A debate pitting the influence of the Bronte sisters against the impact of Jane Austen will feature in this year’s Bronte Festival of Women’s Writing.

Haworth’s Bronte Parsonage Museum is preparing for a busy programme of readings, talks, workshops and family events which will celebrate and showcase women’s writing.

The festival runs from next Friday, August 31, to Sunday, September 2.

Novelist Sadie Jones will be in conversation with writer and poet James Nash about her work and her latest novel, The Uninvited Guests, on the evening of August 31. An exhibition of new poetry by Zoe Brigley and Amanda Dalton, inspired by their previous residencies at the Bronte Parsonage Museum, will go on display in the period rooms of the parsonage for the weekend.

On the evening of September 1 writers Helen Simpson, Tiffany Murray and Claire Harman will debate whether Jane Austen or the Brontes have had the greatest influence on contemporary fiction. The audience will be invited to join in.

There will be a variety of creative writing workshops taking place to help emerging writers develop their own skills. There will also be a series of events for museum visitors and families.

The first Bronte Festival of Women’s Writing was held in September 2010 and was supported by the poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy. The festival is funded by Arts Council England and the Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, and forms part of the parsonage museum’s contemporary arts programme.

Museum arts officer Jenna Holmes said: “The Brontes were pioneering women writers, so it’s fitting that the museum should explore their legacy and showcase the work of both high profile and emerging women writers working today.

“The festival is going from strength to strength and we hope that people will come along and join us, either to listen to our great line-up of speakers, or to try their own hand at creative writing.”

Festival activities will take place at different locations in Haworth, and tickets can be booked from the museum by contacting jenna.holmes@bronte.org. uk or calling (01535) 640188.

PROGRAMME OF EVENTS

Friday, August 31
‘My Last Rochester: Poetry Exhibition’. Venue: Bronte Parsonage Museum. Poets Zoe Brigley and Amanda Dalton publish collections of poetry, featuring work inspired by residencies at the parsonage museum. As part of the festival, poems from Zoe Brigley’s Conquest and Amanda Dalton’s Stray will be exhibited. Exhibition free with entry to the museum.
‘Making up Stories’, 1pm to 3pm. Venue: West Lane Baptist Centre. Want to write fiction but don’t know how? This workshop will explore different ways to generate story ideas and will look at developing ideas into fiction. Tickets £15 and must be booked in advance.
‘Sadie Jones’, 7.30pm. Venue: West Lane Baptist Centre. Sadie Jones’ first novel, The Outcast, won the Costa First Novel Award. Her second novel, Small Wars, was longlisted for the Orange Prize. The Uninvited Guests is a ‘supernatural comedy and spellbinding thriller that strips away the respectable layers of Edwardian society to reveal the dark secrets beneath’. Tickets £6 should be booked in advance.

Saturday, September 1
‘Poetry Masterclass with Amanda Dalton’, 10am to noon. Venue: West Lane Baptist Centre. This workshop explores some of the ways in which historical lives and landscapes – such as that of the Brontes – can be explored through poetry. Tickets £15 and must be booked in advance.
‘My Last Rochester: Reading’, 1pm. Venue: Bronte Parsonage Museum. Amanda Dalton will read from her new collection ‘Stray’, as part of the My Last Rochester poetry installation. Entry free with admission to the museum.
‘Writing from Life’, 2pm to 3.30pm. Venue: West Lane Baptist Centre. A workshop to help people shape their life experiences into interesting prose for a range of styles including memoir, biography, diary and travel writing. Tickets £12 and must be booked in advance.
‘Stormy Sisterhood: Jane Austen versus the Brontes’, 7.30pm. Venue: West Lane Baptist Centre. Charlotte Bronte was dismissive of Jane Austen’s novels, and yet both the Brontes and Austen are extremely popular. Which of them has had the greatest influence on contemporary fiction? Writers Claire Harman, Tiffany Murray and Helen Simpson join the debate. Tickets £10 and should be booked in advance.

Sunday, September 2
A range of fun writing activities will take place at the parsonage museum all day. Join the poetry trail or play a giant Wuthering Heights word game. Activities free with admission.