Literary Events in the 2021 Festival
A FESTIVAL OF FICTION
The annual Frome Festival Short Story Competition was one of the few events associated with the Festival able to run last year. There were some great entries, and a very worthy winner in ‘Peace Offering’, by Elisabeth Pratt, but sadly it wasn’t possible to hold a prize-giving event. The 2021 competition is already underway (closes May 31) and anyone wishing to enter should go to fromeshortstorycompetition.co.uk for details. The guest judge, this year is local novelist and translator, Frances Liardet, author of the acclaimed novel We Must Be Brave, who will announce the results and award the prizes at the outdoor ECOS stage on Sunday July 11 at 2.30 pm. In addition to the usual overall and local prizes, the organisers are delighted to announce an additional £50 prize for the best local entry by a writer aged 16-21. Best-selling author Kerry Wilkinson, who grew up Frome and is an ex-student of Frome College, has kindly agreed to fund this prize. The results of the popular Writers in Residence competition, held on June 26, will also be announced.
This year we have plenty of literary events to choose from. On Saturday 3rd July you can join a nature Walk and Talk, with Broadcaster and Writer and wildlife TV Producer Stephen Moss, whose new book ‘the Swallow’ is now out. On Sunday 4th, join local authors Crysse Morrison and David Lassman for a historical walk revealing Frome’s dark and murky past, which is also repeated on Thursday 8th. On Monday 5th at Rook Lane the Frome Society for Local Study are putting on an illustrated talk by author Christopher Joll ‘The Spoils of War’ and on Tuesday 6th, the Poetry Café will be taking over the outdoor stage, ECOS, at the Merlin theatre.
On Friday 9th, we have a double bill at the Masonic Hall. Award-winning journalist and local author Charles Nevin talks about his latest collection of short stories, sharing the characters – real, legendary and fictional – who are the subjects of his collection ‘Sometimes in Bath’. This is followed by Grahame Lloyd, freelance broadcaster, journalist and poet. “A Load of Old Balls” is an hour-long collection of songs and poems celebrating some of the most famous football personalities of the modern game. Come prepared to be amused, the bar will be open though-out. Also, on Friday 9th at Trinity Church, author Jamie Sefton introduces ‘A Thousand Sons’ which follows the story of Bertie a Nuclear Veteran who was present in the South Pacific in the 1950s.
To finish, on Sunday the 11th, the Frome Writers Collective is staging its annual Flash Fiction event on ECOS at 12 noon, which will be followed by the Short Story Competition reading and Prize giving. Entry to both ECOS events is free – bring cushions and picnics, and rainwear if needed.
Full details on how to enter the Short Story Competition are at www.fromeshortstorycompetition.co.uk