New name, new image for festival devoted to books
2:52pm Friday 26th September 2008
THE Durham Literature Festival has been revamped and repackaged as the Durham Book Festival - offering a wider range of events to inspire and challenge all ages this year.
The festival has confirmed stars such as Kate Adie and Kate Atkinson, as well as a host of others, with 34 events to be staged across Durham City and the county, from Friday, October 17, to Sunday, October 26.
Organisers say the change of name allows for broader scope of programming, attracting a more diverse audience to the festival, which is a celebration of the book in all its forms.
Durham City Arts operations and events manager Rebecca Kelly-Fry said: "Since the event was first launched 18 years ago, it has has gone from strength-to-strength, with the support of local people.
"It has always provided a really good showcase for local and regional talent, but always remained fairly small."
She said organisers realised it relied heavily on the Arts Council and public funding and it had to "stand on its own two feet".
Ms Kelly-Fry said: "The best way to do that was to broaden the remit and make it more accessible to a wider audience. We have started working much closer with the major publishing houses, to bring the promotion of their new books to the region.
"The revenue attracted by these will support the fringe element of the festival - featuring regional and emerging authors. Two-thirds of the appearances remain regional work, which is a good balance."
Kate Adie, a former Radio Durham broadcaster who went on to report for the BBC from the world's most dangerous war zones, will read from her new book at the Gala Theatre at 7.30pm on Saturday, October 18.
Kate Atkinson, author of Behind the Scenes in the Museum and Human Croquet will be in conversation with Claire Malcolm, the director of New Writing North, at the same venue on Monday, October 20.
Comedian, activist and author Mark Thomas will appear at the Gala Theatre on Tuesday, October 21. He will talk about his latest book and long-running campaign against Coca-Cola.
The main sponsors of the event are Vision Express and Miller Homes, while the partners are the Gala Theatre, Durham City Vision, Durham University and Waterstone's.
For further details, visit www.bookfestival.org.uk.