A brand new book and film festival is set to launch in a Northumberland market town in 2023.
The inaugural Alnwick Story Fest is aiming to become a permanent fixture and "make Alnwick the story town of the North". It will host a series of events in February next year, with those taking place across the town including at two of its best-known attractions, Alnwick Castle and the Alnwick Garden.
The festival is also taking place just weeks before the anticipated release date of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, scenes of which were filmed at Alnwick Castle. Though the premiere won't be happening in Northumberland, visitors can expect events themed around the film!
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The festival is the work of Suzy Walker, a journalist and ex-magazine editor born in Blyth who has moved back to Northumberland after thirty years in Northumberland. And like a lot of good ideas, it started in the pub.
Suzy said: "I just moved back to Alnwick a year ago and met the mayor in the pub. I said we should start a book festival, and she challenged me to do it and now a lot of the town is involved.
"Working as an author and editor, I used to get invited to all of these book festivals and they could be really intimidating, I didn't want this one to be like that. I wanted it to be people having lots of fun and being really creative."
Events include a three-course dinner in the Alnwick Garden with Northumberland author LJ Ross ahead of the launch of her new book The Poison Garden, sessions from BBC Radio 4 on how to write for radio, and an audience with Vera author Ann Cleeves.
Suzy continued: "Everybody's been supportive and there are lots of venues involved - the Castle, the Gardens, the playhouse. Lots of authors are taking part too, LJ Ross was incredibly generous, Ann Cleeves was amazing and we've got Obama's favourite travel writer Michael Booth coming, as well as more local authors like Dan Jackson who wrote The Northumbrians and Michael Chaplin who wrote Newcastle United Stole My Heart."
The Northern Film Prize will also launch at the inaugural Alnwick Story Fest. Established by LJ Ross and her Dark Skies Publishing, it sits alongside the Northern Photography Prize and Lindisfarne Prize for Fiction, with winners competing for a £1,000 prize.
LJ Ross said: "I’m passionate about the region where I was born, which has provided me with endless inspiration for my novels. I love its people, its landscapes and history, and I’m proud to support any artistic endeavour that hopes to capture the spirit and heart of this very special corner of the world. I’m excited to see how new, emerging and established filmmakers will interpret this year’s theme of transformation!"
Both Suzy and LJ have cited the North East as a fantastic place to set a story - the latter is launching her 21st book set in the region at the festival. Suzy finished: "Northumberland is such an evocative setting for stories because it's a land steeped in history.
"We've got fairy tale castles, epic battles from the north to the south. I think it's kind of like the lost Kingdom, there are archetypes here from the past that we all recognise.
"Alnwick especially has a real sense of magic and history, battles and drama, so I think it's the perfect place to become the story town of the north."
The Alnwick Story Fest runs from February 24 - 26 2023 at venues throughout the town. For more information and to book tickets to events, visit the Alnwick Story Fest website.
What's your favourite book or film set in the North East? Let us know!
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