St Albans first Literary Festival is a four-day celebration (from 6 to 9 November 2014) of story-telling, of every kind: great works of literature, journalistic writing, poetry, non-fiction, copy-writing and blogging will all be included. There is a great line up of over 40 events throughout the festival to suit all ages at venues across St Albans.
Debenhams Ottaway is one of the festival sponsors and is also hosting three events at their office in St Albans:
Women in Business: A Panel Discussion – Thursday 6 November, 6pm
An interactive evening for local female professionals. Local authors Christine Brown-Quinn and Jessica Chivers will discuss and dissect some of the burning issues facing working parents who want to demonstrate professional commitment whilst still meeting family needs. Christine and Jessica will form a panel (with Louise Attrup and Susan Glenholme, partners at Debenhams Ottaway) to give guests the opportunity to ask questions and get advice from women who’ve experienced these issues first-hand.
Hope and Loss in Children’s Literature with Liz Baddaley – Friday 7 November, 6pm
Local author Liz Baddaley will discuss the themes of Loss and Hope in Children’s Literature. She will include readings from The Finding of Freddie Perkins as well as exploring some classic children’s books that deal with some difficult themes. Through lively discussion and personal accounts Liz will talk about how books can help children deal with loss. This highly popular event promises to provide an interesting discussion that will appeal to teachers, care professionals and parents.
Try Your Hand at Performance Poetry Child and Parent Workshop – Saturday 8 November, 3pm
Emma Thomas-Sloley is part of the English Team at Killigrew Primary School and an advocate for drama and performance in primary schools. Since her arrival at the school in 2005, Emma has helped to encourage a love of reading and an appreciation of performance poetry. In 2007, Killigrew Primary School started their first ‘Poetry Busk,’ an outside performance event held annually. Each year pupils learn a poem and practise performance skills. Emma will be offering a ‘Try Your Hand at Performance Poetry – Child and Parent Workshop.’ Each child should attend with one parent or other accompanying adult. As part of the workshop, parents and children will attempt some of the choral performances that have been tried and tested at Killigrew.