Wolverhampton Literature Festival has made some exciting last-minute additions to its 2022 programme.

World-renowned evolutionary biologist and bestselling author, Richard Dawkins, will be joining the line-up to talk about his latest work ‘Flights of Fancy’, his recent investigation into all aspects of human and animal flight. The event will feature a book signing and provide an exclusive chance to see ‘The God Delusion’ author in person at the intimate Wolverhampton Art Gallery venue.

Science enthusiasts can also welcome comedian and Brian Cox’s Infinite Monkey Cage sidekick, Robin Ince, who will be joining the festival in person, following his online appearance in 2021. This year he will be sharing ‘The Importance of Being Interested’, his hymn to scientific curiosity with STEM and University of Wolverhampton’s Dr. Martin Khechara.

For period novel fans, join Oxford Professor, Abigail Williams, and step inside the parlours and drawing rooms of the eighteenth century, where we’d find houses busy with home-made culture – book groups and tea table parties; punch and bawdy jokes; groups of women weeping their way through popular sentimental fiction; children stumbling through poems before their maiden aunts, and men proudly showing off their amateur collections of fossils or miniatures. Come along and experience the lost world of domestic culture and performance.

The festival has also added an online programme for bookworms to enjoy from the comfort of their own home, with a range of free and donation-only events.

For lovers of crime fiction, Wolverhampton’s own Mark Edwards will be joining fellow bestseller Holly Seddon and Northern Irish writers Sharon Dempsey and Brian McGilloway. They’ll be giving attendees a chance to explore the genre in new and exciting ways, in a killer online event.

Walsall-based author, Daniel Wiles, will also be launching his debut Black Country-based novel ‘Mercia’s Way’; a gripping and intense story which summons an England in the heat of the industrial revolution, and the lives it took to make it.

As part of the University of Wolverhampton’s Big Book Review, writer Dr Lisa Blower (University of Wolverhampton, Common People Collective) and Belfast-based novelist Jan Carson (The Fire Starters) will explore the relationship between writing and place, regional identity, and the way both writers explore these questions in their fiction.

Councillor Stephen Simkins, City of Wolverhampton Council Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for City Economy, said: “The festival is a great asset to the city, and we have a range of events for everyone to get involved with.

“These new additions add to the festival’s most ambitious and wide-ranging line-up so far, with headliners including comedians Phil Wang, Miles Jupp, the Repair Shop’s Jay Blades, DJ Don Letts, snooker legend Steve Davis, music journalist Pete Paphides, local bestseller Abi Dare, award winning poet Liz Berry, and political commentator Paul Mason”.

The full line-up and tickets are available at www.wolveslitfest.co.uk

Image caption: Richard Dawkins, photo credit – Jana Lenzova