POET Laureate Simon Armitage and children’s author Michael Morpurgo have been confirmed as two of the headline writers at this year’s Jersey Festival of Words.
Although the organisers are remaining tight-lipped about the venue for this year’s event – to be held between 20 and 24 September – they have confirmed that the five-day celebration of the written word will begin with a reading by Mr Armitage.
Born in Marsden, outside Huddersfield, he was appointed to his post to succeed Carol Ann Duffy in 2019. Also the author of novels, plays and films for television, he appears regularly on the UK’s broadcast media, while his poems have been studied and enjoyed by schoolchildren as part of the GCSE curriculum for several decades.
Mr Morpurgo, who appeared in the 2016 festival, is most famous for First World War book War Horse, adapted into a film by Steven Spielberg and performed on stage in theatres worldwide. He will be taking part in a special War Horse event as part of his 80th birthday celebrations.
Festival chair Jennifer Bridge said the organisers were delighted to have secured ‘two huge literary names’ at an early stage.
‘We look forward to connecting both writers – and many more to be announced in the coming months – with fans and readers of every age,’ she said. However, the organisers have yet to confirm where the festival, which is entering its seventh year, will take place, or whether the festival village created in marquees in the Howard Davis Park will be repeated this year in the absence of the Jersey Opera House, which accommodated its larger events prior to the pandemic.
Further details of the festival will appear on the website jerseyfestivalofwords.org.
