Celebrating a love of literature – councillors give support to festival

The Bury St Edmunds Literature Festival, from October 20, will have everything from poetry to polar bears, alongside tales of motherhood, race, civil war, witch trials and even a touch of the supernatural.

It’s the fifth year of the festival which includes authors from across East Anglia and aims to cater for readers of all ages.

And this year’s three-day event is being supported with locality budget funding from seven West Suffolk councillors, all of whom represent wards in the town.

Councillors Donna Higgins, Diane Hind, Rowena Lindberg, Jo Rayner, Marilyn Sayer, Sarah Stamp and Cliff Waterman have given a combined total of £1,400 which is being used to ensure the festival organisers can keep admission costs down especially given the continuing cost-of-living crisis.

The festival is organised by a small committee which includes Bury St Edmunds author Kate Sawyer as well as founder and West Suffolk councillor Julia Wakelam.

“The festival is about celebrating literature, nurturing a love of reading and encouraging people to take up writing themselves,” said Kate, author of ‘This Family and The Stranding’.

“To do that we have had to grow the festival so that there’s even more to interest people, to capture their imaginations and add to that strong sense of culture that is valued in and around Bury St Edmunds and West Suffolk.”

Councillor Wakelam added: “We also recognise the cost-of-living crisis is biting and we need to keep the entrance costs down so this festival can remain inclusive and accessible for people of all ages and means to come along and enjoy. That’s why we are very grateful for the support of all of our sponsors, including my fellow West Suffolk councillors.”

The festival, which runs from October 20 to 22, at the Unitarian Meeting House, is free to under 18s, while admission varies between £5 to £10 for each event with discounts available to people aged under 26 and people in receipt of benefits.

The festival opens with an open mic poetry night with Elizabeth Cook and the announcement of the winners of this year’s short story competition.

Festival highlights include:

• Children’s author Hannah Gold, author of “The Last Bear” (winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize 2022 and Blue Peter Book Award 2022).
• Marianne Levy, author of “Don’t Forget to Scream”, detailing her own experiences of motherhood.
• Ashley Hickson-Lovence with his fictional telling of the life of Uriah Rennie, the football Premier League’s first black referee.
• Kate Sawyer speaking about her Bury St Edmunds based novel “This Family”.
• Annie Garthwaite, author of “Cecily”. discussing her novel set at the opening of the War of the Roses.
• Sunday Times bestselling author of the “Ruth Galloway Mysteries”, Elly Griffiths giving an interview about the crime series set in East Anglia.
• Professor Maggie Humm and Annabel Abbs both speaking about their books on artist Gwen John.
• A chance to hear from four new voices in fiction in East Anglia – authors Sussie Anie, Karen Angelico, Rajasree Variyar and Eva Verde.
• Polly Crosby and S A Harris discussing their novels set on the Suffolk coast with ghosts and mysteries aplenty.
• Author of the Sunday Times bestseller “The Leviathan”, Rosie Andrews will speak of her spellbinding mystery set during the English Civil War in 1643.
• A panel discussion with A K Blakemore, Margaret Meyer and Marion Gibson on their novels set during the witch trials of the 1600s.

For more visit www.burylitfest.co.uk