Local Sunday Showcase

In a first for the book festival, we are hosting a morning in which six authors will talk for exactly 10 minutes each about the subjects of their books. 

There'll be an unusual mix of subjects with something for everyone. 

The morning will be hosted by Mary Jane Baxter who, in addition to her comperering duties will be relating the story of her book, too - how she threw up a job as a BBC Brussels correspondent to decorate the outside of a camper van, install a hand-cranked sewing machine and drive off round Europe on a voyage of creativity.

Tessa Boase will be talking about the amazing shopping experience provided in the heyday of the great and now departed department stores - ‘a vanished world of dazzle and dreams’.

Gareth E Rees' talk will be on places that lie on the margins of our towns - industrial estates, car parks, flyovers - places that are often overlooked but also places where a myriad of human dramas play out.

And Charles Dickens - who knew he wrote a biography of Grimaldi? The answer is Jonathan Buckmaster, who'll be explaining how Dickens' interest in Grimaldi and in clowns influenced his novels?

Penny Ellis was one of the first residents in the Big Brother house - she'll be lifting the lid on what it was really like to be in there - and what happened when she came out. 

And finally, what happens if you die without family or friends? A further talk will feature a number of such cases, described for us by the woman who has to deal with them, Evie King. Though often tragic, the stories are always interesting, often uplifting and sometimes surprisingly humourous.

So, six authors, 10 minutes each, time to ask a few questions and just to give the morning a more relaxed feel, the ticket price includes a cup of coffee.

The event will be approximately two hours long and will include an interval of 15 minutes.

It will be followed by a book signing session.