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X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Dorchester Literary Festival
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261023T140000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261023T150000
DTSTAMP:20260606T022201
CREATED:20260605T104138Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104138Z
UID:10000180-1792764000-1792767600@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Jeremy Hunt – Can We Be Rich Again?
DESCRIPTION:Is Britain stuck in a doom loop of higher debt and higher taxes? Or can we fix the British economy?Jeremy Hunt argues that getting out of Britain’s low growth is a solvable problem\, and that we should approach the country’s economic future with optimism. Hunt asks the key questions: How deliverable are the changes we need by a Labour\, Conservative or Reform government? How do we get the economy growing despite dangerous levels of debt? How do we sell long term reforms when our leaders have so little political capital? But countering pessimism needs solutions not just assertions\, and they need to be realistic – plans that politicians can actually deliver in a democratic system and the majority of the electorate can get behind. \n\n\n\nJeremy Hunt was elected Conservative MP for South West Surrey in 2005. He was first appointed Secretary of State for Health in September 2012\, then served as Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs from July 2018 to July 2019\, and Chancellor of the Exchequer from October 2022 to July 2024. Before his election as an MP\, Jeremy ran his own educational publishing business\, Hotcourses. He also set up a charity to help AIDS orphans in Africa in which he continues to play an active role.  \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/jeremy-hunt-can-we-be-rich-again/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261023T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261023T190000
DTSTAMP:20260606T022201
CREATED:20260605T104138Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104138Z
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SUMMARY:Kathy Lette – The Sisterhood Rules
DESCRIPTION:The Sisterhood Rules: \n\n\n\n\nNever let a man come between you\n\n\n\nShare all your secrets\n\n\n\nLive life to the fullest – girls just wanna have fun\n\n\n\n\nFor twin sisters Isabel and Verity\, the sisterhood rules were shattered when Verity had an affair with Izzy’s husband. Unforgivable\, right? Devastated by her sister’s betrayal\, Izzy casts Verity into social Siberia. \n\n\n\nBut when their mother goes missing\, Verity and Izzy are forced to come together again to find her. And then the estranged sisters’ problems only get bigger. Their mother has a new younger lover and where there’s a will. he’d clearly like to be in it. \n\n\n\nCan they stop their mother making a dreadful mistake? And in doing so find a way to bury the pain of the past? \n\n\n\nFull of laugh-out-loud humour and devastating pathos\, Kathy Lette’s brilliant new novel takes us on a roller-coaster ride which proves that from pain comes healing\, from honesty comes forgiveness\, and that nothing is more important than your sisters.Kathy Lette is a celebrated and outspoken comic writer with an imitable take on serious current issues. One of the pioneering voices of contemporary feminism\, she is the author of twenty novels that have been published in nineteen languages. She was writer in residence at the Savoy Hotel\, and is an Ambassador for The National Autistic Society\, Their World and Ambitious about Autism. \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/kathy-lette-the-sisterhood-rules/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/The-Sisterhood-Rules-scaled.jpg
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261024T103000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261024T113000
DTSTAMP:20260606T022201
CREATED:20260605T104137Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104137Z
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SUMMARY:Dr Sian Williams – The Power of Anxiety: How to ride the worry wave
DESCRIPTION:Anxiety can have an immense power\, affecting the way we think\, feel and behave. Keeping us inside\, away from people\, places and opportunities. Making us question\, doubt or criticise ourselves. Sending us into a sea of worry\, which threatens to overwhelm us.  But what if we stopped trying to fight the waves and\, instead\, learned to ride them? \n\n\n\nThis compelling\, warm and accessible book looks at anxiety differently. It helps us understand how to drop the struggle with it and listen to what it is saying. And to start celebrating the unique sensitivity that makes us feel deeply and intensely – so we can let intuition guide us\, not fear. To see sensitivity as our strength and anxiety as our tool. Not a trap. \n\n\n\nReaders will discover how to live alongside their anxiety well\, with tips\, exercises\, expert research and stories from those who’ve learnt how to ride the worry wave\, including a multi-million album selling musician\, a top author and a national TV presenter. Written by psychologist and broadcaster Dr Sian Williams\, this book explores performance anxiety\, perfectionism\, social anxiety\, panic\, self-criticism and people-pleasing to present a new way to live with anxiety in kinder\, better-informed and more understanding ways. \n\n\n\nDr Sian Williams is an award-winning broadcast journalist and chartered counselling psychologist. She’s spent years counselling those living with anxiety\, both in the UK’s NHS and privately and has also worked with media organisations\, governments and businesses to help prevent staff burnout. One of Britain’s most trusted broadcasters\, having spent four decades in TV and radio\, including eleven years hosting BBC Breakfast\, Sian now presents BBC Radio 4’s Life Changing and BBC Radio 3 Unwind. Anxiety is her lifetime companion. \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/dr-sian-williams-the-power-of-anxiety-how-to-ride-the-worry-wave/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261024T120000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261024T130000
DTSTAMP:20260606T022201
CREATED:20260605T104137Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104137Z
UID:10000183-1792843200-1792846800@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:John Sweeney – The Real Nigel Farage
DESCRIPTION:Nigel Farage is arguably the most consequential British politician of our age\, and on current polling he is set to become the UK prime minister after the next general election. But aspects of his life story remain shrouded in mystery. Who is the real Nigel Farage\, and does he possess the qualities to lead the country at a time of domestic turmoil and international peril? Based on interviews and reporting in the UK and across Europe by the fearless John Sweeney\, The Real Nigel Farage will be published just ahead of the 2026 autumn party conference season as battlelines are drawn for the next election and thecontest to lead the Right intensifies. \n\n\n\nJohn Sweeney is the Reform UK correspondent of The Nerve. As a reporter\, first for the Observer and then for the BBC\, he has covered wars in around 100 countries and has been undercover in the dangerzones of Chechnya\, North Korea and Zimbabwe. The author of 16 books\, including the Sunday Times bestseller The Killer in the Kremlin\, he has challenged both Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin face-to-face. \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/john-sweeney-the-real-nigel-farage/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261024T140000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261024T150000
DTSTAMP:20260606T022201
CREATED:20260605T104136Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104136Z
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SUMMARY:Simon Jenkins – A Short History of America: From Tea Party to Trump
DESCRIPTION:In 2026 the United States of America will celebrate its 250th birthday. How did this vast land\, long inhabited by diverse indigenous cultures\, come to be dominated by English speakers? How has it grappled with the stark contradictions between its ideals of liberty and the grim reality of its ongoingracial divide? This extraordinary collection of fifty distinct states has weathered immense – and recent – challenges\, including a Civil War that was still raging as the first London Underground station opened. And yet the democratic project of the Founding Fathers continues to endure. How did this melting pot of peoples and ideas not only survive but rise to dominate global politics\, commerce\, culture and warfare? What insights does this rich history offer about an increasingly divided yet\, in many ways\, still thriving nation – and the world that moves to its rhythm? \n\n\n\nA Short History of America is rich with vivid characters – from arrogant conquistadors and idealistic revolutionaries to imperial presidents – and the most foundational and formative events\, from Colombus’ arrival and the Declaration of Independence\, right through to the War on Terror and a former president facing criminal charges. This is a gripping must-read\, based in part on years of close observation\, for anyone seeking to understand our world today.Simon Jenkins is author of the bestselling A Short History of England\, A Short History of Europe\, Britain’s 100 Best Railway Stations\, England’s Thousand Best Churches and England’s Thousand Best Houses. He is a former Editor of the Evening Standard and The Times\, and columnist for the Guardian. \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/simon-jenkins-a-short-history-of-america-from-tea-party-to-trump/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261024T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261024T190000
DTSTAMP:20260606T022201
CREATED:20260605T104135Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104135Z
UID:10000185-1792864800-1792868400@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Alison Steadman – Out of Character: A Memoir
DESCRIPTION:The first memoir from the national treasure\, critically acclaimed actress and much-loved Gavin &Stacey star. Candice Marie in Nuts in May\, Beverly in Abigail’s Party\, Mrs Bennet in Pride and Prejudice\, Betty in Fat Friends\, Sue in Here We Go and Pamela in Gavin & Stacey: Just a few of the beloved\, iconic characters brought to life by the magnificent Alison Steadman. \n\n\n\nGrowing up in post-war\, working-class Liverpool\, the young Alison – ever the entertainer – would address the world from the stage of her bedroom window\, until she got a taste for performing in front of an actual audience at her progressive 1960s drama school. By the time she left\, her mind was made up: she was going to be an actress! If only she could conquer the onstage giggling … \n\n\n\nAlways pushing boundaries – reclining naked on a sofa in her first role\, embracing groundbreaking female characters from day one – Alison has deservedly found acclaim and recognition\, succeeding inher TV and theatre career while juggling family life – a difficult feat for any working mother\, but particularly for an actress in the twentieth century. From the nervy Mrs Bennet to the robo-dancing Pam-el-aah\, Alison has proved herself again and again to be a comedy genius. Here\, with her distinctive warmth and humour\, she vividly recalls all the must- read moments of a life spent in and out of character. \n\n\n\nAlison Steadman is one of the best-loved English actresses. She has achieved recognition across television\, film and stage. She has won an Olivier\, a National Society of Film Critic Award\, and has been nominated for two BAFTAs. She lives in London with her partner Michael and is a keen birdwatcher and patron for the RSPB. Alison was awarded an OBE in 2000. \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/alison-steadman-out-of-character-a-memoir/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Alison-Steadman-jacket.jpg
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