Book Festival

From Captain Scott to JFK, from Mother Teresa to Che Guevara, Otto English’s Fake Heroes debunks conventional wisdom about some of history’s biggest names, bringint to light some of the darker truths they would rather have kept buried, while also celebrating unsung heroes. Otto English, aka journalist Andrew Scott, has become one of the country’s … Continue reading "Fake Heroes: Wanstead Book Festival presents Otto English"

Paul Sinha is an award-winning comedian, a quizzing mastermind and a happily-married husband. But for much of his life none of these seemed remotely imaginable. As a boy, Paul struggled … Continue reading "One Sinha Lifetime: Wanstead Book Festival presents Paul Sinha"

A free talk by a local writer David Fulton on the disappearance of Yugoslavia, looking at the country’s diversity (ethnic, linguistic, religious and cultural). After dealing lightly with these issues it will move on to the four years running up to the death of Tito (1980) when he was an English-language lector in Prizren, Pristina … Continue reading "Whatever Happened to Yugoslavia?"

Since 2017, the UK has seen 15 terrible terrorist attacks. But the atrocities we see on our BBC news alerts are the tip of an iceberg – at least twice as many plots have been foiled. Some were thwarted by nerve-wracking undercover operations; others were narrowly averted by heroic citizens, or ruined by the absurd … Continue reading "Plotters: Wanstead Book Festival presents Lizzie Dearden"

Event Postponed: Unfortunately, our host John Rogers is unable to attend due to medical reasons. This event will be rescheduled and all ticket holders offered a transfer or refund (look out for messages by email). One of East London’s most celebrated literary figures, Iain Sinclair has observed and chronicled the changing nature of London, as … Continue reading "Pariah Genius: Wanstead Book Festival presents Iain Sinclair"

Last year, Patrick Marlowe told three ghost stories to an audience of the living and the dead in St Mary’s churchyard. This year, he’s back, and his thoughts have turned to crime. Is there such a thing as the perfect crime? And if there is, how we would know? Patrick’s family moved to Wanstead 50 … Continue reading "Crime Stories with Patrick Marlowe"