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The TimesandThe Sunday TimesCheltenham Literature Festival,a large-scale international festival of literature held every year in October in the Englishspa townofCheltenham,and part ofCheltenham Festivals:also responsible for theJazz,Music,andScienceFestivals that run every year.
Introduction and history
editFormed in 1949, the Cheltenham Literature Festival is the longest-running festival of its kind in the world.[1]The Festival was founded by the Spa Manager George Wilkinson, in conjunction with the Tewkesbury-based authorJohn Moore,who served as its first director. ActorRalph Richardson,who was born inCheltenham,launched the festival, and poetCecil Day-Lewis,who taught atCheltenham College,read a selection of contemporary verse.[1]The Festival currently has the national newspapersThe TimesandSunday Timesas its 'title' sponsors: therefore making the full name of the festivalThe TimesandThe Sunday TimesCheltenham Literature Festival. The Festival's Artistic Director is Sarah Smyth and its Festival Director is Jane Furze. The 2013 Literature Festival issued around 135,000 tickets.[2]The festival also sees the presentation each year of theNick Clarke Awardfor best broadcast interview, as well welcoming literary prize winners to discuss their most recent work.
The festival interprets the term "literature" broadly, featuring writers in every genre, including a good number of journalists and politicians.
The 2014 festival took place from Friday till Sunday, October 3–12 and was led by Guest DirectorsShami Chakrabarti,Omid Djalili,Amit Chaudhuri,Sophie HannahandMichael Rosen.In its varied programme of over 500 events, the Festival touched upon subjects as diverse as history, politics, sport, food and fashion. The theme of the 2014 Festival was "Brave New Worlds", which asks big questions such as: Is democracy at risk? Is technology changing our brains? What future for words? What does the next century hold?
The 2015 festival had as its "Big Read", the bookTo Kill a MockingbirdbyHarper Lee.The 2016 festival had as its "Big Read",The Color PurplebyAlice Walker.[3]
The 2017 festival hadHillary Clintoninterviewed byMariella Frostrupon her disdain for current US presidentDonald Trump,WikiLeaksandBrexitvoters.[4]
The 2018 festival was held 5–14 October 2018. Highlighted speakers includeMichael Parkinson,Prue Leith,William Boyd,Kate Atkinson,John Torode,Pat Barker,andMary Beard.[5]
The 2019 festival included an appearance byDavid Cameron.[6]
Previous guests
editDescribed as a 'literary lovers dream',[7]the Festival has hosted the talents of some of the world's leading novelists, poets, humorists, historians, philosophers, actors and politicians. Previous guests include:
DanTDM,Salman Rushdie,Zadie Smith,Ruth Rendell,Gordon Brown,Martin Amis,Judi Dench,Stephen Fry,Michael Palin,Ian Hislop,Stephen Hawking,Richard Hammond,Armando Iannucci,Rik Mayall,Rory Bremner,Jon Snow,Simon Schama,Michael Buerk,Bruce Parry,Sophie Dahl,Ian McEwan,Anne Enright,A. C. Grayling,Sebastian Faulks,Naomi Klein,Tony Benn,Terry Wogan,Nick Hornby,Bob Geldof,Jeremy Paxman,Rupert Everett,Frank McCourt,Brenda Blethyn,Doris Lessing,Patrick Stewart,Toni Morrison,Ian Rankin,Kate Adie,Richard Attenborough,David Starkey,Antony Sher,Michael Parkinson,Terry Jones,Tony Robinson,Sandi Toksvig,Dawn French,Simon Armitage,Clive James,Ruth Rendell,Alexander McCall Smith,Bruce Parry,Ray Mears,Frank Skinner,Janet Street-Porter,Roger Moore,Tony Curtis,John Barrowman,Russell T Davies,Dave Gorman,Charley Boorman,Alexei Sayle,Melanie C,Mark Thomas,andLaura Ulewicz.
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ab"Cheltenham Literature Festival".Cheltenham4u. Archived fromthe originalon 25 December 2013.
- ^"The Times Cheltenham Literature Festival".Cheltenham Festivals.Archivedfrom the original on 12 March 2009.Retrieved22 March2009.
- ^"The Big Read".Cheltenham Literature Festival. Archived fromthe originalon 21 June 2017.Retrieved4 June2017.
- ^"UPDATED: Hillary Clinton slams Trump, WikiLeaks and Russia during Cheltenham Literature Festival speech".Gloucestershire Live. Archived fromthe originalon 19 October 2017.Retrieved17 January2018.
- ^"Cheltenham Literature Festival".Cheltenham Literature Festival.Archivedfrom the original on 10 August 2017.Retrieved17 January2018.
- ^"David Cameron in Cheltenham Festival line-up".BBC News.16 August 2019.Archivedfrom the original on 2 October 2019.Retrieved26 February2020.
- ^"The Times and The Sunday Times Cheltenham Literature Festival".British Arts Festivals Association.Retrieved22 July2020.