Daytime sessions in the Red Room 22nd March
A whole day of readings, talks, presentations, discussions and opportunities to get involved with creative writing at all levels.
Tickets options are
– £8 per session in advance
– £10 per session on the door (subject to availability)
We will try not to allow changes to the programme to occur, but things happen, and your understanding in that circumstance is appreciated 🙂
In the Red Room
10:00 – 11:00
Roger Morgan-Grenville
The Restless Coast
Britain is defined by the dynamic, mysterious and fragile coastline that surrounds it. In this moving and beautiful account, Roger Morgan-Grenville tells the story of his marathon journey around that coast, explains some of the key challenges and opportunities he found and celebrates the people who are trying to protect and enhance it.
At once angry, hopeful and funny, The Restless Coast is a love letter to an extraordinary national treasure, and a clarion call for us to understand it better.
11:15 – 12:15
Damian Le Bas
The Stopping Places and The Drowned Places
What do ‘drowned places’ and ‘stopping places’ have in common? They might both be called ghostly geographies: one of the sea, the other of the land. Damian Le Bas spent a year living a van sleeping in ancient Romany Gypsy campsites, and another few years exploring human sites reclaimed by the life of the ocean. In this talk he explores what unifies these two kinds of place which might at first appear to be so different, and the mysterious things we might find in them, including new realms within ourselves.
Damian Le Bas (jr) is a writer and artist. His bestselling first book The Stopping Places was published in 2018 to critical acclaim and won several literary prizes including a Somerset Maugham Award. Damian read Theology at Oxford University and is a native speaker of the Romany language. His visual art has been shown internationally and his poetry and essays are widely published. Damian’s second book The Drowned Places was released in 2025 and nominated for a Maritime Foundation Best Book award. He grew up in Sussex where he lives with his partner and their two girls. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature.
12:30 – 1:30
Sam Meekings
Wonder and Loss: A Practical Memoir for Writing about Grief
Sam Meekings will discuss his latest book, Wonder and Loss: A Practical Memoir for Writing about Grief (Bloomsbury, 2026). A braided memoir that interweaves his personal journey through grief with a guide on how to write about it, this book is both an account of the death of his younger brother and a step-by-step breakdown of the memoir writing process.
Sam will discuss the background behind the book: the tangle of emotions surrounding grief (rage, regret, confusion, sadness, longing) and how structured writing helped him articulate and thereby process the loss of his brother.
Sam will explain how we can use writing strategies and tools to both forge a pathway through grief and also preserve precious memories. It will cover tips for both individual writers and for those running workshops or teaching sessions. The talk will share theories from the worlds of neuroscience, neurology, psychology and creative writing, and explain how these can be translated into processes writers can use to remember those lost and to rediscover themselves. The talk will cover how to write through difficult traumas and how to teach writing to those struggling without triggering or re-traumatizing.
2:00 – 3:00
Jean Sprackland
Night Vision: In search of the true dark
We humans have a complicated relationship with the dark. We fear it, and make great efforts to blot it out. But we also long for it, especially if we live in cities, or remember the starry skies of our childhoods. Darkness opens us up to risk, delight and transformation. Is it possible to prise it free of its negative associations, which are as old as human thought itself?
Drawing on memory and imagination, history and ecology, literature and myth, Night Vision is an expansive, thrilling journey into the true dark. In her quest for a new, more intimate relationship with darkness, acclaimed poet and writer Jean Sprackland finds herself confronting some of the deepest – and darkest – questions about who we are and our place in the world.
Jean Sprackland’s book Night Vision: In search of the true dark was published in November 2025. Her previous works of non-fiction are Strands, which won the 2012 Portico Prize, and These Silent Mansions in 2020. She is also the author of five poetry collections, including Tilt, which won the 2007 Costa Poetry Award. Goyle, Chert, Mire, a book-length sequence of poems, will be published in April. Jean is Professor of Creative Writing at Manchester Metropolitan University.
3:15 – 4:15
Rosie Howard
We are all story-telling creatures
Rosie Howard explores how all humans uniquely share the instinct to shape our lives into stories and discusses what it is that makes a good story anyhow. She also discloses how she has used startling episodes of her own life in her books, and how writing fiction has helped her to understand and come to terms with a rather unusual challenge.
*Signed copies of ‘The Homecoming’ – the first in a series of novels set in and around Arundel – will be available at the special Festival price of £5.
Rosie Howard (who also writes as Poppy Alexander) lives locally with her husband, children and other pets. She takes an anthropological interest in village and small-town life, transforming what she observes into uplifting, heartwarming books that sometimes explore difficult themes, touching on family, friendships and love in all its forms. Rosie/Poppy has sold eight novels to major publishers in the UK and the US. Her work has been translated into several languages and optioned for television.
4:30 – 5:30
James Doyle
Nine gateways to reading and writing
A brief introduction to nine books that are both important in themselves, and are gateways to whole areas of writing and reading. Covering everything from children’s books to modern fiction and non-fiction, while avoiding being just another list of ‘The Classics’.
James is the owner and proprietor of The Crow Road Bookshop on Arundel High Street. A lifetime of loving books led to him first becoming a bookseller 30 years ago, and he loves connecting readers with the ‘right’ book for them. Outside the world of books, James had a long career in local politics, and is an experienced amateur actor and director.
See also…
Friday daytime workshops 10am – 4:30pm in the Studio – click here for full details
Saturday daytime sessions 10am – 5:30pm in the Red Room – click here for full details
Saturday evening concert 7:30pm in the Red Room – click here for full details
In The Green Room
Orientation desk explaining what’s available and when.
Ticket office taking cash and card payments.
Book stall selling signed copies of each contributor’s books. Cash and cards accepted.
Breakout area serving tea and coffee. Bring your own buns!
Volunteers
If you’d like to be involved in any way with the day as a volunteer please email events@thevictoriainstitute.com.