Four of the five ticketed events at Market Harborough's first literary festival have sold out. The 19 September workshop and free children's day remain.

Market Harborough’s first literary festival has sold out of most of its tickets more than a fortnight before it opens. Four of the five ticketed events show “Sold Out” on the organisers’ TicketSource page. One has tickets left, and one whole day is free.

The festival runs from Saturday 19 September to Sunday 27 September. It was put together by two local authors, Diana Bretherick and Helen Kennedy, and tickets are sold through the Market Harborough Story Centre, a local storytelling charity.

What is left

Checked on Tuesday 2 September, the position was:

  • Writers’ Day, Saturday 19 September, 2pm to 4.30pm. Still available, with 13 tickets showing. A publishing workshop with editor Sara-Jade Virtue at the Jubilee Hall, Congregational Church Centre on Bowden Lane. £21.56 including the booking fee.
  • Children’s book activities, Sunday 27 September, 10.30am to 4pm. Free, no ticket, at Waterstones on The Square.
  • Authors Day, Saturday 26 September, from 12pm. Sold out.
  • Literary Walk, Sunday 27 September, 11.30am. Sold out.
  • Lit at Louisa’s, Sunday 27 September, from 3pm. Sold out.
  • Poetry Party, Sunday 27 September, 5.30pm. Sold out.
Chart of the Market Harborough Literary Festival programme showing which events have tickets. Writers Day on 19 September has 13 tickets left at 21 pounds 56. Authors Day on 26 September is sold out. On 27 September the children's activities at Waterstones are free with no ticket needed, and the Literary Walk, Lit at Louisa's and the Poetry Party are all sold out.
Graphic by Harborough News.

The organisers also note on their schedule page that the open mic slot at the Poetry Party “is now at full capacity and we are not accepting anymore applicants”.

The programme

The biggest event is the Authors Day at St Dionysius Church on Saturday 26 September. A £20 ticket, £21.56 once TicketSource adds its booking fee, covers the whole afternoon, with tea, coffee and refreshments included, and the organisers say you can come and go. Four sessions run back to back from noon:

  • 12pm Belinda Campbell and Marisa Linton, in conversation with Diana Bretherick, on fantasy and folk horror.
  • 1pm Manish Chauhan, the Leicester author of the Faber novel Belgrave Road.
  • 2pm Claire Fuller, author of Unsettled Ground, on her new novel Hunger and Thirst.
  • 3pm Janice Hallett, the Sunday Times bestselling crime writer behind The Appeal and The Twyford Code, on her new book The Silent Appeal.

Waterstones Market Harborough is running the book stall, with signings after each session.

Sunday 27 September moves to Louisa’s Place on St Mary’s Road. Historical novelist Carolyn Kirby speaks at 3pm on the research behind Ravenglass, using eight objects from the book. A crime fiction panel follows at 4pm with E C Bateman, Louise Jensen and Simon Mason. The evening finishes with the Poetry Party, hosted by Kia Matanky-Becker of Queer Noise, featuring Charles G. Lauder Jr., D.A. Prince, Tim Relf, Jayne Stanton and Pam Thompson, with music from Bethia Mitchell and Fred Turtle. The open mic is opened by Market Harborough’s poet laureate, Mike Chanter.

The sold-out Literary Walk on the same morning is led by Blue Badge tourist guide James Carpenter, starting at the Old Grammar School and finishing at the Three Swans.

What it means for you

If you want to go to anything, the Writers’ Day on 19 September is the one still on sale. Note that it is a workshop rather than a talk. It is aimed at unpublished and debut authors working out what to do with a finished manuscript.

Everything else with a ticket has gone. The free children’s day at Waterstones on Sunday 27 September needs no booking, runs 10.30am to 4pm, and is the only part of the festival a family can turn up to on the day.

All three venues are in the town centre and all are described by the organisers as accessible for wheelchair users. The Congregational Church Centre is on Bowden Lane, LE16 7JD; St Dionysius is on The Square; Louisa’s Place is at 4 St Mary’s Road, LE16 7DU. If you are driving in, our parking in Market Harborough page has the car parks and tariffs, and things to do in Market Harborough covers what else is open that weekend.

Sold-out events sometimes release returns, so it is worth checking the organisers’ TicketSource page again nearer the date. We have not seen any announcement of extra dates.