Literary festival

A literary festival, also known as a book festival or writers' festival, is a regular gathering of writers and readers, typically on an annual basis in a particular city. A literary festival usually features a variety of presentations and readings by authors, as well as other events, delivered over a period of several days, with the primary objectives of promoting the authors' books and fostering a love of literature and writing.

Writers' conferences are sometimes designed to provide an intellectual and academic focus for groups of writers without the involvement of the general public.

There are many literary festivals held around the world. A non-exhaustive list is set out below, including dates when a festival is usually held (where available).

List of literary festivals

Notable literary festivals include:

Africa

Port Harcourt Book Festival, October 20–25
^[1] Chinua Achebe Literary Festival, November 16

Asia

Asia-Pacific

Ubud Writers and Readers Festival (UWRF), held annually at Ubud, Bali in Indonesia (www.ubudwritersfestival.com)
Gateway Litfest, February/ March
Delhi Poetry Festival, January
Dehradun Literature Festival, February
Jashn-e-Rekhta, Urdu literary festival held annually in New Delhi
Guntur International Poetry Festival (GIPF), held annually since 2008 in Guntur, India
Adelaide Writers' Week, held annually during the Adelaide Festival of Arts in March
Emirates Airline Festival of Literature, held annually in Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Galle Literary Festival, January
George Town Literary Festival
Hay Festival Dhaka, November
Hong Kong International Literary Festival, March
Islamabad Literature Festival, April
Jakarta International Literary Festival (JILF), August
Jaipur Literary Festival, January, also JLF Adelaide in September/October
Sindh Literature Festival, January/February/March
Karachi Literature Festival, February
Kuala Lumpur International Literary Festival, July
Lahore Literary Festival, February
Lit for Life, Chennai, Delhi January/February
Lucknow Literary Festival, Lucknow, February/ March
METAPHOR The Lucknow LitFest Lucknow December
Nepal Literature Festival
Newcastle, New South Wales National Young Writers' Festival, September/October
Perth Writers' Festival, February/March
Queer LitFest, Chennai (QLF), July/September
Shanghai International Literary Festival
Singapore Writers Festival, October/November 1
Sydney Writers' Festival, May
Williamstown Literary Festival April/May
Chandigarh Literati, November
Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF), July

Middle East

Europe

Authors' Reading Month, Brno, Wroclaw, Kosice, Lviv, Ostrava, in July
Berlin International Literature Festival, in September
Bradford Literature Festival, now held around June/July
Cambridge Literary Festival, held bi-annually in April and November, with many events accessible online
Cheltenham Literature Festival, October 6–15
Chester Literature Festival, October
The Children's Bookshow, autumn
Conrad Festival, Kraków, Poland, October. The largest literary festival in Central Europe.
Creative Folkestone Book Festival, 4–13 June 2021 (it is normally held in November and heralds the start of the festive season).
Cúirt International Festival of Literature, Galway, April
Edinburgh International Book Festival, August 13–29, coinciding with the annual Edinburgh Festival^[2]
FestivalandCo, Shakespeare-themed literary festival held in Paris, France, at the Shakespeare and Company bookstore
Festivaletteratura, held in Mantua, Italy, at the beginning of September
Göteborg Book Fair, Gothenburg, Sweden, Sept
Harrogate International Festivals Theaksons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, home to the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, world's largest crime fiction Festival, in July
Harrogate Raworths Harrogate Literature Festival, in July Harrogate International Festivals
Harrogate History Festival, chaired in 2015 by Manda Scott, in October Harrogate International Festivals
Hawkesbury Upton Literary Festival, late April
The Hay Festival, May 27 – June 5
The North London Literary Festival, held late March or early April
Istanbul Tanpınar Literature Festival, held in Istanbul, Turkey, at the beginning of May
Jewish Book Week, London, late February and early March
Liverpool Literary Festival, Liverpool, October
Louisiana Literature, late August, held at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk, Denmark.
Norwegian Festival of Literature, Lillehammer, Norway, is the largest literature festival in the Scandinavian countries since 1996
Openair Literatur Festival Zürich, Zürich, held annually since 2013
Peak Literary Festival, October 25 – November 5 /May 25 – June 6
Prague Writers Festival, Prague, Czech Republic, June 3–10
Rencontres aubrac, Aveyron, France
Sarajevo Poetry Days, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
WALTIC, Stockholm, Sweden
Wigtown Book Festival, Scotland^[3]^[4]

North America

Banff Mountain Book Festival, October 31 – November 2, 2007
Boston Book Festival, annually in October
Burlington Book Festival, September 15–17, 2006
Children's Literature Festival at the University of Central Missouri, held annually in March since 1969
The Curwood Festival celebrates the life and writings of James Oliver Curwood the first weekend of June in Owosso, Michigan.
Eden Mills Writers' Festival, Eden Mills/Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Festival of Literary Diversity, Brampton, Ontario, Canada
The Frye Festival, Moncton, New Brunswick, April 22–28, 2013. Honouring Northrop Frye. International cast.
Guadalajara International Book Fair, November 27 – December 5, 2010
Hollywood Book Festival, July 28, 2007
Litquake, since 2002, San Francisco, annually in October
Los Angeles Times Festival of Books, Los Angeles, California, penultimate weekend of April
Miami Book Fair International, Downtown Miami, Florida, November
National Book Festival, produced by the Library of Congress, September www.loc.gov
Tennessee Williams/ New Orleans Literary Festival, New Orleans, annually in March.
Texas Book Festival, Austin, Texas held annually in the fall since 1996
Toronto International Festival of Authors, held annually in late October and early November since 1980.
Tucson Festival of Books, Tucson, Arizona, held annually in March
Winnipeg International Writers Festival, annually in September
Kentucky Women Writers Conference, The, Lexington, Kentucky, September 11–13, 2008
The Word on the Street, several cities in Canada
Wordfest, Calgary, Alberta, held annually in October

Caribbean

Bocas Lit Fest, Trinidad and Tobago, annually, last weekend of April
Calabash International Literary Festival, Treasure Beach, Jamaica, biennially on even years in June

South America

Festa Literária Internacional de Paraty Is held in Paraty, city located in Brazil.
International Poetry Festival of Medellín is held in Medellín, city located in Colombia.
International Poetry Festival of Rosario is held in Rosario, city located in Argentina.
Trujillo Book Festival, is held in Trujillo city located in Peru. In the year 2012 was on March from days 1 to 12.

References

^ "Port Harcourt Book Festival". Portharcourtbookfestival.com. Retrieved 2014-06-05.
^ "Home – Edinburgh International Book Festival". www.edbookfest.co.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
^ "How becoming Scotland's National Book Town transformed Wigtown's fortunes". ITV News. 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2024-08-08.
^ "Alan Cumming among Wigtown Book Festival highlights". BBC News. 2024-08-06. Retrieved 2024-08-08.

External links

Media related to Literary festivals at Wikimedia Commons

[PHBF-1] "Port Harcourt Book Festival". Portharcourtbookfestival.com. Retrieved 2014-06-05.

[2] "Home – Edinburgh International Book Festival". www.edbookfest.co.uk. Retrieved 20 December 2016.

[ITV-3] "How becoming Scotland's National Book Town transformed Wigtown's fortunes". ITV News. 2023-12-07. Retrieved 2024-08-08.

[BBC2024-4] "Alan Cumming among Wigtown Book Festival highlights". BBC News. 2024-08-06. Retrieved 2024-08-08.

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