Tickets go on sale for over 70 Derby Book Festival events

Tickets have now gone on sale for more than 70 events, which will be held as part of Derby Book Festival 2022.

The festival, which will be held from 20 to 28 May, is funded by Arts Council England and the University of Derby, with sponsorship from a number of local businesses and individuals, including Marketing Derby and several of its Bondholders.

The events will be held at venues across the city and all tickets are available online and from box offices at QUAD, Derby Theatre and Déda for events they are hosting. Other venues holding festival events include Artcore and Derby College.

Festival chair Liz Fothergill said: “This year we hope that the festival will see a return to near normal after the disruption of the past two years.

“Our venues are fully open, and we are keen to encourage our audiences back to safe and welcoming events in the city’s wonderful venues.”

Professor Kathryn Mitchell CBE, vice-chancellor and chief executive of the University of Derby, said: “As an avid reader, I know the joy that books can bring, and it is wonderful that the festival provides an opportunity for people to come together to share their love of reading and discover new authors and books.”

Highlights of this year’s festival include an event celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee with royal correspondent Robert Hardman and his definitive biography of the Queen.

There will be an event with The Great British Sewing Bee’s Esme Young and the closing event will have a local Derbyshire flavour, featuring wine tasting with wines from Renishaw Hall led by the English Wine Project’s Kieron Atkinson.

There will also be special events for families at Derby Theatre during the school half term, with three of the most popular children’s authors, Lauren Child, David Baddiel and Jacqueline Wilson.

Liz said: “The programme includes our usual broad range of events and genres for all ages and interests, and we are particularly excited to have three of the country’s biggest names in children’s literature.”

Other highlights include award-winners and shortlisted fiction writers: Costa First Novel winner, Caleb Azumah Nelson (Open Water), Booker-shortlisted Graeme Macrae Burnet (Case Study), Waterstones Book of the Year-shortlisted Amy Jeffs (Storyland), Women’s Prize-shortlisted Sarah Moss (The Fell, Joanna Cannon (A Tidy Ending) and Stacey Halls (Mrs England).

Professor Mitchell said: “Broadening knowledge and challenging our ways of thinking are all key parts of university life and reading plays a crucial role in that.

“It can help to raise aspirations, support people to recognise and fulfil their potential, and discover new possibilities.”

The festival is being backed by a number of Bondholders, who are sponsoring specific events. They include Geldards, Smith Partnership, East Midlands Chamber, Cosy, Pennine Healthcare, Freeths and Penguin PR.

The festival is organised in partnership with all the major arts and cultural partners in the city, including Marketing Derby, which will be holding its own book festival event on 24 May with inspirational speaker Estelle Read at Derby Museums’ Museum of Making.

Invites for this event will be sent out to Bondholders next week.

For full details of the festival programme visit www.derbybookfestival.co.uk.