Aug 01 - Gibraltar Literary Festival Full Line Up Launched
Today saw the official launch of October’s inaugural Literary Festival for Gibraltar. The full line up is set to feature prize-winning author Joanne Harris, Man Booker Prize winner Ben Okri and Carnegie Medal writer, Kevin Crossley-Holland. Novelist and former Moroccan culture minister Mohammed Achaari will take part in an event, as will a selection of Spanish authors including Mercedes Aguirre. Professor Paul Preston, the distinguished historian of 20th century Spain will hold an event looking at some of his more recent controversial work on the ‘Spanish holocaust’.
Three of the world’s most celebrated chefs and cookery writers will bring flavours from around the globe to the Festival as Claudia Roden, Ken Hom and Madhur Jaffrey share tales of the importance of the culture of food for family, memory, peace, celebration and love whilst Claudia will prepare a feast for the closing night.
Well-known globetrotters joining the Festival include explorer Robin Hanbury -Tenison and former BBC foreign correspondent Kate Adie, and, from closer to home, the Gibraltar mystery writing duo Sam Benady and Mary Chiappe.
Other writers appearing at the Festival include Peter Snow, making a return to Gibraltar having lived there in the 1950s; actress Stefanie Powers; Patrick Jephson, Private Secretary to the late Diana, Princess of Wales; Mary-Jo Jacobi, Assistant Secretary to George Bush Senior; Gavin Hewitt, on his book The Lost Continent: The Inside Story of Europe’s Darkest Hour Since World War Two’ and journalist William Chislett on Spain: What Everyone Needs to Know’. Matters of faith will be addressed by Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor and Professor Sir Diarmaid MacCulloch.
Richard Hamilton will recount the tale of how he tracked down the last few remaining storytellers of the Marrakech Medina to record their tales for his book, The Last Storytellers: Tales from the Heart of Morocco. Whilst Tom Mogford and Jason Webster authors of thrillers set in the Mediterranean will bring a sense of danger to the Festival as they discuss crime in the sun.
The Gibraltar International Literary Festival is being curated by the organisers of Oxford Literary Festival. Commenting on the matter, Gibraltar House Director Peter Canessa noted, ‘we are delighted to be hosting the first ever literary festival in Gibraltar. Gibraltar has a unique cultural heritage and the Festival will showcase just some of this fascinating story.’
Festival Director Sally Dunsmore commented, ‘this will be a truly international festival. We have more than 50 writers coming from Morocco, Spain, France, Africa, the US, the UK, and, of course, from Gibraltar. We are putting together a programme of world-class writers and public figures that we hope Gibraltarians will enjoy and that will also put Gibraltar on the literary map.’
