Wimbledon Bookfest 2009
 
Wimbledon Bookfest 2009 runs from 3-11 October, with events taking place all over Wimbledon.
 
 
 

We are presently putting the final touches to the exciting programme and will shortly be filling up the
Calendar pages for each of the
9 Bookfest Festival days.

Please check back regularly.


Box office opens 13th July 2009
(For "Friends" on 6th July)

Tel: 0208 543 4888 (Polka Theatre)
or online at 
www.polkatheatre.com

 

Priorirty booking opens 6th July for Friends 

Become a Friend now!  
Click here for a form

 

 

This year’s line up includes: Best-selling novelists Sadie Jones, William Boyd, Chris Cleave, Deborah Moggach, Kamila Shamsie, Julian Fellowes and Penny Vincenzi; actor and campaigner Virginia McKenna; historical novelist Alison Weir; Wimbledon-based ‘Map of Love’ author Ahdaf Soueif; Darwin’s great-great granddaughters Ruth Padel and Emma Darwin; historians Sir Max Hastings and Patrick French; Gyles Brandreth bringing his new book on Oscar Wilde; artist Sir Peter Blake,  actors June Whitfield and Tim West, and a Q&A with Simon Beaufoy, award-winning scriptwriter for Slumdog Millionaire.
 
 

 

Wimbledon Bookfest Scriptwriting Competition

 

The Wimbledon Bookfest 2009 Scriptwriting Competition 2009 - OPEN TO ALL AGES - is now open for entries.

 

 

Cick here for more details.

 

The closing date of the entries has been extended to Friday 21st August, 2009!

 

 

 

Bookfest 2009 Launch

 26th March, 2009

 

Bookfest 2009 is under way following a successful launch at Polka Theatre on 26th March, 2009.
You can view photos from the event here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Event at Southside House

28th May, 2009

 

The advertised programme for the Bookfest’s fundraising evening at Southside House was subject to a last-minute change. But the 75 Friends and guests who attended the event on a glorious summer evening were entertained by two high-class replacement speakers.

 
 
Audience at the Southside House event
 
 
 
 
The original joint speakers were to have been Katriona Munthe, grand-daughter of Axel Munthe, whose family lived at Southside House; and Dr Christopher Gardner, a consultant neurologist specialising in post-trauma syndrome treatment. Their chosen subject was Axel’s extraordinary life as a doctor, writer, animal lover and recluse. But they were detained in Italy because of the illness of an elderly relative and the scheduled talk has been postponed until September.
 
Audience at the Southside House event
 
Instead the Bookfest supporters got an alternative ‘double-header’ provided by Southside resident Richard Surman and local historian Clive Whichelow. Richard filled in some of the fascinating background to the residency at Southside of Axel Munthe, the charismatic Swedish Doctor whose most famous book, The Story of San Michele, briefly outsold the Bible and remains amongst the ten best sellers of the 20th century. He married Hilda Pennington Mellor, who first developed Southside’s amazing two-acre garden – which the Bookfest guests were able to explore on this beautiful evening. 
 
 

Southside House gardens

 
Richard told how Hilda’s youngest son, Malcolm, a Second World War hero who suffered serious wounds, spent his remaining years restoring Southside and the family country home, Hellens, in Herefordshire. Malcolm Munthe's surviving children continue to cherish Southside House and Hellens through the Pennington-Mellore-Munthe Charity Trust.  Both houses serve their communities with concerts, lectures, workshops and literary evenings as well as guided tours.
 
Southside House
 
Clive Wychelow, recounted equally racy tales from the history of Wimbledon Common – the scene of bare knuckle fights, duels, rifle-shooting and royal visits.  And Bookfest Chair, Tony Kane, rounded the formalities off with a presentation on the success of Bookfest 2008 and the aims and ambitions of Bookfest 2009 which, he underlined, very much needed support from the community in terms of not just business sponsorship but also the active support of Friends and Volunteers. He appealed to everyone present to ‘phone a friend’ or contact a neighbour and persuade them to become a Friend or volunteer to help the Festival in any of the many different roles required to make it another success story in 2009.
 
The evening which ended with a draw for several raffle prizes in including ballet and tickets to the AELTC Museum, a wine-tasting, a bottle of champagne, and a Louis Vuitton handbag.

 

 

 

 

 


 

 

Wimbledon Bookfest celebrated a successful second year, 2008.

For pictures of the 2008 Bookfest, please click here (2008 Events Gallery)

 

Anyone with memories or thoughts on the festival are asked to email them to fiona.razvi@wimbledonbookfest.org.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


  

Become a Friend

 

 

Become a Friend

If you would like to support the 2009 Festival please

click here for downloadable form - "Becoming a Bookfest Friend".

Time & Leisure
Become a Sponsor

We are seeking sponsors for this year. If you are interested, please email us at: info@wimbledonbookfest.org

Calling All Book Clubs
The Wimbledon Bookfest needs you.  Please register your club at info@wimbledonbookfest.org to make sure you are aware of all the events in our forthcoming Festival 4th – 12th October and to encourage you to pass on the message.  The Festival is still in its infancy (2nd year) so we rely on friends and volunteers to a large extent.
Book Club Forum

Would your Book Club welcome a forum for exchanging ideas and views on books, authors and any other related book club topics? Click here to find out more...

Corporate Friends

 

 

Anova Books

 

Anova Books

 

 

 

Ormerods Solicitors

 

Ormerods Solicitors

 

 

 

 

Bookfest 2009

Click here to download the latest Newsletter. 

 

 

Festival Partners

Main Sponsors

 

Marcus Beale Architects

 

Marcus Beale Architects

 

 

 

 

Windsor Stebbing Marsh

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time & Leisure

 

Time & Leisure

 

 

 

 

 

 

London Borough of Merton

 

London Borough of Merton

 

 

 

The Wimbledon Guild

 

Wimbledon Guild

 

 

 

 

School Sponsors

 

Wimbledon High School

 

Wimbledon High School

 

 

Ursuline High School

 

Ursuline High School

 

 

Ursuline Prep School

 

Ursuline Prep School

 

  

Donhead School

 

 

 

King's College School
Wimbledon

 

Kings College School

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

Wimbledon Bookfest