Cambridge Literary Festival Winter 2019 29 November - 1 December
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Cambridge
Literary
Festival
Winter 2019
29 November –
1 December
In partnership with
Highlights include
George Alagiah
Richard Ayoade
Raymond Blanc
Darcey Bussell
Jung Chang
Yvette Cooper
Cressida Cowell
Richard Dawkins
Bernardine Evaristo
Ian McEwan
Ben Miller
Philippa Perry
Lemn Sissay
Book at
cambridgelive.org.uk
01223 357851
Picture by Martin Bond www.acambridgediary.co.uk
Director’s welcome Festival team
Director
Cathy Moore
Manager
Mo Soper
Programme Support
Rachael Beale
Sabine Edwards
Mary Nathan
Finance Manager
Jackie Latham
Fundraising and
Partnerships
Claire Hoather
Oh come all ye festival goers, escape from the cold and join us for Company Secretary
an exceptional array of brilliant writers who will help us make Kevin Jones
sense of the times we are living through and distract us from them. Board
There can be no more important subject right now than the Rob Cameron
natural world and the impact of climate change. Getting the Julia Collins
Festival off to a great start is lifelong nature writer Richard Karen Duffy
Jeremy Newsum
Maybey who writes ‘Crises don’t extinguish the redemptive
Sian Ried
power of nature, and we need to revel in that not just for its own
Andrea Reiner
sake, but because it may yet help us out of the abyss’. Closing the John Stanton
Festival, in what is sure to be a terrific finale, is internationally Katie Taylor
acclaimed writer Jung Chang with her latest gripping biography Peter Taylor
of three women at the heart of twentieth century China. Honorary Patrons
Throughout the weekend there are an abundance of highlights Dame Gillian Beer
including Ian McEwan making his Festival debut; legendary Melissa Benn
dancer Dame Darcey Bussell; one of the world’s greatest chefs Jill Dawson
Raymond Blanc; the brilliant John Crace introduces us to BoJo Sophie Hannah
in Decline and Fail, his hilarious survival guide to the current Dame Margaret Drabble
apocalypse; Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell makes not one Robert Macfarlane
but two appearances; plus prize-winning fiction from Will Eaves Robert McCrum
discussing his 2019 Wellcome Book Prize Winner and the winner Allison Pearson
of this year’s exhilarating Goldsmiths Prize. Rowan Pelling
David Reynolds
Come mingle with like-minded folk, to share ideas, laughter and David Runciman
collective joy, and to be inspired by our roll call of uplifting writers Ruth Scurr
and performers. Ali Smith
Frances Spalding
Cathy Moore, Festival Director Preti Taneja
Anna Whitelock
Follow us Join as a Friend Bee Wilson
@camlitfest 01223 515335
Cambridge Literary Festival Diary Dates 2020
Spring Festival Cambridge Literary Festival
camlitfest 7 Downing Place
17–19 April
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Cover photography © Martin Bond from his project A Cambridge Diary where Martin The Cambridge Literary Festival is a
takes a picture every day in and around the streets and public places of Cambridge. For charity registered in England and
more information please visit: acambridgediary.co.uk Wales, no. 1153944.
cambridgeliteraryfestival.com 03
Events at a glance Preview events
Event Times Venue Page
Children’s Programme events
Wednesday 16 October
Paul Mason 6-7pm TTP Stage 5
Wednesday 23 October
Gavin Esler 6:30-7:30pm McCrum Lecture Theatre 5
Friday 1 November
Patti Smith 7-8:30pm West Road Concert Hall 7
Friday 29 November
Richard Mabey 4-5pm TTP Stage 8
George Alagiah 5:30-6:30pm TTP Stage 8
Philippa Perry 6:30-7:30pm TTP Stage 9
Dame Darcey Bussell 8-9pm TTP Stage 9
Saturday 30 November
Cressida Cowell – Wizards and Dragons 10-11am TTP Stage 11
Cressida Cowell – Emily Brown & Father Christmas 2:30-3:30pm TTP Stage 11 Paul Mason A Radical Defence of the Human Being
Gaia Vince 10-11am Old Divinity School 12
Wednesday 16 October | TTP Stage | 6-7pm | £12/£10
Steve Jones 10-11am Palmerston Room 12
Join us for an evening with Paul Mason, award-winning author, broadcaster and film-maker to
Tom Bradby 11:30-12:30pm TTP Stage 12
address the issue of how we preserve what makes us human in an age of uncertainty. Following the
Rob Hopkins 11:30-12:30pm Old Divinity School 13
phenomenal success of his bestselling Postcapitalism, he asks important questions about who and
Michael Fuller 11:30-12:30pm Palmerston Room 13
what we are. Consumers shaped by market forces? A sequence of DNA? A collection of base
Sarah-Jayne Blakemore 1-2pm Palmerston Room 13
Amelia Gentleman & Colin Grant 1-2pm TTP Stage 14
instincts? Or will we soon be supplanted by algorithms and A.I.? Clear Bright Future is a radical,
André Aciman 1-2pm Old Divinity School 14
impassioned defence of the human being, our universal rights and freedoms and our power to
Kerry Hudson 2:30-3:30pm Palmerston Room 15 change the world around us. His conclusions may surprise you.
Louise Doughty 2:30-3:30pm Old Divinity School 15 In conversation with George Eaton, assistant editor at the New Statesman
Nicola Upson 2:30-3:30pm The Fitzwilliam Museum 15
Richard Ayoade 4-5pm TTP Stage 16
Hannah Critchlow 4-5pm Palmerston Room 16
Will Eaves 4-5pm Old Divinity School 16
Raymond Blanc 5:30-6:30pm TTP Stage 17
John Crace 5:30-6:30pm Palmerston Room 17
The Goldsmiths Prize 5:30-6:30pm Old Divinity School 18
Ian McEwan 7-8pm TTP Stage 18
New Statesman Politics Podcast – Live Recording 7-8pm Old Divinity School 18
Lemn Sissay 8:30-9:30pm TTP Stage 19
Sunday 1 December
Isabella Tree 10-11am Palmerston Room 24
David Reynolds 10-11am Old Divinity School 24
Carrie Gracie 11:30-12:30pm TTP Stage 24
Steve Richards 11:30-12:30pm Palmerston Room 25
Elif Shafak 11:30-12:30pm Old Divinity School 25
Claudia Hammond 1-2pm Palmerston Room 25 Gavin Esler Brexit Without the Bullshit
Ben Miller – Make Them Laugh 1-2pm TTP Stage 26
Peter Pomerantsev 1-2pm Old Divinity School 26 Wednesday 23 October | 6:30-7:30pm | McCrum Lecture Theatre | £13/£11
Richard Dawkins 2:30-3:30pm TTP Stage 27 Just a week away from the current European Union departure date of 31st October and the
Joanna Cannon 2:30-3:30pm Old Divinity School 27 most momentous change in British life for decades, Gavin Esler joins us for a no-nonsense
Bernardine Evaristo 2:30-3:30pm Palmerston Room 28 discussion of Brexit. An outspoken Remainer, he stood for Change UK in the European Parliament
Yvette Cooper 4-5pm TTP Stage 28 elections. Since leaving Newsnight he has been a journalist, a public speaker and a political
Azadeh Moaveni 4-5pm Old Divinity School 29 commentator and is well qualified to share his insights on the Brexit that is coming and its
Jenny Eclair 4-5pm Palmerston Room 29 impact on jobs and industry, health and the NHS, food and diet, education and travel to Europe.
David Runciman 5:30-6:30pm Palmerston Room 30 In conversation with Siân Kevill, former Editor at the BBC’s Newsnight and Director of Making
Jung Chang 5:30-6:30pm TTP Stage 30
Waves – making films that have social impact
04 Book at: cambridgelive.org.uk 01223 357851 cambridgeliteraryfestival.com 05
Friday 1 November
Patti Smith
Words and Music
7-8:30pm | West Road Concert Hall
£20/£15
Patti Smith comes to Cambridge on
one of only three nights in the UK to
talk about her powerful memoir Year
of the Monkey. Following on from
her previous bestsellers Just Kids
and M Train, Year of the Monkey tells
more of her poignant story, tackling
loss, ageing, and a dramatic shift in
the political landscape of America.
A rare chance to hear from this
diverse artist unparalleled in vision
and eloquence.
Patti Smith is in conversation with
Tom Gatti, Deputy Editor of the
New Statesman, and will
also perform with
musician Tony
Shanahan
© Steven Sebring
cambridgeliteraryfestival.com 07
Friday 29 November Friday 29 November
© Justine Stoddart
Richard Mabey Pioneers of Nature Writing Philippa Perry The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read
4-5pm | TTP Stage | £12/10
6:30-7:30pm | TTP Stage | £12/£10
Richard Mabey has spent a lifetime writing about nature and passionately believes that the
Renowned psychotherapist and author Philippa Perry brings her trademark optimism, guidance and
Earth is a commonwealth of all species. He has been sharing his brilliant insights into the
reassurance to Cambridge with her runaway bestseller The Book You Wish Your Parents Had Read.
natural world and its relationship to our lives for over forty years, from 1972’s Food for Free to
Whatever our background or role – child, parent, brother, sister – we have all grappled with family life.
The Cabaret of Plants (2016). In Turning the Boat for Home, he reflects on his writing life and
Come and hear how Perry’s relaxed and practical exploration of our closest bonds can help us to
the evolution of his ideas over the course of his career. Mabey will be in conversation with
understand how all our families might work better together, and we as individuals might thrive.
Robert Macfarlane, Fellow of Emmanuel College, writer and Festival Patron. Unmissable.
‘Wise advice and support for those on both sides of the generation gap.’ The Guardian
‘Mabey stands with just a few other writers – Roger Deakin, Richard Jefferies and John
Clare among them – as someone who not just sees beauty in nature but understands and In conversation with Alex Clark, journalist, critic and broadcaster
enhances it.’ The Guardian
© Charlotte MacMillan
Dame Darcey Bussell A Life in the Spotlight
© Jeff Overs
8-9pm | TTP Stage | £14/£12
Hear the name ‘Darcey Bussell’ and the words ‘elegant’, ‘dancer’, ‘legend’ and ‘Strictly’ spring
immediately to mind like a ballerina en pointe. From her training at the Royal Ballet School,
George Alagiah From Fact to Fiction becoming the youngest principal dancer at the Royal Ballet, her subsequent glorious career at
5:30-6:30pm | TTP Stage | £12/£10 Britain’s foremost dance company, and her stint as a Strictly judge, she is beloved by dancers
George Alagiah, well-known for bringing us facts as the face of BBC news, has now turned his and clod-hoppers alike. Join her as she discusses her life and work and introduces her latest
hand to fiction in the form of his debut novel The Burning Land, an exhilarating political thriller set book Evolved, which captures rare, unseen moments from a stunning career.
in South Africa. Come and hear how he has drawn on his years reporting from South Africa and In conversation with Helen Lewis, author and Staff Writer at The Atlantic
other global hotspots to weave a truly gripping story.
In conversation with Patrick Maguire, Political Correspondent of the New Statesman With thanks to
08 Book at: cambridgelive.org.uk 01223 357851 cambridgeliteraryfestival.com 09
Ch ev
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Saturday 30 November
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s
Cressida Cowell
Wizards and Dragons
10-11am | TTP Stage | £7 | Age 7+
Meet multi-million-copy selling Waterstones
Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell, creator
of the How to Train Your Dragon (also a
DreamWorks film and TV franchise) and The
Wizards of Once series. Cressida will talk
about her latest book, The Wizards of Once:
Knock Three Times, as well as How to Train
Your Dragon and her writing inspiration, and
give tips on becoming an author or illustrator.
Unmissable!
Emily Brown and Father
Christmas with Neal Layton
2:30-3:30pm | TTP Stage |£7 |Age 5+
Join Waterstones Children’s Laureate
Cressida Cowell and award-winning
illustrator Neal Layton to celebrate the
publication of their fifth Emily Brown book,
Emily Brown and Father Christmas. It's
Christmas Eve, and who's that outside the
window? It's Father Christmas! In his shiny
new turbo-charged sleigh, complete with
sat-nav. But things aren't going quite to
plan... Can Emily Brown and Stanley save the
day? Find out where Emily gets her can-do
attitude from, along with storytelling and
live drawing. Sure to delight your little ones..
© Debra Hurford Brown
cambridgeliteraryfestival.com 11
Saturday 30 November Saturday 30 November
Gaia Vince A Positive Story of Humanity Rob Hopkins Creating the Future We Want
10-11am | Old Divinity School | £10/£8 11:30am-12:30pm | Old Divinity School | £11/£9
It’s timely to welcome science writer, broadcaster and With the news of climate-breakdown and biodiversity-loss worse
award-winning author of Adventures in the Anthropocene, by the day, has the time come for a Transition in the way we live?
Gaia Vince, whose new book Transcendence compels us to Permaculture designer Rob Hopkins founded the Transition Town
reimagine our ancestors. To think of ourselves as smarter network in Totnes in 2006. It's now a global movement – including
chimps with cool tools is to miss what is truly extraordinary a thriving Cambridge branch. He comes to the Festival with his new
about us. Exploring cutting-edge advances in population book From What is to What if? to challenge us to unleash our
genetics, archaeology, psychology and more, Vince invites us collective imagination to create rapid change for the better.
to look around us: we are the intelligent designers of all we Through the stories of individuals and communities around the world
see – including ourselves. who are ‘doing stuff’, Rob reveals new hope for a sustainable future.
In conversation with Hettie O’Brien, online editor at the New
In conversation with Hettie O’Brien, online Editor at the New
Statesman
Statesman
With thanks to
Steve Jones Here Comes the Sun Michael Fuller Get the Black One First
10-11am | Palmerston Room | £11/£9 11:30am-12:30pm | Palmerston Room | £12/£10
On 25 July 2019, Cambridge set new records for the UK’s From walking the beat, through cutting-edge detective work
hottest day. As we slink into winter and the days get shorter, to the frontline of drug-related crime and violence, Michael
Steve Jones brings us back the sun in all its glory and reveals Fuller, recipient of the Queen’s Police Medal, has seen it all. In
the vital role of the sun’s rays not just on our weather and a more equal world, Michael wouldn’t be described as Britain’s
surroundings but on our health, happiness, food and memories. first-ever black Chief Constable. However, with racism still
Come and bask in the sunshine presence of the author that the one of the most important issues we’re facing today, it’s
Financial Times describes as ‘one of the world’s best writer- testament to Fuller’s talent, ambition and perseverance that
scientists’. he held a range of senior roles within the Police Service and
‘He has an ability verging on the magical to compress into a oversaw many high-profile operations. Join him as he
sentence a discovery that took twenty years to make.’ introduces Get the Black One First, his challenging, thought-
Sunday Telegraph provoking and ultimately uplifting memoir of dealing with
In conversation with Tim Lewens, author and Professor of life’s injustices and serving our community.
Philosophy of Science, Cambridge In conversation with Helen Lewis, author and Staff Writer at
The Atlantic
Tom Bradby Secret Service
11:30am-12:30pm | TTP Stage | £12/£10 Sarah-Jayne Blakemore Inventing Ourselves
2019 has been a tumultuous year in British politics, with 1-2pm | Palmerston Room | £10/£8
suitability for leadership one of the biggest questions in voters’ Hands up who’d like to revisit their teenage years? No, we didn’t
minds. Do we ever know what we’re getting when we have a think so... For most of us, adolescence is a white-knuckle ride
new prime minister? In the world of Tom Bradby’s seventh novel through a maelstrom of transformation – whether we're
Secret Service, things are about to get a whole lot worse, as the experiencing it directly, or ‘merely’ second-hand, as we attempt to
leading contender for PM is suspected of being a Russian spy and guide our own teens through it. But what’s really going on inside
the country’s security hangs by a thread. Hear how Bradby the teenage brain? Sarah-Jayne Blakemore’s award-winning
melds work as ITN’s News at Ten news anchor with novel- Inventing Ourselves delves into the mysteries of the adolescent
writing, especially when UK political life is currently stranger mind, uncovering just what drives the wild risk-taking, intense
© Tony Ward
than fiction. attachments and challenging behaviour – and highlighting the
enormous creativity and opportunity that can be unlocked.
In conversation with Alex Clark, journalist, critic and broadcaster Must-see for anyone who’s ever been, or had, a teenager.
With thanks to In conversation with Jo Browning Wroe, writer and teacher
12 Book at: cambridgelive.org.uk 01223 357851 cambridgeliteraryfestival.com 13
Saturday 30 November Saturday 30 November
Kerry Hudson Lowborn
2:30-3:30pm | Palmerston Room | £10/£8
‘When every day of your life you have been told you have
nothing of value to offer, that you are worth nothing to society,
can you ever escape that sense of being ‘lowborn’ no matter
how far you’ve come?’ asks Kerry Hudson, now the author of
two prize-winning novels, including Thirst. Her latest book is
her memoir Lowborn, which explores both her own experiences
growing up in temporary accommodation across the country,
and how things are changing (or aren’t) for the communities in
which she lived. There’s never been a more important time for
© Anthony Robling
this story to be told, and Hudson – frank, warm, witty and
© Sophia Spring
generous – is exactly the person to tell it.
‘One of the most important books of the year’ The Guardian
In conversation with Jo Browning Wroe, writer and teacher
Amelia Gentleman & Colin Grant The Windrush Betrayal With thanks to
1-2pm | TTP Stage | £12/£10
The Windrush scandal – three words that brought down a Home Secretary and shamed our Louise Doughty Platform Seven
nation, but, worse than either of those, describe the wrecking of thousands of British lives.
Join campaigning journalist Amelia Gentleman (The Windrush Betrayal), who exposed the 2:30-3:30pm | Old Divinity School | £10/£8
tragedy, and Colin Grant, whose latest book (Homecoming) brings together unique first- Why is Lisa Evans haunting Platform Seven at Peterborough
hand interviews from women and men who left the West Indies to come home to Britain. Station? The superb Louise Doughty returns with an
Chaired by Manali Desai, author and Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge enthralling mystery exploring love, death and family secrets.
Apple Tree Yard sold over half a million copies in the UK alone,
and gripped BBC audiences. Don’t miss this opportunity to hear
more from a novelist at the top of her game.
‘A brilliant storyteller who knows how to build the suspense to
breaking point.’ The Times
In conversation with Alex Clark, journalist, critic and broadcaster
Nicola Upson Stanley and Elsie
2:30-3:30pm | The Fitzwilliam Museum |£11/£9
Cambridge author Nicola Upson’s acclaimed series of novels
based on the life of Josephine Tey revealed a talent for shedding
© Sigrid Estrada
new light on the past, combining careful historical detail with a
flair for plot and character. In Stanley and Elsie, she turns her
attention to the painter Stanley Spencer, reimagining his life as
seen through the eyes of the women who knew him, and in
André Aciman Love Never Dies particular his housekeeper Elsie. Elsie offers a fascinating new
1-2pm | Old Divinity School | £11/£9 take on the painter – charismatic and inspirational, obsessive
and exhausting, painfully human. This event is kindly hosted by
We are bubbling over with excitement at welcoming André Aciman, author of Call Me By
The Fitzwilliam Museum, whose collection of works by Stanley
Your Name, which was adapted into the Oscar-winning film. In his new novel Find me, he
Spencer is one of the most outstanding in Britain, and paintings
revisits his characters Elio and Oliver and their complex lives in the years after their first
by the artist can be seen in Gallery 1.
meeting. Join this master of sensibility and the nuances of emotion for romance, passion
and a reminder that true love never dies. In conversation with Frances Spalding, art historian, critic,
biographer and Festival Patron
In conversation with Catherine Taylor, critic, editor and writer
14 Book at: cambridgelive.org.uk 01223 357851 cambridgeliteraryfestival.com 15
Saturday 30 November Saturday 30 November
Richard Ayoade View From the Top
4-5pm | TTP Stage | £13/£11
Prepare to chortle as comedy great, Richard Ayoade, discusses
his award-winning career as an actor, screenwriter and director
in TV and film and his new book Ayoade on Top. Fasten your
seatbelts as he takes us on ‘a journey from Peckham to Paris by
way of Nevada and other places we don't care about’ – a ride as
hilarious as it is wonderfully weird. For, as his character Maurice
Moss in The I.T. Crowd would say, ‘I like being weird. Weird’s all
I've got. That and my sweet style.’
© Paul Wilkinson
‘A work of shimmering genius.’ Stephen Fry (on The Grip of Film)
In conversation with Tom Gatti, Deputy Editor of the New
Statesman
Raymond Blanc Food Glorious Food With thanks to
5:30-6:30pm | TTP Stage | £12/£10
Hannah Critchlow The Science of Fate
Chef-patron of the legendary Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Raymond Blanc is acknowledged as one of
4-5pm | Palmerston Room | £10/£8 the finest chefs in the world. A lifetime champion of seasonal eating, Blanc’s childhood dream of
What if free will doesn’t exist? This isn’t science fiction, but flourishing gardens has taken shape at Le Manoir – including an orchard of 2,500 trees, bursting
the question at the heart of Dr Hannah Critchlow’s new book with ancient and forgotten varieties of fruit. Blanc will be in conversation with Tim Hayward, food
The Science of Fate – why your future is more predictable writer, broadcaster and proprietor of Cambridge’s legendary Fitzbillies. They’ll be discussing Blanc’s
than you think. Whether we eat two pies or one, who we fall life and work, and his new book The Lost Orchard, a beautifully illustrated love letter to the trees
in love with, how we develop our most deeply-held beliefs – surrounding his restaurant (and yes, of course there are recipes).
these are all choices that Critchlow, Science Outreach
Fellow at Magdalene College, Cambridge, shows can be
predicted by our genes and experiences. Join one of
Cambridge’s most inspirational women in science to discover
how we can overcome our neuroscientific hardwiring to alter
our futures for the better.
Will Eaves Murmur
4-5pm | Old Divinity School | £10/£8
Joint winner of the 2019 Republic of Consciousness Prize for
small presses and winner of the 2019 Wellcome Prize, Will
Eaves’ Murmur takes its inspiration from Alan Turing’s life in the
aftermath of his conviction for homosexuality. Following its
protagonist Alec Pryor through his treatment and subsequent
therapy, Murmur offers a haunting, dreamlike meditation on the
nature of consciousness and human connection.
John Crace Decline and Fail
‘Murmur opens your mind to a very different kind of novel, one 5:30-6:30pm | Palmerston Room | £11/£9
that dares to forge a generous dialogue between arts and After three years of Maybot malfunctioning and Brexit bungling, is there now only one certainty
sciences, one that celebrates the wonder of human in life: when things can’t possibly get any worse, they absolutely will? Fear not, however: John
conciousness.’ The Times Crace is in town with an introduction to BoJo in Decline and Fail – your personal survival guide to
In conversation with Elif Shafak, writer and chair of the 2019 the ongoing political apocalypse. Come and hear his lifegiving take on the antics at Westminster,
Wellcome Prize sure to get you through the darkest of days or at least help you to see the funny side.
16 Book at: cambridgelive.org.uk 01223 357851 cambridgeliteraryfestival.com 17
Saturday 30 November Saturday 30 November
The Goldsmiths Prize Meet the Winner
5:30-6:30pm | Old Divinity School | £10/£8
Convention-defying novelists Eimear McBride, Ali Smith, Kevin
Barry and Nicola Barker have all won the Goldsmiths Prize and
graced Cambridge audiences with their brilliance. This year we
look forward to welcoming the latest winner of this exhilarating
prize, which rewards ‘fiction at its most novel’. The prize was co-
founded by Goldsmiths University and the New Statesman in
2013 and the 2019 winner will be announced on 13 November.
They’ll be in discussion with Anna Leszkiewicz, New Statesman
© Aida Muluneh
culture editor and Goldsmiths Prize judge, to talk about the art of
the novel and this year’s most exciting new fiction.
Ian McEwan Machines Like Me Lemn Sissay A Life of Questions
7-8pm | TTP Stage | £13/£11 8.30-9.30pm | TTP Stage | £12/£10
No other novelist at work today combines outstanding One of Britain’s best-loved poets, playwrights and broadcasters, Lemn Sissay’s energy and
literary craft with precision-tooled plots quite like Ian exuberance have raised the public profile of poetry, leading to an MBE for services to literature
McEwan. His work has embraced everything from incest and and his appointment as official poet of the 2012 Olympics (amongst many other accolades). Yet
murder to terrorism and climate change. In Machines Like behind the passionate persona lies a story of neglect and cruelty, and a childhood indelibly marked
Me, his latest book, McEwan’s particular interest in science by the institutional care system. In My Name Is Why, Sissay reflects on his extraordinary journey
conjures an alt-history world in which Britain lost the from failed fostering to national treasure. Expect a powerful, personal and moving testimony to
Falklands War, Turing was pardoned, and the subsequent the redemptive power of creativity.
breakthroughs in artificial intelligence have produced In conversation with Alex Clark, journalist, critic and broadcaster
‘manufactured humans’.
‘England’s national author’ The New Yorker
In conversation with Eric Wagner, author, critic and New
Statesman contributing writer
Stephen Bush, Patrick Maguire &
Ailbhe Rea New Statesman Politics Podcast
Live Recording
7-8pm | Old Divinity School | £10/£8
It’s been a wild year in politics – two leadership elections, a
Brexit crisis in Parliament, an economy on the brink… and who
knows what else to come. Join the New Statesman politics team
– Stephen Bush, Patrick Maguire and Ailbhe Rea – for a live
recording of their podcast, in which they’ll check in on Boris
Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn and discuss the many political
crises we’ll no doubt have had by then. Plus: ask them your
questions about the year in politics and what’s in store for 2020.
‘The New Statesman’s weekly podcasts ... are expertly presented,
fastidiously topical and clever without being obscure.’ The
Independant
18 Book at: cambridgelive.org.uk 01223 357851 cambridgeliteraryfestival.com 19Sunday 1 December Sunday 1 December
Isabella Tree Wilding Steve Richards Prime Ministers &
10-11am | Palmerston Room | £12/£10 Leadership
Amid the doom and gloom of climate catastrophe and 11:30am-12:30pm | Palmerston Room | £11/£9
ecological breakdown, Isabella Tree’s story offers a golden We expect a lot of our leaders – yet so often they turn out to
ray of hope and inspiration. Faced with a failing farm, she and have feet of clay. Author and BBC presenter Steve Richards
her husband Charlie decided to step back and let nature have will reflect on the lessons of leadership with reference to
its way with the degraded agricultural land. The result? A modern Prime Ministers from Harold Wilson to Boris Johnson,
profusion of rare species, including turtle doves, as well as taking the audience behind the scenes of the latest
nightingales, peregrine falcons and purple emperor epic political dramas. Who were the best communicators?
butterflies; the return of a riot of plants, both common and Who had most depth? Who were the weakest? The answers
rare; and extraordinary increases in wildlife numbers and are surprising – and Richards will share them with his
diversity in little over a decade. Wilding fuses memoir and trademark humour and sparkle.
ecology to offer a unique and fascinating account of the
beauty and strength of nature.
In conversation with Micky Astor, award-winning
conservationist and farmer Elif Shafak Stories and Silences
11:30am-12:30pm | Old Divinity School | £11/£9
David Reynolds Island Stories: Britain and ‘Today, more than ever before, literature has to be not only
about stories but also about silences and the silenced. It has
its History in the Age of Brexit to become a sanctuary for the disempowered and the
10-11am | Old Divinity School | £11/£9 marginalised across the world.’ So wrote Elif Shafak earlier
Award-winning and best-selling author, Professor of this year, after she was threatened with a trial for obscenity
International History at Cambridge and Festival Patron for daring to write about gender violence and child abuse in
David Reynolds, believes that Brexit is a crisis of national her new novel 10 minutes 38 seconds in this strange world. Yet
identity which has been a long time in the making and not, as this is a tender book of cherished friendships and a love letter
often perceived, a saga of British liberation or a Westminster to Istanbul. Shafak, an award-winning novelist and advocate
drama. Challenging the familiar narrative of ‘our island story’, for women’s rights, LGBT rights and freedom of speech, was
he presents an unconventional view of where we’ve come from chosen by Politico in 2017 as one of the twelve people who
involving two islands and several stories. Join him for an would make the world better. Welcoming her to the Festival
exciting journey through history, investigating how Britain’s will certainly make Cambridge better this Sunday.
sense of national identity has been shaped and contested and In conversation with Erica Wagner, author, critic and New
how that saga has brought us to the era of Brexit. Statesman contributing writer
‘An historian at the top of his game.’ The Financial Times
Claudia Hammond The Art of Rest
Carrie Gracie Equal 1-2pm | Palmerston Room | £11/£9
11:30am-12:30pm | TTP Stage | £12/£10 At a time when ‘busyness’ has become a badge of honour,
more people than ever are reporting feeling drained and
Carrie Gracie’s battle with the BBC over gender pay inequality
burned out. Multi-award-winning writer and broadcaster
made headlines in 2018, cracking open a world of opaque and
Claudia Hammond (Radio 4’s All in the Mind) is on a mission
secretive man-to-man (and it was usually men) agreements,
to reverse this trend. Drawing on results from the ‘Rest Test’
and triggering a parliamentary inquiry. In Equal, the former
– the largest global survey into rest ever undertaken –
BBC China editor tells her own story for the first time,
Claudia’s new book The Art of Rest explores the science
exploring the impact of inequality in the workplace and
behind the study and offers a roadmap for a more restful and
proposing a new way forward for employees and employers,
balanced life. Come and delve into what makes us feel most
male and female alike. Expect an inspiring and personal take on
refreshed and revitalised, and learn how we can all have a
better ways to work to the benefit of all.
chance to recharge our batteries.
In conversation with Kavita Puri, journalist and author
In conversation with Alex Clark, journalist, critic and
broadcaster
24 Book at: cambridgelive.org.uk 01223 357851 cambridgeliteraryfestival.com 25Sunday 1 December Sunday 1 December
Ch ev
ild en
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© Faye Thomas Photography
© Jana Lenzowa
Richard Dawkins Outgrowing God
Ben Miller Make Them Laugh 2:30-3:30pm | TTP Stage | £12/£10
1-2pm | TTP Stage | £7 | Age 8+ Acclaimed author of The Selfish Gene and The God Delusion and one of the world’s best and
What do you do when you’re cross? Harrison, in Ben Miller’s new book The Boy Who Made the World bestselling science communicators, Richard Dawkins makes his Festival debut with his new book
Disappear, is given a black hole that swallows all the things that make him angry but soon it’s eating Outgrowing God. Richard was fifteen when he stopped believing in God, and he addresses some
the things that he loves too… Come and meet actor and comedian Ben Miller – Colonel Lancaster in of the most profound questions that human beings must confront as they grapple with the
Paddington 2 – and hear all about black holes, writing and how to make people laugh, and illustrator meaning of life and what to believe: Do we need God to explain the existence of the universe?
Daniela Jaglenka Terrazzini, who will show us how illustrations are created, live on stage. How do we decide what is good? Join the debate at what is sure to be a provocative and
Chaired by Rowan Pelling, journalist and Festival Patron exhilarating event. In conversation with Nicholas Humphrey, Emeritus Professor of Psychology,
London School of Economics
© Philippa Gedge
Peter Pomerantsev This Is Not Propaganda Joanna Cannon Breaking & Mending
1-2pm | Old Divinity School | £11/£9 2:30-3:30pm | Old Divinity School | £11/£9
Truth is disintegrating; information is a weapon; reality is under siege. Peter Pomerantsev, ‘A few years ago, I found myself in A&E. I had never felt so ill. I was mentally and physically
academic and prize-winning author (Nothing is true and everything is possible), has toured broken... I knew I had to carry on. Because I wasn't the patient. I was the doctor.’ Before she
the globe in search of the focal points of the 21st-century propaganda revolution – from becoming a bestselling novelist (The Trouble with Goats and Sheep), Cannon trained in medicine,
social media influencers helping Duterte get elected in the Philippines to the Vote Leave eventually specialising in psychiatry. Breaking and Mending is her memoir of the NHS as viewed from
campaign, via a notorious Russian troll factory and the flood of disinformation paralysing the inside: the care and compassion, but also the fear and the panic; the entrenched hierarchies, the
Syria. This event will be a fascinating exposé of the rise and rise of illiberal populism with a breaking of bad news – and the moments of connection that make it all worthwhile. Join her for
writer whose understanding of Russia is second to none. stories of love, loss and hope, and insights into how we can take better care of those who care for us.
In conversation with Michael Prodger, Associate Editor of the New Statesman In conversation with Jo Browning Wroe, writer and teacher
26 Book at: cambridgelive.org.uk 01223 357851 cambridgeliteraryfestival.com 27Sunday 1 December Sunday 1 December
© Jennie Scott
Bernardine Evaristo Girl, Woman, Other Azadeh Moaveni The Women of ISIS
2:30-3:30pm | Palmerston Room | £11/£9 4-5pm | Old Divinity School | £11/£9
Activist, academic and award-winning writer Bernardine Evaristo has explored both heritage and The case of Shamima Begum, stripped of her British citizenship after joining ISIS, provoked a
modern life in her considerable body of work, shedding new light on what it means to be British. whirlwind of commentary and criticism. Azadeh Moaveni has spent time with more than 20 young
Longlisted for the Booker Prize, her exuberant eighth novel Girl, Woman, Other follows the women like Begum, investigating the line between victim and collaborator, and how they ended up
interconnected stories of a group of black British women over a century. Her work raises timeless inside the most brutal terrorist regime of the 21st century.
questions about feminism and race, bringing to life with humour and sensitivity the shared In conversation with David Kirkpatrick, author and international correspondent of the New York Times
experiences that make us all, to quote the book’s dedication, ‘members of the human family’.
‘If you want to understand modern day Britain, this is the writer to read.’ New Statesman
In conversation with Preti Taneja, writer, broadcaster, academic and Festival Patron
Jenny Eclair Novel Laughter
4-5pm | Palmerston Room | £12/£10
Yvette Cooper She Speaks
With thanks to We’re thrilled to welcome one of the UK's most popular performers – writer, comedian and TV
4-5pm | TTP Stage | £12/£10 personality Jenny Eclair. Picked for the Richard and Judy Book Club for her bestselling third
‘I raise up my voice – not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard,’ said Malala novel, Moving, Eclair was also the first woman to win the prestigious Perrier Award (and in her
Yousafzai to the UN in her speech quoted in full in Yvette Cooper’s first book She Speaks, her own words, ‘hasn’t stopped banging on about it ever since’). Her inimitable wit and observational
personal selection of women’s speeches. We are thrilled that Cooper – Labour MP for Normanton, humour shine through her latest novel, Inheritance, a poignant examination of tragedy and
Pontefract and Castleford, and former Chief Secretary to the Treasury and Shadow Home turmoil across generations. Expect liberal helpings of both laughter and tears.
Secretary – is joining us to share not only the wise words of other women but also the role of oratory In conversation with Alex Clark, journalist, critic and broadcaster
in her own life, and explain why ‘silencing women must be forever confined to the past’.
In conversation with Melissa Benn, writer, campaigner and Festival Patron
28 Book at: cambridgelive.org.uk 01223 357851 cambridgeliteraryfestival.com 29Sunday 1 December
David Runciman Where Power Stops
5:30-6:30pm | Palmerston Room | £11/£9
‘Character is destiny’ observed Heraclitus, many centuries before Theresa May’s weakness in
the face of Tory party division resulted in her exit from the position she had so long sought. As
Professor of Politics at Cambridge University and host of the popular Talking Politics podcast,
Festival Patron David Runciman has spent more time than most thinking about how character Could you support us?
defines and limits the holders of the highest offices in the world. His new book Where Power
Stops considers the crucial role played – both for good and ill – by the personal qualities of The Cambridge Literary Festival is a registered charity and
those who attain the pinnacles of power in the UK and America. A highly topical look at what depends upon donations to stage all the exciting events
makes our leaders tick.
that our audiences love. They and our partners, patrons,
benefactors and friends all love the Festival as much as
we do and give what they can to enable it to continue.
Please would you consider becoming a Friend of the Festival?
You will enjoy great benefits, including priority booking and seating, discounts on tickets,
and invitations to receptions and launches. Become a Friend of Cambridge Literary
Festival and be part of something outstanding. With two festivals each year and
inspiring events all year round, you will never be far from the newest books, the latest
issues and the best writers and thinkers.
There are several ways that individuals can become a Friend.
For as little as £2 a month, you can help to ensure that the Festival continues to bring
Jung Chang Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister inspiring authors to Cambridge for years and years to come.
5:30-6:30pm | TTP Stage | £12/£10 Because we value young people, we have an under-25s Friends’ package for £15 a year.
Jung Chang’s Wild Swans, a group biography of Chang’s mother and grandmother, and of herself, Our Benefactors receive free tickets to events and invitations to exclusive receptions
sold 13 million copies, despite being banned in her native China. Now she returns with Big Sister, and events throughout the year. We ask for an annual contribution of £250.
Little Sister, Red Sister which tells the stories of three very different and extraordinary women. All of these can be purchased for a loved one as a gift for Christmas or for a birthday.
The Soong sisters sat at the heart of power in China through a hundred years of wars, revolutions
and seismic transformations, and helped shape the country’s history. A gripping story of love, war, If you would like to become a Friend or to find out more about how you could support
exile, intrigue, glamour and betrayal, told with Chang’s unique blend of the intimate and the epic. the Festival, please visit www.cambridgeliteraryfestival.com/support-us or email:
In conversation with Alex Clark, journalist, critic and broadcaster friends@cambridgeliteraryfestival.com, call 01223 515335 or text 07834 022180
30 Book at: cambridgelive.org.uk 01223 357851 cambridgeliteraryfestival.com 31Where to stay
Regent Hotel
Duke House 41 Regent Street, Cambridge, CB2 1AB
1 Victoria Street, Cambridge, CB1 1JP 01223 351470
01223 314773 reservations@regenthotel.co.uk
info@dukehousecambridge.co.uk www.regenthotel.co.uk
dukehousecambridge.co.uk
A fine Georgian listed building, The Regent
Nestling alongside Christ’s Pieces in the very Hotel was the original home of the first
heart of historic Cambridge, Duke House is a Newnham College students. We are a small
boutique B&B offering outstanding independent Hotel, overlooking Parker’s Piece,
accommodation to suit all visitors. All the a short stroll away from the colleges,
city’s colleges and attractions are within just museums, botanical gardens and shopping
a few hundred metres. areas.
University Arms, Regent Street, Cambridge CB2 1AD
01223 606066, reservations@universityarms.co.uk, www.universityarms.com
University Arms Cambridge offers 192 rooms and suites across four floors, with views over
Parker’s Piece, historic Regent Street, and the hotel’s inner courtyard. Hosting Parker’s Tavern, a
quintessentially English brasserie on the ground floor, and a classically British library, the
University Arms is a beautiful new addition to Cambridge.How to book Venues
Priority booking Refunds and exchanges 1 Old Divinity School &
Priority Booking for Friends opens at 10am on Refunds for unused tickets will only be made BR Festival Box Office
IDG
Thursday 5 September 2019 where an event is sold out or cancelled. If ES
T RE St John’s College, St John’s Street
ET
Box Office opens at 10am on your event is sold out or cancelled and you do E Cambridge CB2 1TP
2 LAN
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Tuesday 10 September 2019 not want a refund, you can exchange your www.joh.cam.ac.uk
E
US
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JES
ST HN’SST
ticket for another event at the festival 3 1 PAS
SAG
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Book online SAIN
TS
2 Cambridge Union (TTP Stage)
JO
(subject to availability). If you are unable to ALL
www.cambridgelive.org.uk 9A Bridge Street
use your ticket or wish to exchange it for STRE
ET
Book by telephone GREE
N Cambridge CB2 1UB
another event, please contact the Box Office
SID
EET
Monday – Saturday 10am-6pm www.cus.org
NE
at least 48 hours before the Festival starts.
STR
Y
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Cambridge Live Tickets 5 STRE
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Palmerston Room
ITY
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Waiting lists
TRIN
ET
01223 357851 MARKET
CURY
Fisher Building, St John’s College
We offer a waiting list for sold-out events. SQUARE PETTY
St John’s Street, Cambridge CB2 1TP
Book in person
PARADE
Please contact the Box Office on 01223 www.joh.cam.ac.uk
Monday-Friday 12pm-6pm 357851 to be added to the list. STRE
ET
KING’S
6 ELER
Saturday 10am-6pm REE T
WHE 7 CO
RN 4 The Fitzwilliam Museum
Cambridge Live Tickets, Wheeler Street Children BENE
’T ST EXC
HA Trumpington Street, Cambridge CB2 1RB
FR
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TR UM PI
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Cambridge CB2 3QB All children under the age of 14 must be TRE
www.fitzmuseum.cam.ac.uk
SC
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HO
accompanied at all times by an adult with
NG TO N
OL
Ticket delivery and collection REET 5 West Road Concert Hall (not on map)
LA
G ST
OWNIN
their own ticket. Ticket concessions for
NE
D
Tickets booked up to seven days in advance 11 West Road, Cambridge CB3 9DP
ST
ET
children are available at all events. TRE
RE
ET
SILVER STRE www.westroad.org
can be posted out for a charge of £1.50 or S
ET
ROKE
PEMB
collected free of charge from the Cambridge Ticket prices MILL LA
NE
6 McCrum Lecture Theatre
Live Tickets Box Office up to the day before Ticket prices vary for each event. We offer TR
UM
Bene’t Street, Cambridge CB2 3QN
PIN
the event. concession prices to the following: GT
ON
ST ET www.corpus.cam.ac.uk
Festival Box Office Young People – age 25 and under RE
ET
WILL
IAM
STRE
FITZ
The Festival Box Office is run by Cambridge Registered unemployed 4 7 Cambridge Live Box Office
Live Tickets. During the Winter Festival 2019, Disabled people (carer goes free – please Wheeler Street, Cambridge CB2 3QB
the Box Office will be located as below, to buy contact the Box Office for details) www.cambridgelivetrust.co.uk
and collect pre-booked tickets. Proof of entitlement will be required How to get here
Concession prices are shown in the printed
Friday 29 November (from 3pm):
programme next to full-price adult ticket
Festival food & drink
Cambridge Union Foyer By car: The M11 links Cambridge from the South
Saturday 30 November & Sunday prices. and London. The A14 is the main route from the Cambridge Union
1 December (from 9am): Old Divinity School Young person standby tickets east and west and also connects with the A1 and 1815 The Union Bar:
People aged 25 and under can buy full-price M1 from the north.
Please allow enough time to collect your Open Friday & Saturday 12:00pm-1am,
tickets before your event starts, to provide for adult tickets for half-price on the day of the Sunday 12:00pm-5:00pm
Parking: There are five Park & Ride sites located
queuing and travel between venues. It can event. Please visit the Festival Box Office at
on the main routes around the City. For details St John’s College
take up to 20 minutes to walk from the Box the Old Divinity School for more information. see: www.cambridgeparkandride.info
Proof of age will be required. College Bar:
Office to Festival event venues.
Open all day
Access Latecomers By train: The railway station is a 15-minute walk
If you are late to an event, then you will only to the city centre. There are frequent buses and Palmerston Cafe:
All of our event venues are wheelchair
be admitted at the discretion of the taxis. Regular trains connect London to Open Saturday & Sunday
accessible. Unfortunately, the Festival
steward(s). Seats will be reserved for Cambridge from King’s Cross and Liverpool
Bookshop in the Cambridge Union is not 9:30am-7:30pm
latecomers. Please be considerate of others Street. There are good services from Ely and
wheelchair accessible. For information about King’s Lynn, Bury St Edmunds, Norwich and
booking accessible seating, please call the and allow enough time to pick up your tickets All serving a variety of tea, coffee,
and arrive at your venue promptly. Refunds Ipswich. Services from the North connect via snacks, wine and beer
Box Office or email: Peterborough.
tickets@cambridgelive.org.uk will not be given to latecomers.
By bus: Stagecoach (www.stagecoachbus.com)
operates services into Cambridge from around
the county and the guided busway
(www.thebusway.info) runs a frequent service
from Huntingdon to the city centre.
36 Book at: cambridgelive.org.uk 01223 357851 cambridgeliteraryfestival.com 37We would like to thank our supporters
Principal supporter National media partner Festival bookseller
Media partners
Supporters and event partners
CDS
cambridge design studio
Patrons & Donors Benefactors
Daphne Astor Julia Collins Willa McDonald
Andrew & Fiona Blake Fiona Crawley Jackie Newton
Charles & Angela Chadwyck-Healey Jane Dix Steven Penney
Edith Eligator Nathalie Edge-Partington David Reynolds
Henry Elliot Stephen Ferron Sian Reid
Adam Glinsman Antoinette Jackson Vera Schuster-Beesley
John Stanton
Duncan Hannay-Robertson Jackie Latham
Jeremy Newsum Meredith Lloyd-Evans
Paul Taylor Ann McAllister
Participating publishers
Atlantic Books Fig Tree Prelude
Bantam Galley Beggar Press Profile Books
Bantam Press Guardian Books Random House
Basic Books Hamish Hamilton Simon & Schuster Children's
Black Swan Hardie Grant Verso
Bloomsbury Headline Home Viking
Bloomsbury Circus Hodder & Stoughton Wellcome Collection
Bonnier Hodder Children's William Collins
Canongate Jonathan Cape
Chatto & Windus Little Brown
Chelsea Green Publishing Penguin Life
Faber & Faber Picador
cambridgeliteraryfestival.com 39PAGE PAGE PAGE PAGE
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Ian McEwan
Darcey Bussell
Cressida Cowell
Richard Dawkins
© Jana Lenzowa © Debra Hurford Brown © Getty Images © Charlotte MacMillan
Festival highlights
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Ben Miller
Jung Chang
Yvette Cooper
George Alagiah
© Faye Thomas Photography © Story Moja © Jeff Overs
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Lemm Sissay
Philippa Perry
Richard Ayoade
Bernardine Evaristo
© Aida Mulueh © Jennie Scott © Justine StoddartYou can also read
