Celebrate Women Writers — and Help Make History
On Saturday 20th June, the Assembly Rooms on North Street come alive with a whole day devoted to brilliant women writers from Sussex and beyond. The Women Writers’ Festis part of the Festival of Chichester programme, and it's our fundraiser for something that’s at the heart of mission at Chichester Women’s History Group: the Madge Turner Statue Appeal, which will give Chichester its first ever statue of a woman, created by a woman, in the heart of the city.
It promises to be a wonderful day — but we want to clear up one thing straight away.
You don't have to come for the whole day
The day ticket covers everything, but you are absolutely not committed to staying from doors-open to close. Pick and choose. Come for the first three talks, or drop in for the last three. Build your own day around the sessions that interest you most, it's entirely up to you.
At £35 including refreshments, the ticket is excellent value whether you stay for two talks or all six — either way, you’ll be helping to fund our Madge Turner Statue Appeal.
What's on
10am - Our MP Jess Brown-Fuller opens the day, and then the programme runs right through to early evening:
10–11am - Kate Mosse CBE — From Carcassonne to Chichester. The No.1 international bestselling author and proud Cicestrian talks about the inspiration behind her multi-million-selling fiction and non-fiction, including Labyrinth and The Taxidermist's Daughter.
11.30am–12.30pm -Who's Who in WSRO Collections. Discover the remarkable women writers hidden in the West Sussex Record Office archives.
2–3pm -Tessa Boase — Fashion, Fury and Feathers. The author of Mrs Pankhurst's Purple Feather shares the extraordinary story of how the fashion for feathers endangered birds — and the women behind the founding of the RSPB.
3.30–4.30pm -Elly Griffiths & Lesley Thomson — Making Crime Pay. Two Sussex-based bestselling crime writers reveal their working practices and how to make crime pay.
5–6pm -Daisy Dunn in conversation with Kate Mosse — The Missing Thread. A new history of the Ancient World told through the women who shaped it.
Waterstones will be running a bookshop throughout the day, and all our authors will be available for signing — so you can take home a signed copy of a book you've just heard.
Come and be part of history
Whether you're a lifelong reader, a budding writer, or simply curious, there's a seat for you — for as long or as little as you like.
But this day is about more than a wonderful programme of talks. Chichester has never had a statue of a woman in its centre, and we intend to change that. Celebrate Women Writers is one of several fundraising events working towards the Madge Turner statue — the first statue of a woman, created by a woman, in the heart of the city. Every ticket you buy helps turn that vision into reality.
So come for the writers. Stay and support our mission of putting women back into history.
Book your tickets via our Talks & Events page.
