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Patrons of Hastings Book Festival: Salena Godden, Patrice Lawrence and Henry Normal

Hastings Bookfest June events

The Hastings Book Festival celebrates writers and lovers of the written word – a welcoming and open place for everyone. Their first festival took place in 2018 and has now become a regular and welcome event on the local calendar.

Every book, story and person is unique –  very much like Hastings  – and the festival will give you the time and freedom to pause, think, connect, and be inspired.

Here are two events coming up in mid-June:

Simon James Green

Is Section 28 truly dead?

Author, Simon James Green discusses his new novel Boy Like Me, set in 1994, a time when, thanks to Section 28, there can be no mention of gay relationships in UK schools. BUT that doesn’t stop a hidden book in the library and a note in the margin being the start of EVERYTHING!

Join Simon on 13 June 2023 at 7pm at the Forbidden Fruit, where he will be talking about Boy Like Me, and perhaps, more importantly, in Pride Month why he chose to write it now?

Wayne Berkeley Herbert, Hastings Book Festival Director said: Boy Like Me speaks to a wide audience in the same way that Heartstopper did. In fact, it’s even more urgent as those in power try to dial back our rights.’

Copies of the book will be sold on the night by The Hastings Book Shop.

Tickets are free, but limited so please book through the Hastings Bookfest website:

Salena Godden, Patrice Lawrence and Henry Normal

An evening with … Three patrons come to Hastings Bookfest

Come and meet the three new Hastings Bookfest patrons reading their work and chatting together about their lives and their writing.

Salena Godden is a well known festival favourite. She’s a wonderful poet and a new edition of her book, Pessimism is for Lightweights has just been published.

Patrice Lawrence, MBE, has published fiction both for adults and children. Her writing has won awards including the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize for Older Children and The Bookseller YA Book Prize.

And following the successful launch of his book The Fire Hills in Hastings earlier this year, we are delighted to welcome back performance poet, Henry Normal, to the Hastings Bookfest stage.

The event will last approximately two hours, will include a Q&A with the audience members – and  will be followed by a book signing session.

Wednesday 14 June at 7pm at The Observer Building, 53 Cambridge Rd, Hastings TN34 1DT.

Tickets are available through the Hastings Bookfest website.

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Posted 10:22 Wednesday, Jun 7, 2023 In: Literature

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