This year we will be celebrating the publication of The New Penguin Book of English Folk Songs by Steve Roud and Julia Bishop. We are challenging local choirs, community groups, storytellers and readers to bring the stories to life by performing the whole selection of songs throughout the Festival. The folk songs might be sung, acted, rapped, read or signed, but most importantly they will be performed live. To celebrate the start of the Literature Festival there will be performances around the city centre – look on our website for details and listen out for tales of seafaring, press gangs and disguised female soldiers.