started learning the piano and gave her first concert in St. Petersburg when she was only five years old.
Lucy Diamond and Veronica Henry
A Holiday Romance
Bestselling authors Lucy Diamond and Veronica Henry discuss their latest novels, An Almost Perfect Holiday and A Wedding at the Beach Hut, both set in the West Country. They examine why holidays are such fertile ground for drama - strained friendships, precarious marriages, budding romance, the pressure to relax and have a wonderful time - and how all the baggage comes with us when we go away.
sponsored by
Lennie Goodings and Linda Grant
Books, Writers and Virago
Lennie Goodings, Chair of the publishing house Virago Press, has published some of the greatest writers of recent decades: Sarah Waters, Marilynne Robinson, Margaret Atwood and Maya Angelou among them. She has now written her own memoir about Virago Press, A Bite of the Apple.
Sophie Hannah
Haven’t They Grown
Join Sophie Hannah as she talks about her latest psychological suspense thriller, Haven’t They Grown. An internationally recognised bestselling crime fiction writer, her novels have been translated into 49 languages and published in 51 countries. Sophie’s psychological thriller The Carrier won the Specsavers National Book Award for Crime Thriller of the Year in 2013.
- Thursday 1 October
-
Sophie Hannah
Dream Author: A Masterclass
Sophie Hannah is an internationally bestselling crime writer and course director of University of Cambridge's new Master's degree in Crime & Thriller Writing. She’s also the founder of the Dream Author Coaching Programme.
Picturesque Charlestown
The charming little harbour of Charlestown was built during the Napoleonic Wars and is one of the most beautiful ports in the country. Sally Penhaligan, an accredited local guide will help you explore the history of the port and the days of sail.
Duncan Minshull
Beneath My Feet: Writers on Walking
Walking and writing have always gone together. Poets walk out a rhythm for their lines and novelists put their characters on a path. But the best insights, the deepest and most joyous examinations of this simple activity are to be found in non-fiction, travelogues and memoirs.
William Hudd
Guitar Recital
Professional guitarist and composer, William Hudd, first picked up the guitar aged eight and was soon delighting his audiences with the popular rock tunes of the 1960’s & 70’s.
Julie Summers
Dressed for War
Dressed for War tells the story of Audrey Withers, editor of British Vogue from 1940-1960.
Monica Porter
Children Against Hitler - The Young Resistance Heroes of the Second World War
In her latest book, Children Against Hitler, Monica Porter gathers together their stories from many corners of occupied Europe, showing how in a variety of audacious and inventive ways children as young as six resisted the Nazi menace, risking and sometimes even sacrificing their brief lives in the process; a heroism that, until now, has largely gone unsung.
Humphrey Hawksley
MAN ON EDGE
Humphrey Hawksley, a former BBC foreign correspondent, and critically acclaimed novelist, talks about his recently published, contemporary political thriller series Man on Ice.
sponsored by
Roger McGough and LiTTLe MACHiNe
joinedupwriting
Roger McGough is the author of over a hundred books of poetry for adults and children. The exuberant new collection, joinedupwriting ranges from forgotten friendships and the idiosyncrasies of family life to the trauma of war and contemporary global politics.
- Friday 2 October
-
Katrina Stephens
Explore the Ancient Art of Chinese Brush Painting
This informal workshop, led by Chinese Brush Painting expert Katrina Stephens, is designed to give everyone, whatever their experience of the art form, the opportunity to experiment with a number of different subjects, ranging from birds and flowers, to fish or fowl to create variety.
Rosanne Hodin
Growing Goats and Girls – Living the Good Life on a Cornish Farm
Ever dream of packing up and escaping to a simpler life on the land, just the Cornish landscape and a few cows and goats rising up to greet you each day? When Rosanne Hodin and her husband left city life for the Cornwall idyll, they knew little of farming, the seasons and milking; but over time they found their way, rising to each new challenge and embracing all that the land gave them.
The Liskeard Poets
Expect only the unexpected. ‘Always an amazing range of voices and viewpoints in the work of these experienced poets’
Dr Ian Mortimer and Clare Clark
The Impact of History on Writing
Dr Ian Mortimer, bestselling historian and historical novelist and Clare Clark, author of five highly acclaimed historical novels, will discuss the impact of history on writing. They consider important questions such as: ‘how do we tell the truth about the past?’ and ‘what is the meaning of knowing our about our ancestors’ lives?’ They debate that to write about the past fully, and draw out some of its meanings, historical authors have to use fiction.
Daphne du Maurier’s Fowey
This is your opportunity to learn about Daphne, her life, her novels and Fowey.
Carol Ann Lee
The Pottery Cottage Murders
Author and biographer, Carol Ann Lee, will be discussing her writing career and how she investigates criminal cases to pull together bestselling non-fiction. Her latest book, The Pottery Cottage Murders is a gripping, fast-paced account of a criminal case that reads like fiction but is terrifyingly true.
Lamorna Ash
Dark, Salt, Clear
There is the Cornwall Lamorna Ash knew as a child – the idyllic, folklore rich place where she spent her summer holidays. Then there is the Cornwall she discovers when, feeling increasingly dislocated in London, she moves to Newlyn, a fishing town near Land’s End.
sponsored by
Festival Film Night – Fisherman’s Friends
Introduction and Q&A with Fisherman’s Friend, Jon Cleave
Festival film night embraces this wonderfully uplifting British film Fisherman's Friends. A 2019 biographical comedy-drama directed by Chris Foggin from a screenplay by Nick Moorcroft, Meg Leonard and Piers Ashworth.
- Saturday 3 October
-
Acoustic Guitar Workshop with William Hudd
From Bach to Black Sabbath!
This workshop is ideal for the beginner and novice student and aims to explore the range that the guitar is capable of across all genres and styles.
sponsored by
Awards for Young Artists and Writers
Presentation
Join us for our annual prize presentation to the winners of the Fowey Festival Awards for Young Writers & Artists 2020. Prizes will be awarded to the winners in each category for their poems, short stories and works of art all relating to this years’ competition theme of ‘Spirit of Cornwall’.
Gretchen Viehmann
17 Syllables About Fowey
17 Syllables About Fowey, written and illustrated by Gretchen Viehmann, is a book of haiku dedicated to life in Fowey through the four seasons, including the crucial fifth season, the Mizzle.
Brigit Strawbridge Howard
Dancing with Bees
Brigit Strawbridge Howard was shocked the day she realised she knew more about the French Revolution than she did about her native trees, birds, wildflowers and bees.
Helen Cullen
The Truth Must Dazzle Gradually
In conversation today, writer and journalist Helen Cullen. Her debut novel The Lost Letters of William Woolf, was reviewed to high acclaim and shortlisted for Newcomer of the Year at the Irish Book Awards.
The Fowey River Singers and the St Austell Town Brass Band
Curtains Up!
Please join us for an evening of your favourite songs from the musicals, in concert with the Fowey River Singers, St Austell Brass Band, Local Schools and Soloists.
- Thursday 17 December
-
sponsored by
Michael Portillo
Life: A Game of Two Halves
Life: A Game of Two Halves’ is Michael Portillo’s story, told in his own words and with all the wit and panache of a first rate “Parliamentary stand up”. Keen as ever to meet the people afterwards, he’s open to questions from the audience.