Sponsors at Chiddingstone Literary Festival

Chilstone, makers of fine cast stone are delighted to sponsor award winning Children’s author Piers Torday at this year’s Literary Festival at Chiddingstone Castle on Bank Holiday Monday 1^st May 2017. Chilstone will be paying tribute to the famous stag in the Last Wild Trilogy with a cast stone stag statue at the event. Piers Torday is a talented author, who works to promote children’s’ literacy, something that Chilstone is proud to support.

The festival is taking place over the May Bank Holiday weekend Sunday 30 April-Tuesday 2 May 2017. Chiddingstone Castle will welcome an impressive selection of authors covering a wide-range of topics. For children, there are appearances from prize-winning authors Piers Torday and Lauren St John, poet A F Harrold and local author Christopher Lloyd. There will be a performance of The Ugly Duckling by award-winning theatre company Pericles, along with storytelling shows from Mr Dilly’s World of Wonder and Really Big Pants Theatre Company. The festival is expanding with the addition of a second marquee providing a space for workshops, storytelling, Sock Puppet Theatre and much more.

Adult highlights include Terry Waite, Biographers Artemis Cooper and Adam Sisman. Radio 4 presenter of Saturday Live, Rev. Richard Coles along with presenter of BBC TV’s Coast Nicholas Crane, and best-selling historical fiction writer Alison Weir.

Events will take place over three days with a special programme for local schools on Tuesday 2 May. There will be vintage food vans, a bar and organic coffee trikes, along with the Castle’s own courtyard tea rooms serving cakes, sandwiches and light lunches.

During the build-up to the event, children are invited to enter a Short Story Competition (two categories: age 7-9 and 10-13).  The winning entries will be read out at the festival on Bank Holiday Monday and winners will receive a signed copy by one of our children’s authors.

Tickets for each event on Sunday and Monday will be £12 for adults and £5 for children including entry into the Castle and Collections. Online ticket booking will be available via the Castle website from 1^st March with discounts for Early Birds. Tickets for the school events on Tuesday will be £4 per student and are available for purchase directly from the Castle from 1^st February 2016.

Chiddingstone Castle is an impressive Historic House in an idyllic country setting.

email: literaryfestival@chiddingstonecastle.org.uk or visit www.chiddingstonecastle.org.uk/literary-festival