We did it!

We did it! It happened! The first literary fringe festival in the UK has been an adventure, and a fantastic bookish weekend. A huge THANK YOU from your hosts, Jackie Carreira and Rachel Churcher, to all our authors, visitors and supporters. We couldn’t have done it without you! 

We’re taking a much-needed break! Watch this space for more Foreword Festival news …

We did it
Rachel Churcher and Jackie Carreira with the Foreword Festival banner at the Guildhall

Storytelling

We’re announcing a new event for the Foreword Festival! We’ll be hosting FREE storytelling from two children’s authors in the garden at the Guildhall (weather permitting!) on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th October.⁠

Meet Lynda Brignall, author of When I Go Out At Night, and Emma Sweeney, author of The Tale of a Lonely Frog. Lynda will be reading from her book and talking about her work as a hedgehog rescuer at noon on Saturday, and Emma will be reading from hers at noon on Sunday. Entry to the Guildhall and the storytelling event is free, and children must be accompanied by a responsible adult.⁠

See you there!⁠

storytelling

Publishing Workshops

Tickets for our publishing workshops are on sale now!

Sunday’s one-hour workshops are designed to help you navigate your publishing journey.

Wondering how to send your book out into the world? In this workshop, Softwood Self-Publishing will guide you through the world of distribution possibilities to secure listings on Gardners and bookshops like Waterstones. With hands-on guidance and expert advice, this workshop empowers indie authors to expand their readership and achieve broader distribution for their literary creations.

Tickets: £10 (over 18s) or £5 (16-18 year olds). Over 16s only.

Tickets are on sale NOW, but numbers are limited. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Publishing Workshops

Publishing Workshops

Tickets for our publishing workshops are on sale now!

Sunday’s one-hour workshops are designed to help you navigate your publishing journey.

In this dynamic session, Softwood Self-Publishing will delve into the art of self-promotion, exploring strategies to captivate your target audience through social media platforms and local media outlets such as radio and magazines. Learn the power of marketing strategies to build a memorable brand as an author and help sell your books. Gain practical tips and personalized guidance from industry experts and embark on a journey to position yourself as a standout author in today’s competitive literary landscape.

Tickets: £10 (over 18s) or £5 (16-18 year olds). Over 16s only.

Tickets are on sale NOW, but numbers are limited. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Publishing Workshops

Tickets for our publishing workshops are on sale now!

Sunday’s one-hour workshops are designed to help you navigate your publishing journey.

Discover the various routes to publishing in Softwood Self-Publishing’s comprehensive workshop. Whether you’re an aspiring author or a seasoned writer seeking new opportunities, this engaging session will equip you with the knowledge and tools to explore hybrid, traditional, and indie publishing options.

Tickets: £10 (over 18s) or £5 (16-18 year olds). Over 16s only.

Tickets are on sale NOW, but numbers are limited. Book early to avoid disappointment.

Publishing workshops

Author Panel: SF, Fantasy and Horror

We are delighted to announce the Foreword Festival’s first official author panel!

We’re celebrating Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror with fantasy author Bex Hogan, horror author Josh Winning, and sci-fi authors Matt Adcock and Rachel Churcher.

author panel

The panel will be sharing their experiences of writing genre fiction, creating imaginary places, and shaping other-worldly stories at Shuffle – The Board Game Café on Sunday 8th October at 11am. There will be an opportunity to ask questions, and all the authors will be signing copies of their books after the panel at other festival venues.

Bex Hogan and Josh Winning will be signing at the Buttermarket branch of Waterstones from 12.15, and Matt Adcock and Rachel Churcher will be appearing at the Foreword Festival fringe book fair at the Guildhall from 12.30.

Tickets are £5, and places are limited. The panel will be suitable for ages 15+. Under 15s will be admitted with a ticket, but only if accompanied by a paying adult.

See you there!

Writing Workshops

Tickets for our writing workshops are on sale now!

Saturday’s one-hour workshops are designed to help you find your writing voice.

How do you want to tell your story? Are you happy to be an observer, watching your characters from the outside, or would you rather put yourself and your readers inside their experiences? Is the action taking place in the past, or are you telling the story as it happens? Person and tense are powerful tools for a writer, and this workshop, with award-winning author Rachel Churcher, will explore the benefits and limitations of different storytelling choices.

Suitable for aspiring writers, as well as those more experienced who want to improve their technique.

Tickets: £10 (over 18s) or £5 (16-18 year olds with ID). Over 16s only.

Numbers are limited – book now to avoid disappointment!

Thoughts from the fringe

In one month from now, the very first Foreword Fringe Literature Festival will begin. In one month and two days, it will all be over.

I can’t remember exactly when it started, but I know it was at the Market Cross Gallery in Bury St Edmunds. Sadly, that venue has closed down – one of the many casualties of obscene energy prices and lack of support for the arts. Myself, Rachel, and a random, organically-grown collection of Suffolk-based authors used to set out our stalls every month at their Maker’s Markets.  We attempted to sell books and talk to strangers, entirely ignoring advice from parents and those horrific public information films they used to show on BBC2.

It was probably the very first Market Cross Maker’s Market where the idea of a Fringe Literature Festival came up. Only the two of us were there to test out the first one. We were either more desperate than most to get out of our houses after two years of lockdown, or we both had too many unsold boxes of books at home. It was both, in my case. Either way, we found ourselves there, face masks in place and hands duly sanitized. It’s strange now to think how clean our books must have been at that time. We can’t promise they will ever be that clean again!

From whenever that fateful day was until now, it’s been a whirl of ideas, notes – handwritten and digital – spreadsheets, zoom calls and four billion emails. (The last number is probably an exaggeration … only probably.) We started with no budget, called in favours, invited friends, shared everything we had, and said from the beginning that all we wanted was for ‘everybody to win.’ And people understood that because they want to work that way too. Given the chance, almost everybody does. And the whole thing is still growing too. A brand new event is about to be added, and there’s still time for us to create more. We’re a couple of authors, ideas are not the problem. Time and money are our only constraints, which is probably just as well.

I wish we’d circled the date on the calendar when we actually decided: ‘Yes, let’s do it and start right now!’ but we didn’t mark it. Perhaps it seemed like just a nice dream at the time. Maybe we never believed we could actually do it.  But it is happening, and so often we remind each other that what we’ve done so far, creating something out of nothing, is extraordinary and, quite frankly, unbelievable.

In one month and two days, the Foreword Festival will be packing up to go home. If it works, if people like it, if we’re not both totally mad by the end, perhaps we’ll dare to dream about doing it again next year. If and when we do decide that, I’ll make sure to circle the date on the calendar this time. Because you never know, somebody might ask us one day: ‘How did the first ever Fringe Literature Festival begin?’

Jackie Carreira, 7th September 2023

Rachel and Jackie with their books at their first Market Cross Maker’s Market

Writing Workshops

Tickets for our writing workshops are on sale now!

Saturday’s one-hour workshops are designed to help you find your writing voice.

Historical fantasy (even just historical fiction) is such a wide subgenre that knowing where to start can be confusing. This workshop explores the complicated relationship between history and fantasy and examines different modes of research to help you jump start new stories. Tiffani Angus, co-author of Spec Fic for Newbies, will use examples from her own work to illustrate her process while leading you on a couple of fun activities to get you started finding story ideas. Be ready to take some notes and do some internet searches!

Suitable for aspiring writers, as well as those more experienced who want to improve their technique.

Tickets: £10 (over 18s) or £5 (16-18 year olds with ID). Over 16s only.

Numbers are limited – book now to avoid disappointment!