Forthwrite Festival is the first festival of its kind in the UK with the aim to celebrate women writers over 50. With rousing talks from best-selling authors Annie Garthwaite and Kit De Waal and featuring over 20 published authors, the festival champions the triumphs and the challenges of being a writer, later in life. Forthwrite takes place over two days, in Brighton on Saturday 15 March at the Old Courtrooms and Crawley on Sunday 30 March at The Hawth Theatre.
Forthwrite Co-Director and author, Anna Jefferson said: ‘So often older women are not given the same platform to showcase their publishing achievements. The aim of Forthwrite is to champion and celebrate the accomplishments of women over 50. Both days involve workshops, panel discussions and debates with some of the most impressive women in publishing.’
Award-winning author, Kit De Waal, will be the Keynote speaker at FORTHWRITE CRAWLEY. She said: ‘Festivals like Forthwrite are important because older women are all too often pigeonholed and stereotyped. People assume we are grandmothers, we are helping out with grandchildren, we are winding down, we are gardening, we are going to tea dances and wearing elasticated trousers. We might be all of those things and there’s nothing wrong with any of them, but we are also fighters, powerful, assertive, active.’
Forthwrite Co-Director, Sam Johnson, said: ‘although the festival showcases the workshops, panels and conversations with women writers over 50, the days are very much intended for anyone interested in reading and writing. With workshops including an introduction to graphic novels with Corinne Pearlman and Hannah Berry, creating characters for fiction with Sharon Duggal and The Rest Experience with Akila Richards there is something for everyone in both Brighton and Crawley.’
Engaging discussions at FORTHWRITE BRIGHTON include what it’s like to Debut In Your 50s with Annie Garthwaite, Pam Williams, and Yvonne Bailey Smith, chaired by Katy Massey, with personal stories and practical advice. An exploration of Taking Up Space, hosted by author Fran Quinn, alongside writers Yvvette Edwards and Reshma Ruia, and publicist Shona Abhyankar. They’ll discuss how to take ownership of your talent, embrace your unique voice, and stand tall in the literary spotlight.
Brighton-based bestselling author(abov ) , Dorothy Koomson, said: ‘I think it’s important to celebrate all different types of writers, not just the ones we constantly see pushed to the front. It can seem that only one type of person writes books and is successfully published, so festivals like this that show that Black women, women of colour, disabled women, working class women, LGBTQI+ women and those at the intersection of those things can and do write successful books. Also, many people deselect themselves from trying to write or be creative in general, they need to see that people like them can be authors.’
As part of FORTHWRITE CRAWLEY, keynote speaker Kit De Waal will open the afternoon, leading to conversations about Resilience and Perseverance with Umi Sinha, Eve Ainsworth, Dorothy Koomson chaired by Debi Alper. Joining Kit to explore opportunities for Getting Your Work Noticed are Nicola Williams, Uju Asika chaired by agent Abi Fellows.
Annie Garthwaite, ( main pic) keynote speaker for FORTHWRITE BRIGHTON said, when asked when she published her first novel: ‘I was 58 when my first book Cecily was published. It was the novel I’d waited my whole life to write, born out of an early passion for the women of the Wars of the Roses. In my twenties, when my immediate priority had to be forging a career and making a living, I promised myself that at age 55 I would give up whatever the day job was by then, and write it. That’s exactly what I did. It was a long and sometimes painful wait, but so worth it. It has transformed my life.’
The festival is in partnership with New Writing South and is supported by Arts Council England.
For more information, visit: https://forthwrite.uk/forthwrite-festival/
