First authors announced for Derby Book Festival 2020
Published: 3 December 2019
The first authors have been revealed for the sixth Derby Book Festival
The first authors have been revealed for the sixth Derby Book Festival, which will be held from 29 May – 6 June 2020 in venues across the city. The Festival, which is now a well-established part of the city’s cultural calendar, will return next Spring with over 90 events across nine days featuring some of the very best writers in the country
Authors already signed up for 2020 include journalist and broadcaster John Humphrys, who recently retired after 32 years as presenter of BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’; Val McDermid, arguably the leading crime writer in the UK today, who will open the Festival at a special event in Derby Theatre alongside the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers (fellow crime writers Stuart Neville, Mark Billingham, Chris Brookmyre, Doug Johnstone and Luca Veste).
The event will include its usual wide variety of events for all ages and interests, including poet and ‘The Bard of Barnsley’, Ian Macmillan; biographer Andrew Lownie on The Mountbattens; Lennie Goodings on her career with the iconic Virago Press and naturalist Mark Cocker.
Local history is always popular at the Festival and the 2020 edition will welcome historian Patricia Fara on Erasmus Darwin at Derby Museum & Art Gallery where his portrait by Joseph Wright of Derby hangs.
Next year’s event will also feature local writing talent and debut authors, including Russ Thomas, who has had strong links with the Festival since its start. Now based in Sheffield, Russ’ first novel, Firewatching, is launched in February.
Liz Fothergill, Chairman of the Festival said:
The Festival continues to grow and grow. We know people have a real appetite for more book related events and we are now offering two Festivals each year. Derby Book Festival is putting Derby firmly on the literary map and attracting world class authors each year. We believe it is the largest and most successful literary festival in the East Midlands and something Derby can be proud of.
Other authors will be announced in the coming months and tickets for all events will go on sale on 7 April 2020. Tickets will be available from 7 April 2020 from the Festival website or in person from the Festival Box Office at QUAD and other venues. To find out more, visit the Festival website and sign up for more information. You can also follow the Festival on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.