EA Festival and Essex Book Festival to Open This Month

EA Festival has partnered with Essex Book Festival in an exciting new long-term venture to co present events in East Anglia. EA Festival's forward-looking approach to its inaugural festival demonstrates its commitment to work with regional and local leaders in the culture sector.

United by a dedication to build connective tissue within the creative community of East Anglia, this only marks the beginning of the relationship between EA and Essex Book Festival. In the future, the partnership will produce joint events that celebrate creativity in East Anglia, especially in the context of story-telling and place-making.

Both festivals will co-present the performance of award-winning slam poet, Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa, and the panel discussion Let's talk about sex, with Rowan Pelling and Daisy Buchanan at EA Festival. They will also co-present Alison Weir's discussion of her new historical novel Katherine Parr: The Sixth Wife and Simon Heffer in conversation about his new book, Henry 'Chips' Channon: The Diaries 1918-38, and its insight into Twentieth Century London society, at Essex Book Festival.

Joanne Ooi, Founder and Creative Director of EA Festival, comments, Rosalind Green, the director of Essex Book Festival, and I decided to work together as soon as she said the words, "I wish there was more cooperation and collaboration between organisations like ours."

"It was music to my ears because I had been seeking long-term partners to increase both the pipeline and audience for culture in East Anglia. Essex Book Festival is one of the best-known and established book festivals in the UK, so I jumped at the opportunity to work with Ros. EA Festival seeks to invigorate the cultural scene in East Anglia by presenting exciting regional creatives alongside exceptional speakers and artists from the rest of the UK and beyond in the historic setting of Hedingham Castle."

Located in the heart of East Anglia, and now over 900 years old, Hedingham Castle is the best-preserved Norman keep in the United Kingdom. All festival events, which include a series of talks and performances, will take place in the permanent, all weather marquee adjacent to the Georgian house, approximately 300m from the Keep.

Saturday 31st July 2021

10am - John Lloyd: IQ vs QI

11am - William Sieghart: Why Poetry?

12pm - Safiya Kamaria Kinshasa

1.45pm - Susie Dent: The Future of English

2.45pm - Dr. Gavin Francis: Writing as a Doctor

3.45pm - Mike Figgis: "Can't put this guy in a box"

5.15pm - Evelyn Glennie and Rosey Chan: The Power of Listening

7.15pm - Roman Kosyakov: Scintillating Pianism

Sunday 1st August

10am - Panel: The Ethical Carnivore with Louise Gray, John Lynch and Anna Beames 11.15am - Panel: Art in East Anglia

12.30pm - Charles Saumarez Smith: The Future of Museums

2.15pm - Panel: "Let's talk about sex" with Rowan Pelling and Daisy Buchanan 3.30pm - Sustainable Fashion: Beyond Greenwashing with Arizona Muse and Christina Dean 4.30pm - Luke Wright: "The Feel-Good Movie of the Year"

5.30pm - Music: Waiting for Smith

6.30pm - Comedy: Josh Berry with Archie Manners

8.15pm - East Anglia Music Showcase: Nik Void, Talvin Singh and TAWIAH