News

New Literature Festival Launched in Frodsham

Published: Mon 30 Jan 2012

A new 12 day literature festival, “Weaver Words”, is to be launched in Frodsham this summer.

Supported by an Arts Council start-up grant of £10,000, the festival will offer an exciting range of events, talks and workshops for adults and children, including a performance by the Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy.

Weaver Words is the brain child of the Frodsham Community Association and is being organised by a festival committee, chaired by Sue Thomson.

Sue said: “The literature festival is a fantastic new event for Frodsham which should be great for residents and attract hundreds of people to the town. We hope lots of local schools, book groups and community organisations will want to join in. And we’re delighted Frodsham CE Primary School has already pledged their support by planning to host an author-in-residence and publish their own book of stories.”

Award-winning Frodsham writer Tim Firth, author of ‘Calendar Girls’, has agreed to be the festival’s patron and he will be sponsoring a new children’s writing competition attached to the festival.

He said: “I'm really pleased that my Great Cheshire Story Prize will form part of the new festival. Hopefully it will offer to younger children the three things any professional writer craves most - a first line, a deadline and a cash incentive.”

Weaver Words will run from Wednesday 29^th August to Sunday 9^th September and feature a science fiction weekend, poetry events with local poets Andrew Rudd and Gladys Mary Coles, a Daphne du Maurier afternoon tea, a Charles Dickens celebration with his descendant Gerald Dickens and a wide variety of workshops, from cartoons and creative writing to drama and book-making.

There will also be a special story-telling day for pre-school children and a lively Open Mic night for budding writers to present their work. The festival will end with the premier of a new drama, Daring To Be, presented by local churches. Full programme details will be launched in the spring.

Weaver Words is being coordinated by festival project manager, Lynn Pegler, and she would be delighted to hear from any community group or individual who would like to get involved. For more information, please contact her on 07783 686246 or email email@weaverwords.org.uk