Ilkley Literature Festival 2024

I spent last weekend in Ilkley, Yorkshire where I visited the Ilkley Literature Festival. 

I adore Ilkley.  It’s small enough that I don’t feel that I can get lost and avoids the crowding that one can experience in a city, but has a wonderful range of shops and restaurants.  The latter in particular tend more towards independent eateries as opposed to the typical chains, and there’s a great range to suit all tastes and dietary requirements. There is also the wonderful independent Grove Bookshop which is always a pleasure to visit. I spent quite a long time perusing their stock, eventually selecting a few titles to come home with me.

Ilkley is the right size for a Festival town…large enough to provide various amenities and small enough to stroll around and run into everybody.

J.B Priestley writing in support of the first Ilkley Literature Festival 

Now in its 51^st year, it’s the second longest running festival in the UK, and this is the second year that I’ve attended.  It won’t be the last. The festival runs for two weeks throughout October, and I attended the middle weekend and the following events.

John Murray Press Proof Party and Prosecco

Proofs AND prosecco?!  Sign me up! 😁  I really enjoyed this event in which authors Lucy Steeds and Clare Leslie Hall discussed their novels (The Artist and Broken Country, respectively) both of which are being published next year.  While attendees were supposed to get a copy of each, there was a little bit of a mix up on the publisher’s side, and they only sent enough proofs for one book per person.  The friendly festival staff assured attendees that additional copies would be issued in the coming weeks although I am grateful just to have one.

Lucy is a debut novelist, and I really enjoyed hearing about her experiences of being published.  In particular, I enjoyed hearing about the editing experience when she had to review all of the food items mentioned (there are a lot, apparently!) to ensure that they were in season. The Artist is set in 1920s Provence, and tackles the themes of creativity and agency. It sounds absolutely brilliant.

Clare Leslie Hall has been previously published as Clare Empson, but has moved (I think) to her maiden name for her forthcoming novel, Broken Country. Her previous novels have been marketed as crime / thrillers, and she wanted to move away from that with this novel. From the description, I believe that it still contains the elements of that genre, but also a more romantic edge as a woman becomes caught up in a love triangle.

Jodi Picoult – By Any Other Name

Yes, I’ve read it (you can see my review here).  I was fortunate enough to pick up a proof of this novel at this year’s Hay Festival, but I enjoyed Jodi’s talk so much that I decided to go again.  I find the motivation behind the novel fascinating. It started with an article Jodi read in which it was revealed that Shakespeare never taught his daughters to read and write. Given that several of his female characters seem relatively progressive for the time, this didn’t ring true. Her extensive research produced By Any Other Name which theorises that someone very different may have authored some of those plays. I have to say that the evidence she presents is compelling, but I think that it’s still possible to enjoy those plays (and other works) whether you buy into the argument or not.

Susie Dent – Guilty by Definition

They say that you should write what you know, and I feel that Susie Dent has taken that advice quite literally in penning her debut novel, Guilty by Definition. Her main protagonist is the senior editor of the Clarendon English Dictionary, and the novel combines the love of words and language with a mystery to be solved. Susie’s talk was fascinating as she discussed her move from non-fiction to fiction as well as covering her time in the Countdown dictionary corner (32 years and counting, would you believe) as well as the slightly less serious spin off, 8 Out of 10 Cats Does Countdown. I’m really looking forward to reading this novel.

Rob Eastaway – Much Ado About Numbers

More Shakespeare, but from a very different angle as Rob discussed his latest book, Much Ado About Numbers which looks at maths in Shakespeare. It’s perhaps a bit of a strange angle to explore, and yet Shakespeare lived at a time which saw significant developments and innovation in astronomy, maths, and science, and Rob was intrigued to see how these were reflected in Shakespeare’s work. As someone who straddles both camps through being interested in literature but having studied maths at university, I found the talk interesting although I have to admit that while numbers do obviously crop up in those plays, I’m not convinced there was anything much behind it beyond the way in which we all use numbers in our lives and speech patterns. Sorry, Rob!

Paul Sinha – Once Sinha Lifetime

Perhaps best known as the Sinnerman on quiz show The Chase, Paul was at the festival discussing his autobiography – the absolutely brilliantly titled Once Sinha Lifetime.  While I’m not a huge fan of biographies, I really enjoyed Paul’s talk which went far beyond quizzing, although The Chase did of course get mentioned.  As a standup comedian he was, of course, very amusing, but it’s clear that his autobiography explores some of the darker moments in his life as well as the good times.