WELCOME! THIS PAGE GIVES YOU THE LATEST SOUTHAM BOOKFEST NEWS.
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October 8th 2023
Flash Fiction Competition 2023​
Read all of the winning and shortlisted stories on the competition page here.
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Winner
‘Enduring Love ‘ by Elizabeth Taylor of Barnsley
Second
‘Upon Receipt’ by JA Bowler of Warwickshire
Third
’The Cellar’ by Diane Simkin of Camborne, Cornwall
Highly Commended
'Midnight Golf' by Deborah Hugill of North Yorkshire
‘Late Payment’ by JD Robins of Wolverhampton
135 stories were submitted.
Thank-you to all who entered - your fees will go directly to supporting the Graham Adams Centre.
Many many thanks to our local judges and volunteers who facilitated the competition.
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October 7th 2023
New exhibitor
One of our authors has had to pull out due to unforeseen circumstances, however we're pleased to announce that renowned local author SC Skillman has agreed to step in at the last minute. Based in Warwickshire, she writes psychological, paranormal and mystery fiction and non-fiction. For more details of her work see our exhibitors page.
October 5th 2023
Flash Fiction Competition 2023​
Short listed stories and the names of their authors are now published on the 100 word 2023 page under the competitions tab. The winner and runners up will be announced at the Festival on Sunday October 8th at pm.
Thank you to all who entered this year's competition.
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September 29th 2023
Free Inspirational Talk
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Helen Liebling will be at Southam Library
on Tuesday October 3rd at 7.30pm
talking about her Autobiography
'Nalule's Travels and Adventures'.
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Her story is fascinating, emotional, and uplifting.
A captivating narrative of hardship, resilience, fun and triumph against the odds.
Told with passion and clarity by a woman who never gave up!
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Join us for a glass of wine as you listen to Helen’s talk.
September 28th 2023
Book In The Window Competition - Update​
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So far we have 25 entries for the competition with lots of lovely creative displays.
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Judging by our expert panel will start from Monday 2nd October.
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If you want to see the full list, there is a trail map which can be downloaded
here TRAIL MAP.
The winner will be announced at the Book Festival on Sunday 8th October 2023.
We have introduced a shield for the winning entry which can be retained until next year (this will be updated retrospectively for the last two winners).
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September 4th 2023
Book In The Window Competition​
Following the huge success of the 2022 “Book in the Window” competition we will be running it again for 2023.
Shops and Businesses are invited to dress their window to represent a book. This will promote the business, publicise the Book Festival and enliven our town.
Over the next few weeks our volunteers will be visiting as many places as possible, but if we do miss you out, please get in touch via our email address southambookfest@gmail.com and let us know you wish to enter.
Entry to the competition is free.
Window displays should be in place from 18th September 2023 and entries close on 1st October 2023.
This year it will not be a public vote. Instead, the windows will be judged by an expert panel in order to make the result completely independent of footfall. This will start in the week commencing 2nd October 2023 with the winner being announced at the Book Festival on Sunday 8th October 2023.
We look forward to seeing more brilliant entries again this year!
August 21st 2023
Speaker Schedule
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We have now finalised our speakers for this year.
There will be five talks on the day covering a wide range of subjects, as well as external talks at Southam Library and The Community Hub at Galanos House.
August 20th 2023
Exhibitors
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We have now finalised our exhibitors for this year.
We have an eclectic mix of over 30 exhibitors, including independent authors, writer's groups, poets, Books on Prescription, Book binder & repairer, pre-loved children's books, book-themed bookmarks and ephemera, plus Southam Lions second hand books and the Southam Heritage Collection.
July 13th 2023
Books on Prescription
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Reading Well Books on Prescription helps your well-being through the use of self-help reading. Specific books are recommended for specific purposes so you don’t have to worry about finding the right one for you.
The scheme is endorsed by health professionals and supported by public libraries.
The books provide helpful information and techniques for managing common conditions, including depression and anxiety.
Visit our display of Reading Well Books on Prescription and there will be someone nearby with whom you can have a chat about the initiative.
June 22nd 2023
Early news on Speakers
We are still finalising our speakers for this year's festival, but we can confirm the following will be appearing:
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Victoria Scott & Penny Batchelor will be hosting a discussion panel on disability in fiction.
They are well placed to do this, because they successfully campaigned together for the introduction of a Disability Fiction category for adults on Amazon UK in 2022.
Both Penny and Victoria write disabled characters into their fiction and believe that it’s vital and that the community is properly represented - accurately, without stereotyping and with respect.
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Nikky Smedley of Teletubby fame will be giving a talk on non-verbal communication with children based on her TedX talk, as well as an interactive story-telling session for children.
Nikky ran her own dance theatre company for around twenty years as well as singing in bands, and running a cabaret and comedy club. Then she worked in children’s television; performing (most famously as LaaLaa in ‘Teletubbies’), devising, writing, producing and directing for a further decade. Nikky left television to write and perform children’s stories and theatre events, whilst also working across all educational settings. Lately her creative work has mostly taken the form of writing and she has presented at literary festivals and conferences throughout Europe.
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June 19th 2023
South Warwickshire Literary Festival​
We are collaborating with the SWLF team to promote one another's Festivals.
The SWLF are focused on helping new and budding authors to develop and hone their skills.
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"SWLF is powered by four writers, all working in different areas and with other jobs doing wonderful things, and all brought together by a desire to put the South Warwickshire Literary Festival on the map of lit fests. We are the under-dogs of the lit fest world, supporting those just starting out on their writing journey, giving a space and a voice to writers who may not otherwise get the chance. Whether you've just got agented, whether you're still trying, or perhaps you're self-published, we want to give you a platform to get your work out there. We also put together a team of workshop leaders to bring you the best opportunities to work with some great authors to encourage you and to improve your writing. We believe in Giving Back, that is - helping writers where we can by way of advice, experience, support, and opportunities".
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To find out more, follow this link to the SWLF website where you will find details of their workshops and writing competition.
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Jun 16th 2023
Short Stories​
Our Flash Fiction competition is now listed on Reedsy - a blogsite that lists writing competitions from around the world.
If you are keen to enter more than just ours, there are many different types to be found there. Just click on the Reedsy image:
May 22nd 2023
FLASH FICTION 2023
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Our sixth annual 100 word story writing competition opened on Jun 1st 2023 The word writers must include in this year's stories is ....... alarmed.
For details on how to enter please go to our competitions page - you have until September 10th when the competition closes.
Good Luck!
March 23rd 2023
CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS
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We are looking for some fantastic volunteers to help with the planning and organising of the 2023 festival and on the day. If you've got a skill you think we might need, an idea for an event you'd like to be involved in, or you just want to rock up and help on the day, we'd love to hear from you.
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Typical activities include:-
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Liaising with potential exhibitors.
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Identifying those who would provide an amusing talk or informative panel discussion.
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Identifying marketing ideas and opportunities and implementing them.
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Design and print of physical media.
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Continual development of our social media strategy and managing their feeds.
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Providing support to the webmaster.
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Managing bookings via Eventbrite.
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Book in the Window competition for local shops and business.
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Flash Fiction 100 words competition.
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Coordinating the kitchen - organising drinks, cakes and snacks - running the kitchen on the day with our regular volunteers.
These are the main activities - there are plenty more.​
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If you want to know more see the contacts page or email directly southambookfest@gmail.com
March 22nd 2023
Not a lot to see yet - we only just started our planning last week, but we will be posting news as and when it happens.
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We have had a lot of interest already, especially as we had more authors wanting to attend than we could accommodate last year, so they will get first dibs this year.
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There is likely to be a panel discussion on disability in fiction, by two authors who are actively promoting disabled characters in their stories.
Funding
We are a charity, run by volunteers, and the costs of putting on the festival come entirely from donations, sponsors and flash fiction entry fees, which also pays for the prizes.
If you enjoy what we are doing and would like to see it continue, please consider making a donation if you can, no matter how small.
If you would like to contribute, just click on the JustGiving logo below and you will be taken to our page.
THANK YOU!
