Farsley Lit Fest at various venues

Sarah-Clare Conlon, Literature Editor

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Farsley Lit Fest

Truman Books, Leeds
8 October-22 November 2024

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Kate Mosse
Kate Mosse. Image supplied by Leeds Inspired
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The third edition of Farsley Literature Festival is full steam ahead, organised in conjunction with Truman Books and The Old Woollen, and encompassing some of their friends from in and around Leeds suburb Farsley.

Headline names include Cecelia Ahern talking about her latest novel Into the Storm to Gaby Roslin, while award-winning novelist, playwright, performer, campaigner, interviewer and non-fiction writer Kate Mosse is in town on 2 November. The author of ten novels and short-story collections, her books have sold over five million copies, been translated into 38 languages and published in more than 40 countries, and she will be talking about her latest novel The Map of Bones, hot off the press, published as it was on 10 October.

Short story writer SJ Bradley popped into Farsley’s Truman Books with her new collection Maps of Imaginary Towns , published by Manchester’s Fly On The Wall Press (you can also catch up with her at Ilkley’s The Grove Bookshop on 7 November and the Book Corner in Halifax on 21 November), and Tawseef Khan will be following in her footsteps on 5 November when he discusses his latest modern contemporary fiction Determination at the indie bookshop.

On 6 November, music journalist, DJ and author Patrick Clarke will be in conversation about his latest release Bedsit Land – The Strange Worlds of Soft Cell with journalist, broadcaster and musician John Robb, while on 13 November, award-winning pop writer Miranda Sawyer will be sharing the vivid stories behind 20 key songs of the 90s in Uncommon People: Britpop and Beyond in 20 Songs.

Crime sells, and on 10 November, acclaimed crime author Elly Griffiths (also at Todmorden Book Festival the day before) will be in the spotlight rounding off a special Crime Day at 7pm – Josie Lloyd, JM Hall and Antony Johnston take on Cosy Crime at 3pm and Saima Mir and Lesley McEvoy investigate how to go about Creating Kick-Ass Female Protagonists at 5pm.

On 14 November, Yorkshire crime writer JM Hall (A Spoonful of Murder, A Pen Dipped in Poison and A Clock Stopped Dead) chairs an evening of discussion with Tom Hindle and Rachel North, exploring the lure of the glamorous location for thriller writers – these guys are experts: Tom Hindle’s Murder on Lake Garda involves a fancy party on the private island of Castello Fiore; Rachel North’s Happily Never After involves a wedding at a magical castle, the Finca Incantata.

Closing Farsley Lit Fest for 2024 on 22 November is award-winning, multimillion-copy worldwide-bestselling writer Sir Ian Rankin will introduce audiences to the brand-new John Rebus thriller Midnight and Blue, just out in October (tickets sold out at time of writing, but there may be returns, so keep your peelers, er, peeled).

Where to go near Farsley Lit Fest at various venues

Sunny Bank Mills Gallery
Leeds
Gallery
Sunny Bank Mills Gallery

Sunny Bank Mills Gallery is a light and airy art gallery inside a former cloth warehouse, in the heart of Farsley village.

Leeds
Event venue
The Old Woollen

A 500-capacity venue in Farsley, presenting the finest music, comedy and performance. Run by Trouble at Mill Events and Sunny Bank Mills, twinned with Farsley Constitutional.

The Constitutional
Event venue
The Constitutional

A club for working persons, presenting the finest comedy, theatre, spoken-word, music, quizzes and craft ales.

Leeds
Gallery
The Mill Gallery

The Mill Gallery is an artist-run space in Leeds, supporting emerging artists to develop and showcase their work authentically.

pudsey market
Leeds
Shop
Pudsey Market

Pudsey Market is a traditional style market in Pudsey, just outside the centre of Leeds.

Bradford
Museum
Bradford Industrial Museum

Bradford’s Industrial Museum transports you back to the cities former incarnation, as a powerhouse of the north. See working machinery, the living spaces of mill owners and workers as well as contemporary responses to the archive.

Kirkstall Abbey in Leeds
Leeds
Tourist Attraction
Kirkstall Abbey

Founded in 1152, Kirkstall Abbey on the bank of the River Aire is one of the most complete examples of a medieval Cistercian monastery in Britain.

Abbey House Museum, Kirkstall Abbey, Leeds
Leeds
Museum
Abbey House Museum

If your children struggle to imagine life without tablets, iPhone games or a PlayStation, then a trip to Abbey House Museum should prove an eye-opening experience.

Bradford
Restaurant
Rajshahi

Rajshahi has been serving up authentic Indian food, packed with soul and flavour, for decades, winning over the hearts and bellies of the locals.

Interplay works across all definitions of exclusion to create a special theatre that places the audience at the centre of the experience.
Leeds
Theatre
Interplay Theatre

Interplay works across all definitions of exclusion to create a special theatre that places the audience at the centre of the experience.

What's on: Literature

Roy McFarlane
LiteratureManchester
Roy Macfarlane at Manchester Poetry Library

As part of the Poetry Reading Series at Manchester Poetry Library, Canal Laureate Roy Macfarlane will be in conversation with the series curator and award-winning poet Helen Mort.

Free entry
Luke Samuel Yates
LiteratureLeeds
Chemistry at The Chemic

Leeds live literature regular Chemistry offers an exciting mix of open mic acts and invited poets – this month the headliners are Helen Ivory and Luke Samuel Yates.

Free entry
Tom Branfoot. Photo Eleanor Hall, Museum of the Home
LiteratureWest Yorkshire
Poetry at the Dusty Miller

Poetry at the Dusty Miller is a now regular night with invited readers, organised by Carcanet-published Carola Luther and Judith Willson in the Coiners’ Room in the Mytholmroyd pub.

Free entry

Culture Guides

Hannah Platt 'Playing Out', courtesy of Threshold, photograph by Jules Lister.
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From city-wide art festivals to open-air sculptural installations, we have exhibitions from all around the North, both indoors and out.

Music in the North

Gigs are coming in hot this spring – from long-awaited returns to one-off happenings you’ll blink and miss if you're not careful.

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

Eclectic as ever. You'll find inventive reworkings, world-class contemporary dance and Greater Manchester's inaugural Improv Festival in our guide.

portrait of Lorsung in a dark shirt with dark hair and dark round glasses
Literature Events in the North

We've got laughs and we've got leftfield on the live literature radar this month. Something for everyone, from poets playing with form to short story writers looking long.

Classical Music in the North

Read our latest highlights from the live classical music offer in Manchester and the North, taking in a number of the region's most cherished orchestral forces and venues.