Fringe Events
Exhibition: 70 Years of Books
Exhibition: 70 Years of Books
In celebration of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee, this year our exhibition will celebrate 70 years of books
Saga Book Launch
Saga Book Launch
We are delighted to be working with new partners Saga Fiction. They are an Indie publishing house who work with commercial authors from around the globe.
Publishing Your Book – Q&A – The Book Typesetters
Publishing Your Book – Q&A – The Book Typesetters
Overwhelmed by the publishing process? Unsure what route to take? Looking for help with design and layout? Then don't miss our workshop.
Thursday 7 July
Heritage Literary Walk
Heritage Literary Walk
As part of our work with Newark’s Cultural Consortium and Historic England’s Heritage Action Zone, we’ll be hosting this fantastic walking tour of Newark town centre
Literature Village
Literature Village
Located near the Town Hall, we present stalls full of literary delights
Amplifying your Climate Actions: A unique tool to build Climate Communities
Amplifying your Climate Actions: A unique tool to build Climate Communities
Are you worried about the Climate Crisis? Newark-raised scientist and author Dr Louis Keal presents a talk and discussion on how to amplify our actions towards a better, less dangerous world.
Time Hop! Community Launch Performance with Zuzka
Time Hop! Community Launch Performance with Zuzka
Join us for a spectacular launch to the Festival with music, singing and dancing, choreographed by AJs Dance and with performances by Zuzka.
Our Heritage Walk – Sconce & Devon Park: Springs, Linen, Railways and Fortifications
Our Heritage Walk – Sconce & Devon Park: Springs, Linen, Railways and Fortifications
Join local historian Kevin Winter and poet Lytisha Tunbridge to explore Sconce & Devon Park looking at some of the uses it has had in the past and the evidence for them that can still be seen today.
Gill Hornby – Godmersham Park
Gill Hornby – Godmersham Park
From the author of the Sunday Times bestselling Miss Austen, comes a wonderfully original, emotionally-complex novel, following Anne Sharp, a governess who became close to Jane Austen and her family.
Wine and Words
Wine and Words
The delightful and intriguing Grain No. 1 provides the venue for this year’s Wine and Words Festival event.
Orenda Books – Our International Panel
Orenda Books – Our International Panel
A fantastic online event hosted by Orenda Books, featuring literary thrillers and crime fiction in translation.
Friday 8 July
Literature Village
Literature Village
Located near the Town Hall, we present stalls full of literary delights
Writing the Criminous: Prose and Verse
Writing the Criminous: Prose and Verse
Celebrating the publication of the latest in their crime reference guides, Catching a Killer, Stuart Gibbons and Stephen Wade offer an account of murder investigations down the centuries in England.
Other Sides to Crime (writers)
Other Sides to Crime (writers)
Two crime writers, William Shaw and David Mark, in conversation. Both have much loved series, but also other sides to their writing and engagement with readers.
Writing Newark: Bricks and Mortar, Space and Light
Writing Newark: Bricks and Mortar, Space and Light
Do you have a favourite building in Newark? Using simple exercises and images to inspire you, this lively writing workshop helps you explore the atmosphere, history or your memories of Newark’s rich built heritage.
Literally Lyrical with Saga Fiction
Literally Lyrical with Saga Fiction
Music plays a large role in helping to invoke a certain mood, nostalgia or even a sense of time and space.
Alphabet Street and stories by Jonathan Emmett
Alphabet Street and stories by Jonathan Emmett
Join author Jonathan Emmett to discover the amazing animal inhabitants of Alphabet Street and hear him read his latest picture book The Book Family Robinson and old favourite Bringing Down the Moon.
Philippa East and Elliot Wood
Philippa East and Elliot Wood
Crime writer Philippa East talks about her debut novel, Little White Lies, which was longlisted for The Guardian's Not-The-Booker Prize and shortlisted for the CWA "New Blood" Award 2020
Andrew Caldecott and Adrian Tchaikovsky
Andrew Caldecott and Adrian Tchaikovsky
Eyes of the Void, the second book in Adrian Tchaikovsky’s Final Architecture trilogy, is a tense space adventure, set in a future where Human Colony worlds face extinction.
Will Carver, Louise Beech & Sarah Sultoon
Will Carver, Louise Beech & Sarah Sultoon
We welcome back Orenda Books for an author panel event.The Daves Next Door by Will Carver is a shocking, intensely emotive, wildly original thriller; a piercing examination of what it means to be human.
Peter Kerr – Don’t Call me Clyde!
Peter Kerr – Don’t Call me Clyde!
The Clyde Valley Stompers were Scotland’s premier jazz band and first ever super group. Yet in 1963, ‘The Clydes’, at the height of commercial success, disappeared from the scene.
Famous Songs Inspired by Literature
Famous Songs Inspired by Literature
West End performers Glyn Kerslake (Phantom of the Opera - Her Majesty’s Theatre, Miss Saigon - Theatre Royal Drury Lane, Scrooge - London Palladium) and Elaine Glover (The Full Monty - Noel Coward Theatre, Emmerdale - ITV, Christmas With The Stars - Royal Albert Hall)...
Saturday 9 July
Literature Village
Literature Village
Located near the Town Hall, we present stalls full of literary delights
Gadgeteers Workshop
Gadgeteers Workshop
It’s time to sign up to the libraries Summer Reading Challenge, so we are joining in with the Gadgeteer theme!
Storytelling with Under The Bed Theatre
Storytelling with Under The Bed Theatre
Join Under The Bed Theatre for outdoor story time including Oliver Jeffers Lost and Found.
Festival Storytime
Festival Storytime
Join the Newark Book Festival Team, soundLINCS and children’s author Addy Farmer as we celebrate the 2022 Summer Reading Challenge with stories, music, crafts and more for families.
“One Doesn’t Stop at One Murder”
“One Doesn’t Stop at One Murder”
Celebrating 101 years since Agatha Christie’s first novel was published in the UK, this panel will honour one of Christie’s most iconic heroines Miss Jane Marple.
Gareth Baker and the Riverboat Cruise
Gareth Baker and the Riverboat Cruise
Join storyteller Gareth Baker on the Trent and be amazed by his extraordinary adventures, both on, under and above the river!
John Holmes MBE – This Is the BBC Home Service
John Holmes MBE – This Is the BBC Home Service
John Holmes is known locally for his walks on BBC East Midlands Today, ‘Holmes & Away’ and ‘Historic Holmes’. Joining the BBC in 1969 as a producer and presenter, he has lived and breathed radio and television and epitomises all that is best in public servic...
Gadgeteers Workshop
Gadgeteers Workshop
It’s time to sign up to the libraries Summer Reading Challenge, so we are joining in with the Gadgeteer theme!
Special Delivery – Street Theatre show
Special Delivery – Street Theatre show
Special Delivery is a brilliant piece of puppet theatre that will charm adults and children alike.
Storytelling with Under The Bed Theatre
Storytelling with Under The Bed Theatre
Join Under The Bed Theatre for outdoor story time including Oliver Jeffers Lost and Found.
Music for Market
Music for Market
This concert will feature English story-telling through song. The main work featured will be The House of Life, with the poetry of Dante Gabriel Rossetti set to music by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
Special Delivery – Street Theatre show
Special Delivery – Street Theatre show
Special Delivery is a brilliant piece of puppet theatre that will charm adults and children alike.
Ukraine and Its Continuing Agony
Ukraine and Its Continuing Agony
Maria Dziedzan was born in Grimsby to a Ukrainian father and a Welsh mother, but the family moved to Nottingham early in her life to be closer to the large Ukrainian community in the city.
Summer Reads with Lucy Diamond, Milly Johnson & Cathy Bramley
Summer Reads with Lucy Diamond, Milly Johnson & Cathy Bramley
A fabulous trio of bestselling authors, chaired by Tim Rideout.
Storytelling with Under The Bed Theatre
Storytelling with Under The Bed Theatre
Join Under The Bed Theatre for outdoor story time including Oliver Jeffers Lost and Found.
Special Delivery – Street Theatre show
Special Delivery – Street Theatre show
Special Delivery is a brilliant piece of puppet theatre that will charm adults and children alike.
The Book Family Robinson
The Book Family Robinson
The Robinsons were a family of book lovers. Wherever they were, they ALWAYS had a book with them.
Storytelling with Under The Bed Theatre
Storytelling with Under The Bed Theatre
Join Under The Bed Theatre for outdoor story time including Oliver Jeffers Lost and Found.
Louise Blyth: Hope is Coming
Louise Blyth: Hope is Coming
Newark’s Louise Blyth was 33 when her husband George died from bowel cancer, leaving her with one and three year-old boys.
Music in Fiction: Michelle Davies, Lucy Nichol, David F Ross
Music in Fiction: Michelle Davies, Lucy Nichol, David F Ross
We welcome back Hull author Nick Quantrill who will be chairing today’s event. Nick’s Private Investigator novels featuring Joe Geraghty and are published by Fahrenheit Press.
The Women’s Prize for Fiction – Kirsty Capes & Lulu Allison
The Women’s Prize for Fiction – Kirsty Capes & Lulu Allison
Join authors Kirsty Capes and Lulu Allison for a discussion about the Women’s Prize for Fiction longlist.
Sunday 10 July
Literature Village
Literature Village
Join us as we take over Newark Market Place for the day, expect over 40 stalls, family fun and many surprises!
The Morning News with Keziah Rideout
The Morning News with Keziah Rideout
Join Keziah for an hour of debating today’s news over coffee and cake in the beautiful surroundings of Gannets.
Welcome to Storyland
Welcome to Storyland
We are looking forward to welcoming you to our family filled free storyland for 2022.
Author & Crafts Zone
Author & Crafts Zone
Join Festival favourites Gareth Baker and Vicky Kuhn who will host drop-in workshops based on their recent children’s books.
The Faraway Tree
The Faraway Tree
Nottinghamshire artist Kerry O'Brien returns to the festival to run this creative session.
Heritage and Homes with Mahsuda Snaith
Heritage and Homes with Mahsuda Snaith
Leicester-based author Mahsuda Snaith talks about her experiences writing for the Colonial Countryside Project
Peaceful Possums Family Yoga
Peaceful Possums Family Yoga
Join Peaceful Possums Yoga for some exciting, fun family filled adventures
The Art of Storytelling
The Art of Storytelling
Storytelling is one of our most ancient art forms and is fundamental to the way that we communicate with each other.
Indiana Bones and The Lost Library
Indiana Bones and The Lost Library
Join author Harry Heape as he reads from his fantastic book, Indiana Bones And The Lost Library.
George the Dragon
George the Dragon
Everyone is invited to visit our beautifully crafted wooden dragon where you can have a go and operate the half dozen handles which launch 12ft tall George the Dragon into a grand display of hand cranked contraptioneering.
An interview with Louise Candlish & Fiona Cummins
An interview with Louise Candlish & Fiona Cummins
Into the Dark by Fiona Cummins has been described as Big Little Lies meets Broadchurch
The Faraway Tree
The Faraway Tree
Nottinghamshire artist Kerry O'Brien returns to the festival to run this creative session.
Newark’s Literary Heritage
Newark’s Literary Heritage
Discover Newark’s remarkable literary heritage from Lord Byron’s first published poetry to the best of the town’s contemporary writers and much more between
Traitor in the Ice – KJ Maitland
Traitor in the Ice – KJ Maitland
Writing as KJ Maitland, Karen Maitland’s new Jacobean crime thriller series follows Daniel Pursglove as he becomes embroiled in the dark world of spies, murder, and treason, following the failed Gunpowder Plot.