Warwickshire News Mine

The event coincides with the culmination of the Reading Challenge, a yearly initiative aimed at encouraging more young people to read books.  The Readers and Writers Weekend at Compton Verney has adopted ‘Mystery Reads’ as the theme for this year, linking in with the theme for this year’s Summer Reading Challenge in Libraries.

Over the last few days, Annamation, a storytelling trio, have toured the county’s libraries cranking up the atmosphere ahead of the weekend.  The fun begins at Compton Verney itself on Thursday 14 September with a one-day creative writing workshop with Jo Bell, a poet, landscape writer and archaeologist who draws on her experience in those various fields for inspiration. 

Friday 15 September sees a performance of comedy and poetry from Ian McMillan, presenter of Radio 3’s The Verb (as well as being Barnsley Football Club’s Poet Laureate!).  Ian will be presenting some new writing by young people from Warwickshire alongside his own wise-cracking verses.  He will be joined by Roz Goddard who will read poems from her new collection; ‘How to Dismantle a Hotel Room’. 

Places on the workshop cost £10.  Tickets for Ian McMillan’s performance are also £10 but concessionary tickets are available and children get in free.  For more information and advance bookings, contact Compton Verney on 01926 645500.

Other events that will feature over the course of the weekend include bounce and rhyme sessions for under 5s, designing a pop up book with paper engineer, Robert Crowther, learning about picture book making with book artist Clare Beaton and writing workshops for children with top children’s author Meg Harper.  All events are included in the admission price.

Novelist Deborah Moggach will be talking on Sunday about the pleasures and pitfalls of adapting Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice for the big screen adaptation starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen.  The talk is included in the admission price.

Many other scheduled performances are being held over the weekend, which opens from 11am to 5pm and is £4 for adults, children get in free. The price of admission also allows families to have a look around Compton Verney, a Grade I listed mansion designed in the 1760s.  The mansion houses collections including portraits of such celebrated figures as Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, the largest collection of British folk art, Northern European medieval art and an extensive range of Neapolitan art dating from 1600 to 1800.

Liz Wood, principal librarian for Children’s Services and Family Learning at Warwickshire County Council, said:  “Many families enjoyed the various events at last year’s readers and writers festival so we are looking to build on that, particularly as the event will also be running next year.  This year’s festival has an exciting and varied line up that we are sure will encourage many more people to come and take part.”

For more information on this jam-packed weekend contact Compton Verney on 01926 645500 or Warwickshire Libraries on 01926 412867.

For more information please visit http://www.warwickshire.go.uk/libraries or http://www.comptonverney.co.uk

Link to WCC