Literature & Spoken Word

St Annes independent booksellers Storytellers, Inc., are holding two exciting author events this summer. As part of their Independent Booksellers Week programme they are delighted to welcome local author Carys Bray back to Storytellers, Inc. on Thursday 23 June. This will be followed by author Jessie Burton talking about her new book The Muse on Monday 11 July, 7.30 at The Pavillion Café, St Annes. Carys will be introducing her new novel, The Museum of You, at a literary event with a difference. Guests will hop on board the Carys Bray Book Tour Bus and drive down to the seafront for a morning of books, bus-stops and biscuits!…

  Top comedienne and actress Jenny Eclair will bring her literary skills to Blackpool’s Central Library for World Book Night on 23 April when she will be discussing her latest novel ‘Moving’. Already acclaimed by fellow comedian Jo Brand as ‘witty, moving, dark and absorbing’, Jenny’s latest novel tells the story of a woman transported back to her past as she prepares to sell the house she has lived in for the last 50 years. Perhaps best known recently for her appearances in TV’s Loose Women and Grumpy Old Women, Jenny, who grew up in Lytham St Annes as a…

  After the success of their middle-grade festival day, A Midsummer Mystery, independent booksellers Storytellers, Inc. are bringing another exciting day of themed author events to St. Annes. One week before Valentine’s Day they're inviting teens (and their parents!) to an afternoon of events that celebrate friendship, feminism and frankly brilliant books. This empowering afternoon is sure to pass the Bechdel test with a fantastic line-up of current teen/YA authors and a varied programme of activities including: Mini TED-style talks on feminism topics Panel discussion and interviews Girl power games, a team quiz and Spinster bingo Book-signings and hang-outs It’s a…

National Poetry Day: 8 October 2015 - #Makelikeapoet Famous voices Professor Stephen Hawking, Sean Bean, Samantha Morton and Juliet Stevenson call on the nation to ‘make like a poet’ to light Blackpool Illuminations with poetry. So why not dream, speak, love, live, act and think “like a poet” as the day approaches?  The most creative public responses, shared through #nationalpoetryday and #makelikeapoet will be selected by leading graphic artist Anthony Burrill to appear in the Blackpool Illuminations on National Poetry Day. The nationwide celebration of poetry and all things poetical marks its 21st anniversary on Thursday 8 October 2015. The day is an…

This autumn will begin like no other as writer Andrew Michael Hurley launches his thrilling debut novel- The Loney. As exciting as the story’s plot, a unique opportunity has arisen for reading enthusiasts to attend an exclusive evening with the author, quizzing his intentions in writing the book and the influences which induced its creation. As well as this, audiences will be allowed into the world of the story, set on the North-West coast of England, as Hurley reads his most favoured extracts. Set close to home, this debut novel by Lancashire-based author Hurley should indeed draw readers to the…

Blackpool Library Service launched their Summer Reading Challenge yesterday with help from pupils from Thames Primary Schools and local storyteller Dan Worsley. The Summer Reading Challenge is an annual national reading campaign running in libraries across the UK for 4-11 year olds. This years theme is Record Breakers, and what better way to celebrate the launch than with Dan Worsley previewing his latest story about a record breaking swimmer in front of the UK's largest Mirror Ball, They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?, on Blackpool Promenade. It's really easy for young people to take part in the Summer Reading Challenge. Children sign up at…

Debut novelist Tasha Kavanagh has been garnering high praise for Things We Have in Common, a dark and twisted coming of age thriller. A former film editor (including Twelve Monkeys and The Talented My Ripley), Tasha cut her writing teeth on children’s books. Tell me a little about Things We Have in Common? Things We Have in Common is a dark, literary thriller. When 15 year old Yasmin, an overweight, social outcast, sees a sinister man watching Alice Taylor – the girl she herself obsesses about – from the school fence, she gets it into her head that he’s planning…