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Our 2008 Festival Authors
and Events are Listed Below: Use the 'Add to Cart' button to
book on line, or click
here for other
ways to buy tickets.
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FESTIVAL AUTHORS AND EVENTS |
Saturday 27th September |
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Philip Ardagh
THE AWFUL END OF ARDAGH

11.00am St. Mary’s Church £4
FAMILY EVENT
(Supported by Faber and
Faber)
Acclaimed
author Philip Ardagh launches this
year’s Festival! With over 70 titles to
his name including Awful End and the
other Eddie Dickens Adventures, Philip
Ardagh has collaborated on Sir Paul
McCartney’s first children’s book and
regularly reviews for the Guardian. He’s
big, he’s bearded, his talent is even
BIGGER than his enormous beard – this
man is seriously funny but best of all –
he’s HERE!! So book now or spend the
next year hearing about how good it was!
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Dugald Steer
HERE BE DRAGONS
1.00pm The British Legion Hall £4
FAMILY EVENT
(Supported
by Templar Publishing)
Get
to know the ins and outs of DRAGONS!
Appledore Book Festival is proud to
present the world’s most eminent
dragonologist Dr. Ernest Drake a.k.a.
Dugald Steer, author of the
multi-million selling international
hits, Pirateology and Mythology – and
now the second book in the Dragonology
Chronicles, The Dragon’s Diary. He and
his assistant Mr Flite will teach you
everything you need to know, eating
habits, habitats, dung - yeuw and get
you closer to dragons than you ever
thought possible. Don’t miss this
fantastic fire-breathing stupendous
family show.
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GARDENERS’ QUESTION TIME

2.30pm St. Mary’s Church £6
(Sponsored by St. John’s Garden Centre)
For all keen gardeners, and for those
who would just like to know a bit more,
The Festival is delighted to host its
own home-grown Gardeners’
Question
Time. In the chair is Chris Bailes,
curator of Rosemoor, and the panel
consists of “Moon Gardener” John Harris,
author of RJ Harris Moon Gardening –
famous for his appearances on TV and
local radio, Radio Devon gardening
presenter Sarah Chesters and Nick Oliver
of St. John’s Nursery. So don’t be a
wallflower – bring your questions and
queries and pick some green tips from
the experts!
P.S. Ticket holders are invited to view
Val Robbins stunning magical garden in
Appledore on 27 September between 10am
and 2pm.
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Peter
Keene READING THE LANDSCAPE
4pm Walking on Northam Burrows from
Appledore LifeBoat Station £5
(Sponsored by Devon County Council)
Renowned landscape expert Peter Keene
can give you a totally new view of our
ever changing environment. Here’s your
chance to hear and see at first hand how
our beautiful coastline is changing.
Prepare to have your eyes opened and
learn how you can draw as much
information from the visible as you can
the invisible. (Appropriate clothing and
footwear advised for an estimated
two-hour walk. Some rough terrain).
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Beatrice Otto MANY A TRUE WORD SPOKEN
IN JEST!

6.30pm St. Mary’s Hall £5
Everyone
thinks they know about jesters …..
people who play the clown, act the fool
……… but do we really understand them and
their important place in history?
Beatrice Otto’s first book Fools are
Everywhere, has taken the world by
storm. Highly praised by Simon Callow of
the Guardian, Otto presents a fun and
exciting talk about jesters. Enter the
jester’s world and be enthralled.
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Peter
Keene BYE BYE BURROWS?
8.00pm Baptist Chapel £5
(Sponsored by Devon County Council)
North Devon is an area of Outstanding
Natural Beauty and a Biosphere of world
importance – but for how long? Expert
Peter Keene throws a dramatic light on
the area in which we live, covering
thousands of years of history in
Bideford’s beautiful Bay in an amazing
illustrated talk. How long has it taken
to create the view that we now see, and
how much longer will that view last?
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FESTIVAL AUTHORS AND EVENTS |
Sunday 28th September |
ALTERED BOOKS – A one-day workshop
10 – 4.30pm The Glove Factory £25
FRINGE EVENT
Join a one-day ‘fun’ workshop that
explores the endless possibilities of
transforming an unwanted book into a
creative ‘artwork’ using a variety of
techniques and materials. Materials will
be provided, but feel free to bring your
own additions. (The Glove Factory does
not have wheelchair access.)
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Peter
Christie GRANDMA’S SECRET LIFE?

11.30am St. Mary’s Hall £5
Popular historian Peter Christie reveals
the sordid underbelly of Victorian
respectability with a shocking and
revealing talk on the dark side of life
in North Devon. And is it really true
that those who were disappointed with
Amsterdam immediately headed for
Appledore? Here’s your chance to draw
your own conclusion!
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Penny
Vincenzi AN ABSOLUTE SCANDAL
2.30pm St. Mary’s Church £6
Appledore
Book Festival is delighted to welcome
one of the UK’s best loved and most
popular authors, the international best
selling Penny Vincenzard for The Galaxy British Book
Awards. Penny is married, with four
daughters, and divides her time between
London and Gower, South Wales.
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How
to Write for Lovers
4.00pm St. Mary’s Hall £5
Are you one of those who has ever
thought of dashing off a romantic novel
and whizzing it over to Mills & Boon? If
so, this is for you! Many people think
of doing the deed but few pick up the
pen and even fewer complete the task.
Mmes Westcott and Boyle, with specific
guidance from publishers, will tell you
how to develop characters, build
tension, manage conflict and, more
essentially, get published.
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Tony
Benn AN EVENING WITH TONY BENN

6.30pm St. Mary’s Church £6
When Tony Benn left parliament after 51
years he said it was to have ‘more time
for politics’ and this has proved to be
true. Tony has spent his time
campaigning and reinventing national
debate through public meetings. His
world-famous diaries are an astonishing
and eye-opening insight into the heart
of government. Don’t miss the chance to
meet the man who has met everyone from
Ghandi to Saddam and prepare for a truly
thought-provoking and unforgettable
event.
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Peter
Villiers HOW TO WRITE A BIOGRAPHY
8.00pm St. Mary’s Hall £5
Having written about Joseph Conrad,
Peter explores the process of writing a
biography. He asks the all important
questions: ‘Where do you start from and
what is your aim?’; ‘How do you form an
opinion of someone you have never met?’
and, more critically, ‘What should go in
and what is best left out?’ Peter will
answer all these questions and inspire
everyone to start investigating their
heroes.
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FESTIVAL AUTHORS AND EVENTS |
Monday 29th September |
Mark
Woolaway KNOW WHERE YOU ARE AT ALL
TIMES
2pm St. Mary’s Hall £4
FRINGE EVENT
Mark navigates a tour through the
mysterious layers of village history to
reveal the people and events that gave
rise to our Appledore place names.
Between fact and folklore in his
fascinating illustrated talk there’s
always room for discussion and dissent –
expect plenty of audience participation.
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Kjartan Poskitt MEET THE MURDEROUS
AXEMAN!
6.30pm Baptist Chapel £4
FAMILY EVENT
(Supported by Scholastic)
Mad but brilliant, genius author Kjartan
is best known for his Murderous Maths
series that made us laugh so much that
we forgot it was all about maths. As an
encore he introduced us to Urgum the
Axeman, last of the barbarians. Who
could resist learning from Pongo
McWhiffy, Professor Fiendish, the Evil
Gollarks and Riverboat Lil? Come and
join the lunacy, the hilarity, the
quirkiness that is Poskitt, the man who
does magic tricks with underpants.
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Appledorian Evening FOOD, FEAST AND
FOLKLORE
7.30 pm St. Mary’s Hall £4
Find out what to eat in Appledore. Do
you eat laver? Wear ‘frocks’? Dine on
samphire and sea spinach? Devour
missionaries? Come and meet the people
of Appledore, hear their tales of eating
and drinking, discover their traditional
recipes and sample specially brewed
Appledore Book Festival ale from
Clearwater Brewery.
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APPLEDORE SINGALONG
9pm Royal George Pub, Irsha Street,
Appledore Free Admission
FRINGE EVENT
Last year the Appledore evening at the
Royal George was one of the smash hits
of the Festival. This year the fun goes
on at the Royal George with traditional
Appledore songs and sea shanties to
raise the roof, plus a pint or two of
Appledore Ale to wet your whistle.
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FESTIVAL AUTHORS AND EVENTS |
Tuesday 30th September |
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Bob Willingham THE THRILL OF VICTORY
AND THE AGONY OF DEFEAT
4.00pm St. Mary’s Hall £4
FRINGE EVENT
Bob’s stunning photographs have earned
him the title of Western Regional
Journalist Photographer 2008. His book
The Thrill of Victory and the Agony of
Defeat portrays the joy and the pain.
‘It’s not about judo’, he says, ‘it’s
about people’. Join Bob at St. Mary’s
Hall to find out more about his amazing
ability to capture the moment.
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The Two Steves THE MAD MYTHS SHOW
6.30pm St. Mary’s Hall £4
FAMILY EVENT
Forget Ant and Dec – Steve Barlow and
Steve Skidmore are such an enormously
talented double act they will make you
laugh and learn all at once. Come and
see their Mad Myths quiz show based on
their brilliant series of books, a crazy
retelling of Greek legends and enjoy a
legendary laugh-out-loud-and-long,
uproarious evening.
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THREE SPORTING LIVES
8.00pm at St. Mary’s Church £6
Be part of a once in a lifetime event –
the cream of British sport writers ready
to entertain you with amazing anecdotes
to the most incredible sporting action
ever. Your host is Lyn Callaghan, ABF
committee member and freelance sports’
journalist for the Mail on Sunday. On
the panel are 2007 Sports Journalist of
the Year Ian Ridley, co-author of No. 1
bestseller, Addicted and chief football
correspondent for the MOS: Peter
Jackson, rugby writer for the Daily Mail
since 1990; and Brian Scovell, author of
23 books and cricket and football
reporter for the Daily Mail from
1971-2000. This is going to be a
humdinger!
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FESTIVAL AUTHORS AND EVENTS |
Wednesday 1st October |
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Lucy Pettitt BEATEN BY AN EGG
2pm St. Mary’s Hall £4
FRINGE EVENT
It seems as if we are in the grip of an
allergy epidemic. Come and hear Lucy
Pettitt’s harrowing experiences as told
in her moving book, Beaten by an Egg.
Her emotional, compelling presentation
includes poetry and dance (tango). Have
a look at her website
www.spectrumymotion.co.uk
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Dan Freedman KICK OFF
6.30pm St. Mary’s Hall £4
FAMILY EVENT
(Supported by Scholastic)
As a boy Dan Freedman lived football and
as an adult he lived his dream working
for the FA and getting to know the top
stars of English football. Come and hear
the inside info about Beckham and Rooney
and find out about the brilliant new
series of soccer stories starring
schoolboy hero Jamie Johnson.
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Libby Purves LOVE
SONGS AND LIES
8.00pm St. Mary’s Church £6
(Supported by Hodder & Stoughton)
Much-loved writer and broadcaster Libby
Purves is not only a main columnist on
the Times, she has presented Midweek for
Radio 4 since the early 80’s and
published novels and children’s books as
well as non-fiction. There can be few
who are not familiar with her special
brand of empathy, humour and
practicality. Libby will talk about how
she pulls together all the strands of
her working life, from where she draws
her inspiration and her latest book Love
Song and Lies. Oh yes……… and she sails!
Don’t miss out on what is bound to be a
wonderful evening.
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BOBBY WELLINS
QUARTET
9pm St. Mary’s Hall £8
FRINGE EVENT
Legendary Scottish saxophonist Bobby
Wellins performs pieces from his work
The wind That Shakes the Barley, based
on the life of Robbie Burns. Accompanied
by brilliant pianist, Liam Noble and the
fine rhythm section of Dave Wickins on
drums and Dave Whitford on bass, Bobby
will also play pieces from Stan Tracey’s
Under Milk Wood Suite.
A North Devon
Jazz Club Event
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FESTIVAL AUTHORS AND EVENTS |
Thursday 2nd October |
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Michael Henderson
SEE YOU AFTER THE DURATION

2pm St. Mary’s Hall £4
FRINGE EVENT
Drawing on personal experience Michael
tells the tale of what it was like to be
evacuated as a small boy, sent over
perilous seas to America, to live in a
country that he didn’t know, with people
he had never met and not knowing what
the outcome would be. He has also
included accounts from other North
Devonians. See you after the Duration is
the true story of a child in a
terrifying world.
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David Johnson
AFTERNOON TREATS
4pm St. Mary’s Hall £4
FRINGE EVENT
Poet and Radio 4 playwright, David
Johnson is an entertaining,
prize-winning performer whose
inspiration is our bizarre world. He has
featured in literary festivals in the UK
and USA, appeared on BBC Radio’s Word of
Mouth and Poetry Stand Up series. Come
hear him tell about his life as a poet
and playwright and read from his latest
collection, Bombazine.
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Roy Hattersley
BORROWED TIME – BRITAIN BETWEEN THE WARS
6.30pm St. Mary’s Church £6
(Supported by Little Brown Group)
Formidable
politician, columnist for The Guardian
and now in the Daily Mail, prolific
writer Roy Hattersley, has also been
Deputy Leader of the Labour Party. But
amongst many other achievements, it was
he who promoted the gifted and astute
Buster, his canine companion, who single
pawedly featured in his own books.
Hattersley’s latest book, Borrowed Time…
Britain between the Wars, is a
collection of essays on politics,
entertainment and other aspects of life
in the inter-war years. This
must-be-there event is an invigorating
insight from an amazing renaissance man.
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Todd Gray HISTORY
THAT HURTS
8pm Baptist Chapel £5
Historian, Honorary Research Fellow at
Exeter University and author of more
than 40 books on South West Britain,
Todd Gray will speak about awkward
history, aspects of the past that are
uncomfortable, but essential to
understanding the past – including the
role of Devon in African slavery and the
rise of Oswald Mosley’s Blackshirts in
rural Devon. The material is drawn from
two of his award-winning books. Come and
find out the truth.
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FESTIVAL AUTHORS AND EVENTS |
Friday 3rd October |
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Bideford 500: A
Unique Maritime Inheritance
2.30 pm St Mary’s Hall Entry
Free
FRINGE EVENT
Sir Richard Grenville’s first steps onto
Roanoke Island in North Carolina were as
significant in 1585 as Neil Armstrong’s
onto the moon in 1969. And the setting
up of that first English-speaking colony
in America was just one of the unique
links that connect the Torridge estuary
communities of the Old World and the New
World – links that have spanned five
centuries and continue to the present
day. Local researcher and writer,
Pauline Smith, invites you to fire up
your imagination as she recounts some of
the thrilling stories that join our
continents and suggests ways in which we
can use them to keep our communities
alive. Discussion follows.
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Appledore Visual Arts
Festival Film CAPTURING APPLEDORE’S
MARITIME HERITAGE – AN ORAL HISTORY
4pm Appledore Baptist Chapel £4
FRINGE EVENT
Sponsored by the Heritage Lottery Fund,
Appledore Visual Arts Festival has
produced a film which encapsulates
aspects of Appledore that are slowly but
steadily vanishing. Subjects covered
using recent interviews and archive film
include laver picking, poaching and boat
building. This film is a must-see for
anyone who knows Appledore, or who would
like to know Appledore.
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Storybox Theatre
THE SUN, THE MOON AND HALF A CHICKEN
6.30pm St. Mary’s Hall £4
FAMILY EVENT
A rare opportunity to see this
internationally renowned, award winning
company. In The Sun, The Moon and Half a
Chicken, Rod Burnett uses his formidable
skills as a storyteller and puppeteer to
tell the tale of the curious
half-chicken who hops off to see the
King, encountering Fire, Wind and Water
on the way. As the story unfolds so the
magic increases in a show that will
delight children and adults alike.
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Nick Arnold WHO
KILLED KING UBBA?
8.00pm Baptist Chapel £5
Ubba was the most feared Viking warrior
of his time but in 878 A.D. he was
killed in a bloody battle that changed
the course of history. For 1,000 years
the story was all but lost but now you
can join Festival Director, Nick Arnold,
(and real life Vikings) for dramatic new
evidence on the site of the battle and
the desperate struggle that saved
England.
Painting: Cecil Todd
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AN EVENING OF
POETRY AND MUSIC
9.pm St. Mary’s Hall £5
FRINGE EVENT
An eclectic blend of performance poetry
and music, delivered to your door by
some of North Devon’s finest creative
artists including Colin Shaddick, James
Bell, Chris Ayliffe, Caroline Cassinelli
and Dave Clinch.
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FESTIVAL AUTHORS AND EVENTS |
Saturday 4th October |
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Megan Stallworthy
BOOK BINDING WORKSHOP
SOLD OUT
10am – 4pm Blue Lights Hall £30
FRINGE EVENT
Learn how to make a variety of exciting
book structures with talented and
inspirational bookbinder Megan
Stallworthy. The class will be making
different books this year, so the
workshop is suitable for those who
attended last year’s workshop as well as
for complete beginners. All equipment
and materials are supplied, and you will
take your beautiful handmade books home
with you. Places are limited on this
very popular workshop, so please book
early.
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Jeremy Strong THE
ONE AND ONLY
11am Baptist Chapel £4
FAMILY EVENT
(Supported by Puffin Books)
Often dubbed ‘the King of Comedy’ Jeremy
Strong writes books that are regularly
rated the most rib-tickling laugh out
loud funny children’s books ever. Now
you can meet the man behind such
classics as the Hundred Mile an Hour
Dog, Krazy Kow Saves The World and
There’s a Viking in my Bed. His books
number more than all your toes and
fingers put together. He is kept in
order by Streaker – who probably does a
lot of the hard work for him – and who
features in more and more of his books.
This is your chance to meet one man and
his dog. What more can we say? Well,
plenty more – just come to this event
and bring your laughing gear!
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Tony Mitton POET
IN A PUB
12.30pm The Beaver Inn Irsha St.
Appledore £9 (includes lunch) FAMILY
EVENT
Just imagine the perfect combination -
beer at the Beaver and a family poetry
workshop with one of Britain’s top
children’s performing poets. Let Tony
Mitton be your inspired and inspiring
guide into the world of rap, rhyme and
rhythm and guess what – there’s a
delicious buffet lunch included in the
price!
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Andrew Lambert
ADMIRALS
2.30pm Baptist Chapel £5
(Supported by Faber and Faber)
Described as one of the most eminent
naval historians of our age, and author
of the best-selling Nelson: Britannia’s
God of War. His new book, uses the lives
of 11 remarkable men to examine how this
country became the naval superpower for
300 years, spread English across the
globe and dominated the world’s economy.
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Sir Peregrine
Worsthorne PRESIDENTIAL REMINISCENCES
6.30pm St. Mary’s Church £6
On the eve of the American Election
2008, Peregrine Worsthorne, political
pundit and former editor of the Sunday
Telegraph, reminisces on the presidents
he met during his 50 years of journalism
– from Eisenhower and Truman on the last
of the whistle stop tours to an intimate
meeting with LBJ in Vietnam, when he
described Ladybird as ‘the nicest little
lay in town’ ending with a week’s stay
in the White House with Richard Nixon.
Don’t miss a totally unmissable
appointment with a true witness to
history
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Lucinda Lambton
TEMPLES OF CONVENIENCE
8pm St. Mary’s Church £6
Lucinda Lambton, of the honey voice and
immense appeal, will talk with dignity
and tease about her book Temples of
Convenience, designed to bring the
appreciation of toilets into the drawing
room. For too long, their importance has
been overlooked. Lucinda aims to renew
our appreciation of their development,
with such innovations as the dozen
7-foot high fibreglass eggs, each
containing WCs, blue lit for Gents and
pink for Ladies, that are to be found in
a London Club. A fascinating evening is
in the pipeline!
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FESTIVAL AUTHORS AND EVENTS |
Sunday 5th October |
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SERVICE FOR THE
BOOK FESTIVAL
10am The Quay (or St. Mary’s Church, if
wet)
Free Admission
FAMILY EVENT
The Vicar of Appledore, The Rev John
Ewington, presents a very special Book
Festival Service based on Christian
books and especially John Bunyan’s
Pilgrims’ Progress and the writings of
St. Francis.
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Nick Sharratt
PANTASTIC!
11.30 am St. Mary’s Hall £4
FAMILY EVENT
(Supported by Random House Children’s
Books)
Come and meet Nick Sharratt, illustrator
of Shark in the Park, Ketchup on your
Cornflakes, Eat your Peas and Pants and
the man who draws Tracy Beaker. Hear all
about his latest books, get involved in
storytelling and picture-making, create
your own special pants and join in the
Pants dance.
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Jacqueline Wilson
AN AFTERNOON WITH JACQUELINE WILSON
2.30pm St. Mary’s Church £6
FAMILY EVENT
(Supported by Random House Children’s
Books)

The Festival is thrilled to welcome Dame
Jacqueline Wilson previous Children’s
Laureate to launch Bookweek in the South
West. Here’s your chance to meet one of
the best selling authors in the U.K and
the most borrowed author in British
libraries. Her books have won countless
major awards and been adapted for
television and stage. Jacqueline Wilson
has written brilliant books for
youngsters of all ages connecting
directly with her readers, dealing with
many of the problems that children face
in their daily lives. Her Tracy Beaker
series has been a runaway success. Even
as we go to press there is a queue for
tickets – please grab yours before they
sell out!
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Kate Adie INTO
DANGER: RISKING YOUR LIFE TO WORK
SOLD OUT
4pm St. Mary’s Church £6
(Supported by Hodder & Stoughton)
World renowned for the quality of her
reporting and her writing, Kate Adie
delighted her audience last year with
her warmth, her knowledge and her
humour. This year she will be
introducing her latest book, ‘Into
Danger: Risking your life to work’.
Through this Kate explores what drives
people to put themselves at risk in
highly dangerous occupations. Along with
the respect and insight, there will be
much laughter and discussion. Book now
because those tickets will be snapped up
very fast!
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AFTER
THE FESTIVAL
Appledore Book Festival is a 12-month operation. Already
we’re inviting authors for 2009 – keep your eye on
www.appledorebookfestival.co.uk for details! Meanwhile,
thanks to Bookrelief UK, we are supporting Reading is
Fundamental schemes that give free books to local
children at East the Water CP School, Appledore CP
School and St, Mary’s CofE Primary School. See
www.bookreliefuk.org for more details.
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