A joint book launch from local performance poets Henry Normal and Tim Barlow was met with great enthusiasm by a sell-out audience of 70 at Hastings Library last Thursday. Henry, a BAFTA-winning writer, TV and film producer (Baby Cow Productions, The Royle Family, The Mrs Merton Show, Steve Coogan, Philomena, etc), has published twenty poetry books over his long career, the latest being a quiet promise. Henry is a patron of Hastings Book Festival. 

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Tim Barlow (left) and Henry Normal at Hastings Library

Tim’s book, The Manufactured Thrill, is his first. Tim is Chair of Hastings Writers Group and a Director of the Book Festival. Both books are published by Manchester’s Flapjack Press and are available from their website. Henry and Tim each performed half an hour of their poems, followed by a Q&A and book signing session. 

Both a quiet promise and The Manufactured Thrill are available from flapjackpress.co.uk, Amazon, and all good bookshops.


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https://www.hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/ARTSTim-and-Henry-1024x768.jpghttps://www.hastingsindependentpress.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/ARTSTim-and-Henry-150x150.jpgHIPArtsTheatreHastings Library,Hastings Writers Group,Henry Normal,Tim BarlowA joint book launch from local performance poets Henry Normal and Tim Barlow was met with great enthusiasm by a sell-out audience of 70 at Hastings Library last Thursday. Henry, a BAFTA-winning writer, TV and film producer (Baby Cow Productions, The Royle Family, The Mrs Merton Show, Steve Coogan,...The Hastings & St Leonards non-profit community newspaper