Learn to creatively write compelling stories using your own life experience. Discover the heart of your story using your memories and experience. Write fiction grounded in truth. Overcome creative blocks and self-doubt. 

Getting published is all about stepping stones. Writing a manuscript. Polishing it. Submitting it to agents. And then, the hard work starts… Author GD Wright, agent Katie Fulford and editor Anna Nightingale will talk you through the process of getting published, from rough draft to book on the shelves.

Battling your inner critic, structuring your days, pitching for work, building new incomes streams and more. This session will develop the skills you need to survive and thrive as a freelancer. 

Drawing on his own work about Margate’s cultural history and ever-changing face, in this session Iain Aitch will give writers the tools and inspiration to interpret the town in new ways.  

Guided by a mythical Apothecary, come and explore how the power of nature and storytelling can bring hope in the desert of illness. Inspired by Derek Jarman’s ‘garden without boundaries’ and the ecology of Dungeness, Alexandra Le Rossignol’s workshop will provide space to play with words and images. No experience needed, materials provided.

Thanet’s literary scene is buzzing with amazing talent. Hear from a selection of emerging writers sharing their latest work.  

Drawing on her own experience of adapting to life with chronic fatigue following a stroke in 2019, poet Sarah Bowman’s practical workshop explores how the reading and particularly the writing of poetry  move us out of emotional numbness and into a new sense of acceptance, agency and selfhood. 

A panel discussion about queer women’s writing and stories hosted by Margate’s own award-winning comedian, podcaster and author Rosie Wilby. Rosie is joined by Diva magazine editor Roxy Bourdillon and Polari First Book Prize winner Nicola Dinan.  

Chris Plato guides you through puns, adages and idioms, and their use and abuse in the written and visual worlds. He lifts the veil to reveal how writers, artists and wordsmiths have constructed, construed and conveyed this wordplay through the generations. 

Put your literary knowledge to the test for the chance for your team to become the first ever Margate Bookie quiz champions. There will be prizes. It will be fun. And someone will take that crown (there will be no actual crown). Maximum six people per team. 

Bee’s Bookshare is a friendly community of book lovers, coming together to swap books they’ve read and pick up something new. Any type of book and any type of reader is welcome. There are no set books to read, just bring something you’ve loved or loathed to pass on and share the reading buzz. 

Thanet culture newsletter Strange Tourist founders Zita Whalley and Andy Malt speak to a range of guests about different aspects of storytelling. We’ll explore different approaches to several practices from prose to music.

The Story of You uses the power of storytelling to help young people shape their own identities. It gives young people the tools and mindset to build resilience, deepen their self-understanding, and find their voice.  

Art and design students from East Kent College Broadstairs talk about their artwork based on Great Expectations. In this informal chat, they'll tell you how Dickens stretched their imaginations and inspired them to create new work. 

Broadstairs-based Felicity Epps published her debut novel for young adults, A Grave Inheritance, in July this year - the first in a supernatural murder mystery series called the Society of Free Spirits published by Hachette. 

In this session, you’ll think about the questions raised by Kathryn Clark’s debut novel Things I Learned While I Was Dead. We’ll consider the ethics of medical science, humans playing god, the consequences of our choices, and the place of consent in healthcare. 

The Kent Poetry Championships return to Margate Bookie! The Bookie Slam is back for its eighth incredible instalment. Get those fingers snapping for 11 poets from across the South East as they compete for cash prizes and a future shot at the Kent Poetry Championship Belt.

Three crime fictions writers discuss their different approaches to the genre in conversation with Academy FM  presenter Paul Rutters. GD Wright, LV Matthews and Naomi Williams will tell you about inspiration, writing complex characters, and keeping readers on the edge of their seats.  

Join author of The Book of Mysteries, Magic and the Unexplained, Tamara Macfarlane, and Hayley of My Real Fairy Kits to explore mysteries, magic, and the art of potion creation.

Tell Your Own Story uses the power of storytelling to help young people shape their own identities. It gives young people the tools and mindset to build resilience, deepen their self-understanding, and find their voice.  

Join author and illustrator Rachel Tilda Wolf for an interactive story time reading her debut picture book Wolf and the City. This is followed by a fun crafting workshop where you’ll create your own Wolf and Pigeon to take home with you. 

David Whitehouse speaks to Lisa Owens about his latest book, Saltwater Mansions. They will discuss the impact of grief and the dangerous allure of taking true crime stories into our own hands. His second work of creative non-fiction, the book blends reportage and memoir to explore the extraordinary hidden lives of ordinary people. 

Margate-based poets Raymond Antrobus and Victoria Adukwei Bulley talk through their careers in conversation with author Jacqueline Crooks, and share excerpts of their work.  

Join author and illustrator team Lucy Strange and Pam Smy as they share the secrets behind their ghostly new series Lockett & Wilde’s Dreadfully Haunting Mysteries. Get ready for some sneaky peeks into Lucy and Pam’s creative journeys and their sources of inspiration.

Bringing the show into the real world for the first time, they will be recording live episodes with a diverse collection of guests. Will they make friends with all of them? That remains to be seen. But you will definitely hear some interesting chat.  

Jay Rayner tells stories from his 25 years from his career as a restaurant critic in conversation with Sophie Haydock.  

Come and enjoy your favourite nursery rhymes and songs with storytellers bringing them to life. There is something for everyone with classic nursery rhymes - Humpty Dumpty and Old King Cole and some not so familiar, plus draw-along with illustrator and designer Ben Coppin who has re-imagined the wonderful illustrations of Claud Lovatt-Fraser in the new edition of Nursery Rhymes with Pictures.  

Explore the stories behind a selection of antique, rare and esoteric books from the collection of Chris Maund, owner of Books That Expand the Mind.  

Get ready for a hilarious and creative comic book event as audiences join time-travelling penguins Pablo and Splash on their adventures; an unexpected visit to the age of the dinosaurs, a race back to the frozen ice age, and, in their next adventure, a trip to Ancient Rome!

14 Magazine is an annual poetry magazine devoted to poems of fourteen lines only and is published by Vanguard Editions. Join us for the launch of this year’s edition.

Adam Weymouth shares the behind-the-scenes story of his latest book Lone Wolf. The record of a 1000 mile walk across the Alps in the footsteps of a wolf, Adam throws unique light on Europe's mountainous hinterlands at a moment of political and environmental change. 

Join illustrator Garry Parsons for a dinosaur draw-a-long. Learn how to draw the start of the Dinosaur That Pooped series, written by Tom Fletcher and Dougie Poynter.  

Join authors Xiaolu Guo and Jacqueline Crooks for a lyrical and thought-provoking conversation on migration, creativity, and coastal life. Both writers live and work by the sea and bring to this event their powerful perspectives as migrant women whose stories are shaped by the landscapes of the British coast.  

AF Harrold is known for his quirky, funny and surreal poetry. He inspires audiences to play with language, find their voice and never be afraid of the absurd. Prepare for a wild ride with beards, cats, the unexpected and some very short verse, with his latest book, The Pocket Book of Pocket Poems. 

Where do bums come from? Why are they important? Do all animals have a bum? Why are bums so funny? Join Margate's own Crab Museum as they attempt to answer most of these questions in their new book A Natural History of Bums.

The School of Life is a global organisation helping people lead more fulfilled lives. It is a resource for helping us understand ourselves, for improving our relationships, our careers and our social lives - as well as for helping us find calm and get more out of our leisure hours.  

We round off this year’s Bookie with a guided walk from the Turner to the Shakespeare pub.