Festival Directors Barry and Sam Fentiman Hall guide us through just some of the highlights of the Medway River Lit programme 2024. There will be more to come!
Wordsmithery are very proud to announce some of the confirmed writers and performers who are converging on The Medway Towns in November to talk, act, sing, and maybe even dance their earth songs for us this year. Full listings information will be available from the start of October, when you can reserve tickets for any shows that require booking.
Medway River Lit is an eco-conscious festival
Our theme this year is the environment and the climate, (check out a blog about our festival ident, created by Karen Scudder). Although not everything falls under this theme (if an artist we really admire wants to come and perform poetry about modern masculinity we are totally here for that), the overall ethos of what we are doing here is that Medway is of, and in, a world that is undergoing profound climate change with a human inspired origin. All art that has been produced in our lifetimes has been to an extent influenced by that fact whether consciously or not. But our lived environment is the writing that runs through this particular stick of Medway rock…
To that end here is a link to our environmental statement. As we point out there, we don’t pretend to know everything, or be able to overcome forces beyond our control, but we are committed to our festival being as green as we can make it, by practice and by content. That is our Tiger Work. Speaking of which…
We are delighted to welcome the Booker prize-winning author and poet Ben Okri, whose latest collection Tiger Work is a collection of stories, essays and poems about climate change. We’ll also be welcoming several other writers of dystopian climate fiction and poets who have addressed the topic of the climate.
We are excited to have the climate scientist Bill McGuire coming to talk about his book, Hothouse Earth: An Inhabitant’s Guide: “This book provides a more steely-eyed view on how we can cope with a hothouse world.” Bill is a volcanologist, climate scientist, activist, keynote speaker and writer of popular science and speculative fiction.
For Poetry Lovers
In association with Renaissance One we’ll be hosting ‘A Conversation with John Agard’.
Come and listen to poems and join in an event that celebrates books, rhythm and wordplay with one of the UK's most sought after authors, John Agard. Agard's love of language stemmed from listening to cricket commentaries on the radio as well as books and magazines. The author of over 50 books including the much shortlisted Windrush Child, he is a recipient of the Queen’s Gold Medal and a BookTrust Lifetime Achievement Award. He will read from his various works, perform a few favourites, be in conversation with curator Melanie Abrahams and take questions from the audience.
Friday Nights at Poetry Republic
Throughout November, each Friday evening at Coffee Republic in Chatham, we will feature a range of the best poetic talent that the UK has to offer. Kicking us off will be The Four Poets comprising of Bill Lewis, Maggie Harris, Sarah Hehir, and Barry Fentiman Hall.
Later in the month, UK poetry’s dynamic duo Martin Figura and Helen Ivory will be reading from their latest collections The Remaining Men and Constructing A Witch respectively.
Medway River Lit is a festival for Medway so we love to have our friends at Big Trouble, Medway’s longest running live spoken word event, come and do a takeover. This year they have confirmed Richard Scott, award winning writer of ‘Soho’ (2018) which was shortlisted for virtually every prize for which it qualified. There will also be the usual legendary Big Trouble open-mic.
Last but certainly not least, our festival patron Caroline Bird will be headlining the closing night at Coffee Republic. During a stellar publishing career with Carcanet that began when she was 15, she won The Forward Prize with 2020s The Air Year, having been previously shortlisted numerous times for The Costa Prize, The TS Eliot Prize, The Polari Prize, and The Ted Hughes Award.
Dystopian climate fiction writers
The author of the novel which inspired the acclaimed film, The End We Start From, Megan Hunter, will be joining us. Megan will be talking about this book and her latest novel The Harpy, an exploration of the constraints of contemporary marriage and motherhood.
Our eco fiction theme continues with Chloe Timms, author of The Seawomen; “If you're looking for your next Handmaid's Tale-esque fix, this is it” said the Belfast Telegraph, Chloe Timms is a writer, disability rights campaigner, mentor and podcast host from the Kent coast.
April Doyle will be talking about her novel Hive, set in a near-future Britain, where climate change has led to food shortages and civil unrest, and pollinating insects are in steep decline. April Doyle is a writer, tutor and editor who lives in rural Kent. You can hear our interview with April in The River Is Lit podcast episode 2.
Thomas McMullan is a writer and artist. He’ll be talking about his debut novel, The Last Good Man which won the 2021 Betty Trask Prize, and Margaret Atwood called “A Scarlet Letter for our times” and his forthcoming book.
Crime fiction and true crime
If you’re a lover of true crime and detective podcasts, we’ll be welcoming writer Caitlin Davies to the festival. Caitlin will be talking about her latest book, Private Inquiries: The Secret History of Female Sleuths, telling the true story of the UK’s female private eyes from the 1850s to the present. You can hear our interview with Caitlin in The River Is Lit podcast episode 1.
Fans of crime fiction will have a treat when author AA Chaudhuri talks about her latest twisty-turny novel Under Her Roof. AA Chaudhuri is a former City lawyer. Her first highly acclaimed psychological thriller with Hera Books, She’s Mine, was named the LJ Ross Book Club pick of the month. You can hear her interview in The River Is Lit podcast episode 1.
International bestselling author writer Barbara Havelocke will be joining us as part of this year’s Wigmore Lecture series to talk about her novel Estella’s Revenge. Barbara has developed the characters of Estella and Miss Havisham in her novel set in the Great Expectations universe. You can hear her talking about the book in The River Is Lit podcast episode 5 (out soon!) Book your Wigmore Lecture ticket here.
Children's and YA authors
For younger readers and writers, we’ll be featuring a Saturday lunchtime slot of books for young people. Tom Mitchell describes himself as ‘mostly a dad, partly a teacher, and sometimes a writer’, and has written 5 novels for older children, the most recent How To Stop The End Of The World is an apocalyptically funny adventure for readers aged 9+.
Writers with Kent publisher Crystal Peake will also be joining us to talk about their books.
For Science Fiction Fans
We are happy to welcome Ben Aaronovitch back to the festival. In his early career he wrote for Doctor Who, Casualty and Jupiter Moon, and now writes the popular Rivers of London series about a department of the Metropolitan Police who investigate supernatural cases. Ben will take questions from the audience and discuss his latest installment to the series.
If you are a fan of Frank Herbert’s eco-science fiction Dune opus, then we have a real treat for you. Tom Huddlestone, the author of The Worlds of Dune, an intricately researched book giving insight into Frank Herbert’s creative process and the development of the Dune saga, will be joining us.
If you're into ‘90s indie music...
The ‘90s indie revival that has been so much in the news, continues in Medway on Saturday 9 November. Jim Bob is best known as the singer with Carter The Unstoppable Sex Machine. With Carter he toured the world, had fourteen top forty singles and four top ten albums (including a number one) and headlined Glastonbury. He’ll be launching his new book Where Songs Come From – The Lyrics and Origin Stories of 150 Solo and Carter USM Songs. There could be music! Also that evening, poet Sarah L Dixon will read poems from her ‘90s indie inspired poetry collection A bit like falling in love. Festival co-director and graphic novelist Sam Hall, will talk about her new fictionalized illustrated memoir Three Instances of Not Meeting Jarvis Cocker.
The craft and practices of writing
If you’re interested in learning more about the craft of writing, we will have a number of panels and Masterclasses, including panels on Writing sci-fi, horror and fantasy, Self-publishing and a Publisher’s Panel – where you can ask publishers their advice on getting your work accepted. Our Masterclasses will be limited to 12 attendees, so you’ll be able to ask questions and receive 1-to-1 feedback, and booking will open at the start of October.
Online drama
For theatre lovers we’ve got a showing of ‘The Modern Image of Dorian Gray’ (see playwright Aimee Riddell’s guest blog on our website). In association with Spotlites Theatre, we’ll be offering a subtitled online version of the play, which can accessed for a week after the preview showing.
All about the river(s): Ecology, The Eco-Eerie and Liminal Rivers
Adam Taylor lives locally and is a keen canoeist with 15 years’ experience of paddling a fourteen-foot, Canadian (open) canoe. The low laying islands and misty salt marshes of the Medway estuary are where his heart is. He is currently writing a history of these and will be talking about his experiences.
Carol Donaldson has worked in wildlife conservation for 20 years with organisations such as the RSPB, Kent County Council and the British Trust for Conservation Volunteers. She is an award-winning travel and nature writer. Her most recent work The Volunteers (2024) is described as ‘a heartwarming tale that celebrates the redemptive force of the woods and wildlife.
Dr Phil Smith writes about every river from every angle. His 2010 book Mythogeography, A guide to walking sideways is the seminal handbook of drifting. At its simplest, ‘Mythogeography’ is a way of walking, thinking and visiting a place on many levels at the same time. Phil Smith’s books are an immersive experience, be they fiction or something approaching fact. His most recent work Albion’s Eco-Eeerie – TV and Movies of the Haunted Generations of which Maxine Peake said: Albion’s Eco-eerie is a fantastic exploration into culture’s obsession with ‘the other’.
Sacha Coward is a researcher, historian and public speaker. He has worked in museums and heritage for fifteen years, running tours focused on LGBTQ+ history for museums, cemeteries, archives and cities all around the world. His debut non-fiction book Queer as Folklore is an exhilarating journey across centuries and continents which reveals the unsung heroes and villains of storytelling, magic and fantasy.
Local writers
Of course, as ever, we’ll also have a good selection of our own Medway and Kent writers – some we’ve listed below, but there will be a chance to see many more throughout the month!
Louisa Campbell’s stories and poems have won several awards, notably a shortlisting for the Forward Prizes. With a background in mental health nursing, she writes to help people understand people. Based in Tunbridge Wells, her compelling new book, Secret Street, observes the relationship between adverse life experiences and friendship.
Maggie Harris is a poet, prose writer, and visual artist. Originally from Guyana, South America, she’s the winner of The Guyana Prize for Literature and won the Poetry Wales Wales Poetry Award. Aside from her appearance with The Four Poets Maggie will also be showcasing her recently revised memoir Kiskadee Girl about her childhood in Guyana.
Bill Lewis was and remains one of the legendary Medway Poets and also a founder member of the Stuckist art group. He has published 7 collections of poetry, the most recent of which is Sparrowhawk in 2022. Bill will be performing as one of The Four Poets.
Sarah Hehir’s writing for theatre is collaborative and experimental. She tells stories that focus on unheard voices and hidden stories. In 2013, she won the inaugural BBC Writer’s Prize for her radio drama ‘Bang Up’. Sarah currently writes for The Archers and BBC Doctors. At Medway River Lit she’ll be appearing as part of The Four Poets and will also be interviewing Ben Okri.
Melissa Todd describes herself as a writer, performer, dominatrix, elderly model, and columnist for Love it! magazine. She also has a regular column in The Metro. Her most recent book Americaned: Sex And Grief Across A Continent describes how she flew to Massachusetts to play a cane happy headmistress in a lucrative movie at a time of personal tragedy has been described as ‘Stormy Daniels meets Bill Bryson’. She is featured in The River Is Lit podcast episode 3. This talk won’t be suitable for our younger readers!
These are by no means all of the amazing writers we've got coming to the Medway River Lit programme 2024 in November - so listen to our podcast for more, sign up for our email newsletter, and watch social media for announcements!
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