Following last May's phenomenally successful eighth Festival, plans are now well underway for the ninth Swindon Festival of Literature from 1 to 11 May 2002.

Top billing must go to former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (on the twentieth anniversary of the Falklands War) with her new book Statecraft. Her outing to the town will be one of the few public speaking engagements she will give to promote it.

But whilst the Festival has been able to book its biggest ever name, Swindon Council could be about to handbag the Swindon Festival of Literature as it looks for cuts in expenditure to balance its books for next year.

Lauded in Swindon's official bid to become a city, the Festival is the town's premier cultural event and has become highly regarded in literature circles around the country. However, the Ł6,000 funding it gets from the council comes from its 'other arts activities' budget which looks as if its going to be cut completely in an attempt to protect departments run directly by the authority.

Other authors and speakers booked to appear include Mo Mowlem on the publication date of her first book Momentum; controversial columnists and novelists Will Self and Howard Jacobson; bestselling fantasy writer Terry Pratchett; actress and writer Sarah Miles; brain theory supremo Dr Steve Jones; comic writer broadcasters Arthur Smith and Jenny Eclair; television art critic Matthew Collings; and many more!

The ninth Swindon Festival of Literature starts high on a ridge in Lawn Woods at 5.30am on 1st May with the ever-popular Dawn Chorus, where festival followers gather for an early-morning carnival of poetry, song, storytelling, and dance, plus a good deal of mayday morning mischief. During the subsequent 11 days the Festival, recently hailed one of the leading cultural events in the West, includes the fourth Clive Brain Memorial Lecture, the now nationally-famous Swindon Performance Poetry Slam competition, and a wide range of literary talks, performances, discussions, and readings at arts venues, libraries, schools, pubs, parks, and even woodlands in and around Swindon.

Festival Director Matt Holland says,"This Festival has become a fantastic celebration for Swindon of things well written and things well said. Something between a cultural communion and a literary frolic. People have a great time, get together, meet authors, join in good talk, and make discoveries. It is very exciting! "

The 2002 Festival has been made possible by financial support from Dominic Winter Book Auctions; the University of Bath in Swindon; Southern Arts; Lower Shaw Farm; and support in kind from numerous other local organisations and individuals.

The full Festival programme will be published in March. To go on the Festival mailing list, telephone 01793 771080 or e-mail swindonlitfest@lsfarm.globalnet.co.uk

For further information, telephone 01793 771080