Arts & cultural | Family friendly | Festivals
Jersey Festival of Words
This five-day literary event held on 21-25 September, promotes a love of the written and spoken word across our community in a variety of styles and settings, as well as welcoming internationally-renowned authors to our beautiful island.
- Seasonal opening
- Booking needed
Price: Up to £15
More Information
The guiding principle of our festival is to celebrate the pleasure and power of words in all its forms, with something to include people of all ages and backgrounds.
Venues this year include the new Festival Marquee in Howard Davis Park, Jersey Arts Centre and Jersey Library, while confirmed writers include Lionel Shriver, Sebastian Faulks, Celia Imrie, Iain Dale, Sarfraz Manzoor and Raymond Antrobus.
Information and booking links for over 50 events can be found at www.jerseyfestivalofwords.org.
The main sponsor for this year's Festival is Highvern. Festival Village funding is being provided by the Jersey Community Foundation with funds from the Channel Islands Lottery.
- September:
-
21st September 2022
08:00 - 21:30 -
22nd September 2022
08:00 - 21:30 -
23rd September 2022
08:00 - 21:30 -
24th September 2022
08:00 - 21:30 -
25th September 2022
08:00 - 21:30
We are open:
September
- Indoor
Location
Islandwide
Jersey
Offers and events
Poetry Workshop: Writing the Sea, with Traci O’Dea
Join poet Traci O'Dea for a free poetry workshop designed to develop your own voice, as part of the Jersey Festival of Words.
Sep 23 2022
JFoW – Sasha Bates: Yoga Saved My Life
Join psychotherapist and yoga teacher Sasha Bates for a fifteen-minute chat about her inspiring book 'Yoga Saved My Life' followed by a gentle yoga/mindful session and Q+A, as part of the Jersey Festival of Words.
Sep 22 2022
JFoW – Badlabecques: Jèrriais Singing Workshop
They say one of the best ways to learn a language is through song. As part of the Jersey Festival of Words, come and learn some songs in Jersey’s native tongue led by Kit Ashton of Jèrriais folk-pop band, Badlabecques.
Sep 25 2022
JFoW – Lionel Shriver: Abominations
'Abominations' is the first collection of essays from the inimitable Lionel Shriver – the award-winning author of 'We Need To Talk About Kevin' and one of the most acclaimed writers of our time. Join her in conversation with JICAS' Sean Dettman as part of Jersey Festival of Words 2022.
Sep 24 2022
Graham Ramsden: The Teenager in the Greenhouse
Join author, psychologist and parenting expert Graham Ramsden for a guide through the strange and alien landscape of the teenage brain. Parenting is hard. And moreover, parenting teenagers is ridiculously hard. Fortunately, educational psychologist and father-of-two Dr Graham Ramsden is here to help.
Sep 24 2022
JFoW – Paul Darroch: The T.B. Davis Story
Join historian and writer Paul Darroch at Howard Davis Park's Memorial Hall, during the 2022 Jersey Festival of Words for an exploration of the life and legacy of T.B. Davis.
Sep 24 2022
JFoW – Giles Milton: Checkmate in Berlin
As part of the 2022 Jersey Big Weekend, Giles Milton discusses his new book, 'Checkmate in Berlin', which details the first battle of the Cold War and how it shaped the modern world.
Sep 24 2022
JFoW – Ania Bas: Odd Hours
Polish author, Ania Bas, discusses her whip-smart new comedic novel 'Odd Hours' with Chris Stone. Odd Hours is a whip-smart social comedy for those of us who feel that life is a game where someone else has stolen the rules...
Sep 23 2022
JFoW – Peter James: Picture You Dead
Professional art dealer, Charlie Porteous, has come into possession of an expensive, highly sought after painting by the renowned artist, Jean-Honoré Fragonard, rumoured to be part of a priceless four-piece collection.
Sep 21 2022
JFoW – Lucy Easthope: When the Dust Settles
Lucy Easthope lives with disaster every day. When a plane crashes, a bomb explodes, a city floods or a pandemic begins, she's the one they call.
Sep 22 2022
JFoW – Traci O’Dea: Waving
Join poet Traci O'Dea in the Memorial Hall at Howard Davis Park for a reading from her second anthology 'Waving', as part of the 2022 Jersey Festival of Words. Traci O’Dea is an American poet living in Jersey, where she is currently composing a novel in verse and a collection of verse monologues.
Sep 22 2022
JFoW – Raymond Antrobus: All The Names Given
Join us for this years' Jersey Festival of Words with a poetry performance from Raymond Antrobus, who will be reading from his new collection 'All the Names Given'.
Sep 23 2022
JFoW – Tracy Borman: Crown and Sceptre
As part of the Jersey Festival of Words 2022, leading historian and writer, Tracy Borman talks about her new book on the history of the monarchy, 'Crown and Sceptre'. 'This royal throne of kings, this sceptred isle' (Richard II, William Shakespeare).
Sep 21 2022
JFoW – Linda Calvey: The Game
Convicted murderer Linda Calvey combines her own experience of the criminal world – the glamour, the danger, the high of running with gangsters, hitmen and villains – with a supreme gift for character and storytelling in her second novel, The Game. While most authors write what they know, Calvey writes what she lived.
Sep 24 2022
JFoW – Dreena Collins
Pen Names, Pitfalls and Easter Eggs: Writing a Book Series: Local author Dreena Collins’ (aka Jane Harvey) debut won the Eyelands International Award for published novel of 2021. The second book in the series will be released in August, continuing to explore the tenants’ lives.
Sep 24 2022
JFoW – John Higgs: Love and Let Die
On 5 October 1962, Britain produced two unprecedented cultural phenomenon – Dr No, the first Bond film, and Love Me Do, the first Beatles record. John Higgs explores these two cultural touchstones and the world they exploded into, forever changing your understanding of the Beatles, James Bond films, and six decades of British culture.
Sep 24 2022
JFoW – Otto English: Fake History
Ten Great Lies And How They Shaped The World: Setting out to redress the balance, journalist and author Otto English takes ten great lies from history and shows how our present continues to be manipulated by the fabrications of the past. He looks at how so much of what we take to be historical fact is, in fact, fiction.
Sep 24 2022
JFoW – Emma Gannon: (Dis)connected
How to Stay Human in an Online World: We’re becoming increasingly aware of how the algorithm manipulates us and how we are the product being sold. But where do we go from here? Emma Gannon, host of the hit podcast Ctrl Alt Delete offers tangible tips for forging a healthier relationship with the internet and reconnecting with our real lives.
Sep 24 2022
JFoW – Iain Dale: Why Can’t We All Just Get Along
Political commentator, radio presenter and author, Iain Dale discusses his recent publications The Prime Ministers, The Presidents and Why Can’t We All Just Get Along: Shout Less, Listen More. When not debating current affairs on the popular podcast For The Many, Iain can be seen appearing as a commentator on Good Morning Britain.
Sep 24 2022
JFoW – Professor Mari Jones: Zoom Talk
Linguistic Detective Work in the Channel Islands: Several years ago, a box containing several hundred slips of paper was brought to the notice of the Professor of French Linguistics at Cambridge University. Close examination revealed that they were fieldnotes...
Sep 25 2022
JFoW – Doreen Cunningham: Soundings
Journeys in the Company of Whales – A Memoir: From the lagoons of Mexico to Arctic glaciers, grey whale mothers are swimming with their calves, enduring one of the longest mammalian migrations on the planet. Following them, Doreen Cunningham and her young son Max, are in pursuit of a wild hope: that their family of two can find a place to belong.
Sep 25 2022
Karen Forbes: Wellbeing Journal-Writing Workshop
Join local playwright, Karen Forbes, for a fun and interactive Creative Journaling workshop which will focus on ‘writing to express not impress‘ and includes an introduction to the practice of journal writing for well-being. This is a fantastic skill which allows us to explore our own feelings and emotions through spontaneous expressive writing.
Sep 24 2022
JFoW – Simon Clark: Firmament
Scientist Simon Clark offers a rare and insightful tour of the atmosphere that surrounds Earth. From the workings of its different layers to why carbon dioxide is special, Firmament helps us better understand the climate change debate whilst providing a glimpse of the future that is possible with this knowledge in hands.
Sep 24 2022
JFoW – Cathy Rentzenbrink: Memoir Writing Workshop
Have you got a story to tell? Perhaps you don’t know how or where to start, or you have questions about shape and structure. This stimulating, encouraging and friendly workshop will address all these questions and offer tools and techniques to help you turn your life events into a narrative.
Sep 25 2022
JFoW – Badlabecques: Jèrriais Singing Workshop
They say one of the best ways to learn a language is through song. Come and learn some songs in Jersey’s native tongue led by Kit Ashton of Jèrriais folk-pop band, Badlabecques. There’ll be classics like Vive la Compangnie and Man Bieau P’tit Jèrri (Beautiful Jersey), plus the chance to learn brand new songs. Mangnifique!
Sep 25 2022
JFoW – Luke Healy: The Con Artists
Frank only wanted three things this year – to perform stand-up comedy, go to therapy, and to keep his house plants alive. Then Giorgio got hit by a bus. A darkly comedic graphic novel about friendship, fraud and the stories we tell ourselves. Luke Healy’s previous work, Americana, was a Guardian Best Book of 2019.
Sep 24 2022
JFoW – Jem Calder: Reward System
Reward System is a set of ultra-contemporary and electrifying fresh fictions, of a generation on the cusp, meshed in Zooms and lockdowns, loneliness and love. “An exhilarating and beautiful book by an extraordinarily gifted writer. Reading these stories, I found myself thinking newly and differently about contemporary life” – Sally Rooney
Sep 25 2022
JFoW – Kate Hughes: Going Zero
Told with refreshing humility and humour, this is the inspiring story of an ordinary family who rebelled against the waste of a lifestyle wrapped in plastic. Packed with handy tips, it reveals much about what makes a fulfilling modern family – and how readers can empower themselves to preserve the climate, forests and seas.
Sep 25 2022
Celia Imrie / Fidelis Morgan: Orphans of the Storm
As part of this year's Jersey Festival of Words, actress and author, Celia Imrie discusses her new novel 'Orphans of the Storm' with writer and actress, Fidelis Morgan. You will also receive a copy of 'Orphans of the Storm' included in ticket price.
Sep 23 2022
JFoW – Sebastian Faulks: Snow Country
Author Sebastian Faulks has achieved an enviable blend of literary merit and commercial success, best-known for his trilogy including the tour-de-force novel of the First World War, Birdsong. Here he discusses new novel 'Snow Country' with author Cathy Rentzenbrink at this Jersey Festival of Words 2022 event. Book included within ticket price.
Sep 22 2022
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