The Crossing the Tees Book Festival, present a fantastic programme across Tees Valley from 11th-17th June 2022, brought to you by Stockton, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool, Darlington and Redcar & Cleveland Library Services, backed by funders including Creative Darlington.
Darlington’s newly-refurbished Cockerton Library hosts an afternoon of inspiring authors on Wednesday 15th June, with everything you need to lift your spirits and feed your mind!
In The Women Who Saved the English Countryside, professor of modern history Matthew Kelly traces the story of landscape preservation through the lives of four remarkable women: Octavia Hill, Beatrix Potter, Pauline Dower, and Sylvia Sayer; women who protected the English landscape at a crucial period through a mixture of environmental activism, networking, and sheer determination.
Poet and author Wendy Pratt reads from two award-winning books; her poetry collection When I Think Of My Body As A Horse is a stunning meditation on child loss and motherhood, while The Ghost Lake turns a lyrical eye on the natural history of a lost Yorkshire landscape.
Novelist Stephanie Butland will entertain and encourage us with readings from her many stories of human connection, and from her brilliant memoirs documenting cancer survival and the power of positive healing.
Writers – stay on for a fascinating workshop with Stephanie, who will show us how to turn fictional narrative into a tool for our own inner health.
Continue the week of book-themed goodness with an outing to South Park on Friday 17th June, joining Professor Dee Heddon in a Walking Library. This free, sociable, outdoor event combines the benefits of a short walk through the park with fascinating open-air readings from a diverse list of eco-literature designed to celebrate the wild in our cities and our souls.
Other events across Teesside that you might enjoy:
Into the Wild Blue Sea – uplifting launch event ft. poetry from Kate Fox and a huge community beach splash!
Bodies in the Library – with three authors from the Northern Crime Writers Syndicate
Mrs Death Misses Death – a sparkling performance of the debut novel from spoken word artist Salena Godden
Festival Finale – a fantastic evening of humourous memoir, from veteran performer & BBC broadcaster Ian McMillan and millennial commentator & comedian Lucy Holden
