Christian Wolmar to attend GWR book festival in September

Christian Wolmar, an award-winning writer and broadcaster specialising in transport and the author of a series of books on railway history, is to attend the Gloucestershire Warwickshire Railway’s (GWR) book festival from 12:30pm on Saturday 23^rd September 2023. 

Christian has spent nearly all of his working life as a journalist, and his interest in transport began at The Independent when he was appointed transport correspondent in 1992, a job he did until 1997. Although he mainly concentrates on transport matters, he has covered many other social policy issues and has written on a wide range of subjects, from cricket to the Private Finance Initiative.

After graduating from Warwick University, Christian worked on various publications including the Retail Newsagent, Marketing and the Hampstead and Highgate Express. He later moved to the New Statesman and the London Daily News and spent a year working for Camden council editing its magazine.

Christian divides his time between journalism, media appearances and writing books and political campaigning. He writes regularly for a wide variety of publications including newspapers such as The Times and The Guardian – he has written for every national newspaper except the Star - and numerous magazines, such as The Oldie and the Spectator. He has had a fortnightly column in Rail since 1994 and for a time had regular features in Surveyor, Transport Times and TSSA Journal.

Christian is acknowledged as one of the UK’s leading commentators on transport matters. He broadcasts frequently on radio and TV and is a regular pundit on the national news bulletins of terrestrial channels and Sky. Among his numerous feature TV appearances, he has been on Coast, Julia Bradbury’s Railway Walks and the railway programmes presented by Ian Hislop and Michael Portillo, and a series on BBC4 about how the railways made modern Britain.

The book festival, which will be open between 10:00 and 16:00 in the Tim Mitchell Building at Winchcombe station, offers visitors a great opportunity to browse through a selection of books both newly published and old favourites. Books covering all interests, including railways, will be available, plus a number of popular authors and resident writers will be on hand to sign copies.

In addition to Christian Wolmar, confirmed authors for the event include: Mary Lay, David Aldred, Neil Parkhouse, Humphrey Gillott, Stephen Done and Elizabeth Eyre. Other writers who may be seen during the day at unspecified times include: John Cruxon, Nicolas Wheatley, David Capron, Elspeth Fewell and Bryan Nicholls. Opportunities for children to listen to readings from their favourite authors are scheduled to take place throughout the day.

Julia Harwood, Shop Manager, commented: “I’m extremely excited that we are hosting our first ever book festival at the GWR with resident and visiting authors. There will be something for everyone at the event, who loves railways whether they live locally to the railway or are visiting from further afield.”

If you’re a fan of reading and all things literary, then this is an event to write in your diary. For tickets and further details about the book festival, please visit GWR website. A 5% discount is automatically applied to all tickets purchased online.

Find out about upcoming GWSR 2023 events here:

GWSR Book Festival
A Celebration of 25 years in preservation of mainline diesel loco 37215 at GWSR
Autumn Showcase
Santa Express

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For more unmissable events read our guide to summer events in Cheltenham and our ultimate annual Cheltenham festivals guide.