Lincoln Book Festival Awarded Funding to Reach New Audiences

Lincoln Book Festival has been awarded funding from Arts Council England to connect a more diverse variety of audiences than ever before with literature-inspired events and activities.

With a new festival hub established at the Lincoln Arts Centre at the University of Lincoln, the 2024 book festival will take place from 26-29 September, bringing big name authors and rising stars of the publishing world to the city for four days of engaging talks, readings, discussions, workshops and Q&As. This will be supplemented by a rich range of opportunities for people of all ages and interests to get involved in.

An Arts Council England National Lottery Project Grant of £22,048 will help to expand the reach of Lincoln Book Festival so that more people from all backgrounds can benefit. This will include people from a diverse range of communities, including young people from less affluent backgrounds, elderly people in the county’s coastal or rural areas, and under-represented groups such as Lincoln’s LGBTQ+ community.

The theme for this year’s festival is “generations” with many events and activities designed to bridge generational divides and bring people of different ages together through a shared love of reading, writing and the arts — whether that’s exploring little-known stories of local history or storytelling through new creative writing.

Events include:

• Variety of guest author talks, panels and Q&As from well-known fiction and non-fiction authors along with rising stars and local talent, spanning multiple genres and formats.
• Celebration of local history with a showcase of newly published research into aspects of Lincolnshire’s fascinating and sometimes surprising heritage.
• Family day for younger readers and writers to enjoy creative writing workshops and book readings with professional authors and expert practitioners.
• Return of the book festival’s ‘flash fiction’ short story competition for budding writers from primary school age upwards to win book vouchers as prizes.
• New ‘Fiction on the Phone’ project to bring fresh creative writing from local authors to the homes of isolated older people.
• Paid and voluntary opportunities for young content creators, community champions and festival volunteers to connect and contribute behind-the-scenes and throughout the festival.

Lincoln Book Festival has been a fixture of the city’s cultural calendar for more than 20 years but, since the COVID pandemic, has been aiming to establish a new footing as an annual event that appeals to a broader range of audiences. Key organisations including Destination Lincolnshire have expressed their support amid ambitions to diversify and grow the festival into a major celebration of reading, writing, scholarship and creativity that engages local communities and brings visitors to the city.

Ian Richards, from the Lincoln Book Festival organising committee, said: “We’re proud and excited to have been awarded funding from Arts Council England as we look to develop the book festival into an event the whole city can enjoy. Our ambition is to reach a broader array of audiences than ever before, connecting people of all ages through a love of reading and writing. The programme for September’s festival will be announced soon and we can’t wait to reveal some of the surprises in store.”

Peter Knott, Midlands Area Director at Arts Council England, said: “We’re delighted to award Lincoln Book Festival £22,048, through Arts Council England’s National Lottery Project Grants, to inspire people of all ages and backgrounds through the written word.
“From author talks, readings and creative writing workshops to a family day for younger readers, there’ll be something for everyone to enjoy, whether they want to develop their own creative skills or simply enjoy the writing talent of others.”

Ben Anderson, Creative and Executive Director of Lincoln Arts Centre, said: “This endorsement from Arts Council England is further evidence of the University of Lincoln and Lincoln Arts Centre playing our part to secure the future of Lincoln Book Festival, a strong feature of Lincoln’s cultural calendar. We’re proud to play a role in securing the future of the festival and introducing its programme to new audiences.”

The Lincoln Book Festival 2024 programme will be announced in August with tickets booked via the Lincoln Arts Centre box office. This will include paid ticketed events and some free-to-attend activities.