The South East’s inspirational festival of literature and arts
The South East’s inspirational festival of literature and arts
The South East’s inspirational festival of literature and arts
The South East’s inspirational festival of literature and arts

Rosalind Turner & Shoreham Wordfest

This month Shoreham Wordfest's found and director Rosalind Turner done an interview with INSIDE Shoreham & Southwick Magazine. Read below the content of the interview in the exact, if you like you read the INSIDE Shoreham & Southwick Magazine, please visit here.

This month we had the pleasure of meeting Rosalind Turner, founder of Shoreham Wordfest…

How long have you lived in Shoreham?

I moved to Shoreham from Brighton twenty-one years ago; some friends and I acquired a beach hut here and gradually Shoreham seduced me. Initially it seemed a big change from city life but the town has become a vibrant and very desirable place to live. There are more families with young children here now. Ropetackle Arts Centre, Ferry Bridge and Farmers’ Markets are key attractions.

What do you most like about living here?

Our glorious environment – the River Adur, a long unspoilt beach, above us the South Downs. A lively and quirky centre, easy transport along the coast and to London. Best of all, it has a dynamic, creative, and passionate community.

What is your favourite shop?

Shopping locally, we have great independent traders, but my absolute favourite is the High Street Co-op store! So convenient, cheerful, open all hours, I often meet people I know there.

So 13 years ago you started Shoreham Wordfest! What gave you the idea for it?

Always immersed in literature and the arts, I often visited the Hay Literary Festival. Having worked away for a number of years on returning to live here full-time some friends and I decided to try a Shoreham literary festival. We attracted an enthusiastic response with 15 people meeting in a café in April 2011. By September we offered a weekend of poetry, readings, talks, and plays. Thirteen years having grown significantly, the festival is still community-based, entirely voluntarily organized by a hard-working team.

What would you say was the fundamental purpose for the festival? What does it aim to achieve?

A festival that celebrates words, written, spoken and sung, not just literature, taking place in the autumn to complement the summer Art Trail. We seek to promote local creativity, developing Shoreham’s passion for reading and discussion while attracting new and inspirational speakers, authors, and performers.

Tell us a stand-out memory from your 13 years running Shoreham Wordfest…

Great memories of early days, with events in small, quirky venues like The Loft and local houseboats. Hairy, scary moments getting our audience up rickety stairways and on and off boats in the dark and rain, building stage sets moments before the start and running our own bars.

Authors and performers can be delightful to meet but can also be difficult and demanding at times such as Jenny Murray turning up with three dogs we had to look after while she was speaking, John Humphrys who was perpetually petulant and contributors who arrived thirty years older than their publicity photos!

Probably the stand-out moment for me was with Lemn Sissay last year. He was full of exuberant energy bringing thousands of his Facebook followers live with him onto the Shoreham Centre stage and then treating the packed audience of 300 people to a funny, thoughtful and poignant performance. He stayed for hours for book signings giving every person special attention. It felt like a glorious culmination of 12 years from cafe talks to a performance bigger than the Charleston festival, as he told us afterwards.

What has the festival in store for us this year?

It is a packed programme with some big names Caroline Lucas, Sam McAlister, Kate Mosse, and Hugh Bonneville. We always have an international and current affairs discussion which is very popular. This year we have two very experienced foreign correspondents talking about Ukraine and the Middle-East situation. Our Any Questions panel has four national figures involved in political and social activism.

Our audience always likes local history and we have a whole day, “Sussex Lost and Found” exploring life from the middle ages onwards. The third “Fatal Shore” all-day festival of crime writing which attracts people from across the country and this year we even have a booking from Norway!

We offer walks, talks, local authors, writing workshops, and an open mic slam. A one-woman play about Nell Gwynn and another about a science fiction writer who concealed their identity. We have Ghostly Tales in the Marlipins Museum and two children’s events. We try to keep our tickets affordable and to ensure there is something for all interests.

Tell us any plans you envision for upcoming years…

Wordfest has grown and changed over the years, and we always take time to review after each festival. We need to adapt to suit the audience as we are totally dependent on ticket income to fund the programme. We also need to work with other arts providers in the town and the local businesses. Culture is always evolving, particularly for younger people but people still enjoy meeting in real life, sharing an experience and getting involved. We welcome both new ideas and new volunteers!

Read the INSIDE Shoreham & Southwick Magazine here

Coming up in 2024
Annual Shoreham Wordfest "Making Waves" 29th Sept – 20th Oct 2024
Fatal Shore Crime Fiction day October 19

Shoreham Wordfest is a voluntary organisation and registered charity number: 1163258.