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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261020T103000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261020T113000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20260605T104148Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104148Z
UID:10000169-1792492200-1792495800@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Frank Tallis – Wise: Finding purpose\, meaning and wisdom beyond the midpoint of life
DESCRIPTION:We are living longer and\, thanks to medical advances\, our lifespan after the middle years continues to extend. But how do you age wisely? How do you remain psychologically healthy and fully engagedgiven the immense and daunting challenges of later life – regrets\, loss\, disappointments\, physical deterioration\, and mortality? \n\n\n\nFrom ancient Greece to the 21st century\, philosophers and psychologists have considered these questions\, and remarkably\, their opinions converge. There is a single essential task – integration – that once accomplished\, equips us to cope with the many problems we are likely to encounter as we get older. What’s more\, their insights are supported by cutting-edge neuroscience. \n\n\n\nFrank Tallis examines ways to embrace and accept our mortality when our brains are hard-wired to resist it\, how we can achieve meaning in our lives\, and how we can understand the passage of time and make the most of it. \n\n\n\nDr Frank Tallis is a writer and clinical psychologist. His books include The Incurable Romantic\, The Actof Living and Mortal Secrets: Freud\, Vienna and The Discovery of the Modern Mind\, which was a Times book of the year. \n\n\n\nTickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/frank-tallis-wise-finding-purpose-meaning-and-wisdom-beyond-the-midpoint-of-life/
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/wise-jacket-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261019T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261019T190000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20260605T104148Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T121146Z
UID:10000190-1792432800-1792436400@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Tony Juniper – Just Earth: How a Fairer World Will Save the Planet
DESCRIPTION:From wildfires and floods\, to food poverty\, degraded rivers\, mass migration and conflict\, the environmental crisis is already here – and it’s set to get worse. How can people lead good lives without ultimately hastening global collapse\, and how might we ask those in developing countries to reject the consumerist culture that has seized richer nations? \n\n\n\nIn this extraordinary\, hopeful book\, leading environmentalist Tony Juniper shows the answer lies in fairness. We can’t fight the climate and nature crises without addressing the ever-widening gaps between rich and poor\, the powerful and the weak. Green technologies won’t work on their own – in order to save and restore the natural systems which sustain society\, the economy and civilisation\, it is vital that we break the traps set by inequalities. Including a range of interviews with globally renowned experts and drawing upon 40 years of research\, influence\, campaigning and advocacy\, in Just Earth\,Tony Juniper provides answers to how we can achieve real\, lasting change.Tony Juniper CBE is a prominent environmental figure\, Chair of the British Government’s official conservation agency Natural England and a Fellow with the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. His books include the multi-award winning What Has Nature Ever Done For Us? and Harmony\, which was co-authored with His Majesty King Charles III. \n\n\n\nTickets £12.00 (£10.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/tony-juniper-just-earth-how-a-fairer-world-will-save-the-planet/
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/2026/06/Just-Earth-Jacket-Image.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261019T160000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261019T170000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20260605T104149Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104149Z
UID:10000168-1792425600-1792429200@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Charlie Walker – On Thin Ice
DESCRIPTION:In early 2022\, Charlie Walker set out to hike 600 miles along Siberia’s frozen rivers. He hoped to learn who its people are and how they reckon with their haunted past\, as well as what the future might hold for this remote corner of the world. Camping in temperatures down to -50 degrees\, exploring semi-deserted villages\, meeting indigenous Arctic reindeer herders and those whose parents survived the Gulag camps\, Walker’s solo trek provides a fascinating insight into the coldest inhabited place on earth. But then\, on February 24\, Russia invaded Ukraine\, with dire consequences for the author. What had begun as an adventure descended into a paranoid nightmare towards the end of the journey as Walker began to suspect he was being monitored by the Russian authorities. Upon finishing the hike he was arrested and imprisoned. \n\n\n\nOn Thin Ice juxtaposes the harsh beauty of a Siberian winter with a thriller-like series of events that exposes the dark heart of Putin’s propaganda machine. It is both the extraordinary record of one man’s walk through the most inhospitable place on earth and a powerful insight into a deeply troubled – and troubling – nation. \n\n\n\nCHARLIE WALKER is an award-winning explorer\, author and international keynote speaker. He has travelled over 60\,000 miles by foot\, horse\, raft\, bicycle\, ski and dugout canoe\, in places as varied as the Tibetan plateau\, the Mongolian steppe\, the Congolese jungle\, the Arctic tundra\, the highlands of New Guinea and the Sahara Desert. He is an elected Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society\, a ScientificExploration Society Explorer Award winner\, and the author of Through Sand & Snow and On Roads That Echo. \n\n\n\nTickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/charlie-walker-on-thin-ice/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/on-thin-ice-cover.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261019T140000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261019T150000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20260605T104149Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104149Z
UID:10000167-1792418400-1792422000@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Monisha Rajesh – Moonlight Express
DESCRIPTION:The wonder of the night train: headlamps ablaze\, passengers boarding after sunset and leaving before sunrise\, slipping in and out of compartments unseen. For Monisha Rajesh\, the singular thrill of sleeper trains inspired a new journey around the world – one filled with moonlit landscapes\, cosy compartments and quirky companions. \n\n\n\nFrom Austria’s Nightjet to Scotland’s Caledonian Sleeper and Finland’s Santa Claus Express\, Rajeshinvites us on a multi-year adventure aboard the world’s most wondrous awe-inspiring trains. Along the way she samples reindeer stew on the night-train to Norway\, sips on pisco sours while riding theBelmond Andean Explorer to the shores of Lake Titicaca – and considers a game of cricket down acarriage on the Shalimar Express. \n\n\n\nA decade ago night trains were giving way to budget airlines and high-speed rail. But as people search for slower and more environmentally friendly ways to travel\, night trains are in the midst of a renaissance. \n\n\n\nBy turns romantic and hilarious\, Moonlight Express brings us along for the ride – and drops us back at the platform before sunrise. \n\n\n\nMONISHA RAJESH is a British journalist whose writing has appeared in Time Magazine\, The New York Times\, and Vanity Fair. Her first book\, Around India in 80 Trains\, was named one of the Independent’s best books on India. Her second book\, Around the World in 80 Trains\, won the National Geographic Traveller Book of the Year and was shortlisted for the Stanford Dolman Travel Book of the Year. In 2024 she was named in Condé Nast Traveller’s Women Who Travel Power List. \n\n\n\nTickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/monisha-rajesh-moonlight-express/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/moonlight-express-cover.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261019T123000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261019T133000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20260605T104150Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104150Z
UID:10000166-1792413000-1792416600@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Brian Jackman – Lion Song: A Portrait of Wild Africa
DESCRIPTION:For five decades\, Brian Jackman\, Britain’s foremost safari writer\, has witnessed Africa’s wildlife drama unfold at the front line. From his first encounter with a roaring lion in Kenya’s Masai Mara in 1974\, to documenting the famous Marsh Lions that captivated millions through the BBC’s Big Cat Diary\, Jackman has chronicled both the majesty and fragility of Africa’s wilderness. Throughout his career\, Brian has  championed the cause of wildlife conservation\, to highlight the importance of preserving Africa’s wilderness for future generations. His dedication to the continent’s wildlife and landscapes has earned him widespread acclaim in the realm of travel literature. \n\n\n\nIn this poignant memoir Jackman charts the progress of African conservation\, from the days when over a million elephants flourished\, to today\, when living elephants\, though precious to tourism\, face extinction from poaching. Through vivid encounters with legendary conservationists such as George Adamson\, and graphic accounts of anti-poaching wars\, Jackman reveals a continent where lions greet the dawn\, but may not for much longer. \n\n\n\nBrian Jackman is a freelance journalist and author with a lifetime’s passion for travel and wildlife\, who has worked for The Sunday Times and the BBC. He was voted Travel Writer of the Year in 1982 and won the BBC TV’s Wildscreen award for the best commentary script\, Osprey. Retired from mainstream travel writing\, following his 90th birthday last year\, he still writes regularly for Travel Africa Magazine. Brian is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society\, an enthusiastic supporter of Tusk Trust and a former trustee of the George Adamson Wildlife Preservation Trust. \n\n\n\nTickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/brian-jackman-lion-song-a-portrait-of-wild-africa/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/lion-song-cover-scaled.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261019T103000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261019T113000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20260605T104150Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104150Z
UID:10000165-1792405800-1792409400@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Anjana Khatwa – The Whispers of Rock
DESCRIPTION:A poetic journey through deep time\, in which geologist Anjana Khatwa weaves scientific knowledge with traditional stories to bring alive the stories that rock holds and tells us. \n\n\n\nFrom the sacred stones of Stonehenge to the rose red city of Petra\, from towering mountains to the smallest grains of sand\, rocks have had a profound influence on human life. Anjana Khatwa\, explains how rocks have been shaped over the eons and how they have shaped us. Boldly alternating between modern science and ancient lore\, Khatwa takes us on an exhilarating journey through deep time from bursting volcanoes in the Andes to the wonder of the Dorset coastline\, while honouring the Indigenous stories that have brought the land alive over the millennia. \n\n\n\nDr Anjana Khatwa is an award-winning earth scientist who has worked for several universities\, the Jurassic Coast World Heritage Site and the National Trust. A contributor and presenter of TV programmes for the BBC and ITV\, she holds the Geographical Award for public engagement by the Royal Geographical Society\, the RH Worth Award by the Geological Society of London and the Halstead Medal from the Geologists’ Association. In 2021\, she received a National Diversity Award in recognition of her work to champion inclusion within earth science and natural heritage\, and was longlisted for the Nan Shepherd Prize for nature writing. She lives with her family in Dorset in a house filled with rocks and fossils collected from all over the world. The Whispers of Rock is her first book. \n\n\n\nTickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/anjana-khatwa-the-whispers-of-rock/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/the-whispers-of-rock-cover.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261018T110000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261018T140000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20260605T104151Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T110512Z
UID:10000188-1792321200-1792332000@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Literary Walk with Mark Chutter
DESCRIPTION:11.00amLITERARY WALK: WESSEX WRITERSThe Dorchester Literary Festival Walk will be on Sunday 18 October 11am followed by cream tea at the Old Tea House 1-2pm.Join Mark Chutter\, Chairman and Academic Director of the Thomas Hardy Society\, for a fascinating walk exploring the literary writers of Dorchester including Thomas Hardy\, William Barnes \, the Powys brothers and Sylvia Townsend Warner.Dogs welcome\, walking boots recommended.Meet at the Thomas Hardy Statue at Top ’O Town at 11.00
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/literary-walk-with-mark-chutter/
LOCATION:Thomas Hardy Statue\, Top o' Town\, Dorchester
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/hardy-top-o-town-portrait-scaled.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261017T170000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261017T180000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20260605T104153Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104153Z
UID:10000164-1792256400-1792260000@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Jung Chang – Fly Wild Swans: My Mother\, Myself and China
DESCRIPTION:Jung Chang’s Wild Swans was a book that defined a generation\, an epic personal history of Jung\, her mother and grandmother – ‘three daughters of China’. From her grandmother’s birth in 1909 under the last emperor\, through Mao Zedong’s rule\, the Cultural Revolution during which Jung’s parents were subject to unbelievable suffering\, it finishes as the end of the Mao era in 1978 with Jung’s emigration to Britain. At the time she was one of the first Chinese to leave Communist China for the West. \n\n\n\nNearly half a century on\, China has risen from a decrepit\, isolated state to a global power. Through those decades\, Jung’s life has been intimately entwined with her native land. \n\n\n\nFly\, Wild Swans is the sequel and brings the story of Jung’s family – along with that of China – up to date. China is now at another watershed moment: Xi Jinping is seeking to turn the country back towards the old Maoist days and build a Communist state with capitalist features. This new era is greatly affecting the lives of Jung and her mother who still lives in China. Through the arc of their respective lives\, Jung gives an immersive\, deeply moving and unforgettable account of what it is like to live in a communist dictatorship and the threats modern China poses to the international world order. \n\n\n\nJUNG CHANG was born in Sichuan Province\, China in 1952. During the Cultural Revolution she worked as a peasant\, a “barefoot” doctor\, a steelworker\, and an electrician before becoming an English-language student at Sichuan University. She left China for Britain in 1978 and obtained a PhD in Linguistics in 1982 at the University of York – the first person from Communist China to receive a doctorate from a British university. \n\n\n\nShe is the author of Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China\, which has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. She wrote a ground-breaking trilogy of the history and personalities of modern China: Mao: The Unknown Story (with Jon Halliday); Empress Dowager Cixi; and Big Sister\, Little Sister\, Red Sister.  She has been awarded a CBE  for services to literature and to history.  \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/jung-chang-fly-wild-swans-my-mother-myself-and-china/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/fly-wild-swans-cover.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261017T150000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261017T160000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20260605T104153Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104153Z
UID:10000163-1792249200-1792252800@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Andrew Lownie – Entitled
DESCRIPTION:With sensational new material\, biographer Andrew Lownie brings the most extraordinary and dramatic royal story in a generation up to date. \n\n\n\nTracing the lives of the former Prince and his ex-wife Sarah Ferguson through their childhoods\, courtship\, marriage\, divorce\, careers\, charitable activities\, and ultimate downfall\, this is eye-watering biography at its best. \n\n\n\nInvestigating the reality of their relationship\, Andrew’s Falklands record and business dealings\, how they funded their extravagant lifestyles as well as their links with Jeffrey Epstein\, Lownie’s rigorously researched account is packed full of revelations\, painting a detailed picture that has changed the monarchy forever. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nANDREW LOWNIE was educated at Magdalene College\, Cambridge\, where he was President of the Union\, before taking his master’s and doctorate at Edinburgh University. A Fellow of the Royal Historical Society\, he later returned to Cambridge as a visiting fellow at Churchill College. He has been a bookseller\, publisher\, journalist writing for The Times\, Telegraph\, Wall Street Journal\, Spectator\, Guardian and since 1988 has run his own literary agency.  He is President of the Biographers Club\, sits on the board of Biographers International Organisation and is a Trustee of the Campaign for Freedom of Information. His books include the prize-winning Stalin’s Englishman: The Lives of Guy Burgess (2015) and the top ten Sunday Times bestsellers The Mountbattens: Their Lives and Loves (2019) and Traitor King: The Scandalous Exile of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (2021). \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/andrew-lownie-entitled/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/webp:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/entitled-cover.webp
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261017T130000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261017T140000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20260605T104154Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104154Z
UID:10000161-1792242000-1792245600@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Vassos Alexander – Swimmingly
DESCRIPTION:Much-loved sports presenter\, author and endurance-athlete Vassos Alexander got bitten by the swimming bug during lockdown – heading to his local patch of the Thames to find distraction and solace during that hot summer. Now he can’t pass a body of water without wanting to jump in. Swimmingly is Vassos’ rip-roaring account of how he came to love cold-water swimming\, the trials and tribulations of being an outdoor swimmer\, and the incredible stories of inspirational people he meets on this journey. Vassos discovers that outdoor swimming is not about being the fastest or the best\, it’s about finding a little bit of magic in every stroke\, and he uncovers the massive sense of community at the heart of this time-honoured pastime. Along the way he interviews the great and good of the swimming world (Diana Nyad\, Lewis Pugh\, Lynne Cox and more)\, and he covers timely and important ground including the water quality in the UK and why we all need to be fighting for us and our wildlife to be able to experience our bodies of water safely. \n\n\n\nVassos Alexander is one of the best known sports presenters in the UK. He co-hosts The Chris Evans Breakfast Show on Virgin Radio and has covered every sporting event imaginable\, from Olympic Games to World Cups. He is the author of three bestselling books\, including Don’t Stop Me Now and Running Up That Hill. Vassos lives in London – and of course an ice bath in the garden!  \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/vassos-alexander-swimmingly/
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/Swimmingly-Jacket-Image.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20261017T110000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20261017T120000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20260605T104155Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20260605T104155Z
UID:10000162-1792234800-1792238400@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Martin Sixsmith – Suing the Kremlin: The battle for Putin’s Billions
DESCRIPTION:A quarter of a century in power has allowed Vladimir Putin to enrich himself. He has plundered Russia’s resources\, confiscated private businesses and persecuted those who stood against him including Boris Berezovsky\, Vladimir Gusinsky\, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Bill Browder putting their assets under the control of his friends and cronies\, who creamed off billions from nominally-state owned corporations. In 2022 Fortune Magazine estimated Putin’s personal fortune at $200 billion. The revenues he stole created an unparalleled war chest used to pay for the invasion of Ukraine. \n\n\n\nThis is the fascinating story of what has happened to the men that Putin dispossessed and where their money went. A small team of legal experts has spent the last twenty years pursuing Putin in the courts of the world. These legal experts are based in London and they are set on reclaiming this enormous wealth. The effect on the War in Ukraine will be just one result of their determined efforts. \n\n\n\nMartin Sixsmith is a British author and radio/television presenter. His book The Lost Child of Philomena Lee\, was the basis for the 2013 film Philomena\, in which Sixsmith is played by Steve Coogan. \n\n\n\nTickets £16.00 (£12.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/martin-sixsmith-suing-the-kremlin-the-battle-for-putins-billions/
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/Suing-the-Kremlin_Martin-Sixsmith-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251120T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251120T200000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250513T085120Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20251117T111643Z
UID:10000107-1763661600-1763668800@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Poetry Slam with Angie Porter
DESCRIPTION:An open mic event for local writers and poets.  \n\n\n\nJoin us to hear poets read and perform their work. To sign up to participate at this event please contact us directly via contact@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com or just come along and listen. \n\n\n\nAngie Porter is a local poet\, performer and painter who brings creativity to the fore in whatever she does. Her monthly She Speaks poetry slams are hugely popular and Angie is actively involved in promoting new poetry work.  \n\n\n\nTickets £6.00
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/poetry-slam-with-angie-porter-3/
LOCATION:Shire Hall Museum Cafe\, High West Street\, Dorchester\, DT1 1UY\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/poetry-slam-poster-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251112T173000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251112T183000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250513T084507Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250915T095015Z
UID:10000125-1762968600-1762972200@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Martin Clunes – Meetings With Remarkable Animals
DESCRIPTION:Please note that this event has been rescheduled for 12th November. Existing ticket holders can email contact@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com if they are unable to make this date and wish to request a refund.  \n\n\n\nInspired by Martin Clunes’ own adoption of a former guide dog\, Meetings With Remarkable Animals celebrates the fascinating\, moving and sometimes astonishing ways animals have enriched our lives. From search and rescue dogs to mine-sniffing rats\, and life-saving dolphins\, to therapy horses and medal-winning cats and pigeons\, the stories brought to life will charm\, surprise and astonish in equal measure. \n\n\n\nTogether with his own life-changing encounters with animals around the world\, Martin has celebrated the intelligence\, loyalty\, and companionship of some truly extraordinary creatures whose lives have been entwined with our own.  \n\n\n\nMartin Clunes has been a familiar and much-loved face on our television screens since the 1990s. Alongside appearing in hit shows like Men Behaving Badly and Doc Martin\, he has presented numerous documentaries from around the world including Lemurs of Madagascar\, Islands of the Pacific and A Dog Called Laura. He was awarded the OBE in 2015 for his contribution to drama\, charity and the community in Dorset where he lives with his family and lots of animals. \n\n\n\nTickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/martin-clunes-meetings-with-remarkable-animals/
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/2025/03/Meetings-with-Remarkable-Animals-PB-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251025T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251025T193000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250513T084732Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250724T111332Z
UID:10000135-1761417000-1761420600@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Jeremy Vine – Murder on Line One
DESCRIPTION:Darkness looms over sunny Sidmouth\, when an unsolved murder comes to the attention of late-night radio talk show host Edward Temmis. \n\n\n\nRecently sacked from his beloved job after a devastating tragedy\, Edward is cast adrift – until he meets Stevie\, whose grandmother\, a devoted listener\, died in a suspicious fire last year. Well\, nobody hurts his listeners and helping Stevie might just give him the purpose he needs. \n\n\n\nJoined by his old fling\, Kim\, they discover Stevie’s grandmother wasn’t the only one of his listeners targeted – this is just the tip of the iceberg. \n\n\n\nBut who is pursuing his ageing audience and why? And can Edward\, Stevie and Kim get to the bottom of this mystery before it’s too late? \n\n\n\nJeremy Vine is a journalist and broadcaster who reaches millions of listeners and viewers per week. He hosts a daily breakfast show on Channel 5 and a peak slot on BBC Radio 2 every lunchtime\, presenting news\, views\, interviews and popular guests on Britain’s most listened-to radio news programme. He has previously hosted Eggheads\, Points of View\, Crimewatch and Panorama among others\, and presents the general election infographics. His early obsession was with Agatha Christie\, after his mum gave him Hercule Poirot’s Christmas when he was eleven. By eighteen he had read all sixty-six Agathas\, but he waited forty years to write about his first murder. He lives in London with his wife and two daughters. In his spare time\, he rides a penny farthing. \n\n\n\nTickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/jeremy-vine-murder-on-line-one/
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/2025/05/Murder-on-Line-One-jkt.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251025T143000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251025T153000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250513T083549Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250724T111107Z
UID:10000126-1761402600-1761406200@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Jonathan Sumption – The Challenges of Democracy
DESCRIPTION:Across the globe\, democracy is in crisis – in the UK it has been rocked by Brexit\, the pandemic and successive attempts by governments to bypass legal norms. But how did this happen\, and where might we go from here? In a  provocative series of essays\, former Supreme Court judge and Sunday Times-bestselling author\, Jonathan Sumption cuts through the political noise with acute analysis of the state of democracy today – from the vulnerabilities of international law\, to the deepening suppression of democracy activism in Hong Kong\, and from the complexities of human rights legislation to the defence of freedom of speech. \n\n\n\nTimely\, incisive and wholly original\, The Challenges of Democracy applies the brilliance of the ‘cleverest man in Britain’ to the most urgent and far-reaching political issue of our day. \n\n\n\nJonathan Sumption is a British judge and historian\, who served as a Supreme Court Justice from 2012 – 2018. He is the author of the Sunday Times bestseller Trials of the State\, Law in a Time of Crisis\, and Divided Houses\, which won the 2009 Wolfson History Prize. \n\n\n\nJonathan Sumption will be in conversation with Jo Durrant. \n\n\n\nTickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/jonathan-sumption-the-challenges-of-democracy/
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/2025/03/Jonathan-sumption-Jacket-image-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251025T130000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251025T140000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250513T083215Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250730T105327Z
UID:10000132-1761397200-1761400800@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Gyles Brandreth – Somewhere a Boy and a Bear – A Biography of A A Milne and Winnie-the- Pooh
DESCRIPTION:Next year marks the centenary of the publication of Winnie-the-Pooh\, one of the best-selling children’s books of all time. Best-selling biographer Gyles Brandreth knew the real Christopher Robin and his new book is both an intimate and revealing biography of A A Milne (to whom there was so much more than Pooh) and a fascinating exploration of fathers and sons\, children and their parents and the nature of childhood itself.   \n\n\n\nGyles Brandreth is a writer\, broadcaster\, actor\, former MP and Lord Commissioner of the Treasury\, now Chancellor of the University of Chester and one of Britain’s most sought-after award ceremony hosts and after-dinner speakers. A star of Celebrity Gogglebox\, a veteran of QI and Have I Got News For You\, a reporter on The One Show\, a presenter on Pointless\, a guest on Would I Lie to You? and Sunday Brunch\, a regular on This Morning\, and since the 1980s one of the mainstays of Just a Minute on BBC Radio 4\, his recent books include a biography of Queen Elizabeth II: Elizabeth: an intimate portrait – an immediate Sunday Times No 1 best-seller. \n\n\n\nTickets £32 including a copy of the book. £46 for two tickets including one book. Friends discount applies to ticket only.
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/gyles-brandreth-somewhere-a-boy-and-a-bear-the-extraordinary-story-of-a-a-milne-christopher-robin-and-winnie-the-pooh/
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/2025/05/Somewhere-A-Boy-A-Bear-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251025T110000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251025T120000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250513T082545Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250724T111000Z
UID:10000124-1761390000-1761393600@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Christopher Summerfield – These Strange New Minds
DESCRIPTION:In the first authoritative book to explain how AI works and what it means\, the Research Director at the UK government’s AI Safety Institute explains how advances in digital technology have given us a new wave of disarmingly human-like AI systems\, set to upturn our economies\, challenge  democracies\, and refashion society in unpredictable ways. These systems will soon be making autonomous decisions on the user’s behalf\, transforming everything we do.  \n\n\n\nChristopher Summerfield shows you how AI actually works in language anyone can understand\, explaining how ChatGPT and Bard have set off a meteoric rise in interest surrounding AI but all we’re talking about are techno-utopias or predictions of doom. Can AI systems ‘think’\, ‘know’ and ‘understand’? Could they manipulate or deceive you\, and if so\, what might they make you do? Whose interests do they ultimately represent? And when will they be able to move beyond words and take actions for themselves in the real world? Ultimately\, can we look forward to a technological utopia\, or are we in the process of writing ourselves out of history? \n\n\n\nChristopher Summerfield is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Oxford\, and Research Director at the AI Safety Institute (AISI)\, the UK’s pioneering state-backed organisation dedicated to ensuring that advanced AI technology is both safe and beneficial for society. \n\n\n\nTickets £12.00 (£8.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/christopher-summerfield-these-strange-new-minds/
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/2025/03/these-strange-new-minds-jkt.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251025T100000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251025T160000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250605T115802Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250613T140113Z
UID:10000145-1761386400-1761408000@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:PBFA Dorchester Book Fair
DESCRIPTION:Independent sellers will be offering antiquarian & second hand books\, modern firsts\, signed editions\, prints\, maps and ephemera at the Dorchester book fair\, in the stunning Victorian Hall of the Dorset Museum & Art Gallery. Coinciding with the final day of the Dorchester Literary Festival – this is a new addition to a week packed with author talks and events\, which has become a calendar staple for book lovers on the South Coast. \n\n\n\nWhy not make a day of it and couple your visit with a tour of the Dorset Museum and Art Gallery\, including Thomas Hardy’s study and special collections library. \n\n\n\nOrganised by Endpaper Books. Members of the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association | Instagram & Facebook @ endpaper_books \n\n\n\nEntry £1 – or download a complimentary ticket via the PBFA website – www.pbfa.org
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/pbfa-dorchester-book-fair/
LOCATION:Dorset Museum\, High West Street\, Dorchester\, DT1 1XA\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Book-fair-image.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251024T190000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251024T200000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250512T150819Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250724T110835Z
UID:10000134-1761332400-1761336000@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:John Agard and Philip Nanton – Caribbean Sensations
DESCRIPTION:Join us in a special event of poetry\, musicality and conversation to showcase the Caribbean culture that has helped to transform Britain. Featuring the acclaimed poet John Agard who has been a recipient of the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry and whose poetry has been enjoyed by many generations of the public through the national curriculum\, alongside poet and broadcaster Philip Nanton who created the spoken word CD and book Island Voices\, it celebrates wordplay\, crossing cultures and the art of liming (going with the flow).  \n\n\n\nJohn Agard is an internationally acclaimed poet\, playwright and short story writer who grew up in Guyana\, where his love of language stemmed from listening to cricket commentaries on the radio as well as books.  As an admired cross-cultural voice\, he is well known for his inspiring work with young people and adults\, particularly his visits to schools. His poems have been studied at GCSE for decades which means that thousands of intergenerational families have grown up with his words and writing.  Agard was the first Poet in Residence for the BBC and he has been featured in numerous poetry and Windrush seasons on TV and radio.  A recipient of many prizes\, including the Smarties Book Prize and the Queen’s Gold Medal for Poetry\, he was in 2021 awarded the prestigious BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to children’s literature. His poems have been studied at GCSE for decades which means that thousands of intergenerational families have grown up with his words and writing.  \n\n\n\nPhilip Nanton is a poet\, a spoken word artist who often incorporates humour within his practice and a broadcaster who has presented programmes for BBC Radio 3 and 4. He was born in St.Vincent and the Grenadines and after spending substantial time in the UK\, has been based in Barbados since 2000. His career began in British local government policymaking and he has been an overseas consultant in many regions including Britain\, the Caribbean and Africa. Nanton has taught poetry to teachers across the Caribbean countries. He is the author of various books and cds including Island Voices from St. Christopher and the Barracudas has been widely acclaimed and has been performed at many literary festivals and shows including Miami International Book Fair\, Bocas Literary Festival. In 2021\, his biography of the  jazz virtuoso and award winning poet Shake Keane Riff: The Shake Keane Story was published by Papillote Press. \n\n\n\nThis event is presented and sponsored by Renaissance One\, co-produced by Wey Valley Academy\, supported by funding by Arts Council England and sponsorship from Authentic Education. \n\n\n\nTickets £12.00 (£8.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/john-agard-and-philip-nanton-caribbean-sensations/
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/2025/04/John-Agard-courtesy-of-Renaissance-One.jpeg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251024T170000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251024T180000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250715T155848Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250819T081625Z
UID:10000153-1761325200-1761328800@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Sarah Vine – How Not To Be a Political Wife
DESCRIPTION:An unflinching account of life at the heart of politics\, and what it’s like to have politics rip the heart out of your life. This is a story of high hopes and dirty tricks\, broken friendships and divided loyalties\, laughter and glamour.  \n\n\n\nRecollections\, as a great woman once said\, may of course vary\, but\, Sarah says: ‘this is my story\, the way I remember it\, written with no fear\, no favour – and no f…s left to give. Buckle up!’ \n\n\n\nI thought long and hard about writing this memoir. I’ve done so not to settle old scores or plead my case\, but more because I hope it’s a tale worth telling\, not just for those who are interested in the political events of the past few years\, but also because it’s about the people and characters behind those events\, and why things ended up the way they did. For nearly 20 years I was inside the rooms of government\, a sanctioned eavesdropper on the rise – and fall – of the Cameron style of Conservatism. At the same time I was building a career in journalism\, raising two children and doing my best to support my own husband\, Michael Gove\, on his political journey. I was both an insider and an outsider; an observer – via my journalism – as well as a participant in the cut and thrust (mainly cut\, if I’m honest) of frontline politics. \n\n\n\nAfter my divorce from Michael and the demise of the Conservatives’ Old Guard\, that all came to an end. I’m no longer officially a Westminster WAG\, but you won’t find me mourning. Politics trampled my health\, my happiness\, my marriage\, my sanity; it placed intolerable pressure on my loved ones\, especially my children; it twisted my sense of self\, and others’ sense of me; it tainted everything I did or said. I can’t say I miss it. I do\, however\, miss the life and the relationships I had before it all. These are the recollections of a survivor\, but they are also a love letter to all that was lost in the wreck.’Born in Wales in 1967\, Sarah grew up in Italy\, returning to the UK as a teenager. She read modern languages at UCL before moving into journalism\, starting at the Daily Mirror before joining The Times. Sarah is now an award-winning columnist for the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday. She lives in London with the kids and (too many) animals. \n\n\n\nSarah Vine will be in conversation with Jo Durrant \n\n\n\nTickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/sarah-vine-how-not-to-be-a-political-wife/
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/2025/07/How-Not-to-be-a-Political-Wife-jacket.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251024T150000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251024T160000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250512T145725Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250730T102226Z
UID:10000123-1761318000-1761321600@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Rev Richard Coles – A Death on Location
DESCRIPTION:In the spring of 1990\, we return to Champton\, where the characters we’ve come to love are all aflutter as a glamorous Hollywood movie takes over Champton House as its set location. \n\n\n\nAs the actors and extras hired from the village don their farthingales\, gowns and crowns for a masque set in the 1600s\, a murder interrupts filming on set – and it’s an ingenious one… \n\n\n\nCan Daniel solve the mystery with help from his sidekick Detective Sergeant Neil Vanloo – even when things are so sticky between them? \n\n\n\nRichard Coles is a writer\, broadcaster and an Anglican priest. He co-presented Saturday Live on BBC Radio 4 for a number of years and appears\, from time to time\, on QI\, Have I Got News For You and Would I Lie To You? He has won Christmas MasterChef\, Celebrity Mastermind twice\, and captained Leeds to victory in Christmas University Challenge in 2019. A contestant on Strictly Come Dancing (2017) and a third place finalist on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! (2024). \n\n\n\nHe writes regularly for the Sunday Times\, and is the author of half a dozen books\, including a bestselling autobiography\, Fathomless Riches\, and the bereavement bestseller The Madness of Grief\, written after the death of his partner\, David Coles. The first three books in the Canon Clement series have all been No.1 Sunday Times bestsellers. \n\n\n\nTickets £29 including a copy of the book. £43 for two tickets including one book. Friends discount only applies to ticket cost.
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/rev-richard-coles-a-death-on-set/
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/2025/03/DeathonLocation-jkt-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251024T130000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251024T140000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250512T145511Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250515T160807Z
UID:10000120-1761310800-1761314400@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Anne Sebba – The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz
DESCRIPTION:In 1943\, German SS officers in charge of Auschwitz-Birkenau ordered that an orchestra should be formed among the female prisoners. Almost fifty women and girls from eleven nations were drafted into a hurriedly assembled band that would play marching music to other inmates\, forced labourers who left each morning and returned\, exhausted and often broken\, at the end of the day. While still living amid the most brutal and dehumanising of circumstances\, they were also made to give weekly concerts for Nazi officers\, and individual members were sometimes summoned to give solo performances of an officer’s favourite piece of music. It was the only entirely female orchestra in any of the Nazi prison camps and\, for almost all of the musicians chosen to take part\, being in the orchestra was to save their lives. \n\n\n\nWhat role could music play in a death camp? What was the effect on those women who owed their survival to their participation in a Nazi propaganda project? And how did it feel to be forced to provide solace to the perpetrators of a genocide that claimed the lives of their family and friends? In The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz\, award-winning historian Anne Sebba traces these tangled questions of deep moral complexity with sensitivity and care. \n\n\n\nFrom Alma Rosé\, the orchestra’s main conductor\, niece of Gustav Mahler and a formidable pre-war celebrity violinist\, to Anita Lasker-Wallfisch\, its teenage cellist and last surviving member\, Sebba draws on meticulous archival research and exclusive first-hand accounts to tell the full and astonishing story of the orchestra\, its members and the response of other prisoners for the first time. \n\n\n\nAnne Sebba is a historian and an award-winning biographer who began her career as a Reuters correspondent based in London and Rome. She has written eleven works of non-fiction\, mostly about iconic 20th century women\, that have been translated into a variety of languages including French\, Polish\, Czech\, Japanese and Chinese. Anne makes regular television and radio appearances and has presented two BBC radio documentaries about musicians. She is the author of the international bestseller That Woman\, an acclaimed biography of Wallis Simpson\, Duchess of Windsor\, and the prize-winning Les Parisiennes: How the Women of Paris Lived\, Loved and Died Under Nazi Occupation. Her most recent book was Ethel Rosenberg\, the Short Life and Great Betrayal of an American Wife and Mother\, shortlisted for the Wingate award. Anne is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature\, Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Historical Research and trustee of the National Archives Trust. She lives in London.  \n\n\n\nTickets £12.00 (£8.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/anne-sebba-the-womens-orchestra-of-auschwitz/
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/2025/03/WOMENS-ORCHESTRA-OF-AUSCHWITZ-cover-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251024T110000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251024T120000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250512T145044Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250515T160532Z
UID:10000119-1761303600-1761307200@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Dr Lucy Pollock – The Golden Rule – Lessons in Living
DESCRIPTION:Today\, we are living longer lives\, and have choices now as never before about how we will age. What will make us happy? What are we frightened of? What might allay those fears? What changes\, made right now\, will help us to flourish as we age? This book contains lessons learned from thirty years of working with older people and those close to them. It looks at problems that can be fixed with tests and tablets\, and problems that require a different sort of medicine. Dr Lucy Pollock explains what she has been taught about loss\, about impossible families\, about becoming older without children\, and the things she has learned about sexuality\, race\, love\, and living with uncertainty. \n\n\n\nLucy believes the power has been in the wrong place for too long – medical teams have not always heard the voices of older people or those who love them. But if we are given power to influence the lives of our future selves\, how best shall we use it? What do we want? What difference can we make? This is the moment for us to act\, to set in place a better society for older people\, and to build the future we want for ourselves. \n\n\n\nLucy Pollock trained at Cambridge and at Bart’s Hospital and is now a Consultant Geriatrician in Somerset. She has been working with older people for 30 years\, and has learned useful things about life from a great many older people. She is the author of The Book About Getting Older. \n\n\n\nTickets £12.00 (£8.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/dr-lucy-pollock-the-golden-rule-lessons-in-living/
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/2025/03/The-Golden-Rule-Jacket.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251023T183000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251023T193000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250512T115158Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250515T164106Z
UID:10000128-1761244200-1761247800@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Sir Graham Brady – Kingmaker – Secrets\, Lies and the Truth about Five Prime Ministers
DESCRIPTION:An explosive memoir from the heart of Westminster\, lifting the lid on some of the leadership battles that have defined British politics for a decade and a half during the eras of five Conservative prime ministers – Cameron\, May\, Johnson\, Truss and Sunak. From coalition to Brexit\, Covid to Partygate\, Trussonomics to the 2024 election\, prime ministers came and went\, while one man was at the heart of every leadership challenge\, seeing all\, saying nothing. Until now. \n\n\n\nSir Graham Brady became Chairman of the 1922 Committee in 2010. As leader of the group with power to choose a new leader of the Conservative Party\, his hand held the axe over five Conservative prime ministers’ heads. Elected to parliament in 1997 as the youngest Conservative MP in the house\, Brady comes from a lower middle-class background and fell into politics age 16 when he joined a campaign to save his grammar school. This book is the story of how a boy from Salford came to be the definitive Tory insider\, offering insights into the character and choices of successive Prime Ministers and the administrations they led. Ultimately\, it reveals where our most recent leadership failures originate\, and asks hard questions about who will be fit to lead us tomorrow.Born in Salford in 1967\, Sir Graham Brady served as a Shadow Minister under four Conservative leaders before resigning in 2007 in protest at David Cameron’s opposition to grammar schools. He has been Chairman of the 1922 Committee\, the group which selects the leader of the Conservative Party\, since 2010. During his tenure\, Brady has overseen the election of three Prime Ministers – Theresa May\, Liz Truss\, and Rishi Sunak – as well as votes of no confidence in May and Boris Johnson. \n\n\n\nTickets £12.00 (£8.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/sir-graham-brady-kingmaker-secrets-lies-and-the-truth-about-five-prime-ministers/
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/2025/04/Kingmaker-Brady-Cover-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251023T163000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251023T173000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250512T114310Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250515T160232Z
UID:10000118-1761237000-1761240600@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:The Oldie Event: When Harry met Andrew – Harry Mount in conversation with A N Wilson
DESCRIPTION:Harry Mount\, the Editor of The Oldie\, will be talking to AN Wilson the award winning author of 60 histories\, novels and biographies on subjects ranging from Queen Victoria\, Charles Darwin and Jesus to John Betjeman\, Leo Tolstoy and Adolf Hitler\, and one of The Oldie’s regular columnists. His latest book\, Goethe: His Faustian Life\, reveals Goethe as a true polymath: the inventor of the psychological novel\, a pioneer scientist\, a great man of the theatre and a leading politician. \n\n\n\nAndrew and Harry are great conversationalists\, so you can be sure of a very lively hour. \n\n\n\nTickets £12.00 (£8.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/the-oldie-event-when-harry-met-andrew-harry-mount-in-conversation-with-a-n-wilson/
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/2025/03/a-n-wilson-pt-scaled.jpg
END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251023T143000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251023T153000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250714T152852Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250715T183303Z
UID:10000152-1761229800-1761233400@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Sir Tony Robinson – The House of Wolf
DESCRIPTION:In Rome Father Asser is waiting to die. His idealism has landed him in a papal prison on false charges of heresy\, but then salvation arrives in an unexpected form. Cardinal Balotelli also dreams of a better Europe\, free from the ravages of the Norlanders. He has an important job for Asser\, one that will take him home to Wessex\, where King Aethelwolf’s power is fading\, but none of his feckless children are fit to rule. \n\n\n\nHis eldest sons would rather fight each other than the blood-thirsty Norlander invaders. His daughter\, Swift\, is clever and cunning\, but sometimes blinded by her ambition. Finally there’s Alfred\, his once promising younger son\, whom nobody has seen in years. Then Wolf meets a young priest with a proposition from Rome that could change everything. \n\n\n\nMeanwhile in Lindisfarne Rhiannon is a slave who wants to see her Saxon captors punished for their crimes. So when she meets Guthrum\, a Norlander hell-bent on wiping Wessex from the map\, she sets out on a journey of destruction. So begins an epic struggle between greed and idealism\, ambition and betrayal\, freedom and tyranny. Because change always meets with resistance and\, on the path to power\, nobody can be trusted. \n\n\n\nSir Tony Robinson\, actor\, presenter\, historical expert and star of Blackadder and Time Team\, makes his adult fiction debut with this earthy\, entertaining and gloriously witty recreation of the Anglo-Saxons\, Alfred the Great\, and the making of England.Sir Tony Robinson is one of Britain’s foremost faces of popular history through presenting 20 seasons of Channel 4’s archaeology series Time Team and as the creator of the worldwide icon Baldrick in Blackadder. In a varied and international career\, he has won two RTS awards\, a BAFTA and the International Prix Jeunesse. He started out at the age of 13 in Oliver! and has gone on to enjoy a long acting career in theatre\, TV drama and sitcom\, and an acclaimed presenting career of documentary and factual television. He is the author of over 30 children’s books and several adult non-fiction books\, including an autobiography\, No Cunning Plan. An ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Society since2008\, Sir Tony received a knighthood in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2013. The House of Wolf is his first novel. \n\n\n\nTickets £14.00 (£10.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/sir-tony-robinson-the-house-of-wolf/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251023T140000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251023T150000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250720T110209Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250724T111647Z
UID:10000154-1761228000-1761231600@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Chris Chibnall – Death at the White Hart
DESCRIPTION:The villagers of Fleetcombe like to think of it as one of the most picturesque spots in Dorset: two pubs\, a small playground\, enough gorgeous cottages to keep a thatcher in business. It’s the last place you’d expect a grisly murder. But a body is discovered\, tied to a chair in the middle of a nearby road\, a stag’s antlers on his head. The victim is soon identified: Jim Tiernan\, landlord of the White Hart pub. Detective Nicola Bridge is not short of suspects: in a small village\, the pub landlord knows everyone’s business. And beneath the idyllic surface\, the residents of Fleetcombe have plenty they want to keep hidden. Someone knows what happened to Jim Tiernan. Someone who drank with him in the busy pub the night he died. Someone who might just be dangerous enough to kill again. As the village’s many dark secrets come to the surface\, can Nicola catch the killer before it’s too late? \n\n\n\nChris Chibnall is a BAFTA\, Royal Television Society\, Broadcasting Press Guild and Peabody award-winning screenwriter\, executive producer\, and playwright whose work has been seen\, translated and remade all around the world. He is the recipient of the prestigious FIPA Prix D’Honneur\, and honorary doctorates from Edge Hill University and Sheffield Hallam University. His television work includes Broadchurch\,The Great Train Robbery\, Doctor Who\, Torchwood and Life on Mars. \n\n\n\nChris Chibnall will be in conversation with Roger Metha \n\n\n\nTickets £12.00 (£8.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/chris-chibnall-death-at-the-white-hart/
LOCATION:The Brownsword Hall\, Pummery Square\, Poundbury\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 3GW\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251023T123000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251023T133000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250512T114012Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250515T155759Z
UID:10000117-1761222600-1761226200@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Helen Carr – Sceptred Isle – A New History of the Fourteenth Century
DESCRIPTION:In a thrilling narrative account\, Helen Carr sheds new light on a pivotal period of English history  in the first book to cover the whole of the fourteenth century in over thirty years. Beginning with the death of Edward I in 1307\, and ending with the deposition of Richard II in 1399\, Sceptred Isle is the story of the last Plantagenets. Through the epic drama of regicide\, war\, the prolonged spectre of the Black Death\, religious antagonism\, revolt and the end of a royal dynasty\, we encounter the human stories behind a fractured monarchy\, the birth of the struggle between Europeanism and nationalism\, social rebellion and a global pandemic.Helen Carr is a historian and writer specialising in medieval history and public history. Her bestselling first book\, The Red Prince\, was a Times and Sunday Times Book of the Year. Her second book\, an edited volume of essays titled What is History\, Now? has become primary reading for history students and enthusiasts globally. Helen also works in podcasting\, television and journalism and is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and a postgraduate researcher at Queen Mary University of London. \n\n\n\nHelen Carr will be in conversation with Jenny Devitt \n\n\n\nTickets £12.00 (£8.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/helen-carr-sceptred-isle-a-new-history-of-the-fourteenth-century/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251023T110000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251023T120000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250512T113044Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250821T105059Z
UID:10000122-1761217200-1761220800@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:Christopher Somerville – Britain’s Best Walks
DESCRIPTION:Christopoher Somerville has covered the length and breadth of the UK on foot\, and has written and broadcast about its history\, landscape\, wildlife and people for over 25 years. In this extensive new volume\, he selects his top 200 routes from his hugely popular Times column\, A Good Walk. \n\n\n\nMore than just a basic guidebook\, this is a meditation on our relationship with the landscape and a celebration of all that Britain has to offer. From Cornwall to Shetland via Pembrokeshire and Barrowdale\, this is the most comprehensive collection of walks in the United Kingdom available in one book\, and features trails to suit all skill levels and references\, whether you want a gentle ramble to the pub or something much more challenging. \n\n\n\nFeaturing stunning photography and using Christopher’s trademark wit and lyricism\, this is the perfect book for ramblers anywhere. \n\n\n\nChristopher Somerville is a Times journalist with 25 years’ experience of writing and broadcasting about country walks (and tougher hikes). He is the author of Somerville’s 100 Best British Walks\, Where to See Wildlife in Britain and Ireland and Best Wild Places. \n\n\n\nTickets £12.00 (£8.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/christopher-somerville-britains-best-walks/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
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DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20251022T180000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20251022T190000
DTSTAMP:20260608T230714
CREATED:20250509T141224Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20250515T164547Z
UID:10000130-1761156000-1761159600@dorchesterliteraryfestival.com
SUMMARY:David Walsh and Pippa York – The Escape: The Tour\, The Cyclist and Me
DESCRIPTION:The first memoir from one of British cycling’s most enigmatic characters. \n\n\n\nIn the summer of 2020 sportswriter David Walsh asked Pippa York if she’d be his travelling companion for the Tour de France. The deal was that he would sort out the logistics beforehand\, the hotels\, the transport details and she would do the day-to-day tasks of getting them about and adding her insight occasionally. It would also mean she would return to the race she had ridden eleven times as Robert Millar. \n\n\n\nThis is the resulting book: a unique and entertaining sporting odyssey\, using the minutiae of Pippa and David’s trip\, and the iconic landmarks of the Tour de France\, to explore her early life growing up in working class Glasgow; her entry into racing; the psychological aspects of the sport and how that manifested itself in her personality; her ups and downs as a competitor; her post-career and her eventual transition from male to female in her 40s. \n\n\n\nTouching on doping\, gender in sport and the unique wonders and day-to-day challenges of the Tour\, The Escape is both an unforgettable travelogue through the world’s greatest cycling event and a one-of-a-kind memoir from arguably the sport’s most enigmatic and fascinating competitors. \n\n\n\nTickets £12.00 (£8.00 Students)
URL:https://dorchesterliteraryfestival.com/event/david-walsh-and-pippa-york-the-escape-the-tour-the-cyclist-and-me/
LOCATION:The Dorford Centre\, 2 Bridport Road\, Dorchester\, Dorset\, DT1 1RR\, United Kingdom
CATEGORIES:Adult
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