Jun 26 - Second Literary Festival Authors Revealed
The second Gibraltar Gibunco Literary festival was announced this morning to be held on November 14th to 16th this year. Minister for Tourism Neil Costa insisted that it was the most important festival in Gibraltar’s calendar of international events. Flanked by festival organisers Sally Dunsmore and Tony Byrne and Tourist Board CEP Nicky Guerrero, Minister Costa went on to thank the Festival’s main sponsor, Gibunco. He added that a dinner would be held at the Garrison Library this evening for potential sponsors of the event.
The first authors to be chosen for the three-day festival line up include acclaimed novelist Kate Mosse, whose book ‘Labyrinth’ has been translated into 30 languages, Historian and television presenter Kate Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey, who will give an address and preach at The Festival Service at the Cathedral of The Holy Trinity. The line up also includes former Observer Editor Jonathan Fenby and Professor of History of the Church at Oxford Sir Diarmaid MacCulloch who will discuss his latest book ‘Silence in the Christian History’.
The Festival will feature an extensive Travel writers line up including Ian Finlayson, author of ‘Tangier, City of the Dream’, Barnaby Rogerson, John Hopkins, Dr. Charles Powell of the Elcano Royal Institute in Madrid, biographer of King Juan Carlos. Jimmy Burns former FT correspondant will also feature in the line up along with History of Art Professor Martin Kemp and Harry Freedman, Jewish Scholar.
This year will feature two new lectures dubbed the Gibraltar Chronicle Lecture and the Kusuma Trust Philanthropy Lecture. This year’s festival will also boast three major music events in the form of a performance by the Orchestra of St. John, a concert by British Nigerian singer Patti Boulaye and The Bookshop Band whose music is inspired by books and a talk by Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi.
Madhur Jeffrey, Joanne Harris and William Chislett are set to return following last year’s hugely successful event. Speaking at the press conference this morning, Sally Dunsmore noted that much emphasis would be put on schools and youngsters this year, with authors speaking at a number of classes in local schools, a venture that has never been undertaken during any festival in the UK.
Commenting on the event, Minister Costa explained that many of last year’s acclaimed authors, including Ben Okri and Joanne Harris, told him that this had been the most well organized festival they had ever attended.
Commenting on the process that is undertaken when choosing authors for the festival, Sally Dunsmore noted that she had been on the circuit for quite some time and is able to keep up with whose popular and current and available to her.
