Previous events

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...

David Laws at Henley Literary Festival

• 26 Sep 2016
• Henley Literary Festival

When David Cameron and Nick Clegg stepped out into the rose garden at No. 10 to launch the first coalition government since the Second World War, it was amid a sea of uncertainty. Some doubted whether the coalition could survive a full term – or even a full year. Five years later, this bold departure for British politics had weathered storms, spending...

The Year of Living Dangerously: Claire Fox at Wigtown Book Festival

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

The year 2016 has been the most turbulent in living memory with the established order taking a beating. It has given us Brexit and Donald Trump, politicians falling (and refusing to fall) on their swords, and a wave of terror attacks across Europe. The backdrop has been one of unease and anger. What lessons might history offer and what might the future...

Malcolm Rifkind at Wigtown Book Festival

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

From battling Mrs Thatcher over Scotland to negotiating with Gorbachev and overseeing Britain’s security services, Sir Malcolm Rifkind was at the forefront of British politics for more than three decades. As he enters political retirement, the former Foreign and Defence Secretary discusses his memoir. Sponsored by Andrew Plunkett Steel Buildings...