Cuckfield Life

Cuckfield Bookfest

Welcome to Cuckfield Life’s Cuckfield Bookfest event page. Here you will find our most recent information for everything Bookfest.

As a community interest group, Bookfest relies on the generous support from sponsors, benefactors and friends to help them host brilliant writers and new talents every year.

See also, Cuckfield Bookfest

Quick update 2025

26th September 2025 - Literary Quiz, The Talbot, Cuckfield
3rd October 2025 - Ockenden Manor Supper, Ockenden Manor, Ockenden Lane
4th - 5th October 2025 - Literary events (Queen’s Hall, The Talbot and Holy Trinity Church)

We are very excited to announce that Steve Richards, highly regarded political columnist, journalist, author and presenter, will be joining us for supper at Ockenden this year, on Friday, 3rd October. He will be delighting us with political gossip, plots and intrigues, and a few choice impressions along the way. If you can’t make the supper, Steve will also be on stage on Saturday morning to talk about his new biography of Tony Blair.

Joining Saturday’s political commentary from Iain Dale and Jonathan Sumption’s analysis of the state of democracy today, we have a diverse programme with a refreshingly optimistic take on environmental action in Isabel Losada’s, The Joyful Environmentalist. A special event discussing the work of James Baldwin celebrates the centenary of the African American writer’s birth, with three of the contributors to Encounters with James Baldwin. Crime fans won’t be disappointed either, as Jessica Bull returns Jane Austen to the detective scene in A Fortune Most Fatal and Ciar Byrne introduces us to her second Woolf & Bell mystery.

Sunday elevates the emotional stakes with Anne Sebba’s deeply moving account of The Women’s Orchestra of Auschwitz, a meticulously researched exploration of music’s role in survival during humanity’s darkest chapter. History enthusiasts will be equally gripped by Lucy Hughes-Hallett’s The Scapegoat, chronicling the meteoric rise and fall of George Villiers, the first Duke of Buckingham, while Phil Craig examines the uncomfortable truths of WW2’s aftermath in 1945: The Reckoning.

Children’s events this year include Storytelling with Debutots, using dramatic play, music, games and wrap-around sensory activities to exercise imaginations and develop confidence, and a drawalong session with local author/illustrator and animation director Steve Lenton.

And as a reminder, if you belong to a book group and are looking for your next book to read, our Big Book Group on Sunday evening is Sweat by Emma Healey.
Tickets will go on sale for Friends and Benefactors on Saturday 16th August, and general booking opens Saturday 23rd August. Find out more https://cuckfieldbookfest.co.uk/
We hope you can join us!

Cuckfield Bookfest 2025 dates

We’ll be back this year over the weekend of October 3rd – 5th so do please put the date in your new diary now!

As usual, the Cuckfield Festival management team has been busy planning the programme for 2025. After a quiet January, life got busy in February and we now have several authors lined up.

First up, at 10am on the Saturday morning, is Iain Dale coming to talk about his book on Mrs Thatcher, which is published in June. Iain said he thought 10am might be too early for an audience but we assured him that the people of Cuckfield love a political theme to start proceedings, particularly if it’s Iain delivering it.

Also on Saturday, we have a new venue for a session – Holy Trinity Church. Church Going by Andrew Ziminski is a stonemason’s guide to the churches of the British Isles. This book is a celebration of Britain’s most important and iconic buildings and the historic Holy Trinity Church is the perfect place for this session.

In 2004, Baroness Lola Young became one of the first Black women members of the House of Lords. Eight Weeks tells the powerful story of her determination to defy the odds; she has been an actress, an academic, an activist and campaigner for social justice and a crossbench peer. She is also a very beguiling speaker.

Jonathan Sumption’s latest book, The Challenges of Democracy and the Rule of Law has just been published and is already highly praised. We are particularly lucky to have him as he is very much sought after.

The book selected for the Big Book Group on Sunday evening is SWEAT by Emma Healey whose first book Elizabeth is Missing sold many thousands of copies all over the world. SWEAT is a novel exploring obsession, revenge and control and it will provide lots of points for discussion.

Lots more authors pending at this stage and as usual there will be something for children. Details of all events in due course and the website is the place to go for more information. www.cuckfieldbookfest.co.uk

Mid Sussex District Council August newsletter

Playdays on tour for the summer

Playdays on Tour is coming to a town near you! Ten free events, organised by Mid Sussex District Council, will be held during the summer holidays for children under 10. There’s no need to book, just turn up and join in.

Starting on 29th July in Haywards Heath, and finishing on 27th August in Crawley Down, there will be two events each week, with a variety of different activities. Other venues will be East Grinstead, Hurstpierpoint, Ardingly, Hassocks, Handcross, Burgess Hill, Cuckfield and Bolney.

Visit www.midsussex.gov.uk/playdays for more information. We’ll see you there!


Updating your register details

Mid Sussex District Council has begun contacting residents to ask them to confirm their details on the 2025-26 electoral register. Every year, the Council must complete an annual electoral canvass to update the electoral register and ensure that all residents who are eligible to vote can do so. Households will have already been contacted via post to confirm or update the electoral registration information for their property. Letters will contain information on how to respond to the canvass. Being on the electoral register maintains your credit rating and ensures you can have your say at future elections. www.midsussex.gov.uk/elections- voting/annual-canvass/

To read the full newsletter, pick up your copy of August’s Cuckfield Life or click to enlarge the pictures.

Mid Sussex Choir celebrates 80 years

By Gemma Stedrak-Booth

The Mid Sussex Choir traces its origins to Staplefield in 1943. At the time, Joyce and Don Hayward were farming and missing the joy of singing in a musical group, as they had before the Second World War. By 1946, as Britain began to recover, the couple joined with other local music lovers to form a community choir, led by Hilary Preston. Eighty years on, the Mid Sussex Choir continues to thrive as a vibrant choral group and will celebrate its 80th anniversary in 2026.

Over eight decades, the choir has performed a rich tapestry of music - from classical masterpieces to modern favourites - delighting audiences across Mid Sussex. Much has been written about the health benefits that singing brings, which is an additional benefit to the simple joy of singing with others and having musical experiences together.

Looking ahead, the Mid Sussex Choir is preparing a spectacular Anniversary Concert: ‘The Last Night of the Proms’ on Saturday 25th April 2026 at All Saints Church, Lindfield. Expect a joyous evening packed with all the Proms favourites, from Elgar’s ‘Pomp and Circumstance’ to beloved singalongs that will lift the roof!

As part of its anniversary season, the choir is warmly inviting new singers of all voice parts - soprano, alto, tenor, and bass - to join for the 2025-2026 season, beginning on Wednesday 3rd September. Whether you’ve sung in choirs for years or are an enthusiastic amateur eager to try, you’ll find a friendly welcome and the chance to be part of something truly special.

To find out more, visit the Mid Sussex Choir’s website at www.midsussexchoir.org.uk, email contact@midsussexchoir.org.uk or come along to a rehearsal and experience it in person. We look forward to meeting you!