The Chester Literature Festival is set to open at Storyhouse later this week, on Thursday 10 November.

The annual celebration of the written word will consider the themes of mental health, wellbeing, belonging and a sense of home.

Fans of the written and spoken word can expect two weeks of unmissable events, performances and conversations in what is one of the longest-running annual literature events in the country.

Prolific author Patrick Gale brings his new book Mother’s Boy to Chester Literature Festival on Tuesday, 15 November for a special An Evening With…

Mother’s Boy is his first fully historical novel since his bestselling 2015 book A Place Called Winter and is based around the known facts about the boyhood and youth of the great Cornish poet Charles Causley and the life of his mother who raised him singlehandedly.

A story of Cornwall, class, desire and two world wars, Gale’s 17th book centres around a man who is among, yet apart from, his fellows and in thrall to, yet at a distance from, his own mother. But equally it is the story of a dauntless woman who will continue to shield her son long after the dangers of war are past.

Saturday, 19 November sees internationally acclaimed novelist Joanne Harris entertain festival audiences with #Storytime, a musical storytelling show in which Harris and her band combine original music, songs, images and stories – or what she describes as ‘Jackanory with drums’.

Expect tales from her illustrated collection Honeycomb along with longer pieces based on her novellas A Pocketful of Crows and The Blue Salt Road.

Homeland, Supergirl and Blood Diamond star David Harewood appears on Sunday, 20 November, celebrating the publication of his breathtakingly honest memoir Maybe I Don’t Belong Here.

At the age of 23 and not long out of drama school, the actor had what he now understands to be a psychotic breakdown and ended up being sectioned under the Mental Health Act. Maybe I Don’t Belong Here is a ground-breaking account of the effects of everyday racism on the identity and mental health of Black British men.

Poet Lemn Sissay returns to the Literature Festival on Thursday, 24 November, reading from his Sunday Times bestselling memoir My Name Is Why followed by a Q&A with the audience.

The former Storyhouse artist in residence will reveal a story of neglect and determination, misfortune and hope, and cruelty and triumph as he reflects on a childhood in care, self-expression and Britishness.

Novelist and short story writer Kit de Waal will appear in the Garret theatre on Friday 25 November.

Born to an Irish mother and Caribbean father, Kit de Waal was brought up among the Irish community of Birmingham in the ‘60s and ‘70s. Her debut novel My Name Is Leon was an international bestseller, shortlisted for the Costa First Novel Award, longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize and won the Kerry Group Irish Novel of the Year Award for 2017. Its TV adaptation earlier this year was met with critical acclaim. At Storyhouse she will discuss her memoir Without Warning and Only Sometimes released in August 2022.

Festival events will also include free workshops and the Human Library.

Chester Literature Festival was launched in 1989 by volunteer organisation Chester Arts 89 and city booksellers who programmed a week of literary activity including a reading by the niece of novelist D H Lawrence.

This is the 11th year that the festival has been programmed by Storyhouse, and along with visiting names, special artists in residence have included Benjamin Zephaniah, Lemn Sissay, Imtiaz Dharker and Ted Hughes Prize-winner Hollie McNish.

Storyhouse Creative Director Suzie Henderson said: “We’re really pleased to be able to present such a fabulous line-up for this year’s Chester Literature Festival. And this is announcement is just the beginning – there are more big names and great events which will be revealed over the next few months.

“The themes of this year’s festival are mental health and wellbeing and a sense of home, and I know our guests are going to provoke some fascinating, insightful and important discussions.”

Explore the full 16 days of events, here.

For more information, contact:
Nancy Davies
Marketing and PR Manager
nancy@storyhouse.com
07886 743531