Sacristy Press and Durham Cathedral will co-host a virtual Durham Book Festival Fringe programme this week, with all the events live-streamed globally, free of charge.
The Durham Book Festival Fringe will take place live on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter from 6.30pm on Monday 12, Wednesday 14 and Friday 16 October 2020.
This is the seventh consecutive year that the two Durham organisations, Sacristy Press and Durham Cathedral, have co-hosted events, having established the Fringe in 2014.
Richard Hilton, co-founder of Sacristy Press, said:
“This is an amazing opportunity for North East literary talent and creativity to be showcased across the globe. We have co-hosted Fringe events, as part of the Durham Book Festival, with Durham Cathedral for the past seven years but this is the first time the events will be live-streamed globally.”
Four authors, Simon Hewitt, Katherine Tiernan, Frances Ward and Jenny Wilson will be speaking live to book-lovers around the world on everything from the life and legend of St Cuthbert in fiction, to the climate crisis and Marxism.
Marxism and Christianity: Church and Revolution – Monday 12 October at 6.30pm
Simon Hewitt starts with a fresh take on Marxism and Christianity, challenging the audience to consider whether Marxism and Christianity are really as incompatible as many people think. Simon, a research fellow at the University of Leeds, is active in left-wing politics and a lay member of the Dominican Order.
Legend and Literature: The life and death of Cuthbert through fiction – Wednesday 14 October at 6.30pm
Northumbrian novelist Katharine Tiernan will launch the final novel in her St Cuthbert trilogy with a talk about the fascinating life (and death) of the North East’s best loved saint. Caught between their brutal new Norman masters and the Northumbrian rebels, she tells how St Cuthbert’s shrine survived the Harrying of the North to become the foundation of Durham Cathedral.
Preaching for the Planet Like There’s No Tomorrow – Friday 16 October at 6.30pm
Climate crisis will be the focus of the final event when Frances Ward will be joined from Australia by Jenny Wilson to discuss what it is like to live with eco-anxiety and how the church can be at the forefront of the climate debate.
The Reverend Canon Charlie Allen, Durham Cathedral, said:
“It is a real pleasure being able to host these three digital Fringe events alongside Sacristy Press at a time when it has never felt more necessary to support and promote the creative industries in the North East. Each of the talks is on a topic that are crucially important and that increasingly demand our attention in the current climate.
“Covid-19 forced us to quickly adapt to a new way of ‘being church’. This change has seen us fully embrace digital worship and the growth of our online community as a result. We hope that by holding this year’s events online we can reach a wider and more diverse audience than ever before.”
Katharine Tiernan’s novels are available from Durham Cathedral Shop (0191 386 8669), and all of the books discussed at these events can be ordered online from Sacristy Press (www.sacristy.co.uk/dbf20)
No booking is required for these digital events. Simply follow Durham Cathedral (@durhamcathedral) or Sacristy Press (@SacristyPress) on YouTube, Facebook or Twitter. Viewers will be able to ask authors questions through the comment function on each of the social media platforms.
