Wymondham Words 2016 reaches record audiences

This year’s Wymondham Words festival took place between mid-October and early November.

“Judging from the record size of our audiences and the wonderful response the various events generated it’s probably fair to say that Wymondham Words 2016 was our most successful Festival to date,” commented Festival Director Edward Parnell. “It’s difficult to single out individual events for special mention as all of them were thought-provoking, engaging, and very well-received by their audiences. We were blessed, however, with some wonderful visiting writers including Philip Hoare, who travelled up from Southampton and drew a record Festival crowd for his talk on whales and the sea. And two of our speakers have subsequently won at this year’s East Anglian Book Awards – Keiron Pim and Heidi Williamson – which we’re also delighted about.

John Osborne reading one of his heartwarming Radio 4 stories (photo: Bob Coe)

Philip Hoare captivates his audience (photo: Bob Coe)

Paul WIlletts (left) talking 60s London with Keiron Pim (Photo: Bob Coe)o:

‘A History of Norfolk in 100 Objects’ (Photo: Edward Parnell)

From left: Novelists James Ferron Anderson, Benjamin Johncock, Megan Bradbury and Edward Parnell (Photo: Bob Coe)

“Working in partnership alongside various local groups is really helping the Festival start to reach new audiences. We’d like to thank the Green Dragon Inn, who generously hosted our closing Poetry Supper event, Wymondham Abbey where our children’s events took place, the Bridewell Museum, Wymondham Nature Group and Kett’s Books. And of course all of our generous donors – without whose support the Festival wouldn’t take place,” he added.

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‘Norfolk in 100 Objects’ sold out, a few tickets still available for Weds

‘A History of Norfolk in 100 Objects’ at the Bridewell Museum on Tuesday evening has now sold out, so unfortunately there won’t be any tickets available on the door.

There are still a few tickets left though for Wednesday evening’s ‘Adventures in the Rock n Roll Underworld’ – a cultural trawl through the shady world of 1960s London in the company of Keiron Pim and Paul Willetts. Tickets are £7.50 in advance from Kett’s Books and The Book Hive; there should also be a few available on the door.

Ticket update: Philip Hoare, 100 Objects and John Osborne

A quick ticket update: tickets are still available for Philip Hoare (‘The Sea Inside Us All’), which kick off this year’s festival at 7.30pm this evening, from both Kett’s Books in Wymondham and The Book Hive in Norwich. Alternatively, there will be tickets available on the door tonight (Wymondham Baptist Church, door open at 7pm, tickets cost £7.50 adults, £4.00 under-21s). After the event Philip will be signing copies of ‘Leviathan’ and ‘The Sea Inside’, which will be on sale at the event. Tickets for the rest of the festival will also be on sale at Philip’s event.

Tickets for ‘A History of Norfolk in 100 Objects’ are now very limited and only available from Kett’s Books in Wymondham.  Call 01953 603663 to reserve one if you can’t make it into the shop. There are unlikely to be any tickets left on the night.

Tickets are selling well for all other events, so we’d advise purcasing in advance if possible. In particular there are now no tickets left at the Book Hive in Norwich for John Osborne’s ‘Three Shows from Radio 4’, though plenty of tickets for that event left at Kett’s Books (01603 603663). We’ll keep you updated on availability for John’s event.

Hope to see lots of you tonight for Philip Hoare!

 

The Sea Inside Us All – 13 Oct, 7.30pm

Philip swimming with a pod of Sperm Whales off the Azores (Photo: Andrew Sutton)

Just a few days until the exciting opening event of Wymondham Words, when we welcome Philip Hoare (winner of the Samuel Johnson Prize) for his talk titled The Sea Inside Us All. As well as offering a wonderful insight into whales and dolphins, Philip’s most-recent book ‘The Sea Inside’ offers a beautiful account of much other wildlife, and blends history, travel writing, biography and autobiography. It’s a wonderful, personal book and forms a great companion piece to his earlier ‘Leviathan, or The Whale’.

Tickets are still available for the event, which takes place on Thursday 13 October in Wymondham Baptist Church and starts at 7.30pm. You can get tickets in advance from The Book Hive in Norwich, or Kett’s Books in Wymondham. They cost £7.50 for adults or £4.00 for under-21s. As the venue is a large one, there should also be plenty of space on the night to just turn up and purchase a ticket on the door. We look forward to seeing you there and welcoming you to Wymondham Words 2016!

Free parking is available in Wymondham after 6pm in all the town car parks. The nearest, the central Market Place car park (entered through a passageway on your left after the Market Cross) is just a short walk to the venue (exit on foot out of the back of the car park and turn left – the church is a two-minute walk in front of you).

Ticket update: Limited ticket numbers for ‘A History of Norfolk in 100 Objects’

Just a quick update: advance tickets are selling well for all of the Festival’s events, but in particular anyone who is thinking of attending our talk on A History of Norfolk in 100 Objects at Wymondham’s Bridewell Museum on Tuesday 18 October (starts 7.30PM) would be well-advised not to think too long about whether or not to purchase a ticket!

The venue is limited to 50 seats and we have already sold a good number, although some tickets are still left at Kett’s Books in Wymondham and The Book Hive in Norwich (priced £7.50 adults, £4.00 under-21s). For more information call Kett’s Books on 01953 603663.

Wymondham Words 2016 Programme announced

We’re delighted to announce that the Programme for this year’s Festival, which runs from 13 October to 2 November 2016, is now available. Printed programmes can be picked up from various locations around Wymondham, Norwich, and other locations in Norfolk. And you can also download an electronic version here (Wymondham Words 2016 programme, PDF, 4.3 MB).

We hope you’ll be able to join us at some of our fantastic events. Tickets are available in advance from Kett’s Books in Wymondham or The Book Hive in Norwich, and will also be available on the door subject to availability (but to avoid disappointment in case the events sell out we’d advise purchasing in advance).

 

Wymondham Words 2016

We’re delighted that Wymondham Words will be returning again in the autumn – this year a couple of weeks later, with the Festival kicking off on Thursday 13 October with an event featuring Philip Hoare, the Samuel Johnson prize-winning author of Leviathan or, The Whale.

We have lots of other great writers lined up too and will post more details as soon as venues and ticket arrangements are more firmed up!