On Saturday 8th March 2025, Blandford Literary Festival invites you to the Woodhouse Gardens Pavilion in Blandford, DT11 7AA, to celebrate International Women’s Day, with an exciting programme championing female ability! Not just for women – something for everyone – all are welcome!
Maiden, Mother, Crone? with poet, Melanie Ann Vance. 9.40am – 10.40am
Melanie Ann Vance, says she is a just an ordinary woman born in the UK, a nurse, housing officer and magistrate. But in her 40s, the author of the Time Travelling Poet, moved to Australia where she discovered her gift with rhyme. She uses the writing of poetry to understand herself and to heal, she now lives with her dog, Arthur (her Golden Shadow), in deepest darkest Dorset and continues to document life with verse.
How real women inspired the fiction and non-fiction of authors May Ellis, Felice Hardy, Paula Harmon. 10.55am – 11.55am
From women in the Clark’s Factory during WWI, to a grandmother who fled Nazi persecution to became a UK tennis champion and Britain at the turn of the 20th century as women gain a foothold in the professions, three local writers reveal what spurred them to put pen to paper.
Best Year Yet – Make Your Dream a Reality – a workshop with Nicki Greenham. 12.10pm – 13.10pm
Bring a notebook and pen and let the Dorset artist, writer, spiritual life coach and sound therapist Nicki Greenham help you get clear on what you want, understand what might be getting in the way and develop a practical plan to move forward so your dreams become reality.
Juliet Campbell CMG in conversation with Harry Bucknall. 2.15pm – 3.15pm
One of Britain’s first female ambassadors and Mistress of Girton College, Cambridge, Juliet Campbell joined the British Diplomatic Service in 1957, when only a handful of women served on its 1100 staff. Her lively memoir, Playing Britannia, was described by former Washington envoy, Dame Karen Pierce as “an inspiration for those with ambition”.
Surviving & Thriving in the House that Sat Down with Alice May. 3.30pm – 4.30pm
An unexpected disaster (her house falling down) lead local author Alice May to realise that life was too short not to follow her dream to become a full-time writer. Hear Alice’s story about changing outlook in your forties and finding the courage to reach for what you really want.
Kate Adie CBE DL, in conversation with Nat Wood Fox. 4.45pm – 5.45pm
From the Iranian Embassy Siege to Tiananmen Square, the Gulf War and Bosnia, Kate Adie, journalist, war correspondent and Chancellor of Bournemouth University, discusses her eventful life including how she has seen things change for women across the world, her books and an upcoming novel
Calming session with Finola Brennan of the Cedar Tree. 6.00pm – 6.30pm
After a full day, an invitation from the Cedar Tree’s Finola Brennan to wind down and relax with a gentle guided visualisation and soothing sounds from crystal bowls and chimes. Bring a mat, cosy blanket and settle in.
Tickets from £12.00 – £25.00 for morning, afternoon or all day can be purchased here: blandfordliteraryfestival.co.uk
