First Marlborough Literature Festival Offers Eclectic Line up Supported by Founder Sponsor the Authors' Licensing & Collecting Society

LONDON, September 13, 2010 - The brand new Marlborough Literature Festival brings together some of the
UK's finest writers to celebrate literature in all its forms in this historic
market town over the weekend of 24/26 September. With fine writing at its
heart the programme includes some of the UK's best known writers as well as
new and emerging talent. The programme embraces adult and children's fiction,
non-fiction, biography, journalism and poetry.

"We are delighted to be the founder sponsor of this new celebration of
literature and writing," says ALCS Deputy CEO, Barbara Hayes. "The Authors'
Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) is a membership organisations run by
writers for writers. One of the ways we promote authors' rights is by
supporting events such as the Marlborough Literature Festival to which fine
writing is so important and lauded as such."

Adult Fiction & Non-fiction

On Friday 24th September, the weekend gets off to an interesting start.
Margaret Drabble will discuss the mysterious relationship between fact and
fiction with Mavis Cheek based on Drabble's recent memoire. Other non-fiction
luminaries in the line up include Lynn Barber, Valerie Grove, Anne Chisholm,
Tim Dee and Rachel Polonsky. The adult fiction element of the programme
includes Louise Doughty, Roma Tearne and Adam Foulds. Christopher Wakling and
Paul Sussman will lead a discussion on the ups and downs of writing
historical fiction.

Children's Writing & Illustration

Children's writing is represented by Cressida Cowell who gives an
illustrated talk about her highly successful Dragon books and Josh Mowll who
will be discussing the do's and don'ts of writing fiction for children and
teenagers.

Poetry

The award winning sonateer and lyric poet Don Paterson will give a short
talk about Shakespeare's sonnets, the subject of his forthcoming book which
offers a highly accessible and illuminating guide to these unforgettable
verses first published in 1609. There is also a Poetry Cafe on Sunday 26
September with readings from twenty poets including The Brickwork Poets from
Reading, the BlueGate Poets from Swindon, Writers in the Brewery from
Cirencester and Marlborough's Riverbank Writers. In addition there will be
poets from Avebury, Chippenham and Stanton St Bernard.

"Marlborough, with its wide market street and lively personality is the
perfect setting for a Literature Festival," says Mavis Cheek, Chairman of the
organisers. "I can't think how the town has existed for so long without us,
especially given its literary connections - from William Golding living on
the Green, to Siegfried Sassoon and John Betjeman who were both educated at
the College. Fine writing has always been part of the literary connection
here and that is what sits at the heart of this festival. So many festivals
have become more about celebrities and their books than about literature and
we want to redress that imbalance."

Editors' Notes

Marlborough Literature Festival Box Office Pound Arts Trust Limited,
Corsham, +44(0)1249-701-628

See also www.marlboroughlitfest.org

Founder Sponsor: ALCS collects fees on behalf of the whole spectrum of UK
writers: novelists, film & TV script writers, literary prize winners, poets
and playwrights, freelance journalists, translators and adaptors, as well as
thousands of professional and academic writers who include nurses, lawyers,
teachers, scientists, and college lecturers. All writers are eligible to join
ALCS: further details on membership can be found at www.alcs.co.uk

The Society collects fees that are difficult, time-consuming or legally
impossible for writers and their representatives to claim on an individual
basis: money that is nonetheless due to them. Fees collected are distributed
to writers twice a year in February and August. Since its inception, ALCS has
distributed over GBP230 million to the nation's writers.

Website: www.alcs.co.uk

Contact information: ALCS, The Writers' House, 13 Haydon Street, London, EC3N 1DB Tel: +44(0)20-7264-5700; email alcs at alcs.co.uk; ALCS Press contact; Becca Wyatt +44(0)1798867117, +44(0)7801061420, rebecca.wyatt at virgin.net; MLF: Jo Del Mar PR for Arts +44(0)1672-563386, +44(0)7711168109, millsfarm at hotmail.co.uk