A politician many in the UK’s Labour Party wish was their leader is to speak in the Isle of Man later in the year.
Former Home Secretary Alan Johnson quit frontline politics in 2011 following problems in his personal life.
{http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/JOHNSON-RESIGN/story-11953909-detail/story.html|Click here to read what he told his local newspaper at the time.}
In recent months there have been a number of stories in the UK press about him being approached as a potential replacement for Ed Miliband.
{http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/11396471/Alan-Johnson-approached-to-replace-Ed-Miliband-as-Labour-leader-months-before-election.html|Click here to read one such story.}
But the politician, whose affable manner has set him apart from many colleagues, has always said he didn’t fancy the job.
Since he quit as shadow chancellor, he has carved out a literary career with two well-received memoirs and is now giving talks.
The opening event of Manx Litfest 2015 will be ‘An Evening with Alan Johnson MP’.
Organised by the Sporting & Dining Club, it will take place at the Gaiety Theatre in Douglas on Tuesday, September 22.
Alan is the author of two memoirs – This Boy: A Memoir of a Childhood won the Royal Society of Literature Ondaatje Prize and the Orwell Prize, Britain’s top political writing award; the follow-up Please, Mister Postman was published late last year, charting his life between the ages of 18 and 30.
He has been a Labour MP since 1997, serving Kingston Upon Hull West and Hessle.
Festival director John Quirk said: ‘We are thrilled to have the opportunity to team up with the Sporting and Dining Club to ensure this year’s Manx Litfest gets off to a flying start.
‘John Wannenburgh from the Sporting and Dining Club was looking to bring Alan to the island, and when he realised the date he was looking at was in Litfest week, he asked if we would like to stage it in association with the festival.
‘We were only too happy to join forces. We had been planning to open on the Wednesday night with the Poetry Slam, as we did last year, so An Evening with Alan Johnson means we will now have a six-day festival, running from the Tuesday through to Sunday, September 27.’
This Boy tells how Alan was orphaned at 12 and brought up by his older sister, leaving school at 15.
He became a postman at 18 and later a full-time union official for the Union of Communication Workers, being appointed its general secretary in 1992.
He served as Home Secretary under Prime Minister Gordon Brown from June 2009 to May 2010, having previously filled a variety of cabinet positions.
Tickets for An Evening with Alan Johnson cost £17.50 each and are available from {http://villagaiety.ticketsolve.com/|this site} or by calling the Villa Gaiety box office on 600555.
This year’s Manx Litfest will be the fourth annual festival. The registered charity brings together authors, poets and storytellers from around the British Isles, alongside several Isle of Man-based writers, to create a colourful celebration of storytelling in all its forms.
Manx Litfest is supported by the Isle of Man Arts Council and Culture Vannin, and a number of corporate and individual sponsors.
John Quirk added: ‘We are pulling together this year’s line-up of visiting authors, poets and storytellers and we’ll have more exciting news for literature lovers over the coming weeks.’
For the latest news on this year’s festival, visit the website www.manxlitfest.com or follow at www.twitter.com/manxlitfest and www.facebook.com/manxlitfest
The team can be contacted at manxlitfest@gmail.com