Leiston Book Festival

The Suffolk coast attracts creative people, and tickets for the literary festivals at Aldeburgh, Southwold and Felixstowe quickly sell out. Let’s have a book festival here in Leiston I thought, and focus on non-fiction authors who have written about our evolving landscape and environment. People thought this was a good idea. The Town Council kindly sponsored the venue, the town’s wonderful Edwardian Film Theatre, and Sizewell Creative awarded a grant, that helped cover our marketing costs, particularly the festival website.

We now have a line up of six authors, and tickets have just gone on sale. We want people to come for the whole day and discover authors they’ve not heard of, as well as those they’ve already read. My hope is that the conversations on stage will prompt an audience discussion that will develop as the day unfolds.

As with any new venture, marketing will be important, and people will need to be told more than once before they commit and buy tickets. Luckily I have help with this, and while we may not sell all 240 seats in the film theatre this year, I think we’ll have a decent crowd on the day.

Take a look at the programme, choose your seat and buy your ticket here.