TV presenter and author Julia Bradbury will kick off a series of talks, poetry, music and performances for Clevedon’s LitFest Summer Festival this weekend.

The literary festival was founded in 2020, in the midst of the covid pandemic, and this year will be its fourth event, running between 5th and 9th June.

Julia will be at the town's Curzon Cinema on June 5th, in conversation with Sow & Arrow co-owner Pauline Cox, to discuss topics covered in her best-selling book ‘Walk Yourself Happy: Find your path to health and healing in nature’ which describes her recovery from breast cancer and her passion for the healing powers of nature.

Other big names taking part in the festival include the critically acclaimed and award-winning poet Liz Berry and psychoanalyst Dwight Turner who will be talking about the psychology of supremacy.

There will also be talks from author Tom Parfitt, adventure activist Jessica Hepburn, and Sunday Times bestseller Christie Watson. 

Other Clevedon LitFest events feature storytellers, local authors, speakers, poets and musicians, all offering an interesting and exciting few days with something for everyone, culminating in a live music event at the town's seafront bandstand with local and global musicians.

The festival will also feature some 'work in progress' projects.  

Clevedon Library will be hosting Martin Reiser and Ralph Hoyte, who are working on a new app about local landmark Poets' Walk. 

This located audio walk will be accessed through smartphones and will feature a selection of new poems inspired by Alfred, Lord Tennyson and Samuel Taylor Coleridge's associations with Clevedon.

The poems used for the audio walk have been sourced from locally-based poets who were asked to write about certain themes that have been explored by the famous writers themselves.

LitFest trustee Annie Robinson said: “This year's Summer Festival has a rich cross-section of artistic forms, including novels, autobiographies, storytelling, poetry performance and live music.

“There are themes about adventure and endurance, wellbeing, facing adversity and appreciating nature, with topics ranging from the High Caucasus to Clevedon Beach, for our community to appreciate and enjoy.”

Details of Summer Festival events and ticketing information are on the Clevedon LitFest website here.