The 2004 Wolds Words Festival

24th October 2004

Without writing and literature we would be reduced to relying on such things as reality TV for entertainment. To celebrate the fact that we aren't reduced to this, in 2004 Louth held its fourth annual Wolds Words Festival. From October 21st to 24th events such as readings, celebrity talks, workshops, films and competitions were held around the town.

Julian Fellowes of Gosford Park fame opened the festival with a talk. This was followed by an audience with Barry Norman, who turned out to be funnier in the flesh than he often appears to be on TV. The writer and film critic entertained a packed theatre, and never once said "And why not?".

Workshops included a talk on writing screenplays for the BBC, run by Jessica Dromgoole. Jessica explained how the process of submitting scripts works, and gave plenty of advice for getting one accepted. Cass and Janie Jackson ran another popular workshop for non-fiction writers, and there was also a poetry workshop run by Paul Sutherland. The 2004 festival was bigger than the previous year's, featuring roughly a third more events.

The results of the Write Across East Lindsey competition wrapped up proceedings. The poetry prize, judged by Rennie Parker, went to Steven Wade for "White Wolf on the M62", a contemporary poem that managed to be both dangerous and upbeat at the same time. Runner-up awards went to Pat Wood for "Flat Earth" and Stephen Baker for "Pre-Op". Gillian Ogilvy won the short story section with "I am the woman who sits in that chair", a touching story about a woman living in an old folk's home. Janie Jackson, who with Cass Jackson was judging the short stories, said it was "written from the heart and well deserves first prize."

Betty Page's "The Tattoo", about a grandmother who is far from over the hill, and Peter Ryde's story of a procrastinating artist, "Real Talent", both bagged runner-up awards. The 2004 Wolds Words Festival was well attended, and the competition entries were of a high calibre. Clearly Lincolnshire writers have their fair share of real talent too.