Chichester Library is getting involved in the Festival of Chichester this summer with events for adults and children of all ages.
The summer festival runs between Saturday 14 June and Saturday 12 July.
For adults there will be a range of events, kicking off on Friday 20th June at 7.30pm with An Evening with Arun Storytellers and Songsmiths filling the library with stories and music to celebrate the art and history of storytelling.
This will be followed on Wednesday 25 June at 7.30pm by Emerging Stories from the Festival Theatre archive event as part of the Chichester Festival Theatres Pass It On Heritage Project, looking at the stories that have come out of the archives.
The library will then host bestselling author Michelle Magorian for Living Together Again. Michelle is the author of the widely acclaimed book ‘Goodnight Mister Tom’. She will give a talk looking at some of her other work on Tuesday 1 July 7.30pm.
Then join the Library at Chichester Cathedral for An Evening with Peter James on Wednesday 2 July at 7.30pm and hear all about his bestselling series with Brighton-based detective Roy Grace which is celebrating its 10th year.
The Library rounds up its events with three in the final week, Poetry First Aid Kit with author Abbie Headon on Tuesday 8 July at 7.30pm, will look at how poetry can help you in everyday life.
Followed by the Great War West Sussex 1914-18: The Home Front on Thursday 10 July 7.30pm, an illustrated talk by Emma White, Great War Project Manager and Martin Hayes, County Local Studies Librarian.
Our final event Mementoes: A creative writing workshop at The Novium on 12 July 10am-12.30pm is one for any creative writers out there, come and discover how everyday objects used by soldiers in World War 1 can inspire your writing. Use the artefacts in the museum to create a short story, a letter, or a poem.
The first of our events for children is on Thursday 19 June at 4pm – Jane Hardstaff’s novel The Executioner’s Daughter is full of adventure, cliffhangers, danger and spooky places. Jane will talk you through how she creates atmosphere in her writing and show you how you can do the same. For children aged 10+, free tickets available at the Library.
Followed by another event on Saturday 21 June 2.30pm – The Making of Tooki: Jamie Courtier (former Creative Director of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop) and his partner Vicky Kimm (formerly a TV director/presenter for the BBC) talk about their enchanting new children’s book. Embracing the comic book style of Tintin, yet capturing the gentleness of the Snowman, The Adventures of Tooki –The Secret of the Stones is published by Walker Books. For children aged 4-7, free tickets available at the Library.
On Thursday 26 June at 4pm – Mars Evacuees! Join author Sophia McDougall on an intergalactic space mission to Mars: meet the characters in her new book, find out where her ideas came from and the research that went into Mars Evacuees. You might also learn why you should always carry duct tape and what it’s like to be taught maths by a laser-shooting robot goldfish! For children aged 10+, free tickets available at the Library.
Finally for children join us on Saturday 28 June at 10am – Join the Little Somethings creators, Jill Walkinton and Alison Lewis for a magical hour of storytelling and craft. Hear the story of the Little Somethings as they meet the terrifying Greedy Guzzler (and discover he isn’t so terrifying after all) and meet Something Different (who, it turns out, isn’t as different as they had thought). Then make your every own Little Something to take home! For childen aged 4-7, free tickets available at the Library.