THE Folklore Library and Archive free Warm Winter events continue on the next two Friday evenings in Crediton Library with books, music and song.

On Friday, January 19 at 7pm, author and editor Johnny Mains will be talking about various aspects of his work with British Library Publishing, and with other publishers.

Johnny specialises in tracking down and editing lost stories from archives and other sources, and preparing them for a new audience through various anthologies. Included amongst those authors whose "lost" stories Johnny has recovered are Edith Nesbit, Algernon Blackwood, Oscar Cook and Daphne Du Maurier.

He will also be discussing his recent books for the British Library, "Scotland the Strange" and "Celtic Weird".

In 2010, Johnny was the project editor for the re-issue of the classic "Pan Book of Horror Stories" and he also worked with his good friend, comedian and broadcaster Robin Ince ("The Infinite Monkey Cage", BBC Radio 4) to create the critically acclaimed series of horror stories by comedians, "Dead Funny".

Johnny will be happy to chat with people about his experiences working in archives, with publishers and the industry more generally, and with any aspects of writing and editing.

Following this, on Friday, January 26 at 7pm, there will be an evening of live music and song with performer Paul Wilson.

Paul will bring a lively set of folk songs and tunes, many with fascinating local connections.

He will be playing piano accordion, guitar and a few interesting folk instruments. He will be chatting about the background to many of the local songs and tunes, including his own collecting work.

Paul is a performer, songwriter, educator and folk song collector.

With Marilyn Tucker he is co-founder of Wren Music, who co-ordinated the digitisation of the Baring Gould folk song manuscripts and he regularly gives talks and writes articles on folk song for a wide variety of audiences and publications.

Marilyn and Paul have written a chapter on Folk Choirs for the academic reference book English Folk Performance, published by RKP. 

Paul is an experienced choir conductor and singing leader both in school and with community music groups of all ages and stages. He holds an honorary MA from Plymouth University for his work in music education.

Finally, an advance warning that a potentially very popular event is then coming up on Friday, February 2 at 7pm when there will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to enjoy, for free, a harp recital by renowned professional harpist and composer Elizabeth-Jane Baldry. Booking is essential for this concert. Elizabeth-Jane has performed all over the world, for packed audiences and for royalty, and she is the world’s only silent movie harpist. More details of this concert in next week’s "Courier".

All of these events are completely free - hot drinks and refreshments will be available and the library will be a warm space to relax for the evening. Please book at the library, by telephone on 01363 772578 or by email to: [email protected]  for any events that you would like to attend.

The Folklore Library and Archive, based in Crediton Library, is a registered charity. Its patron is Michael Rosen and it is home to The Devonshire Folklore Collection. The programme of Warm Winter free events is made possible through grant funding from the National Grid Community Matters Fund.