Guest Directors

Ben Fogle

Ben is one of our greatest modern travellers. The fact that he has completed these amazingly arduous journeys: going to the South Pole, racing through the Sahara and rowing across the Atlantic will give the Festival a flavour of what it's like to be a real life adventurer.

Anjum Anand

Anjum joins us to help programme our very first Food Day. We'll have a special kitchen set up in our venue and food events and demonstrations taking place all day. Anjum's cooked in restaurants all over the world and will be creating her wonderful dishes live on stage.

Mike Atherton

With the approach of the 2012 Olympics, this year we devote an entire series of events to sport. Mike's got some fantastic ideas and we're thrilled to have such a great sportsman at the heart of our new series.

Jo Shapcott

We're keeping poetry at the heart of the Festival and Jo's a wonderful poet. Her recent collection, Of Mutability, won the most recent Costa Book of the Year with the judges commenting 'if any poetry book could capture the spirit of life in 2011, this would be it.

A L Kennedy

We're bringing literature to life and we've got a terrific Guest Director to help us do it. She'll be doing a brilliant one-off event with Music Festival favourite James Rhodes, delving into the paranormal with the Science Festival's Richard Wiseman, and looking at protest and protest songs with comedian and activist Mark Thomas.

Previous Guest Directors

Since the inception of the Guest Director programme at the Festival in 2000, we are delighted to have attracted a range of leading figures from a variety of fields who curated some inspirational, engaging, unforgettable, hilarious, and cutting-edge events. While in previous years the Festival has welcomed two Guest Directors each year, 2009 saw us working with ten Guest Directors as part of the Festival’s 60th anniversary celebration. Since then we have looked at inviting five leaders in their field to join us — and we’re looking at doing the same for 2011 (and beyond)!

Mary Beard (2010)

The renowned writer and Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge programmed events on the classical world and their application to the modern world. Her events included: How to Read a Latin Poem with ancient poetry expert Llewelyn Morgan; The Ancient Booker (with a panel including Germaine Greer and Peter Stothard introducing the audience to their favourite classical title); and Swords, Sandals and Celluloid (an exploration of the classical world on film).

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2009)

Celebrating exceptional writing from around the world, the events programmed by the bestselling author of Half of a Yellow Sun included Jackie Kay & Jon McGregor in conversation; novelists Diran Adebayo & Biyi Bandele in conversation; and a panel discussing the challenges of writing memoir — fact and fiction — with Jason Cowley, Colin McCann & Binyavanga Wainaina.

Simon Armitage (2009)

The prize-winning poet explored his notion that “literature seems to me to be more diverse than it ever was.” His events included: Tim Dee, author of The Running Sky, in conversation with Armitage about the poetry of birds; and legendary punk-poet John Cooper Clarke.

Alice Roberts (2009)

The anatomist and author set out to “capture the excitement of journeys of discovery — which can be both physical and metaphorical; I’m interested in the creative aspects of science and art.” She invited geneticist Stephen Oppenheimer to talk about the story of humanity’s migration across the globe; and Robert Bickers to discuss his account of post-WW1 Shanghai.

Kate Adie (2008)

The events programmed by the iconic war-zone journalist explored “the blue pencil of political correctness… just how did we erect barriers to our expression?” She spoke to extraordinary people who walk into danger on a daily basis; interviewed Edward Stourton on the complex language games of political correctness; joined Nick Cohen to discuss the controversial history of political correctness and whether it is actually any use as a weapon against discrimination; and interviewed Clarissa Dickson Wright on food-PC.

Ian Rankin (2008)

The much-admired author and creator of Rebus programmed events around the year 1968, and invited favourite authors and thinkers to “look back to notions of censorship, sex, and the taboo, as well as looking forward as the future of the written word.” He promised “art, crime, dissent and even perhaps a helping of controversy.” He invited Tony Benn and AC Grayling to discuss the reverberations of 1968; Jilly Cooper about sex on the page from the sixties to the noughties; and Frances Fyfield and Russell James on British crime fiction.

AC Grayling (2007)

In his series of Arts & Letters events, the eminent philosopher and writer chose to explore “how the arts are faring, and what they are telling us about our contemporary world.” He programmed events involving him in conversation with several arts practitioners, including Michael Berkeley on music, Claire Tomalin on biography, Charles Saumarez Smith on painting, Christopher Hampton on theatre, and Carlos Acosta on dance.

Patrick Neate (2006)

Neate wrote that “as a writer I’m fascinated by the stories that we tell about ourselves because I believe these are really our chains — true and false, imaginative and received, chosen and imposed, new and outdates.” He programmed the Book Slam Cabaret Night (literary nightclub involving the country’s best live storytellers including DJ and poet Charlie Dark and others); Gautam Malkani & Binyavagna Wainaina on authenticity; and the event New Grub Street?, exploring the worlds of publishing and bookselling, involving Neate, Ion Trewin, author Susan Hill, and a bookseller and trade commentator.

Roger McGough (2006)

In his written introduction in the Festival brochure the wonderfully versatile poet simply stated that he wanted to use the opportunity “to invite everyone to poetry party,” and his selection proceeded in this celebratory vein. His events included: Simon Armitage & Paul Farley on the challenges of writing for and about contemporary society; poets Brian Patten & Sophie Hannah in conversation; McGough and Hunter Davies about their lives and times.

Dominic Dromgoole (2005)

Just as he was about to start as Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe, the director and writer came to Cheltenham to explore how “theatre continues to re-invent itself in interesting and strange directions… I will be asking some of the people I have invited why they think theatre is so firmly rooted in the English soil, and what future directions they think it will be headed in.” He programmed and participated in events with Tony Harrison; director Stephen Unwin on Bertolt Brecht; and an event with two leading theatre practitioners on the boundaries between theatrical naturalism and fantasy.

Michael Rosen (2004)

The former Children’s Laureate and much-loved author wanted to “combine three of my enthusiasms: literature, language and dissenting politics.” His events included Coming of Age in Children’s Literature (examining the exploration of personal development in literature); William Blake (with poet-panellists); an event on how fiction engages with the political; and John Pilger on investigative journalism.

Richard Holmes (2002)

The acclaimed biographer planned a series of events about his art, which he believes “can take us directly into familiar (or even unknown) worlds of history, science, art, literature of philosophy.” Events included The Trouble with Mary Shelley; Claire Tomalin on Samuel Pepys; and AS Byatt & Philip Hensher on how fiction is used to illuminate the past.

Keep an eye on our website for the latest updates on who will be our Guest Directors in 2011 and what exciting events they might have in store for you!

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