Authors to the fore at festival of words

LOCAL AUTHORS are at the fore in the East Riding Festival of Words in October.

They include Wendy Mitchell, who was diagnosed with early onset dementia at the age of 58, and wrote the Guardian best-selling memoir Somebody I Used To Know.

Ms Mitchell, who worked in the NHS, vowed to spend her time raising awareness about dementia and encouraging others to see there is life after a diagnosis. She is now an ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Society.

The festival will be officially launched by Val Wood at Beverley Art Gallery on Thursday, October 18, at 7.30pm.

The novelist, who has written 24 novels, all set in and around Hull and the East Riding, will be giving a reading of her latest novel, A Place to Call Home, which will be published in November.

Best-selling local author David Mark will be joined by fellow writer Richard Vergette at Beverley Art Gallery on Saturday, October 20, at 5pm, as part of the festival’s ‘Dead Good Day’.

It promises to be a fascinating conversation about the dark stage adaptation of Mr Mark’s first novel, Dark Winter, which led to the creation of a series of books about DS Aector McAvoy.

The stage adaptation will be back by popular demand at Hull Truck Theatre in November.

The Festival of Words features four days full of poetry, literature, and spoken word events in Beverley, Bridlington and Goole.

To book tickets, and to get full details of the programme, visit www.festivalofwords.co.uk. Tickets are also available on 01482 392699.