Michael Morpurgo
Saturday
The former Children’s Laureate, multi-award-winning and, more importantly, loved-by-millions, makes his first appearance at Greenbelt in 2008.
Salley Vickers
Salley Vickers is the author of Mr Golightly's Holiday, Instances of the Number 3 and Miss Garnet's Angel. And at Greenbelt this year she will be talking about her most recent book, Where Three Roads Meet.
Simon Parke
“Not famous for being relevant,” according to his website, Simon Parke was a priest in the Church of England for 20 years.
Niall Williams
Hailed by the Irish Times as “a Dickens for the 21st century”, best-selling novelist Niall Williams makes his first Greenbelt appearance on the eve of publication of his new novel, John – a stunning, lyrical re-imagining of John the Apostle in the final years of his life.
Mark Halliday
Mark Halliday was born in Glasgow in 1964 and grew up in various parts of Scotland. He began writing poetry for children, and the title poem of his book Teacher on a Horse won the Times Educational Supplement competition in 2003.
Paul Cookson
When Paul was at school, he would have rather been a footballer than anything else – especially if it meant playing for Everton! A second choice would have been to play rock and roll guitar for a band like Slade. Instead, he wrote poems and became a poet.
Stewart Henderson
Stewart continues to be widely anthologised by the likes of OUP, Bloomsbury and Heinemann and this year saw his work published by the Republic of Ireland Junior Certificate English Syllabus ( equivalent to KS2 / 3 ).
The Greenbelt Poetry Slam : Alison Brumfitt, Lizzie McHale
Together Alison Brumfitt and Lizzie McHale will host Greenbelt’s first Poetry Slam, a fast, fun and furious poetry event in which Greenbelters will battle it out with words and rhythms to try and become ‘Greenbelt Slam Champion 2008’.
The (Bring Your Own) Library
Sofas and standard lamps – that’s what Greenbelt needs more of! This year we’re creating The Library – a room within a room in The Hub – where you can take part in the Great Greenbelt Book Exchange.
Suzanne Bray
Suzanne Bray is Professor of English Studies at Lille Catholic University in the north of France. She specialises in the areas of literature and theology, mainly in Britain, during the 20th century.
Simon Morden
Gateshead-based Dr Simon Morden trained as a planetary geologist, realised he was never going to get into space, and decided to write about it instead.
Grimm Tales - every night in The Hub : Ed Newell
Grimm Tales is a highly unusual series of four meditations exploring the religious meaning of some of the brothers Grimm’s most famous fairy tales: Cinderella, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, and Hansel and Gretel.
Holy Dreams to Feed the Soul : Garth Hewitt, Wilf Whitty
Poems and meditations by Garth Hewitt with photos by Greenbelt designer Wilf Whitty.
The Manga Bible : Siku
Siku comes to Greenbelt to talk about Manga and how he came to create The Manga Bible.
Speaking of Heaven : Cole Moreton, Martin Wroe, Mark Halliday
Literary Venue
Cole Moreton, Martin Wroe and Mark Halliday are three writers with three ways of looking at the world, brought together by their shared belief that words can help us catch glimpses of glory lying glittering in the dust.
Three's a Crowd : Paul Cookson, Stewart Henderson, Ian McMillan
Ian McMillan is joined by Paul Cookson and Stewart Henderson for a big family show with three big poets stretching their lyrical sinews to make you laugh, cry … and join in.
The Hub
The home of Greenbelt’s literature and visual arts strands, The Hub returns this year, with a souped-up programme including big-name novelists and art that everyone can be part of.
The Hub Sandwich : Cole Moreton
Are you getting your five portions of inspiring stuff a day? Take time out to top up with a healthy lunchtime snack at The Hub Sandwich, a feast of words, thoughts, sights, laughs and songs in The Hub every day.
Pádraig Ó Tuama
The unofficial poet of Belfast alt worship iconoclasts Ikon, Padraig has been published in Corrymeela’s community work resources – having written poems that reflect and represent peoples’ stories of what it meant to live in Northern Ireland during the 80s till now.
Greenbelt Literary Quiz
Monday
Who narrates The Great Gatsby? What is the name of the titular horse in C.S.Lewis' The Horse and his Boy? Which novel begins with the line 'I'm Jared, a ghost'? How many titles of Shakespeare's plays feature the name of one of their female characters?
Write to Life : Helen Smith, Stephanie Ndoungo, Jade Amoli-Jackson
The Hub Saturday
Write to Life is the writing group of the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, a human rights organisation that exists to enable survivors of torture and organised violence to engage in a healing process to assert their own human dignity and worth.
Andrew Tate
When he's not watching re-runs of the West Wing, Dr. Andrew Tate lectures in English and American Literature at Lancaster University.
Suzanne Elvidge
After studying biochemistry and pharmacology, and realising that she would far rather write about it than actually do it, Suzanne Elvidge has worked in publishing and journalism for 17 years.
The Twist - family and late night varieties : Paul Cookson
Daytime and nightime fun and frolics with Paul's Cookson's inimitable Twist shows - featuring the Prof on accordian and a host of special guests and surprises.
The Way We Are : Paul Cookson, Stewart Henderson
Talks 1 - Rise Saturday
Paul and Stewart's grown-up poetry show.
