Tamworth LitFest 2017 Celebrates the Written Word
Tamworth’s inaugural Literary Festival (3-11 March 2017), has LOTS to interest fans of all genres and includes theatre, live stand-up and more!
Opening Night
Carol E Wyer, who writes both humorous and thriller fiction, will be opening the festival at 7.00pm on Friday 3rd March at Tamworth Central Methodist Church with her signature stand-up routine alongside Birmingham’s Ministry of Improv (tickets £5 per head). Carol’s recent release, Little Girl Lost, a serial killer novel, reached number 2 in Amazon’s digital download charts.
An Evening with Author Mike Gayle
Meet Romantic Fiction author Mike Gayle on Monday 6th March. Mike, the author of twelve novels including Mr 
Commitment, Turning Thirty and Wish You Were Here, will be at Tamworth Town Hall at 7.00pm (£4 per head). Mike became a full time novelist in 1997 following the publication of his Sunday Times top ten bestseller My Legendary Girlfriend in 1997, which was hailed by The Independent as ‘Full of belly laughs and painfully acute observations,’ and by The Times as ‘A funny, frank account of a hopeless romantic.’
20 Years of Not Being Published…
On Tuesday 7th March local Author Anthony Poulton-Smith presents… 20 Years of Not Being Published. The author of 74 published works, Anthony offers tips and advice based on his mistakes and experiences. The event takes place in Tamworth Central Library at 1.00pm (£3 per ticket).
A Case of Mistaken Identity…
Shoebox Theatre’s performance of the medieval ballad/mummers play King Edward IV and a Tanner
of Tamworth, has its own suspected crime scene. Witness how the hapless Tanner mistakes the king for a common thief and has to face the consequences for his error! The performance takes place at 7.00pm on the evening of Wednesday 8th March at the Central Methodist Church in Tamworth. Tickets priced £4 per person.
Author Crime Panel
A Crime Panel, chaired by Gary Hyde a former policeman takes place on Thursday 9th March. The panel comprises:
Crime fiction writer Hugh Fraser (Captain Hastings from Poirot);
Chris Collett, whose latest publication A Good Death continues the compulsive series of books based in Birmingham, featuring DI Tom Mariner;
Stephen Booth, who writes the iconic Cooper and Fry series set in the Peak District, and
True crime author Gordon Lowe, whose most recent publication examines the notorious Black Panther.
The panel will examine the similarities and differences of writing crime fiction and true crime. The event, which takes place in The Globe Inn, Tamworth at 7.00 pm, costs £5 per head.
The Origins and Meanings of Local Pub Names
On Friday 10th March local Author Anthony Poulton-Smith looks at the Origins and Meanings of Local Pub Names. The event takes place in Tamworth Castle (£3 per ticket, payable at the door).
Thriller Panel
A free to attend Thriller Panel takes place at 2.00 pm Saturday 11th March in St Editha’s Church Hall, featuring AA Abbott and Rob 
Sinclair. AA Abbott writes addictive crime thrillers about murder and mayhem, often set in Birmingham and the City of London. Her latest novel The Vodka Trail is available in e-book and dyslexia-friendly paperback. Rob Sinclair is the author of the critically acclaimed and bestselling Enemy series of espionage thrillers featuring embattled agent Carl Logan. His latest release is the pulsating psychological thriller Dark Fragments.
Free to Attend Book Blasts and More!
J A Heron, author of the Erotic Thriller, 30 Days, and Ian Cawley, author of Gnosis, a Techno/Political Thriller, are just some of the 20+ authors at the festival’s two free Book Blasts in St Editha’s Church Hall on Saturday 4th and Saturday 11th March.
Other authors and genres include: Lucy Felthouse (Erotic Romance), Simon Goodwin (Horror), Pat Spence (Young Adult Paranormal and Romance), Sara Read (Women’s History), Vivian Khan (Cookery and poetry), Heide Goody (humour and paranormal), Sharon Rose (Inspirational and Self-Help) and representatives from New Street Authors (true crime, paranormal, horror, Steam Punk and more).
New Street Authors will also be holding a writing and self and indie publishing session, How Indie Authors Took Over the World, covering how you can turn your ideas into books (March 4th) and a DIY guide to Punk Publishing (11 March). Both sessions are free to attend.
Pop into the Book Blasts anytime between 10am-4.pm to meet authors, publishers and poets for advice and chat. Many books will be on offer and there will be FREE refreshments. To help us plan for the day you can register on our Eventbrite pages:
To Book Tickets
To book tickets telephone 07562 653565/07913 686295 or email tamlitfest@gmail.com
https://www.facebook.com/TamworthLiteraryFestival/
Image of King Edward IV and the Tanner of Tamworth courtesy of Project Gutenberg
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