Short Story deadline extended to Sunday 15th August 2010
H.G. Wells Festival
in Folkestone
Wells came to Sandgate in 1896 for the benefit of his health; as it was to his liking, he commissioned Voysey, a well known architect, to build a house in a commanding position overlooking the sea, which became the literary centre of the world in Edwardian times.
His circle included Joseph Conrad, George Bernard Shaw, Arnold Bennett, Ford Madox Ford and Henry James, as well as political figures such as the local MP, Sir Edward Sassoon and his friend Winston Churchill.
Wells stayed for 13 happy years, enjoying the most productive period of his long career. The Sea Lady and Kipps feature the Sandgate and Folkestone area, and The First Men in the Moon has scenes reminiscent of West Hythe nearby.
His romantic life also blossomed at this time, although it initial product, A Modern Utopia, created such a stir in the area where he had become a magistrate that he and his family upped sticks in 1909 for London.
Starting on the century of his departure in 2009, and annually thereafter, Wells Festivals in honour of his genius and those around him are being held. This has been sparked by his great fan, Reginald Turnill, formerly BBC Aerospace Correspondent, who interviewed Wells as a young reporter, and he has built up a strong organising committee.
The festival is centred on The Grand, Folkestone – when William Hague arrived to give a talk on his Pitt book, he exclaimed, ‘What a wonderful building and such a magnificent setting – the perfect place for a literary festival.’
Portrait of H G Wells from a photograph taken during his Folkestone days and signed by him, lately executed for the Festival Committee by Pauline Fitzpatrick
17th,18th & 19th September 2010
Entry Form 2010 (PDF)
Festival Brochure 2010 inc proposed Programme (PDF)
Festival Brochure inc Programme (PDF)
Festival Programme (PDF)
TEN NOMINATED FOR 2009 £1000 PRIZE
Ten short story writers were nominated for Folkestone’s £1000 H G Wells Festival prize. They included a 12 years’ old boy. Stories, handwritten and up to 5000 words in length, came in from the over 80s, as well as teenagers and the 12 year old.
The winner of the annual award, offered by Sandgate Society President, Reg Turnill, 94, was presented with the cheque by Professor Dominic Wells, great grandson of the famous writer, on the steps of The Grand on Sunday 20 September 2009.
The five judges, headed by Ros McCarthy, until recently head of Cobham School for Girls, were unaware of the ages and names of the competitors before they made their selection.
This new 3-day annual Festival celebrates the fact that Wells wrote many of his most famous stories, including Kipps and Mr Polly, when he lived at Spade House, Sandgate, 100 years ago. The award aims to inspire some original new writing talent, particularly among the very young, and perhaps the very old as well.
Here is the list of nominations, in order of age, with the story title and links to the stories of the winner and runners up:
James Riordan, 12 - “Time's Up”
William Jarrett, 13 - “The Invaders from Within” - winner, link below
John Brasington,15 - “My Ascent and Descent from the World”
Jacob Saywell, 15 - “Back toFolkestone”.
Amy Alice Seager, 16 - “Love and Longing”
Andrew Barr, 19 - “History”
Martin Cooper, 22 - “Three Weeks in the Life of a Dreamer named Jones”
David Hunter Pybus, 61 - Three stories “To Sleep, Perchance to Dream”, “Secret of the Sun” and “Fairyland Revisited”
David Cowell, 62 - “The Mother of Surprises”
Michael Umbers, 72 - “A New Tale of the Unexpected”
The Winner
William Jarrett, 13, “The Invaders from Within”
Left to right:
Reg Turnill, Prof Dominic Wells, William Jarrett, Ros McCarthy
HG Wells Festival in Kent – Press release 1.9.09
HG Wells’s books from his Sandgate years 1896-1909 – Press release 1.9.09HG Wells’s Folkestone area background – Press release 1.9.09