Lancaster Litfest announces packed Autumn Season

The team behind Lancaster's literature festival have announced their most ambitious Autumn Season to date.

An expanded programme will run from October to November, bringing together acclaimed authors, poets, performers and thinkers for a 
season exploring nature, history, fantasy and international fiction. 

The season opens with the launch of the online ‘Wonder’ Poetry Mosaic on National Poetry Day (October 1) followed by a gala reading of poems from the project selected and hosted by acclaimed poet and performer Nathan Parker on Friday October 16.

Poetry continues throughout the main Autumn Weekend with readings from their new collections by award-winning poets Kim Moore and  Eoghan Walls, alongside the launch of the new regional publisher Damson Press. 

Environmental themes run through the programme, with celebrated nature writer Nicola Davies and award-winning poet Dom Conlon presenting Out There in the Wild, a family-friendly event inspired by their acclaimed collection of nature poetry.

Anna Chilvers and Clare Shaw join the festival to present The Book of Bogs, a celebration of peatlands, nature and place. 

Programme highlights include a special print publication of Lancaster author Jenn Ashworth’s acclaimed BBC Radio 4 story The White Lady of Morecambe; Nathan Parker and EastCoast's powerful and timely stage show The Land Beneath Our Feet, fresh from the Edinburgh Fringe, a story of community, memory and climate change on the coast; and Fair Realms: World-Building in Fantasy, bringing together leading writers to explore their different approaches to constructing original, fantastical worlds.

History features prominently with Will Pettigrew and Nick Radburn launching the new Register of British Slave Traders database which has been five years in development, and discussing major new research into Britain's role in the Transatlantic Slave Trade as revealed in Pettigrew’s forthcoming book and BBC TV documentary Britain’s Slave Traders.

International literature remains at the heart of Litfest, bringing global voices and perspectives to Lancaster. On October 26, audiences can take part in a special online International Fiction Book Club discussion of the Peruvian Nobel Prizewinner Mario Vargas Llosa’s best-loved novel Aunt Julia 
and the Scriptwriter and then on the 28th join distinguished biographer Gerald Martin in person for an exploration of Vargas Llosa’s life and legacy.

On November 12, Litfest is delighted to welcome internationally acclaimed Ukrainian novelist Andrey Kurkov for the sixth Lancaster International 
Fiction Lecture.

One of Europe’s most significant contemporary writers, and chair of Ukrainian PEN, Kurkov will address the question 'What Can Fiction Do in a Time of War?' exploring the responsibilities, challenges and possibilities of storytelling in times of conflict. 

Families and younger readers will also find events to enjoy.

Children's author Katherine Woodfine will present her retelling of Wilkie Collins' classic mystery The Moonstone during the ‘Autumn Weekend’, before returning in late November to launch The Christmas Book at a festive family event featuring readings, crafts and seasonal activities.

Throughout the season, events will take place at venues across Lancaster including The Storey, Atkinsons Upper Hall, Lancaster University and The Gregson, reflecting Litfest's continuing commitment to bringing literature, ideas and conversation into community spaces across the city. 

Litfest’s ‘Autumn Season’ runs from October 1 to November 28, with the ‘Autumn Weekend’ taking place from October 16 to 18.

Full programme and ticket information is available from Litfest www.litfest.org and tickets are available from The Dukes box office.