Fabulous First Night

The Festival's first night began with the excellent, lively (sometimes raucous) final of the BBC Radio 4 Poetry Slam.

Slamming Style:

BBC Radio 4 Producer Sara Davies introducing the event.

Festival Director Jonathan Davidson opening the evening.

The Slam attracted a huge audience of friends, family and poetry fans for a recording of the finalist battling it out for the elusive top spot. The winner, to be announced on National Poetry Day, tomorrow (Thursday 8th October 2009), showed great talent and personality and was the eventual successor of a very good field.

Judges, contestants and audience alike enjoyed almost two hours of pure poetry and performance, all of which promises a great broadcast. Don't miss it, 11pm, Thursday 8/10/09, BBc Radio 4.

Excellent fiction:

Elsewhere at the Festival, the first of our brilliant collection of great literary names arrived in Birmingham. Outcast novelist Sadie Jones, whose new book, Small Wars, is out now, was in conversation with author Kate Pullinger, whose latest novel Mistress of Nothing follows numerous other great works, including one of my favourite books, A Little Stranger. Both novelists have an understanding of the nuances of emotional destruction, particularly in a domestic or familial context, and this brought together their writing experiences in a great conversation.

You may have seen Sadie Jones before, at our Orange Readers Day back in May, where she joined other literary authors including Catherine O'Flynn (appearing at the Festival on Thursday 8th October as part of the Tindal Street Booker Trio celebration, as a contributor to Paint A Vulgar Picture - the anthology inspired by the music of the Smiths on Wednesday 14th October and as a guest on BBC Radio 4's A Good Read on Tuesday 20th October).

And if you missed this, Kate Pullinger will also be a guest on A Good Read, along with Catherine, David Edgar and novelist Helen Cross.

Tonight is now fast approaching, and we are gearing up to welcome Boy In The Striped Pyjamas author John Boyne, in conversation with Angel of Brooklyn author Janette Jenkins at the Birmingham Conservatoire. There are still tickets for this, available by calling 0121 303 2323 or on the door.

WIN FREE TICKETS! BE THE FIRST TO CLAIM!

Tomorrow we are excited to be welcoming Orange Prize founder and great novelist Kate Mosse, with a brilliant new book. We are offering free tickets to this event for the first twenty people to email us : if you would like a pair of tickets, email sara@birminghambookfestival.org now!