BOOK lovers with an appetite for literature won’t have far to go in the coming months, with Reading set to host two new literary events.
The town will be living up to its name with the launch of the inaugural Reading in Reading book festival next month.
Ian Wright, Susie Dent, Chris Tarrant and Tony Robinson are among the speakers joining local authors for the three-day event, which runs from Friday, October 28, to Sunday, October 30.
The venue for the festival — which is being organised as part of Reading 2016, the town’s year of culture — is the historic Olympia Ballroom in London Street. Former Arsenal and England footballer turned BBC
Match of the Day pundit Ian Wright will kick off a weekend of author events when he discusses his much-anticipated autobiography
A Life in Football with music writer Lloyd Bradley.
The following day will see broadcaster Chris Tarrant and
Countdown star Susie Dent on the bill alongside local historian Angela Buckley and novelists Julie Cohen and Carol Drinkwater.
Big names booked for the Sunday include Sir Tony Robinson of
Blackadder and
Time Team fame, actor and director Dexter Fletcher, and novelist Gill Hornby who, together with Helena Kelly, will be discussing a new book that shows Reading-educated author Jane Austen was more radical than she is commonly given credit for.
Tickets for individual events are £5/£7 or £20 for a weekend pass, available from www.readingarts.com. For more details, visit www.reading2016.org.uk
Reading in Reading will be followed from November 4 to 13 by the first Reading Literature Festival, organised in association with the university but with events taking place across the town.
Authors due to appear include Fleur Adcock, Jonathan Coe, Alice Oswald and Sudeep Sen. Visit the festival’s Facebook page for full details.
