Big Names Sign Up For Shoreham Wordfest 2022

The Poet Laureate, a popular newsreader, a celebrated Welsh theatre troupe and a congregation of crime writers are set to descend on Shoreham in October for this year’s Wordfest.

The literary festival, supported by Adur District Council, celebrates local creativity and attracts high-profile authors - and this year’s event, which takes place from October 3 to 16, is no exception.

There is a strong poetry theme this year, culminating with Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, who will be heading to the Ropetackle Arts Centre with his band LYR on October 11. The band will be performing tracks from their debut album Call in The Crash Team, which sets Simon’s spoken vocals to music.

Actors from The Dylan Thomas Theatre will be swapping Swansea for Shoreham for a performance of the Welsh poet’s iconic drama Under Milk Wood at Shoreham Methodist Church on October 8. Audiences will be transported to the fictional Welsh village of Llareggub where they will delve into the thoughts and dreams of a cast of local characters.

At the festival launch there will be an open mic night of performance poetry and storytelling. Plus, a Poetry Pharmacy outside St Mary de Haura Church will be dispensing free personalised poems to passers-by on October 6.

The festival will also highlight some of the hot topics in news and world events, with BBC newsreader and presenter Clive Myrie in conversation with Professor Ivor Gaber at St Mary de Haura Church on October 14. Clive will discuss highlights of his career and share thoughts on international affairs, including his recent stint presenting the news live from Ukraine during the Russian invasion.

Former Foreign Secretary and recent Conservative Party leadership hopeful Jeremy Hunt MP will be discussing his recent book Zero, Eliminating Preventable Harm and Tragedy in the NHS, at The Sir Robert Woodard Academy on October 12. Expect to hear his proposition to prevent avoidable deaths, save money, reduce backlogs and improve working conditions.

Join authors Jon Alexander and Kate Hughes as well as the President of Sussex Wildlife Trust, Tony Whitbread, for an Environment Day summit at The Shoreham Centre on October 9. There will be a series of talks and breakout sessions throughout the event as well as bookable walks to local environmental projects. 

Fans of crime fiction will be in for a treat at this year’s festival, with a whole day dedicated to the genre. Hosted by authors Elly Griffiths and William Shaw, the Fatal Shore Festival of Crime Writing will feature 19 best-selling crime novelists, including Kate Mosse, Dorothy Koomson and Vaseem Kahn, across nine sessions on October 15.

Following the crime theme, Wordfest patron Simon Brett will be in conversation with Lynne Truss before performing his one-man play Lines of Enquiry on October 15. Plus, actresses Sally Lindsay and Sue Vincent will talk about co-writing their Channel 5 series, The Madame Blanc Mysteries, on October 16.

For the full list of events and to buy tickets visit https://shorehamwordfest.com/. Tickets can also be purchased from Shoreham Art Gallery and the Wordfest stall at Shoreham Market on August 13 and 27 and September 10 and 24.