Sunday, 30 October 2011

A cast of Hallowe’en horrors

After the haunting of Hallowe’en night, comes the zombies, fiends, monsters and fright at Lennoxlove Book Festival…all in a creaking ancient house full of its own Scottish ghosts…come and join us if you think you’re brave enough. Children welcome to come in fancy dress.

Haunted with Eleanor Updale

Award-winning author Eleanor Updale will be at Lennoxlove to read from and talk about her tale of a very modern ghost, who haunts his victim through a computer. Ages 9+.



Invisible Fiends, Barry Hutchison

Barry Hutchison’s creepy, deliciously nightmarish Invisible Fiends are guaranteed to make your blood run cold. Ages 9-13.

Gruffalo, Julia Donaldson

Knobbly knees and turned out toes and a poisonous wart at the end of his nose. Julia Donaldson and her very famous monster are back for lots of Gruffalo fun. Ages 5+.

You can draw the Horrible Histories with Martin Brown

Learn to draw all the nasty bits of history in a witty cartoon style. See how Martin Brown, illustrator of the Horrible Histories series, creates his illustrations the ‘horrible’ way and join in with your own gory drawings. Ages 7+.



Fleshless Skulls and Bulging Eyes, Vivian Collins, Ross Young

Does Fiddleduster Squint win the prize as the creepiest zombie of all? Help create a truly scary graphic novel based on The Tales from the Five Kingdoms! Ages 9+.

The Scariest Thing of all with Debi Gliori

Calling all active imaginations to come and help Debi Gliori draw some Gobblers, Hissters and Giant Woodtrolls and discover how Pip met the Scariest Thing of All ... and survived to tell the tale. Age 4-7.

And for the adults…
Allan Little, Dictators I Have Known

Fresh from elections in Tunisia, , Allan will offer his tales of encounters with Saddam Hussein, Slobodan Milosevic, Robert Mugabe, Nicolae Ceausescu, Charles Taylor, Mobutu Sese Seko and Radovan Karadzic and his daughter, Sonja. A line-up of real life monsters…

 Visit the Lennoxlove Box Office website for full programme details.

Tuesday, 25 October 2011

Expert sessions for new writers

Unpublished author needing a helping hand? We have a great line-up of expert sessions planned for Lennoxlove Book Festival with advice on how to get your creative writing flowing, and tips on landing that elusive publishing deal.

An Introduction to Writing for Children with Vivian French

Love children’s stories? Always wanted to write your own, but don’t know where to start? Come and join children’s author Vivien French for two hours of advice, tips and exercises.


Vivien French

Opening New Doors: Writing Opportunities in Today’s World of E-Publishing

Professor Joe Goldblatt, FRSA of Queen Margaret University, has authored, co-authored and edited 25 books over the last quarter of a century. Joe will share his own experiences of working with major international publishers and answer your questions about how best to locate and enter the numerous new channels now available.

How to Make a Publisher Say Yes!

The route to publication is often paved with rejections and frustration. WHY do publishers and agents make the decisions they do? What exactly are they looking for and how should you present your work? What are the all-too-common mistakes of aspiring writers? Nicola Morgan will take you inside the minds of publishers an agents.

Tyne & Esk Writers Present

The great surge in the success of Scottish writing comes from somewhere, and one of those somewheres is writers’ groups. Few are more vibrant than the Tyne & Esk who will join us at Lennoxlove to offer short, sharp readings of their new work.

Visit our box office website for details of the full festival programme.

Thursday, 20 October 2011

Direct from the frontline of politics and media

A cast of characters from the centre of the biggest political and media dramas of recent times will share their version of events at Lennoxlove this year. Not to be missed… 

Alistair Darling

In Back From The Brink, Alistair tells the gripping story of how the world’s financial institutions were saved, steadied and enabled to carry on. This is a prime historical document, written like a thriller. Hear Alistair as he shares defining moments, the repercussions of which have affected us all.

Sarah Brown

In her fascinating account of family life at 10 Downing Street from 2007 to 2010, Behind the Black Door, Sarah tells a fresh, warm and perceptive story of the background to the great events that rumbled across the world stage. Her view of the key personalities involved in the financial crash of 2008 and its aftermath is a unique and close-up perspective.

Allan Little

The BBC’s Special Correspondent has spent part of his career dealing with some of the most dangerous, volatile people on the planet. In his superb talk, Dictators I Have Known, Allan tells of encounters with a gallery of monsters. His extraordinary accounts detail dangerous and delicate situations in which even experienced reporters can find themselves when pursuing a story.

Hacking Unhacked

The phone hacking scandal has become one of the biggest, most far-reaching stories in Britain this century. Hear what happened at length and first hand from those at the centre of politics – Chris Bryant MP, Michael Moore MP (Secretary of State for Scotland), and Dan Sabbagh of The Guardian.

James Naughtie

Jim, a presenter on BBC Radio 4’s ‘Today’ programme, has occupied a ringside seat on public life, interviewing a hugely varied cast of characters and reporting from home and abroad on the events that have shaped our time. He looks back on the momentous, the tragic and the hilarious, reliving the joys and the frustrations of a life on the road and behind the microphone. A personal and political story, not to be missed.
Tam Dalyell

Vivid, principled, a great parliamentarian famous for asking awkward questions, Tam Dalyell has achieved far more in a busy, bustling political life than many who have held the great offices of state. After 43 years as MP for West Lothian and Linlithgow, he sat down to write a memoir entitled, what else, ’The Importance of Being Awkward’ which he’ll share with us at Lennoxlove.

For the full events programme listing visit our box office.

Wednesday, 12 October 2011

History brought alive

Visitors to Lennoxlove Book Festival last year told us they’d like more events on historical literature. We aim to please, so this year we have history events galore. Which ones to choose…
Even to his contemporaries, Charles Dickens was a phenomenon: demonically hard-working, endlessly fertile and a fascinating, complex man. In Charles Dickens: A Life, Claire Tomalin, one of Britain’s greatest biographers brings this extraordinary man to life.

The leading Scottish historian completes his great trilogy with ‘To the Ends of the Earth’, the remarkable story of emigration from Scotland. Hear Tom as he discusses the Scottish exodus.
One of our greatest historians unlocks the story of Europe’s hidden past, a series of alternatives to the familiar map. In Vanished Kingdoms: The History of a Half-Forgotten Europe, Norman redraws frontiers and remembers the possibilities of the past.

Investigate our impulses through the ages with three acclaimed historical novelists: A L Berridge, Maeve Haran - who both left successful TV careers to become bestselling writers - and Karen Maitland, author of the bestselling debut The Company of Liars.
In his excellent biography of Duncan McLaren, Lord Provost and MP for Victorian Edinburgh, Willis Pickard tells the extraordinary story of a man hugely influential in his time, but who has virtually disappeared from public view.
Join Martin Brown, illustrator of the phenomenally popular Horrible Histories series, to see step-by-step how he brings history to life. For children ages 7+.

Thursday, 6 October 2011

Experience The Good Life for Bon Viveurs!

Get back to basics and experience the good life next month at Lennoxlove Book Festival. Wine lovers and gardeners are in for a real treat.

Alys Fowler

From the weeds in your garden to the trees in your street, free and tasty food turns out to be all around us. In her new book, ‘The Thrifty Forager’, Alys Fowler not only identifies this unexpected harvest, she also shows how to cook and enjoy it. A presenter on Gardeners’ World, host of her own TV series, The Edible Garden, and a columnist in The Guardian, Alys will offer her expertise on how to grow your own food.  Join Alys on Saturday 5th November.


Alys Fowler

Hugh Johnson

In the world of wine writers, Hugh Johnson is a legend and his Pocket Wine books are the ultimate compact guide to what’s best and what’s new. Hugh will talk more widely about the length and breadth of his writing and tasting career, his expertise in gardening - especially his passion for trees - and much more. Event sponsored by Vino. Join Hugh on Sunday 6th November.


Hugh Johnson

For the full book festival programme listing visit www.lbfboxoffice.co.uk.