Cambridge Literary Festival Winter 2014 30 November In partnership with

Festival highlights

Clare Balding Lynn Barber Shami Chakrabarti Sheila Hancock Nick Hornby Clive James Alan Johnson Owen Jones Jack Monroe Marilynne Robinson Ali Smith

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Picture by Martin Bond www.acambridgediary.co.uk

Festival Team Director Cathy Moore Manager Susannah Gibson Production Manager Patrick Hallett-Morley Intern Anna Millward Trustees Denise Augar Rachel Calder Michelle Golder Stella Manzie Sian Reid John Stanton Peter Taylor Honorary Patrons Dame Gillian Beer Jill Dawson Dame Margaret Drabble Robert Macfarlane Robert McCrum Allison Pearson Rowan Pelling David Reynolds Ali Smith Frances Spalding Anna Whitelock Graphic Design Cambridge Design Studio PR FMcM Associates Photography Lluna Gallego

Diary Dates Spring Festival 2015 15 – 19 April Winter Festival 2015 29 November Cover photography © Martin Bond from his project A Cambridge Diary where Martin takes a picture every day in and around the streets and public spaces of Cambridge. For more information please visit acambridgediary.co.uk

Director’s Welcome Winter is coming and it’s time to read, drink and be merry – and the Cambridge Literary Festival’s end-of-year outing is perfectly timed to provide both some seasonal sparkle and some highly nutritious food for thought. This year’s winter festival boasts some truly exceptional highlights. They include an appearance by Clive James, who in recent months has prompted intense admiration and affection for the unflinching manner in which he has described – and made art from – his terminal leukaemia. Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Marilynne Robinson will make Cambridge one of very few stops on her whirlwind UK visit and Nick Hornby joins us on the publication of his latest novel, Funny Girl. Alongside these we present breathtaking fiction from the winner of this year’s Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction, Eimear McBride, Cambridge resident and Man Booker Prize shortlisted Ali Smith, John Boyne and Donal Ryan, plus Sheila Hancock, who is making her debut as a novelist. Elsewhere, Marina Warner explores fairy tales; there are real-life stories from historians Rachel Holmes and Caroline Moorehead; and Shirley Williams and Mark Bostridge provide a fitting finale to our First World War reflections with their moving testimony to Vera Brittain. We delve into the natural world with Helen Macdonald and Dave Goulson and the political world with Alan Johnson MP and John Campbell; campaigners Laura Bates, Jack Monroe, Owen Jones and Shami Chakrabarti have their say; and there are personal stories from legendary journalist Lynn Barber, historian Barbara Taylor and broadcaster Clare Balding. As the cold begins to bite and the darkness gathers, join us to be warmed and enlightened by this array of wonderful writers.

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Preview events

Miriam Douglas

Wednesday 12 November

7.00pm – 8.00pm £12/£8/£5 Parkside Campus

Nick Hornby Funny Girl Whether writing about male obsessions or insecurity, football, books or music, teenage pregnancy, relationship break ups or suicide, Nick Hornby tells moving, funny and insightful stories exploring how we live now. Joining us on the publication of his latest, sure-to-be best-selling novel, Funny Girl, Nick will talk about his first fictional foray into the past.

Nancy Crampton

Robert Banks/The Age

Friday 14 November

Marilynne Robinson Lila

Clive James Poetry Notebook

7.00pm – 8.00pm Union Chamber

8.30pm – 9.30pm Union Chamber

£12/£8/£5

A rare opportunity to see one of the greatest novelists of our time. Marilynne Robinson discusses her much awaited novel, Lila, with Associate Editor of The Observer, Robert McCrum. Marilynne Robinson is the author of the international best-sellers Housekeeping (winner of the PEN/Hemingway Award for best first novel), Gilead (winner of the Pulitzer Prize) and Home (winner of the Orange Prize for Fiction).

£15/£10/£7

Clive James is a poet, critic and broadcaster. Born in Australia and now resident in Cambridge, he has been a familiar figure in British cultural life for many years. Lately he has been ill, but he has not stopped writing. Summoning his strength for an hour alone on stage, he promises to discuss his new book, Poetry Notebook, and any other topic that comes to mind, although he will depend on the audience to help out by asking questions.

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Sunday 30 November

10.00am – 11.00am £12/£8/£5 Union Chamber

Shirley Williams & Mark Bostridge The Life of Vera Brittain Baroness Shirley Williams joins us to discuss the life of Vera Brittain, her remarkable mother, with Brittain’s biographer Mark Bostridge. Williams was born three years before the publication of her mother’s powerful, heart-rending and enduring war memoir, Testament of Youth (1933), which describes the impact of the First World War on the lives of women and civilians. Expect an informed and poignant discussion about this remarkable pacifist and feminist and a fitting finale to our First World War Centenary reflections. BBC Films’ adaptation of Testament of Youth will be released in cinemas in January 2015 and Mark’s latest book, Vera Brittain and the First World War, is published in December. With thanks to St. Mary’s School

John Campbell Roy Jenkins: A Well-Rounded Life

10.00am – 11.00am £10/£8/£5 The Winstanley

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Leading political biographer John Campbell discusses the man widely regarded as the best Prime Minister we never had. Although he never reached 10 Downing Street, Roy Jenkins was behind some of the most seminal reforms of the 20th century. He drove through decriminalisation of homosexuality and legalisation of abortion, abolished theatre censorship, introduced the first anti-discrimination laws, reformed the police and courts, played a decisive role in achieving EU membership for the UK and served as the first and only British president of the European Commission. John is in conversation with Professor Stefan Collini to discuss one of the political heavyweights of modern times. Longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize 2014.

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Sunday 30 November

Laura Bates Everyday Sexism

Sheila Hancock Miss Carter’s War 11.30am – 12.30pm Union Chamber

£12/£8/£5

Legendary actor and best-selling author Sheila Hancock joins critic Alex Clark to discuss her life and career and her debut novel Miss Carter’s War, which introduces her as a vibrant new voice in British fiction.

1.00pm – 2.00pm Union Chamber

£10/£8/£5

Join writer, activist and twitter phenomenon Laura Bates, who after being sexually harassed on London public transport in 2012, began to collect stories for a piece she was writing on the issue. The result was the Everyday Sexism Project which is a call to arms for a new generation of feminists. It highlights the fact that socially, politically and economically, sexism is endemic and demonstrates that women are standing up and #shoutingback. Introduced by Alice Wroe, Feminist Library Collective and founder of @herstory_uk

Caroline Moorehead Village of Secrets 1.00pm – 2.00pm The Winstanley

Rachel Holmes Eleanor Marx: A Life

£10/£8/£5

Eleanor Marx joked that she had inherited her father’s nose but not his genius and accepted that she would be forever overshadowed by him. Yet in her critically acclaimed biography, Rachel Holmes argues that ‘Eleanor Marx changed the world’ and tells the story of one of the first modern feminists who helped transform politics in the 19th century.

Join New York Times best-selling author Caroline Moorehead to hear about her new book, Village of Secrets, the fascinating account of French villagers who saved thousands from the Gestapo during the Second World War. Based on interviews with the villagers themselves this is an extraordinary account of what can be done when ordinary people come together to oppose tyranny. Longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize 2014.

In conversation with Shami Chakrabarti, Director of Liberty

In conversation with Professor Christopher Clark, Regius Professor of History, Cambridge

11.30am –12.30pm The Winstanley

£10/£8/£5

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Sunday 30 November

Ali Smith How to be Both

Lynn Barber A Curious Career

2.30pm – 3.30pm Union Chamber

4.00pm – 5.00pm Union Chamber

£12/£8/£5

Described by Kate Atkinson as ‘one of the few contemporary writers ploughing a genuinely modernist furrow, Ali Smith is one of our most exciting and daring writers. She joins us to present her unique, genre-bending and Bookershortlisted masterpiece How to be Both which is a dual-time tale of art, love, injustice and redemption. In conversation with Alex Clark, critic

£12/£8/£5

How to interview the most ferocious of celebrity interviewers is the question which faces events host Alex Clark. In this second volume of her memoirs Lynn Barber, author of An Education, provides not only a window into the lives of her ‘victims’, including Gore Vidal, Lady Gaga, Rafael Nadal and Marianne Faithfull, but also a revealing and entertaining glimpse into the world of journalism.

Barbara Taylor The Last Asylum 2.30pm – 3.30pm The Winstanley

£10/£8/£5

Mental asylums are often regarded as places of restrictive cruelty, yet one of Barbara Taylor’s most striking confessions is that in the midst of her breakdown it was an asylum, a ‘safe place to be’, a 'stone mother to hold her', that she needed most. In this haunting literary memoir, the award-winning writer reflects on her experiences in a London psychiatric hospital during the 1980s and considers the changing nature of psychiatric and mental health services. Powerful and thoughtprovoking, this is a must-read memoir for our times. In conversation with Lisa Appignanesi, author of Trials of Passion: Crimes in the name of love and madness; and Mad, Bad & Sad: A history of women and the mind doctors.

Jack Monroe A Girl Called Jack 4.00pm – 5.00pm Union Library

£10/£8/£5

A well-known campaigner against hunger and poverty in the UK, a recipe columnist for the Guardian, and winner of Red Magazine’s Woman of the Year 2014, Jack Monroe survived on benefits by learning how to cook on a budget; the result was the best-selling A Girl Called Jack. Her second book, A Year in 120 Recipes, is just published and she joins us to talk about food and politics. In conversation with Anna Whitelock, festival patron

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Marzena Pogorzaly colour wide

Sunday 30 November

4.00pm – 5.00pm £10/£8/£5 The Winstanley

Helen Macdonald & Dave Goulson Of Hawks & Meadows Nature writing has never been more popular and we are delighted to welcome Helen Macdonald and Dave Goulson to discuss this literary trend with festival patron Robert Macfarlane. Helen Macdonald’s number one bestseller H is for Hawk recounts how, as a strategy for overcoming grief, she trained a goshawk; Dave Goulson was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize for A Sting in the Tail and with A Buzz in the Meadow he has created a place where his beloved bumble bees can thrive. H is for Hawk has been longlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize 2014.

Alan Johnson Please, Mr Postman

Eimear McBride A Girl is a Half-Formed Thing

5.30pm – 6.30pm, £12/£8/£5 Union Chamber

5.30pm – 6.30pm, £10/£8/£5 The Winstanley

Alan Johnson’s event was one of the highlights of our last festival and such was the critical acclaim that This Boy went on to win the Orwell Prize for political writing and the Ondaatje Prize. Join him for the next eagerly awaited instalment of his honest and moving memoir.

Tom Gatti, Culture Editor of the New Statesman speaks to one of this year’s publishing success stories. Eimear McBride’s astonishing debut novel, A Girl is a HalfFormed Thing, is the most garlanded book of the year and one that almost wasn’t published. Come and hear her triumphant story.

In conversation with Jason Cowley, Editor, New Statesman

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Sunday 30 November

7.00pm – 8.00pm £12/£8/£5 Union Chamber

Owen Jones & Shami Chakrabarti 21st-Century Britain Two of our most assiduous and effective campaigners discuss how Britain is run in the 21st Century. Owen Jones is the bestselling author of Chavs and appears regularly on Newsnight, Question Time and Channel 4 News. His latest book is The Establishment. Shami Chakrabarti CBE is Director of Liberty, Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University and a Master of the Bench of Middle Temple; On Liberty is her first book. Chaired by Helen Lewis, Assistant Editor, New Statesman

7.00pm – 8.00pm £12/£8/£5 Union Chamber

Marina Warner Once Upon a Time 7.00pm – 8.00pm, £10/£8/£5 The Winstanley A wonderful opportunity to hear from this renowned scholar on the most magical and enduring of literary forms. Marina Warner explores the survival and transformations of familiar fairy stories as told in a variety of media, covering everything from family entertainment to ‘adult’ fiction. In conversation with Dame Gillian Beer, festival patron

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Bill Waters

Sunday 30 November

Clare Balding Walking Home

8.30pm – 9.30pm £24: includes a ticket and a

One of our best-loved broadcasters talks about the follow-up to her number one best-selling memoir, My Animals and Other Family. In Clare Balding’s horseracing obsessed family, walking just took too long. But since being presenter of BBC Radio 4’s Ramblings she’s covered some 1,500 miles of footpaths. Some walks were charming diversions; others changed her life.

hardback copy of Walking Home

£34: includes 2 tickets and a hardback copy of Walking Home

Union Chamber

Richard Gilligan

Anthony Woods

With thanks to Newnham College

8.30pm – 9.30pm £10/£8/£5 The Winstanley

John Boyne and Donal Ryan Ireland has a long tradition of producing remarkable writers and two of its master storytellers join us this evening. After 12 novels including the international best-seller The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, John Boyne returns to his roots. The History of Loneliness is a powerful and intimate novel about the Irish Catholic Church. Hitting the sweet spot of the Irish tradition Donal Ryan won the Guardian First Book Award with The Spinning Heart and his latest, The Thing About December, confirms his status as one of the best writers of his generation. Chaired by Jo Browning Wroe

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Where to stay

Best Western Plus – The Gonville Hotel Gonville Place, Cambridge CB1 1LY 01223 366611 [email protected] www.gonvillehotel.co.uk

Hotel Felix Whitehouse Lane, Huntingdon Road, Cambridge CB3 0LX 01223 277977 [email protected] www.hotelfelix.co.uk

This four-star, centrally-located, family-owned hotel offers recently refurbished modern accommodation. Located opposite Parker’s Piece, the hotel is only a short walk from the train station, coach station, main shopping area and many University buildings. Free car parking and WiFi are available for all residents as well as relaxed dining in our Atrium Brasserie.

The four-star boutique Hotel Felix is set in beautiful surroundings, a short drive from the city centre. Luxuriate in one of its 52 bedrooms, dine in the stylish award-winning Graffiti Restaurant or relax in the light and airy Orangery, the Bar or on the tranquil southfacing Terrace.

Duke House 1 Victoria Street, Cambridge, CB1 1JP 01223 314773 [email protected] dukehousecambridge.co.uk

Regent Hotel 41 Regent Street, Cambridge CB2 1AB 01223 351470 [email protected] www.regenthotel.co.uk

Nestling alongside Christ’s Pieces in the very heart of historic Cambridge, Duke House is a boutique B&B offering outstanding accommodation to suit all visitors. All the city’s colleges and attractions are within just a few hundred metres.

A fine Georgian listed building, The Regent Hotel was the original home of the first Newnham College students. We are a small independent Hotel, overlooking Parker's Piece, a short stroll away from the colleges, museums, botanical gardens and shopping areas.

Hotel du Vin & Bistro 15-19 Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1QA 01223 227330 [email protected] www.hotelduvin.com Dating back in parts to medieval times, the Hotel du Vin has 41 bedrooms and boasts a wonderful bistro, cosy library, private events room, wine tasting and cellar bar. cambridgeliteraryfestival.com

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Booking Information

Venues

Priority booking Friends of the Festival can book tickets from Wednesday 8 October.

Cambridge Union Society 9A Bridge Street Cambridge CB2 1UB www.cus.org

The Box Office opens Wednesday 15 October. Box Office opening hours Monday-Saturday, 1pm-7pm. Book online adcticketing.com Book by telephone 01223 300085 A 50p charge is added to telephone bookings. Book in person ADC Theatre Box Office Park Street Cambridge CB5 8AS Group bookings Please contact the Box Office by telephone for details and reservations. Young person standby tickets People aged 24 and under can buy tickets halfprice if purchased on the day of the event. Please visit the box office at the event venue for more information. Proof of age will be required. Ticket delivery Tickets booked up to seven days in advance can be posted out for a charge of 70p, or can be collected from the ADC Box Office free of charge up to the day before the event. Tickets may also be collected at the event venue on the day. Refund and exchange policy If you inform the Box Office at least 72 hours prior to an event, we will be happy to exchange your ticket for another winter 2014 event (subject to availability). Refunds will only be made where an event is sold out. If your event is cancelled you can exchange your ticket for another event at the festival (subject to availability). If you don’t wish to exchange, you are entitled to a refund of the ticket’s value. Please note The Box Office does not keep a waiting list for sold-out events. The best way to guarantee tickets is to book well in advance.

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The Winstanley Trinity Street Cambridge CB2 1TQ www.trin.cam.ac.uk (entrance between All Saints Garden and Brora, the former post office) Parkside Campus Parkside School Parker’s Piece Cambridge CB1 1EH Accessibility All festival venues (except the Cambridge Union Library) have wheelchair access, please request a wheelchair space when booking. For events at the Winstanley Lecture Theatre, please allow an additional 5-10 minutes to reach the venue by the wheelchair route. Front row seats will be reserved at all venues for the deaf and hard of hearing. Books for Amnesty Pop-Up Shop Cambridge Union Come and browse a wonderful selection of second-hand, rare and collectable books in the Cambridge Union. For every two books you buy, receive 50% off a festival ticket and help support Amnesty’s work for human rights worldwide. amnesty.org.uk Festival Bar The Festival Bar is located in the Cambridge Union selling a variety of drinks and snacks throughout the day.

We would like to thank our supporters

Principal sponsor

Principal media partner

Festival bookseller

Partner charity

Amnesty International Media partners

Sponsors and supporters

Newnham College, Cambridge

Trinity College, Cambridge

Patrons

Benefactors

Participating publishers

Denise Augar Andrew & Fiona Blake Catherine Lucas Sarah Lucas Ann McAllister Sian Reid Louise Makin Paul Taylor

Cambridge Research Associates Laurence & Sarah Garrett Stephanie Juergens Stella Manzie David & Margaret Reynolds Pippa Rogerson Vera Schuster-Beesley Carol & Chas Sims

Bloomsbury Faber & Faber Little Brown Orion Oxford University Press Penguin Random Simon & Schuster Transworld

Follow us @camlitfest Cambridge Literary Festival camlitfest The Cambridge Literary Festival is a charity registered in England and Wales, no. 1153944.

Diary Dates Spring Festival 2015 15 – 19 April Winter Festival 2015 29 November

cambridgeliteraryfestival.com Picture by Martin Bond www.acambridgediary.co.uk