A Limited Number of Day Passes are available, these also give you entry to the Memories of VE Day Exhibition.
9am Breakfast & News from Today 1945
Join a panel of authors including festival founder, Dawn Brookes, Anthony Poulton-Smith and ex servicewoman/author Wendy H. Jones. They will host an informal discussion of the headlines and news trivia from 23rd May 1945. Copies of local and national newspapers will be available to peruse.
You will also be able to enjoy a hot drink and croissant. Munch while you muse! Tickets £6
10am Tracing the Evidence Crime Panel
Join award winning authors Sarah Ward, Jo Jakeman & Wendy H. Jones for an informative discussion on crime & psychological fiction. Sarah & Wendy have written police-procedural novels whilst Jo writes psychological/vigilante fiction.
Tickets £6
11am The Good, the Bad & the Ugly: anecdotes from nurse training 1970s – 1980s
Join Dawn Brookes, author of the hugely popular Hurry up Nurse series of books as she shares the fun and laughter of days gone by.
An enterataining talk highlighting the humerous, the serious and the poignant times experienced during training in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Dawn has written a trilogy of memoirs that are extremely popular and have hit bestseller charts on Amazon.
Tickets £6
12MD Award Ceremony
Winners of our Short Story & Poetry competitions will be awarded their prizes and given the opportunity to read from their winning entries.
FREE Entry
12.30 Open Mic Poetry

Local & national poets are invited to showcase their work with short readings from their poetry while the café will be open for lunch.
Poets please register on arrival to book a slot. FREE Entry: Café open until 1.25pm
1.30pm Lessons from Women of WWII that can Influence Environmental Change
Join Claire Lyons, military historian and eco warrior as she discusses how the ‘Make and Mend’ era of WWII can help us to adapt to sustainable living and help save the planet.
A NOT TO BE MISSED talk for anyone who cares about our planet. Tickets £6
2.30pm The Role of Women in WWII
Historical novelist, Clare Harvey discusses the inspiration behind her war-time novels, paying particular attention to the role of ack-ack girls, Secret Operations Executive (SOE) agents, factory girls and war artists – whilst also also acknowledging the broader picture of women’s work in wartime. Tickets £6
3.30pm Café open for afternoon tea
FREE Entry
4pm Crime on the Canals
Join historical non-fiction author, Anthony Poulton-Smith as he speaks about Crime on the Canals, the topic of his most recent book.
Anthony is a freelance journalist and prolific author with 77 books published plus many articles, crosswords, puzzles and quizzes. In addition to this, Anthony has written 1,500 articles and almost 200 books as a ghost-writer. Tickets £6
4.50pm Closing Speeches
Directions to Venue