GIBUNCO
GIBRALTAR INTERNATIONAL
LITERARY FESTIVAL

Following the tremendous success of the first Gibunco Gibraltar International Literary Festival on The Rock in October of last year, The Hon Neil Costa MP, Minister for Tourism, Commercial Affairs Public Transport and the Port, announced that the second festival will be staged in November this year.

Alongside festival director, Sally Dunsmore, and special advisor, Tony Byrne, it was announced that among this year’s speakers and performers will be:

• Kate Mosse – acclaimed novelist and international bestseller, pictured right. Her book Labyrinth was translated into 30 languages. She will be discussing her new novel The Taxidermist’s Daughter

• historian and television presenter, Kate Williams, whose recently published biography is about Napoleon’s Empress, Josephine

• Lord Carey – former Archbishop of Canterbury (1991-2002) who will give an address and preach at the Festival Service at the Cathedral of The Holy Trinity

• Jonathan Fenby – former editor of The Observer and The South China Morning Post. He will give two talks; one on the future of China and the other, as the biographer of General de Gaulle, on the future of France

• Professor Sir Diarmaid MacCulloch, professor of the history of the Church at the University of Oxford and BBC television presenter, discussing his latest book, Silence in Christian History

• Ian Finlayson – author of Tangier, City of the Dream

• Barnaby Rogerson on Marrakesh

• John Hopkins – author of The Tangier Diaries and The White Nile Diaries

• Dr Charles Powell, director of the Elcano Royal Institute in Madrid, Spanish historian and biographer of King Juan Carlos

• Jimmy Burns – former FT correspondent; award-winning writer on Argentina and The Falklands War. His father, Tom Burns, was press attaché at the British Embassy in Madrid in World War II. Jimmy will talk with colleagues about Gibraltar and Spain, Secret War, 1939-1945

• Professor Martin Kemp – former Professor of The History of Art at Oxford. The world’s leading writer and authority on Leonardo da Vinci and author of Christ to Coke – How Images Become an Icon

• Harry Freedman – Jewish scholar and historian. He will talk about his new book The Talmud – a Biography

• Katie and Giancarlo Caldesi with a talk and tasting on the spices and foods of Morocco which influenced Venetian cuisine over the centuries.

  There are two new prestigious Festival Lectures:

• The Gibraltar Chronicle Lecture

• The Kusuma Trust Philanthropy Lecture

  There will be three major music events in November’s schedule:

• The acclaimed Orchestra of St. John with its founder conductor, John Lubbock, playing music chosen by a distinguished festival guest

• A concert with the legendary British Nigerian singer, Patti Boulaye, star of Hair and Carmen Jones – regular performer at The Royal Albert Hall and leading venues

• The Bookshop Band, whose hugely popular music inspired by books and readings have delighted festival and radio audiences all over the UK.

  Three very popular speakers from 2013 will return in November:

• cookery writer and actress, Madhur Jaffrey

• novelist, Joanne Harris, author of Chocolat

• William Chislett, authority on Spain and its culture

  A bespoke schools festival is being organised with the Department of Education. Over two days (Thursday, 13th and Friday, 14th November) the majority of the festival speakers will talk to classes in the schools. This is a unique innovative venture, never undertaken on such a scale by any UK literary festival.

  The title sponsor of the festival is again the Gibunco Group, who have very generously increased their support for the event. Minister Costa said, “We are very grateful to Johnny Bassadone and The Gibunco Group for their outstanding help in getting Gibraltar’s literary festival so quickly established as a major event in the international cultural calendar. Last year’s festival brought us outstanding speakers from around the globe and generated extensive press and media coverage for Gibraltar in the UK press and media, as well as bringing important journalists and opinion formers to our city.

  “The announcement today of the early confirmed speakers for November illustrated the prestige and distinction of the festival. In early September, we will be giving full details of corporate, trust and private donor support for the 2014 festival, which enables the people of Gibraltar to hear and talk with world-class figures.”