Autumn Edition Line-up Announcement

The line-up for our Autumn Edition, which runs from Friday 4 to Sunday 6 November, is now revealed and will be headlined by TV presenter and ‘Strictly’ contestant Dan Walker and acclaimed author Raynor Winn along with more inspiring and thought-provoking authors. Twelve author events will be hosted at QUAD, Derby. Tickets for all events go on sale on 26 September, which can be purchased online from our website or from QUAD’s box office.

For the first time, Festival goers can buy a Festival Pass providing access to all events for a set price, giving a significant saving on buying tickets individually.

Our Autumn Edition programme will include:

• TV presenter and Strictly contestant Dan Walker, who will talk about Standing on the Shoulders, his celebration of humble heroes and what makes them. Dan will be in conversation with BBC TV Midlands Correspondent, Navtej Johal
• Author and long-distance walker Raynor Winn returns with her third book, Landlines, which describes Raynor and husband Moth’s latest epic walk helping him cope with his terminal condition
• Women’s Prize nominee and best-selling author Joanna Cannon discusses her third novel, A Tidy Ending
• Oxford and BBC historian Dr Janina Ramirez on Femina: A New History of The Middle Ages, By the Women Who Were Written Out of It
• Maritime archaeologist Mensun Bound, who led two expeditions to find Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship Endurance in the waters of the Antarctic, discovering it in March 2022, creating headlines around the world
• Local favourite, crime writer Stephen Booth, whose 18 Cooper & Fry novels are set in the Peak District, discusses his career as a crime writer
• Times columnist and political commentator, Simon Heffer on Henry ‘Chips’ Channon, described as ‘the greatest British diarist of the 20th century’
• TV and radio journalist Nick Wallis on his book detailing The Great Post Office Scandal which he has investigated for the past 14 years, presenting two BBC Panorama specials about it
• Best-selling author and Costa First Novel winner (The Outcast) and Book Group favourite, Sadie Jones on her latest novel, Amy and Lan
• Journalist and broadcaster, Sarfraz Manzoor (Greetings from Bury Park) on They: What Muslims and Non-Muslims Get Wrong About Each Other. Sarfraz will be in conversation with BBC TV Midlands Correspondent, Navtej Johal
• The Times’ Royal Correspondent, Valentine Low on Courtiers: The Hidden Power behind the Throne
• Bookseller and debut author Oliver Darkshire on his experiences of working at what must be the strangest bookshop in the world: Henry Sotheran Ltd on Sackville Street (Est. 1761).

Throughout the Festival there will be a Book Stall at QUAD selling all the books featured at the Festival, plus signed books from previous Festivals, as well as a selection of Book Aid Charity Christmas cards, children’s books, and a Mystery Book selection.

We will also have a Book Fair at the Museum of Making on Sunday 6 November from 11am – 4pm with a range of stalls, including booksellers, book crafts, children’s books and local authors promoting their books.

Pick up a copy of the Festival programme, designed by local company Archer Hampson, from QUAD, other arts venues, Waterstones, libraries, and tourist offices. Tickets can be booked online at: https://www.derbybookfestival.co.uk/whats-on/events/

or in person or by phone at QUAD: 01332 290606.