In celebration of John Lennon’s 77th birthday, Lennon expert and biographer, Jude Southerland Kessler has announced the Beatles at the Ridge guest speakers for the Beatles Authors and Artists Symposium 2018. Slated for September 14-15, 2018, the Symposium will take place in Walnut Ridge, Arkansas, and serves as the educational component for the two-day music festival.
“This is the sixth year that we have hosted The Beatles Authors and Artists Symposium, we’re over the moon about this line-up,” Kessler said. “In 2018, we’ll have six noted Beatles authors, two incredible artists, a gifted teen musician, an award-winning film maker, and a Tony award winner/New York Times best-selling author who is producing an upcoming television event about Brian Epstein.”
Headlining the weekend will be Featured Author, Vivek Tiwary, whose New York Times best-selling graphic novel, The Fifth Beatle (on the life of Beatles manager, Brian Epstein) is currently being made into a multi-part television event series. The Fifth Beatle has garnered great acclaim since its debut in 2013. It won the “Eisner Award for Best Reality-Based Work,” two Harvey Awards, and reached #1 on The New York Times best-seller list.
Tiwary also co-produced the Broadway production of Green Day’s rock opera, American Idiot, as well as Broadway’s popular The Addams Family. Nominated for over 44 Tony Awards and recipient of 25, Tiwary is a sought-after speaker at the Fest for Beatles Fans in New Jersey and Chicago, and has served as the Host for The Harvey Awards.
Also topping the bill will be author and film maker, David Bedford, a lifelong resident of Liverpool who shares a vast knowledge of Beatles’ history from the perspective of a true Scouser. His first book, Liddypool, was heralded by The Beatles’ official biographer, Hunter Davies, as “The best illustrated book on the Beatles’ Liverpool I’ve read.”
Bedford’s other respected works include The Fab One Hundred and Four which focuses on the sweeping influence of the people in Liverpool (and beyond) on The Beatles. And, in 2018, Bedford will release his latest work, In Search of the Fourth Beatle, a comprehensive study of all the people who served as drummer for The Beatles.
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