THIS year’s Words by the Water line-up has been announced with a host of top names in the frame.

Renamed Words by the Water, Festival of Words and Ideas, to tie with its tenth anniversary, it runs at Keswick’s Theatre by the Lake, from March 4-13.

Maureen Lipman, Claire Tomalin, Michael Frayn, Raymond Blanc, Melvyn Bragg, Roy Hattersley, Brian Moore, Roger Scruton, Peter Snow, AC Grayling, Joanne Trollope and Michael Buerk are all included in the illustrious list of more than 100 speakers.

And Sky Arts HD has become the Broadcast Partner of the 2011 festival, and on Saturday, March 12, it will record two editions of The Book Show at Words by the Water, both presented by Mariella Frostrup. The 9.40am-11am programme will include Joanna Trollope, Valerie Grove,and Jackie Kay. The second show, from 12.10pm-1.30pm, features John Simpson, Salley Vickers and Chris Mullin. Both will be broadcast on Thursdays at 7pm on Sky Arts 1 HD at a later date.

Another festival innovation is the Sky Arts Den in the theatre’s circle gallery, where visitors will find workshops, performances and many events to kick start their creativity in all areas. People can sign up for the workshops at the theatre from Friday, March 4.

Sky Arts will also run its Sky Arts Get Creative Fund at the festival, which offers one person the chance to win a £1,000 to fund a course on their creative passions. Visitors to the festivals will be invited to describe why they feel they deserve a scholarship, and which talent they would like to pursue. The winner will be asked to write a weekly blog on the Sky Arts website as they develop their talents.

Ten years ago festival directors Kay Dunbar and Stephen Bristow visited Theatre by the Lake, said they saw the sunset over Derwentwater, and decided that it would be a perfect venue for a Cumbrian literature festival.

Explained Kay: “It’s been very gratifying to find such enthusiasm for ideas and literature in Cumbria. The festival has a very faithful following. Some people have been to all 10 festivals and look forward to receiving the programme each year. It is definitely part of people’s cultural calendar now. As the festival is now very well established nationally lots of people are travelling from all over the UK to stay around Keswick to come to events. It takes 10 years to reach this level of involvement from people.

As regards Sky’s involvement, Kay said the broadcaster had heard good things about the festival: “Sky Arts is the only television station with a book programme so they were keen to record two programmes using the Theatre by the Lake as a venue and our writers for participants.”

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