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Sat 6th Sep 2025 at 5:30 pm

A Harp and Many Penguins

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Event Details

Bestselling author, Hazel Prior, joins the festival along with her Celtic harp and a stunning array of penguin photos and videos.

Prior’s penguin trilogy Away with the PenguinsCall of The Penguins and Gone with the Penguins are life-affirming adventures featuring a cranky but determined octogenarian, Veronica McCreedy, and her delightful flippered friends. Away with the Penguins is a BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick, a Richard & Judy Book Club pick and a number one bestseller, and Hazel’s novels are now published in 21 languages. The success of her books recently led Hazel across the world on her own penguin adventure.

Hazel will talk about the inspirations behind her novels, share some of her penguin experiences and give readings along with beautiful harp accompaniments. 

Biography

Hazel Prior is the author of 5 bestselling novels: Ellie And The Harp Maker,Life And Otter Miracles and her trilogy of penguin books, Away With The PenguinsCall Of The Penguins and Gone With The Penguins. Published by Penguin Random House, all these books are quirky, character-led stories with beautiful settings and strong wildlife themes. Away With The Penguins was chosen by Richard & Judy for their prestigious Book Club as well as for BBC Radio 2’s Book Club. It was the number one bestseller in both ebook and audiobook. Hazel’s books have so far been translated into 20 different languages.

Hazel is also a self-taught freelance Celtic harpist. She arranges all the songs for harp herself, and loves to play for small audiences such as Care Homes. At book events she has a habit of bringing her harp along too, to accompany readings. When she isn’t writing she is often singing with friends or walking in the countryside. A keen fan of wildlife, she is particularly fond of penguins and otters. She lives in the wilds of Exmoor, where she and her husband are slaves to an elderly, blind ginger cat.

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