Revealed: line up for this year's Books by the Beach in Scarborough

Headliners, bestsellers, filmmakers, and adventurers head to the coast for this year’s Books by the Beach which will run at various venues from Friday April 24 to Sunday April 26.
Jenny EclairJenny Eclair
Jenny Eclair

The bicentenary of Anne Bronte’s birth is the launch event and will be held at set at St Mary’s Church, where she is buried in the churchyard, on Friday April 24 at 10am.

Anne Bronte loved Scarborough; first visiting the coast as a governess. Writer Samantha Ellis is a Bronte expert and the author of Take Courage: Anne Brontë and the Art of Life.

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Samantha will be talking about Anne’s passion for Scarborough in conversation with Helen Boaden, former head of BBC Radio and festival patron.

Scarborough-based Professor Joann Fletcher brings her knowledge of Ancient Egypt as she offers up Secrets from the Coffin at Scarborough Library on Friday 24 April at 3pm.

Secrets and shocks feature at Books by the Beach in diaries from behind prison bars with Chris Atkins, BAFTA-nominated filmmaker and former inmate of HMP Wandsworth, and author of A Bit of a Stretch.

High profile hostage negotiator Terry Waite shares tales of captivity from the Middle East. Both ex-prisoners feature at Books by the Beach on Sunday 26 April at Scarborough Library.

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Former Deputy Leader of the Labour Party Tom Watson will share his account of how he radically changed the way he ate, lost eight stone and reversed his type 2 diabetes.

His new book on life choices, Downsizing charts how he went from being an individual who was addicted to sugar into someone who took control of his eating and became fit enough to climb Snowdon.

Tom will also feature on the Sunday morning papers panel with Louise Doughty and Helen Boaden.

Jake Jones has worked in the UK ambulance service for ten years. His memoir Can You Hear Me? illustrates the intensity of life on the front-lines of medicine. Jake appears on Friday April 24 at 5.30pm at Scarborough Library.

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Desert survivor Claire Nelson tells her incredible story of courage and determination.

Claire was in her thirties when she took time off and travelled to California to hike. While hiking, Claire fell 25 feet, gravely injuring herself and she lay alone in the desert - mistakenly miles off any trail, without a cell phone signal, fighting for her life. She lay in the elements for four days until she was found - rescuers had not expected to find her alive. Claire’s story hit international headlines.

Meet her on Sunday April 26 at 3pm at Scarborough Library.

Mistresses of suspense are headed by bestselling Louise Doughty who is the dinner guest on Saturday and also panelist

on the Sunday Papers event.

BA Paris introduces her new family drama alongside rising star of the spy genre Charlotte Philby. Charlotte is the granddaughter of Kim Philby, Britain’s most famous communist double-agent.

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The yacht club and lighthouse provide a special venue for award-winning author and journalist Horatio Clare as he shares his adventures to the frozen North with the crew of Icebreaker Otso. A short lighthouse tour is included with ticket for Saturday April 25 at 10am.

James Runcie is an award-winning film-maker and author of 10 novels including the six books in the Grantchester Mysteries series. In October 2014, ITV launched Grantchester, a prime-time series starring James Norton, which aired its fourth season in spring 2019. Join him at the Stephen Joseph Theatre on Saturday April 25 at 1pm.

Stand-up comedian Jenny Eclair is the finale on Sunday April 26 at 7.30pm at the Spa.

Jenny Eclair is the Sunday Times top ten best-selling author of numerous critically acclaimed novels and her TV credits include the Grumpy Old Women series.

She will be discussing her latest novel Inheritance.

Tickets available from The SJT box office early February and brochures at local libraries, bookshops and theatres. Tickets already on sale for Jenny Eclair at The Spa box office.