THE NEW judge of The Great British Bake Off will be the keynote speaker to kick off this year’s Evesham Festival of Words.
Cookery writer and romantic novelist Prue Leith will take to the stage at Evesham Town Hall on Friday, June 30 to formally open this year’s event.
The respected writer hit the headlines when she was named as Mary Berry’s replacement on the iconic show when it moves from the BBC to Channel 4 in 2018.
A varied career has seen her move from journalism to cookery writing and even running a cookery school.
More recently she has turned her talents to writing romantic fiction and has no less than seven novels in print.
“I’m really looking forward to the Evesham Festival of Words, and not just to flog my latest novel, but to hear a raft of great writers, poets, comedians, singers and Evesham’s own Sue Ablett, the mistress of words and their fascinating origins and corruptions,” she said.
Festival Chairman Sue Ablett, said: “Prud is already a household name, but to have landed the Bake Off job is a fantastic opportunity for her to take her career into new territory.
“Our opening night, ‘An evening with Prue Leith’, will allow people to hear, firsthand, about Prue’s career, one which has taken her into the highest echelons in the world of cookery.
“We shall learn about her driving force, her creative instinct and her thirst for new challenges. It’s so exciting, a wonderful opening for a fantastic festival,” she added.
Evesham Festival of Words is supported by local businesses and has three county-based patrons including BBC presenter Michael Collie who has backed the festival since it began last year.
The festival is already presenting fringe events, which run up until December.
Visit www.eveshamfestivalofwords.org or call 07871 285606 for more information and ticket details.
