Latest line up announcement - March 29th

LITERARY ARENA
 
~ Sebastian Faulks ~ Peter Hook ~ Howard Jacobson ~

LITERARY SALON
 
~ Raindance Film Festival Workshops ~

Bestselling author Sebastian Faulks joins the literary luminaries at Latitude this year.  His latest novel ‘A Week In December’ is a major Sunday Times bestseller, selling more than 120,000 copies already and currently being adapted for a four-part serial to be shown on Channel 4 in 2011. One of Britain's most popular novelists, Faulks effortlessly blends modern history of England, France, and America with elements of romance for his novels with his strong background in national newspaper journalism also showing through in his narrative fluency and his ability to convincingly fictionalise aspects of recent history within his works.

In the summer of 2006, Sebastian Faulks was approached by the family of the late Ian Fleming and asked if he would write a one-off James Bond novel to mark the centenary of Fleming’s birth. Entitled ‘Devil May Care’ (2008) it went straight to number one in the UK bestseller lists and is the fastest selling hardback in Penguin’s history.

Now added to the line up is renowned Joy Division and New Order bassist Peter Hook. Back in 1982, Peter ‘Hooky’ Hook along with the rest of New Order and Factory Records owner Tony Wilson opened the infamous nightclub the Haçienda, the birthplace of the acid house and Madchester scenes, as well as countless gigs and parties that are now the stuff of legend. However, with the free party spirit came the gangs, the drugs, the violence and the police; the club slipped into a long a painfully expensive decline, it constantly lost money and finally came to an unceremonious end in 1997. In his frank and hilarious book ‘How Not To Run A Club’, ‘Hooky’ recounts the successes, the fun, the history, the parties as well as the bad management, the stupid deals and eventual bankruptcy that have shaped this glorious story of what not to do.

Celebrated and award winning Jewish novelist Howard Jacobson comes to Latitude this year. With his discursive and humorous style Jacobson has become a prominent author winning the Bollinger Everyman Wodehouse prize for comic writing for his 1999 book ‘The Mighty Walzer’. With that and for both his 2002 ‘Who’s Sorry Now’ and 2006 ‘Kalooki Nights’ he was longlisted for the Man Booker Prize and with his most recent offering ‘The Act Of Love’ (2008) being another fantastic slice of ebullient wit; his appearance in the Literary Arena will surely be a highlight of the weekend.

Catch these new additions along with those already confirmed; Bret Easton Ellis, Adam Foulds, Natasha Walter, Jon Ronson and of course Robin Ince who will be hosting his now legendary Book Club with specially created shows featuring incredible guests.


 

~ LITERARY SALON ~

New to last year’s festival, the Literary Salon is the noisy little sister of the Literary Arena that encourages you to get involved. A hub of interactive workshops, open discussions and wide-ranging debates all ready to get stuck into – it is a place to air your opinions, learn a brand new skill, discover new and exciting things and explore your inner most interests.  

For budding filmmakers, directors, writers, producers and anyone fascinated with the workings of the film industry, the Literary Salon will play host to the Raindance Film Festival who will be presenting a series of their famous workshops for Latitude goers this year. Aiming to give individuals the tools to get out there and start shooting, Raindance combine the best film-making traditions with new digital technology to give a great insight into the world of film. Learn from a team of experts dedicated to fostering any new talent itching to break through and help continue the growing independent film industry in the UK.