Previous events

Bel Mooney at Yeovil Literary Festival

• 23 Oct 2016
• Manor Hotel, 6 Hendford, Yeovil, BA20 1TG

Agony aunt, author and one of Britain's most successful journalists, Bel Mooney, was astonished at the depth of her sorrow and the emptiness in her life when her beloved small dog died. Social media posts and then a newspaper article about her feelings brought a deluge of responses. People sent pictures of their dogs and cats, personal anecdotes, and...

The Times Guide To Modern Manners: Peter York at Cheltenham Literature Festival

• 16 Oct 2016
• Cheltenham Literature Festival, Town Hall, Baillie Gifford Stage

Is it OK to commit to something ‘nearer the time’ or answer your mobile during a conversation? Should we dress for the occasion? Vary our vocab to suit a situation? The Times Literary Editor Robbie Millen chairs a well-mannered panel of etiquette experts who can advise: co-author of The Official Sloane Ranger Handbook Peter York (Authenticity is a Con), novelist...

Alastair Campbell at Ilkley Literature Festival

• 14 Oct 2016
• Kings Hall, Station Road, Ilkley, LS29 8HB

Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell, the man who knows better than anyone where the bodies are buried, picks up the story of the crucial years when, despite having left government, his level of involvement ‘barely abated’. He begins as Lord Hutton prepares to publish his report into the death of former UN weapons inspector David Kelly, and continues...

How Big Is Big Brother? Malcolm Rifkind at Cheltenham Literature Festival

• 10 Oct 2016
• Cheltenham Literature Festival, Town Hall, Baillie Gifford Stage

With our intelligence agencies firmly in the spotlight in the wake of the Chilcot report, we turn our attention to their role on the home front. Former Chair of the Intelligence and Security Committee Malcolm Rifkind (Power and Pragmatism) and distinguished human rights lawyer Helena Kennedy explore how governments balance civil liberties with national...

Ken Hom at Daunt Books Autumn Festival 2016

• 6 Oct 2016
• Daunt Books Marylebone

My Stir-Fried Life: Ken Hom talks to James Steen at Daunt Books Autumn Festival 2016 Thu 6th October at 1:30pm Tickets £8.00 Ken Hom has delighted thousands with his cookery programmes and books and is recognised as one of the world’s leading authorities on Chinese and Asian food.  In this fascinating memoir, Ken speaks of his tough childhood growing up...

Claire Fox at Wimbledon Bookfest

• 2 Oct 2016
• William Morris Tent, Wimbledon Common, SW19 5AZ

What’s happened to the idea that ‘Sticks and stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me?' asks Claire Fox, Director of the Institute of Ideas. Here she turns her pin-sharp mind to the question of why people are offended, what on earth no-platforming is about and asks whether we are inadvertently raising Generation Snowflake? In conversation...

Gerry Hassan & James Mitchell at Wigtown Book Festival

• 2 Oct 2016
• Festival Marquee, Wigtown Square, Wigtown, DG8 9HL

The Scottish National Party's story is a dramatic one. Surveying its early years against the odds, it has changed Scotland and Britain. In doing so, it has been changed itself. This book is the first to tell this story by loooking at the party's senior figures, leaders of very varied temperaments and views. Editors Gerry Hassan and James Mitchell discuss...

Kenny MacAskill at Wigtown Book Festival

• 29 Sep 2016
• Festival Marquee, Wigtown Square, Wigtown, DG8 9HL

The former MSP and Scottish Justice Minister from 2007 to 2014, Kenny MacAskill discusses his account of the Lockerbie affair, how and why he believes the bombing took place, and his role in the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only man convicted of the 1988 murders.

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Bel Mooney at Henley Literary Festival

• 28 Sep 2016
• Kenton Theatre, New St, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 2BP

Writing an advice column for the Daily Mail with six million readers is no easy task – but, with 40 years of journalistic experience, Bel has succeeded superbly. Lifelines collects the best of these insights, while Goodbye Pet looks at the impact of losing an animal in the household. Much of her appeal is down to sharing her own life experiences of...

Malcolm Rifkind at Henley Literary Festival

• 27 Sep 2016
• Kenton Theatre, New St, Henley-on-Thames, RG9 2BP

Sir Malcolm served as a minister for 18 years, the longest uninterrupted government service since Lord Palmerston.  In the company of his columnist son Hugo (of The Times and The Spectator) he reflects on his battles with Margaret Thatcher, the Gorbachev-Thatcher summit and his time as defence minister and foreign secretary under John Major. He is the...