Richard Ford, Kamila Shamsie and Tim Parks, among others, shed light on the life-affirming joy of rambling, whether through familiar streets or uncharted territory
THE Swindon Festival of Literature returns next month after successfully hosting virtual events during the first lockdown. The town’s long-running cultural extravaganza is using the lessons learned from its first online-only festival in 2020 to bring more fascinating talks by amazing authors to the people of Swindon. More than 40 events will be held between May 3 and 9 via the festival’s website and can be viewed from all over the world. Authors on this year’s line-up include Richard Thompson, Rowan Williams, Miranda Sawyer, Blake Morrison, Jasper Fforde, Ella Al-Shamahi, Natalie Haynes, Ollivier Pourriol, Sally Bayley, Richard Durrant, and Claudia Hammond.
th century expedition to discover the shape of the world. The Yorkshire Vet,
Julian Norton, shares the challenges and hilarity of working with animals revealed in his new book
All Creatures, and the Poet Laureate,
Simon Armitage, will be reading from his latest collection.
On the lighter side, the programme includes several comedians. Writer and former
Bake Off presenter,
The Best Things, and
David Baddiel talks to Edward Stourton about the failures of identity politics outlined in his new book
Jews Don’t Count. One half of the
Peep Show comedy duo,
Come Again which follows the huge success of his memoir
Falstaff, Mistress Quickly and the fairy rulers of A Midsummer Night’s Dream helped the author through a traumatic childhood and feature in her memoir No Boys Play Here