Ruso and The Demented Doctor - 28th April, 7.30pm
Join bestselling author R.S. Downie at Piddington Museum for the launch of her new book Ruso and the Dememted Doctor and to find out more about bizarre Roman medical treatments, handle some Roman pottery and meet Dug the Iron Age Man. Downie’s Ruso is an anti-hero to delight in and murderers at the frontier of the Roman Empire will be quaking in their sandals at his return. Meticulously researched, this charming and colourful series is a must-read for Lindsey Davis fans, and hugely popular with critics and crime fans alike.

Please buy tickets in advance, priced at £2 (refreshments included). To book please contact Caroline Bates cabates@northamptonshire.gov.uk or 07789 861773.

Finding Words for the Forest
Patrick Bond, ex-forest worker and published poet, will lead the day. “We will take inspiration from John Clare’s sonnets, written in the 1830’s. Clare still speaks to us of how we can relate to the land, how memories give us meaning, and how the beauty of nature is in the detail, in the place. We will listen to his poems, walking in a landscape which Clare might have recognised.”
Forestry Commission, Top Lodge, Fineshade Wood, near Stamford. Saturday 26th April 2008, 11.00 a.m. to 4.00 p.m. Cost £12 (conc. £8) £18 couples. For further details and to book a place, please phone Patrick Bond 07932-141918.

ALT:FICTION
The lineup for Derby’s sci-fi and fantasy fiction event, Alt.Fiction 2008, has been confirmed. Alt:Fiction 2008 takes place on 26 April at Derby Assembly Rooms, and features readings, workshops and panels with some of the UK’s leading talent in science-fiction, fantasy and horror writing. This year’s lineup includes authors such as Brian Lumley, Michael Marshall Smith, Mike Carey, Charlie Stross, Graham Joyce, Ramsey Campbell Justina Robson and many more.

Tickets for the day cost £20, or £16 concessions and can be booked from the Assembly Rooms Box Office on 01332 255800. Doors open at 11am for a 12pm start, with a 9pm close. Anyone wanting further details can contact Alex Davis on 01332 715434, minicom 01332 256666, or at alex.davis@derby.gov.uk. Or they can visit the Alt.Fiction blog at http://altfictionday.blogspot.com/.  

Novelists talk: Judith Allnatt and Sue Moorcroft
On Thursday 24th April 2008 at 7pm, novelists Judith Allnatt and Sue Moorcroft will be reading and discussing their most recent work at The Greyhound Coaching Inn, Market Street, Lutterworth, Leicestershire LE17 4EJ, in support of LOROS (Leicestershire Organisation For The Relief Of Suffering) Adult Hospice. The event will be hosted by the writer, Keith Large.

Judith’s short stories have been anthologised and broadcast on Radio 4. Judith’s story The Sand Monster was chosen by Tracy Chevalier as one of the top thirteen stories for the Bridport Prize. Her novel A Mile of River is published by Transworld (Doubleday).

Sue has written widely for the magazine short story market and, as a novelist, was awarded the Katie Fforde bursary. Her novel Family Matters is published by Hale.

Tickets are priced at £5 including buffet and all door proceeds will go to LOROS. Tickets are advance sale only, available by contacting keith.large2@btinternet.com.  

T. S. Eliot Festival at Little Gidding, Cambs
Poetry enthusiasts of T.S. Eliot from across the country will gather at the tiny hamlet of Little Gidding for the third annual T. S. Eliot Festival, to be held on Saturday 17 May 2008. The festival programme includes inspiring talks and readings celebrating poetry and the work of T.S. Eliot.

The day’s programme begins with the annual Little Gidding Lecture, to be delivered by Peter Stanford, the authorised biographer of C. Day-Lewis. Titled ‘On Not Saying Everything’, the talk will examine poetry’s role in capturing religious experience. The festival’s Keynote Speaker is Ingrid Soren, also known as the writer Rosamund Richardson. Fresh from the International Symposium in Florence, Soren will deliver her paper ‘We are Born with the Dead’ - Dante and Eliot: A Conversation. The day will conclude with an evening reading by the acclaimed poet, Sean O’Brien, the recipient of both the 2007 T.S. Eliot Prize and the 2007 Forward Poetry Prize.

Interspersed with audience readings, music, tea and a buffet supper, the festival promises to be an inspiring and convivial gathering at the beautiful setting of Little Gidding, which has remained virtually unchanged since T.S. Eliot visited and was inspired to write about it in his most famous poem ‘Four Quartets’.

A full day ticket is £25, and includes tea and supper. Separate tickets for the afternoon or evening events are also available at £10. Further details about tickets and bookings can be obtained from info@ferrarhouse.co.uk. Contact: Festival Coordinator, Ferrar House, Little Gidding, Huntingdon, Cambs., PE28 5RJ. 01832 293383 / info@ferrarhouse.co.uk.

Children’s novelists in Northampton
The School of The Arts at the University of Northampton is delighted to present a lecture series featuring prestigious writers for children:

Tuesday 22nd April 2008: Award winning novelist Ally Kennen (author of Beast and Berserk) grew up on an isolated organic farm on Exmoor, with no toilet, dead tadpoles coming out of the taps and annual rat infestations. Her family fostered ‘challenging’ teenagers throughout her childhood. After a spell of road protesting she became an archaeologist. Ally reached no. 41 in the UK charts in 2001 with a song she wrote and sang and subsequently toured the world. Beast has been longlisted for the Leicester Book Awards - Book of the Year 2007. http://www.allykennen.com/.

AUTHORS WILL BE AVAILABLE FOR BOOK SIGNING. All events will take place in the Main Hall, Avenue Campus at 7.15pm for a 7.30pm start. For tickets, contact chris.woolmore@northampton.ac.uk. Admission price: £6 per lecture/Concessions £4.

For Press and Academic queries, contact chris.ringrose@northampton.ac.uk. The University of Northampton, St George’s Avenue, Northampton, NN2 6JD

Northants Touring Arts Events JAN - JULY 2008
Northants Touring Arts is the Rural and Community Touring Organisation for Northamptonshire. One of 40 similar schemes across the country, Northants Touring Arts works in partnership with volunteer promoters to host live professional performances in their community venue. Performances take place in all kinds of spaces, village halls, community centres, churches and schools.To see what’s on at a venue near you go to the What’s On section of the website. To buy tickets for an event please contact the promoter directly. To receive a brochure of events in the post and/or to receive email newsletters please join our mailing list.For further information about Northants Touring Arts please contact Kate Williams on 0870 850 5601 / info@northantstouringarts.co.uk.

NewCon4
It may seem a long way off yet but NewCon4, a science fiction convention from the Northampton SF Writers Group, is taking place at Northampton’s Fishmarket art centre in October 2008. Check out the website for breaking festival news, including details of guests of honour such as Iain M. Bank and Storm Constantine http://www.newcon4.com/.  

Poetry for Pleasure at Towcester Library
Poetry appreciation for all in a friendly and relaxed environment is becoming a regular feature at Towcester Library. These sessions continue to concentrate on reading and discussing poetry and are purely for pleasure. They are aimed at anyone who reads (or might like to read) poetry for enjoyment, rather than writers or students! Each session explores a particular topic through the works of some of Britain’s most popular poets and lesser known writers of verse. We aim at a high level of ‘audience participation’ with everyone having the chance to help read out the poems. Members of the group are also given the opportunity to both suggest new topics and request specific poems.

Spring 2008 - dates and topics
Wednesday April 30th - Domestic animals

Each session starts at 7pm and we aim to finish no later than 9pm. This includes a break for light refreshments. Cost: £3 per session, payable in advance (no concessions, sorry!). Booking is advisable. (Tel Towcester Library (01327) 350794). If you are interested but cannot make these dates or times please contact Judith Davies at Daventry Library (01327) 703130. There is the possibility that similar sessions might be held at other times or in other places.

GOLD NUGGETS
An evening of poetry, short stories and songs about life issues at the Jesus Centre, at the top of Abington Street, by the BBC Radio in Northampton. Time: 7.30 - 9.30pm, on Friday May 2nd, July 11th, September 12th, November 14th 2008. Admittance is free. Drinks and snacks available in the cafe during the break. Bring your friends, and feel free to contribute, or just come and see what we’re doing. For enquiries contact Ase on 01327-344576 after 2pm or e-mail us at goldnuggets@myway.com.