Morpurgo and Johnson to appear at first Word Fest 

Michael Morpurgo and Milly Johnson are among the authors appearing at Word Fest, the inaugural festival launched by Blackpool’s Winter Gardens and indie bookshop Book Bean & Ice Cream.

The festival will take place at the gardens on 7th and 8th October, celebrating authors and including Q&As alongside book signings.

An abridged version of Morpurgo’s bestseller War Horse (Farshore), the novel that tells the story of the First World War from the perspective of a young farm horse named Joey, will be read by the author, accompanied by music and songs from the National Theatre production, sung by cast lead Ben Murray.

Johnson will be talking about her stories of women and the importance of friendship and community. Her latest novel, Together, Again (Simon & Schuster), is her 20th book and will have been released a month before the festival.

Historian Saul David will host a talk about his latest book Devil Dogs (HarperCollins), a Second World War tale of American troops and the first Marine Division, while Scott Mitchell, husband of much-loved English actress Dame Barbara Windsor, will appear to talk about his book By Your Side (Seven Dials), an intimate account of the life they shared for 27 years. 

Further authors and the full schedule of events are still to be announced for the programme.

Elaine Silverwood, owner of Book Bean & Ice Cream and co-producer of Word Fest, said: “As owner of a local, independent bookshop I am also passionate about events that connect the author to their readers to bring to life their work. Word Fest will be a weekend celebration of literature and the spoken word, and it will be a joy to create and deliver for readers of all ages and genres.”

Many of the tickets include the gift of a book and are now on sale, priced from £15.