Programme 2012

Event Colour Key Guide

Families
Inspire!
GB International
Grassroots Highs
Writing Thinking Making

Ticket Pricing

Tickets are available to purchase via Paypal. Simply click "add to cart" on the events you wish to purchase tickets for. The following discounts are available for multiple ticket purchases.

Buy 1 Enjoy 1
Buy 2 get £1 Off*
Buy 3 get 4th Half Price*
Buy 4 get 5th Free*
Buy 5+ get 25% Off*

*Based on £5 tickets
£9.00 - families at Gideon Defoe & Peter Lord (2 adults + 2 children)
£2.50 - Under 12's / Jobseekers / Over 60's

"If you get completely stuck, email boxoffice@unputdownable.org OR leave us a phone message on 0117 230 5157 and we'll get back to you Mon-Sat, 12noon-2pm. (This number is a correction to that on the printed programme).

Event List Calendar

Saturday - October 13, 2012

Clive Burlton

Trenches to Trams

Time 10:00am - 12:30pm
Where The WW2 Bus

Jump aboard a 1940′s bus setting off from the MShed, then following the route from Eastville to the Downs that author Burlton’s grandfather in-law George Pine worked on as a tram conductor between the wars. George’s story of growing up in Easton, fighting in the trenches and working on Bristol trams and buses between the wars and during the Blitz is gripping.

Carolyn Lewis

Kick start your creative parts

Time 12:00pm - 1:30pm
Where Parlour

Imagination Masterclass with a top-flight writing tutor who knows all the techniques for getting the best out of your pencil. Ideal if you’d consider yourself a beginner.

Clive Burlton

Trenches to Trams

Time 1:00pm - 3:30pm
Where The WW2 Bus

Children’s Illustrated Books

Kids’ adventure corner

Time 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Where Waterstones

Fun, exciting and beautiful stories from a wonderful children’s writer, performing close-up in the children’s section of the bookshop. Ideal for ages 5-9.

Dr Louise Younie & Guests

Future Doctors-Bedside Readers

Time 2:30pm - 3:30pm
Where Parlour

Can creative writing have medical benefits? Are the voices of patients and medics stifled? Are we missing an opportunity? These stories and poems come with a health warning: they will move you deeply. Student medics and patients perform their work.

Alysoun Owen & The Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2012

How does publishing work?

Time 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Where Waterstones

Meet the official Who’s Who in publishing, listing all the agents and publishers you need to know (but were afraid to ask?). The Yearbook’s editor, in person, will guide you through the sometimes overwhelming world of publishing and point the way to getting into print.

James Long

Ferney, The Sequel. Book Launch!

Time 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Where Waterstones

Since the haunting, Somerset, time-slip novel Ferney became a runaway success ten years ago, Long’s cult status has meant its sequel The Lives She Left Behind is eagerly awaited. Fans and newcomers will be delighted by an extraordinary world. With Tania Hershman.

Sunday - October 14, 2012

Gideon Defoe & Peter Lord

Pirates! Adventures with scientists...and historians!

Time 1:30pm - 5:00pm
Where MShed

Pirates and adventurers take over the Harbourside to tell us who they were, what they did and why. The author and the film-maker arrive by ship at 1.45pm to the MShed to show us how they turned a cracking, madcap novel into a blockbuster Aardman film, with BBC Bristol’s Steve Yabsley as your host 2-3pm. Then have your books signed by Gideon Defoe who wrote the novel and Peter Lord who crafted it into the famous stop-start Aardman animation.

Then quiz Bristol Radical History Group as to who became pirates and why. Plus Tom Sykes and Tony Giles present a unique Modern Explorer’s experience. With Kids’ Crafts… AND… (Keep scrolling down!)

…climb aboard The Matthew and take a 45 minute trip around the Harbourside as Long John Silver’s descendants take you through the history of British pirate stories. We’re offering this fabulous extra at £8 per head, £4 per child OR just £16 for Families.

Altogether with ‘Meet Gideon and Peter’ that makes a fantastic family afternoon for just £25 for two adults and two children for both the MShed fun AND the Matthew trip.

Both Matthew sailings are sold out. We are seeing if we can negotiate a third sailing at 5:15pm.

NameMatthew Ship Extra
Time 3:15pm - 4:00pm
SOLD OUT

NameMatthew Ship Extra
Time 4:15pm - 5:00pm
SOLD OUT

Michèle Roberts, Georgina Harding & Patricia Ferguson

History in the imagining

Time 8:00pm - 9:00pm
Where St Stephen’s

Three superb novelists dig into the past to find truth and atmosphere. Booker shortlisted Roberts discusses her lyrical new novel Ignorance with Harding whose Painter of Silence was shortlisted for the 2012 Orange Prize and Ferguson whose The Midwife’s Daughter is Radio 4’s Book at Bedtime this week. A festival highlight, chaired by Ali Reynolds.

Bristol Writers Group

Tales in the caves!

Time 8:00pm - 9:00pm
Where Redcliffe Caves

Come below ground to our coolest venue and be entertained by these talented, local writers as they perform their work in the hidden depths of the city’s Redcliffe Caves. An eclectic mix of stories written to scare, inspire and stimulate.

Essential: Bring a torch, coat, stout shoes and a chair!

Miles Chambers: Lyrical Minded

Writers! A crazy idea that might just work.

Time 8:00pm - 10:00pm
Where Ujima Radio 98 FM (FM and Online)

Tune in to Milo’s radio show with the best of Bristol and beyond. He’ll be focusing on Unputdownable voices alongside his own selection of poetry, arts and jazz culture.

Monday - October 15, 2012

Moira Young, TM Alexander, Chris Fisher & Sarwat Chadda

How to write stories kids really want to read

Time 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Where Parlour

In kids’ writing there are things you steer clear of, and hot cocoa arrives at the end of each adventure. Wrong? Our panel includes a Costa award winner and the UK’s first Asian action hero. Parent? Teacher? Writer? Fan? This interactive session will put you streets ahead.

Nicola Upson, Stav Sherez, Adam Creed with special guest Gerry O’Donovan

Crime in the caves!

Time 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Where Redcliffe Caves

The second of our adventures underground – this time in both senses as three glittering new and established crime writers from publishers Faber, joined by Bristol’s Gerry O’Donovan, take us below the surface to witness actions that want to stay hidden – even in broad daylight. Chilling.

Essential: Bring a torch, coat, stout shoes and a picnic chair!

Rev Mark Stibbe

Light in the caves: The writer as prophet?

Time 8:00pm - 9:00pm
Where Redcliffe Caves

PLEASE NOTE: This event has regretfully been withdrawn due to a change in the speaker’s availability.

Tuesday - October 16, 2012

Nicky Harman & Danny Hahn

Young Translator of the Year Award 2012

Time 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Where Parlour

Forget your French GCSE, this is where the world speaks up – in English. Publishers Harvil Secker at Random House bring us the winners of this year’s award to show what makes a great translation and who to watch in 2013. Come and hear the voice of international fiction. BOOKING for this event has now closed. Queries to boxoffice@unputdownable.org

John Lanchester

Capital, and other pleasures.

Time 7:00pm - 8:00pm
Where St Stephen’s

Have we let the bankers win? The multi-award winning author of ‘Capital’, the standout novel of the banking crisis, and ‘Whoops! Why everyone owes everyone and no one can pay’ has something to say about that, and maybe Banksy’s identity…? Featured on BBC Radio 4 earlier this year, ‘Capital’ tracks the residents of a single London street: City banker, dying widow, Asian shopkeeper, Brit-Artist and Polish builder, all equally threatened by love, disaster and a stunt called We Want What You Have. The author of The Debt to Pleasure and Mr Phillips knows the dreams and fears of a whole society.

This event has been sponsored, allowing us to offer it FREE – but booking is essential.

Can you afford to miss it?

An Evening of Book Design with David Pearson and Teresa Monachino

West of England Design Forum

Time 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Where Arnolfini

David Pearson worked at Penguin Books as typographer and cover designer. He has won numerous awards for book design, listed as one of Britain’s top designers by the Guardian, and was nominated for the Design Museum’s Designer of the Year Award.

Teresa Monachino is the author and designer of Words Fail Me, published by Phaidon, which looks at the quirky characteristics of the English language. Winner of many design awards, her work has featured in the national and international design press, she is also a lecturer and TED speaker.

Tickets: £12/£10 via Arnolfini website

Wednesday - October 17, 2012

Helen Hart, Alison Baverstock & Clare Christian

Successful Self-Publishing

Time 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Where Foyles

Attracting a lot of attention at London Book Fair 2012, self-publishing with today’s technology is more affordable than ever. Explore the best way to embark on your publishing project and avoid expensive pitfalls, with experts Alison Baverstock (The Naked Author); Clare Christian (co-founder of Harper Collins’ The Friday Project) and Helen Hart (Silverwood Books).

Lucy Luck, Catherine O’Flynn, Tindal Street Press

The writer, the editor, the agent.

Time 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Where Foyles

What is the relationship between these three critical parts of making a good book? Literary agent Lucy Luck is joined by her client Catherine O’Flynn, author of prize-winning What Was Lost and Luke Brown, who commissioned the novel for inspiring indie publisher Tindal Street Press. A must-see for writers exploring publishing. Chaired by Ali Reynolds

Andrew Miller & Clare Clark

Caught in history’s hidden crossfires

Time 8:00pm - 9:00pm
Where St Stephen’s

Richard Beard, novelist and Director of the National Academy of Writing draws Costa Award winning Miller and Orange Prize longlisted Clark into an exploration of how past events and characters are re-imagined, from the often scant records of overlooked, but pivotal moments in history. Seriously good authors.

Mike Manson & Jari Moate

Satire and the City

Time 8:30pm - 9:30pm
Where Thunderbolt

Two of Bristol’s novelists-to-watch, Manson (Where’s My Money?, Rules of the Road) and Moate (Paradise Now, This Brick In My Hand) use comedy to bring to life our city’s hippies, outcasts, wannabes and media types. In 51 shades of light and dark, a funny, moving and provocative hour in one of the city’s best pubs. With thanks to Word of Mouth.

Thursday - October 18, 2012

Robert Williams, Stephen May & Christopher Wakling

Conference Pt 1: Bring the voice to life!

Time 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Where Spike Island

Voice is everything. These three highly acclaimed novelists have all used risky, distinctive-sounding characters in their work. With Richard Beard (NAoW) they get under the skin of how to successfully create, and be noticed for, a voice that is wildly different from your own.

Richard Beard & Kerry Hudson

Conference Pt 2: National Academy Masterclass

Time 7:30pm - 9:00pm
Where Spike Island

Taking your writing to the next level? This is a highly rewarding MUST. Two pre-submitted pieces are professionally assessed by our festival partner and critiqued at this session. Hugely valuable and enjoyable whether you’re involved or observing. Hudson’s Thirst is making a splash at the Guardian First Book Awards and she adds an inspirational writers’ insight into the highs and lows of authoring.

PLEASE NOTE WE ARE NOW STARTING the Masterclass @ 7.30 pm – There is so much to fit in, we have to give you an extra 30 minutes!

Submit 1000 words for assessment? Before 1 Oct, to contact@unputdownable.org

Stanley Donwood & Ric Jerrom

Household Worms & The Wind-Up Merchant

Time 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Where PRSC

A rare treat. Stanley Donwood, the Radiohead artist, with readings from his short stories Household Worms, with Ric Jerrom of the Natural Theatre Co, and the amazing gramophone DJ The Wind Up Merchant. Doors open 7.30pm for music from The Wind Up Merchant, reading starts at 8pm. Please arrive by 7.30pm!

UWE History Department vs Long John Silver

The truth about pirates.

Time 8:00pm - 9:00pm
Where MShed

IMPORTANT NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED. For technical reasons with event will now take place later in the year. Following our Sunday extravaganza with Gideon Defoe and Aardman, Mark Steeds (Long John Silver Trust) debates with the academics to thrash out the reality and defend the tales.

Friday - October 19, 2012

Paul Stephenson OBE, Edson Burton, Miles Chambers, Marvin Rees & Lillian Allen

Jamaica 50! & launch of the Bible in Patois

Time 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Where Foyles

After the brilliance of Jamaica’s Olympic heroes this summer, imagine a culture at its pivotal moment. A truly remarkable panel takes the temperature of Jamaican creative words as ‘the islands’ turn 50, plus the historic launch of the Bible in Patois. Through performance and debate we look back at landmark moments, and ahead to future challenges. A ‘state of the nation’ celebration, yes, but are there deeper trends to watch for? With thanks to Ujima Radio 98 FM.

Nick Rawlinson, Gav Watkins & You

Performance Masterclass, Open Mic & Word-Karaoke… with Cider!

Time 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Where Parlour

It’s Friday. Time for some fun! Two events in one great night out. Nick is the voice of Isis Audiobooks’ J L Carr’s A Month In The Country and John Connelly’s The Book of Lost Things. In a highly enjoyable session, with refreshments, Nick will coach us in the art of performing the written word. Bring a page to practice and perform, yours or a classic, or simply come and watch, ready for the second half: Poet Gav’s Incredible Open Mic & Word-Karaoke. With cider. What’s not to love?

Helen Dunmore

The Bristol Big Book Group: A Ghostly Evening with Helen Dunmore

Time 8:00pm - 9:00pm
Where BocaBar

SOLD OUT: This is the moment for citywide book groups and readers to meet the author of our set book: Orange Prize winning Dunmore’s The Greatcoat, written for Hammer and recently Radio 4’s Book At Bedtime. A ghost story? Romance? Or is there more at stake? An evening of fine company, refreshments and storytelling.

Saturday - October 20, 2012

Poetry Central

Trevor Carter, Acoustic Night Poetry Posse, Workshops, Gav Watkins & You

Time 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Where Left Bank

Poetry Performance, Top Tips and Open Mic throughout the afternoon. Sign up on the door to perform, do a ‘workshop’ style exercise or sit back and absorb the atmosphere. Showcase your own new writing, or hear fabulously entertaining poets lift the roof.

Click READ MORE or the EVENT TITLE for FULL LINEUP.

Launch Pad

Bristol Writers Group; Historical Fiction Writing Workshop; Rebecca Lloyd & Sarah Hilary present ‘Pangea’; Flash Fiction-Open Mic

Time 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Where Hooper House Cafe

New Writing, showcased throughout the afternoon.

Running Order:

1pm: Bristol Writers Group – Ashton Tales

2pm: Historical Fiction Today – Join a panel of experts to discuss topical issues for writers of historical fiction from ‘How do I use historical research in my novel?’ and ‘How do I find out what’s happening in historical fiction today?’, to ‘Is it it possible to successfully self-publish a historical novel?’. Internationally published author Helen Hollick (UK Historical Novel Society Indie Reviews Editor); newly published author Jenny Barden (Ebury Press, Random House, HNS UK Conference Co-ordinator); and local author Lucienne Boyce, chaired by Helen Hart (author and publisher SilverWood Books), offer some answers to these and other questions and give hot tips on getting started in the genre of HF.

3pm: Pangea – Global stories – with co-editor Rebecca Lloyd and featured writer Sarah Hilary.

4pm: Flash Fiction Open Mic – with a selection of up and coming writers showcasing extracts from their work.To showcase your own writing, flash welcome, Tom Daley not expected, email contact@unputdownable.org by 13 Oct to perform.

Pop in and relax in true café culture.

Hosted by Ali Reynolds

Atelier Anarchia

Nick Rawlinson’s: How to make an Audiobook, Vala Coop’s: Make Your Own Book, Tangent’s: Radical Reading List.

Time 1:00pm - 5:00pm
Where PRSC

Non Fiction, Audiobook-Recording, Make Your Own Book and Results of: Is Literature Good for You? Hands-on stuff with a DIY ethic or campaigning edge, at Jamaica Street Studios.

Hosted by Richard Jones

The Poetry of the Taliban

Insurgent Poems vs. Bristol Ex-Army Poets

Time 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Where Hamilton House

An Unputdownable exclusive and festival highlight. From secret Kandahar audiotapes to Kabul mp3s, Alex Strick van Linschoten and guest present Taliban verses gathered in Afghanistan. Recently homeless Bristol ex-soldiers respond in poetry of their own. Love and loss? Hatred? Propaganda? A controversial, powerful event for our times.

Emylia Hall

Why we fell in love with The Book of Summers [Event postponed]

Time 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Where Waterstones

PLEASE NOTE: THIS EVENT HAS BEEN POSTPONED. We hope to offer you this event at a new time tbc. Winner of the Richard & Judy Summer Book Club 2012, this was the ultimate, cherished read of the year. Bristol-based Hall talks about those heady summers in Hungary, devastating first love, the poetry of bohemian life versus the prose of English suburbia. But can she talk about it without revealing the shocking twist?

Nikesh Shukla, Tania Hershman, Valerie O’Riordan, Sanjida O’Connell, Miles Chambers & Maria McCann

The Unputdownable 2012 Speakeasy

Time 8:00pm - 9:30pm
Where Left Bank

Our fabulous Festival finale, a cabaret of writers and performers. Imagine a chatshow with head and heart, featuring authors you’ll want to cheer and applaud. With interviews, performance, music, landfill charity canapés and bar, we’ll review the week’s highlights and best Get Writing submissions, and ask our guests what to look out for in 2013.

Plus Afterparty till late.

Sunday - October 21, 2012

Miles Chambers: Lyrical Minded

Look back at Unputdownable 2012

Time 8:00pm - 10:00pm
Where Ujima Radio 98 FM (FM and Online)

Tune in to Milo’s radio show. He’ll be looking back at Unputdownable voices alongside his own selection of poetry, arts and jazz culture.

« Previous Events

Shopping Cart

Get email updates

Social links

Programme 2012

Event Colour Key Guide

Ticket Pricing

Trenches to Trams

Kick start your creative parts

Trenches to Trams

Kids’ adventure corner

Future Doctors-Bedside Readers

How does publishing work?

Ferney, The Sequel. Book Launch!

Pirates! Adventures with scientists...and historians!

History in the imagining

Tales in the caves!

Writers! A crazy idea that might just work.

How to write stories kids really want to read

Crime in the caves!

Light in the caves: The writer as prophet?

Young Translator of the Year Award 2012

Capital, and other pleasures.

West of England Design Forum

Successful Self-Publishing

The writer, the editor, the agent.

Caught in history’s hidden crossfires

Satire and the City

Conference Pt 1: Bring the voice to life!

Conference Pt 2: National Academy Masterclass

Household Worms & The Wind-Up Merchant

The truth about pirates.

Jamaica 50! & launch of the Bible in Patois

Performance Masterclass, Open Mic & Word-Karaoke… with Cider!

The Bristol Big Book Group: A Ghostly Evening with Helen Dunmore

Trevor Carter, Acoustic Night Poetry Posse, Workshops, Gav Watkins & You

Bristol Writers Group; Historical Fiction Writing Workshop; Rebecca Lloyd & Sarah Hilary present ‘Pangea’; Flash Fiction-Open Mic

Nick Rawlinson’s: How to make an Audiobook, Vala Coop’s: Make Your Own Book, Tangent’s: Radical Reading List.

Insurgent Poems vs. Bristol Ex-Army Poets

Why we fell in love with The Book of Summers [Event postponed]

The Unputdownable 2012 Speakeasy

Look back at Unputdownable 2012