Literature Festival set to launch at Sandwell Libraries

Sandwell Libraries’ Literature Festival gets under way on 14 March, with a range of daytime and evening events across the six towns over the two-week festival.

With a mix of author talks, history fayres, live music and theatre, the festival runs from the 14 to 28 March.

This year, Sandwell Libraries are thrilled to announce Roger Ellory, Mike Gayle and Joanna Toye among the line-up of authors attending. They will be discussing their work and writing experiences and on hand to answer questions and sign books at libraries across the borough.

The festival will open on Saturday 14 March with Confessions of a Cockney Temple Dancer at Thimblemill Library, a funny and visually stunning one-man performance which includes a bedazzling mixture of theatre, dance and film.

Actor Neil Gore will be bringing the novel The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists to life in his one-man magic lantern show at Central Library West Bromwich on Saturday 28 March to close the festival. The well-received theatre production by Townsend Productions brings the 1914 novel, set in the building trades of Edwardian England, to life.
The Whiskey Poets, featuring bestselling author Roger Ellory and Martin Smith (formerly of ELO), will be showcasing their country-blues music at Blackheath Library on Saturday 21 March in a show not to be missed.

During the festival fortnight, there will be two local history fairs which will have guest speakers, stallholders and book signings showcasing the Black Country. Wednesbury Library will be hosting their fair on Tuesday 17 March between 10am-3pm and Smethwick Library on Tuesday 24 March 10am-3pm. There will be different speakers each day so pop into Smethwick Library and Wednesbury Library for a programme of the available talks.

Author Grace Caroline Holte will be appearing at Wednesbury Library and Oldbury Library on Tuesday 17 March as part of the local history talks programme during the festival.

Details of all the events are available in all Sandwell Libraries, on www.sandwell.gov.uk/librariesonline and on the council’s www.discoversandwell.co.uk site.