Porter, Roffey and Stibbe on first Falmouth Book Festival bill

Max Porter, Monique Roffey and Nina Stibbe are among the line-up for the first Falmouth Book Festival, run by former Port Eliot creative director Colin Midson.

Supported by indie store the Famouth Bookseller, Falmouth University and the town's business improvement district, the event will run from 14th to 17th October.

The bill also features poetry from Edinburgh Festival regular Luke Wright, bestselling memoirist Raynor Winn, and Bafta-winning film-maker Mark Jenkin alongside Cornwall-based writers such as Wyl Menmuir and Cathy Rentzenbrink.

Festival director Midson, formerly a publicity director at Granta and Bloomsbury, said he was keen for the event to explore strong local themes and to connect with audiences in the area. Local writers Charlie Carroll and Catrina Davies will appear alongside Jenkin to discuss the misrepresentation of Cornwall in popular culture. Author Philip Marsden will be talking with fellow travel writer Tim Hannigan about his books. Lamorna Ash and Gavin Knight have both written books on Cornwall’s fishing industry, and will be looking at the way it is changing post Brexit and Covid-19.

There will be a Saturday morning workshop in the Cornish language for budding linguists while the event will also feature an educational programme, bringing writers into schools to help children engage with the world of writing.

Midson explained: “We want the festival to really connect with the local community, especially with young children. That’s why we’re working with local schools and making sure that all the public children’s events are free to enter.”

Ron Johns, owner of the Falmouth Bookseller, said: “Now feels like a great time to start something new. It should have a real boost to the town, especially after such a long time without festivals like this in our lives.”

The adult events line-up is online now and the workshops and children’s events bill will be announced soon.