The National Poet of Wales celebrates the centenary of Alun Lewis, with a close reading and exploration of his poems. His first volume Raiders Dawn and other Poems was published in 1942. Ha! Ha! Among the Trumpets, which contains his masterpiece All Day It Has Rained was published posthumously in 1945. Introduced by Cary Archard.
.
In this celebration of the bi-centenary of the birth of Charlotte Brontë, Chevalier is joined by three fellow writers to introduce their anthology of stories inspired by Jane Eyre.
Clever, optimistic, beautifully written and very amusing, these three writers’ books explore the relationships within families and between close friends with great insight and humour. The multiple-award-winning Hilary McKay whose new book is Binny For Short, is joined by Natasha Farrant, author of The Diaries of Bluebell Gadsby series, and newcomer Jane Elson, author of A Room Full of Chocolate, for a lively session about the highs and lows of family life and how it inspires their fiction.
9+ years
One of Britain’s best-loved BBC radio presenters returns with his second children’s book Itch Rocks. With elements as his gadgets, Itch has to use all his wits to escape unscrupulous enemies.
10+ years
The representation of women both in games and the games industry has been changing over the last few years. Come and meet Pratchett, the lead writer on Tomb Raider who specialises in developing the narrative structure, humour and characterisation in games and played a key role in the reinvention of the legendary Lara Croft.
Fascinating facts and the kind of advice you won’t get anywhere else from the bestselling and double-Blue Peter Best Book with Facts-winning Mitchell Symons.
7+ years
The American novelist tells the tales of his fifteen years in France, where he wrote lives of Genet, Rimbaud and Proust and met le tout Paris – from Yves St Laurent and Catherine Deneuve to Michel Foucault.
Aged 24, the writer’s world caved in. He could see no way to go on living. This is the true story of how Haig came through crisis, triumphed over an illness that almost destroyed him and learned to live again. Chaired by John Mitchinson.
For a number of years The Parson and The Publican have travelled the highways and byways in search of refreshment for body and soul. With many years between them of accumulated wisdom on matters pertaining to pew and pump it was but a short step to committing their experiences to print. The authors have scoured Worcestershire, Herefordshire and The Wye Valley to amass these tales, which are delightfully illustrated with watercolour sketches from the brush of the Publican. Some of the places in their delightful book are well known, while others are more obscure but, never discouraged, our plucky pilgrims get out the map, freely exchange opinions and then do precisely what the driver wishes. Not for them the wonders of the 'Sat Nag'. Rather, instinct and an unwavering nose for musty hassocks, malted barley or fermented apple juice draws them ever onwards.
Brenda Chamberlain’s iconic book The Watercastle is just published in the Library Of Wales series. Her biographer Jill Piercy discusses her life and work with art historian Peter Lord, who is trying to preserve Chamberlain’s murals on Bardsey, and poet Damian Walford Davies, who has just edited her play The Protagonists, set on Hydra during the time of the Colonels.
A vivid history of the macabre as the author goes in search of the ancient customs, local characters and compelling tales that illuminate how people over the years have come to terms with our ultimate fate. He discovers what a small Norfolk church has to tell us about the apocalypse; why the greatest minds of the C17th were embroiled in debate over the phantom Drummer of Tedworth; and how a nineteenth-century Welsh druid completely changed the national view of cremation.
The former head of the UN in Sudan reveals the shocking depths of evil plumbed by those who designed and orchestrated ‘the final solution’ in Darfur – How One Man Became The Whistleblower To The First Mass Murder Of The Twenty-First Century.
They say she has been banned in Bognor and censored in Solihull. Here to hellraise in Hay for one day only, the creator of the world-conquering Georgia Nicholson and Tallulah books and Queen of Comedy – Louise Rennison – will give you a sneak preview of The Taming of the Tights.
Duration 60 mins.
11+ years
The Palestinian editor of Rai al-Youm offers a comprehensive review of the group’s organisational structure and leadership, strategies, tactics and diverse methods of recruitment. He traces the salafi-jihadi lineage of IS, its ideological differences with al-Qa’ida, and the deadly rivalry that has emerged between their leaders. Atwan also shows how the group’s rapid growth has been facilitated by its masterful command of social media platforms, the ‘dark web’, Hollywood ‘blockbuster’-style videos, and even jihadi computer games, producing a powerful paradox where the ambitions of the Middle Ages have re-emerged in cyber-space.
