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Tickets now on sale for four days of literary fun with Newark Book Festival




From gardening to crime and outer space — a festival is delving into the world of books to explore our own world.

In bookshops and libraries there’s thousands of worlds contained within the pages of the books, waiting to be explored.

No matter how factual or fantastical, they all reflect and illustrate our own.

Sara Bullimore, of Newark Book Festival.
Sara Bullimore, of Newark Book Festival.

This year’s Newark Book Festival is inspired by this, with the theme Our World.

Tickets for the festival, which runs from July 6 to July 9, are on sale now at Newark Palace Theatre and the box office can be contacted on 01636 655755.

“We are delighted to welcome a fabulous range of authors, speakers, musicians, and artists to Newark for 2023,” said artistic director Sara Bullimore.

“This year, we’re exploring the theme, Our World, from nature to gardens, eco-themed activities and shooting off into outer space.”

Events will be taking place in venues across the town over the four days.

The festival will transport readers to a world teeming with creatures from naturalist Mark Cocker’s soaring swifts in One Midsummer’s Day to the minibeasts crawling on the ground in The Ugly Bugs Wingding puppet show.

There’s world abloom with gardener Phil McCann’s guide to RHS Garden Bridgewater and world full of awesome architecture as Peter Ross tell the stories of our most beautiful and under-appreciated churches in Steeple Chasing.

Or travel to a world of connection where creativity across the twinned towns is celebrated thanks to the help of Newark Town Council, The Polish Cultural Institute, London and Nottingham UNESCO City of Literature.

Visitors can time travel with author Matson Taylor (All About Evie) to the summer of 1972 and even further back with hair stylist Leslie Cavendish (The Cutting Edge) to the swinging 60s to hang out backstage with The Beatles — or head to the mean streets of Vaseem Khan, Tim Glister and Steph Broadribb’s criminal underworlds, and take a snorkel to dive deep underwater with Under the Bed Theatre’s The Odd Fish and an oxygen tank ready to soar into space with Royal Astronomical Society fellow Emma Chapman or in the StarLincs Planetarium.

After journying to the far away lands, discover what’s far more close to home in the Literature Village in Newark’s Market Place.

Visitors can follow festival mascot Barry the Bookworm’s Eco World Trail and discover further inspiration in the Above our Heads, Below our Feet Exhibition from Newark College students who will be sharing a selection of books that celebrate our natural world.

This exhibition will feature a range of prose, poetry and flash fiction, as well as visual representations of our world.

“The festival will also feature your much-loved favourites including crime fiction, romance, music, panel debates, writing workshops, craft activities, storytelling, street theatre and lots of fun stories for families and young people too. We are excited to launch our Young Ambassadors Programme and continue to work with new partners and venues which we love,” added Sara.

“NBF is part of Newark’s Cultural Consortium and this summer we are working with the ADHD Foundation — The Neurodiversity Charity — Umbrella Project to present a vibrant display of art above our heads, and performances all summer.”



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