Tag Archives: rachel johnson

Soho Literary Festival Returns September 2014

Posted on by

Soho Literary Festival 2014

Stephen Fry, Michel Roux and Antonia Fraser headline at the Soho Theatre

Wednesday 24th September – Sunday 28th September

www.soholitfest.com

•An end-of-summer, long weekend of literary delights hosted in the Soho Theatre on Dean Street, in the capital’s liveliest district

roux

•Stephen Fry to star in an exclusive event on PG Wodehouse on Friday 26th September.

•Interactive events such as the literary quiz with teams led by Rachel Johnson and Giles Coren, and a masterclass on matching wine with food led by Tom Parker-Bowles and Rowley Leigh.

soholiteraryfestival

paulbirston

•The 2014 line-up also includes Antonia Fraser, Michel Roux, Stephen Frears and Russell Norman

•Presented by The Oldie magazine and supported by Waitrose Cellar and Arts Council England

 

Soho Literary Festival, sponsored by Waitrose Cellar and supported by Arts Council England, marks its fourth anniversary on the London literary calendar in September 2014. With 36 unique events all taking place under one roof, the iconic Soho Theatre on Dean Street, the festival is set to take the capital by storm.

Visitors are invited to spend the weekend getting up-close and personal with their literary heroes, in the theatre’s three auditoria or mingling in the bar where regular signings will take place. The events and speakers have been carefully curated to inform and excite festival-goers with a programme encompassing art, music, food, comedy and plenty of author shenanigans.

 

stephenfry

 

Highlights include headline act Stephen Fry on the profound effects Wodehouse had on his life; panorama journalist Tom Bower delving behind the public facade of Richard Branson; Michel Roux and Russell Normanon the art of good service in restaurants; pre-eminent rock journalist Mark Ellen opening the festival to discuss forty years of life in the ludicrous music business; Britain’s most successful potter Emma Bridgewater in conversation with her illustrator husband Matthew Rice; and historian Peter Snow on the unknown tale of when Britain burned down the White House.

Further headline acts and returning favourites include an informative and humorous lesson on how to spot a psychopath led by Professor Simon Baron-Cohen, an in-depth Q&A with the Oscar-winning director Stephen Frears, and the sell-out one-stop literary smorgasbord hosted by Craig Brown & Friends.

 

Confirmed Soho Literary Festival Speakers:

Stephen Fry, Michel Roux, Antonia Fraser, Brian Sewell, Simon Baron-Cohen, Virginia Ironside, Russell Norman, Tom Parker-Bowles, John Julius Norwich, Christian Wolmar Simon Jenkins, Loyd Grossman, Craig Brown, Peter Snow, Rachel Johnson, Mark Ellen, Giles Coren, Kerry Daynes, Harry Mount, Valerie Grove, Chris Yates, Ferdinand Mount, Marcus Berkmann, Antony Beevor, Stephen Frears, Rowan Pelling, Kate Harrison, Rosie Boycott, Imogen Edwards-Jones, Bill Knott, David Kynaston, Paul Burston, Jeremy Lewis, Lizzie Enfield, Emma Bridgewater, Rowley Leigh, Tom Bower, Tom Ward, Will Hodgkinson, Geordie Greig, Simon Garfield, Dan Cruickshank, Sam Leith, John Sutherland, David Hepworth, Jerry Brotton, Roger Bannister, James Le Fanu, Chris Mullin, Andrew Billen, James Pembroke, Sarah Boseley, Dave Runciman, Tim Bryars, Dr Tom Stuttaford, Jonathan Meades, Mikey Cuddihy, Tom Harper, Owen Jones, Oliver Kamm, Michael White, Dan Kieran, Nigel McCrery,, Matthew Rice, Jerry White, Irma Kurz, Katherine Whitehorn, Shaun Usher, Mark Lawson, Assem Malhotra, Abbie Ross, Mikey Silverman, Dick Traverne, Merryn Somerset-Webb, Martyn Vander Weyer.

 

 

Jessica Ennis, Andy Murray Make Who’s Who

Posted on by

Who’s Who in 2013?

The new edition of Who’s Who is out with some exciting new entries. Including some of Britain’s brightest athletes.

The 165th edition of Who’s Who brings together over 33,000 autobiographical entries from people of, influence and interest in every area of public life. Featuring just over 1,000 entries new for this edition, Who’s Who 2013, published on 3rd December 2012, celebrates the achievements of British Society. An invaluable research tool and a unique way of measuring social change, it is the longest established and most comprehensive general biographical reference book. An invitation to appear in Who’s Who recognises lasting distinction and influence. An entry in Who’s Who is for life.

Preface by Arianna Huffington

Arianna Huffington, President and Editor-in-Chief at the Huffington Post Media Group, is a new biographee for the 2013 edition. She has written this year’s foreword, in which she considers the ways in which technology is rapidly transforming the media.

Olympic Idols

Included for the first time in the 2013 edition is Heptathlon darling, Jessica Ennis, who won gold at the 2012 Olympic Games. At just 26 years old, her impressive resume includes an Olympic gold, two World Championship medals, two World Indoor Championship medals, a European Championship medal and a Commonwealth Games medal.

Double Olympic gold medallist, Mo Farah makes a welcome entry this year, as does professional tennis player and Olympic gold medallist Andy Murray. Born in 1987, Murray is the youngest non-hereditary new entrant.

Entertainment

Presenter and journalist, Gabby Logan is a new addition to Who’s Who 2013. She represented Wales in rhythmic gymnastics at the 1990 Commonwealth Games, before carving out a career in broadcast where she recently presented at the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Included in the 2013 edition is author and Times columnist Caitlin Moran, who was named Critic of the Year and Interviewer of the Year at the 2011 British Press Awards. She lists her recreations as ‘hair biggening, cava, eyeliner, The Struggle’.

Comedian and songwriter Tim Minchin, who composed the music for Matilda the Musical is included in Who’s Who for the first time, as is fellow comedian Richard Ayoade. Richard starred in The IT Crowd and has directed music videos for the Arctic Monkeys and Super Furry Animals, amongst others.

Cooking Sensations

Two star Michelin chef, Michael Caines is a new biographee for the 2013 edition. Head Chef at Gidleigh Park in Devon and Bath Priory, Michael appeared in Celebrity Masterchef 2011 and is one of Britain’s most acclaimed chefs. He is joined by Nathan Outlaw, another South West based chef, who enjoys ‘collecting cookery books’. Star Wars fan Nathan is a two star Michelin chef who has two restaurants at the St Enodoc Hotel, in Cornwall.

Family Connections

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson’s brother Leo, Partner of PricewaterhouseCoopers Sustainability and Climate Change and sister Rachel, Editor-in-Chief of The Lady, are new names for 2013. Boris, another brother Joseph and father Stanley are already in Who’s Who making them one of the most successful families in the yearbook.

Another well-connected new entrant is Rachel Wolf, Director of the New Schools Network, who began her career as a researcher for Boris Johnson and whose mother and father are both already in Who’s Who.

Trivial Pursuits?

Lord Haskins, former Chairman of Northern Foods and Express Dairies plc, has updated his recreations to include ‘only-in-emergency harvest tractor-driver’, while Zai Bennett, Controller of BBC 3, and a new entrant for the 2013 edition, reveals his pastimes to include ‘impersonating primates for baby daughter’.

Writer and broadcaster on architecture and design, Thomas Dyckhoff’s recreations include ‘gluttony, staring out of the window, butchery and pie-making’ and Antonia Romeo, Director General of Transforming Justice at the Ministry of Justice, enjoys ‘Star Wars, Lego’. Host of Radio 2’s The Art Show, Claudia Winkleman, is another welcome addition to the 2013 edition. She lists her recreations as ‘sleeping, cuddling and bothering the children’.

Who’s Who in Numbers

4.5 tonnes – the weight of Who’s Who if all the UK’s inhabitants were in it (the weight of an Asian elephant!). It would be 94 metres thick, which is the height of the O2.

6th – where Who’s Who would have come in the medal table if it had been a team at the London Olympics (12 golds, 4 silvers)

80 – the number of jumbo jets it would take to transport everyone in Who’s Who

91 – the age of the oldest new entrant in Who’s Who 2013, Professor Yoichiro Nambu, Emeritus Professor at the University of Chicago

Who’s Who 2013

Published by A&C Black, 3rd December 2012

Hardback £235.00

Print-and-online edition £325.00 (available from Oxford University Press, visit www.ukwhoswho.com