Our second festival, held in February 2019, was a great success. We hope you will join us again in February 2020 for another exciting programme of events and activities for book lovers of all ages and persuasions, featuring author talks, discussions, creative workshops and spoken word events. Announcements will be made in autumn for next year's programme.
One of England's historic gems, Faversham is a picturesque market town dating back to pre-Roman times and a lovely place to visit. On the north coast of Kent, bordered by coastal nature reserves and the Kent Downs, we're one hour from London St Pancras, with close connections to Ashford International and Canterbury. The festival takes place annually in February in various of the town's historic venues, including the Guildhall , the Old Brewery Store within the Shepherd Neame Brewery, and the Alexander Centre.
Faversham has strong literary connections, past and present. The town has more than forty book-reading groups, various writing groups, book exchanges and a busy public library. The festival will offer a platform for all of these interested groups and individuals to meet and exchange ideas, listen to well-known authors discussing their books and the craft of writing, and provide opportunities for local writers and illustrators to showcase their work alongside published authors from further afield. We also host events for children, writing workshops and short story competitions.
Treasure-trove bookshops are to be found in Faversham. Our independent bookshop, Top Hat & Tales, has enticing displays of books recently published, classics, interesting titles you may not have come across before, local authors and, of course, hats! Top Hat & Tales is our festival bookseller and a wonderful shop – not to be missed if you are planning a visit to Faversham! For secondhand books, The Fleur Bookshop and Past Sentence have great selections; the Alexander Centre also hosts a book fair on various weekends throughout the year.
Faversham has been home to famous writers in the past, including Iain Banks, and is thought to have provided inspiration to Charles Dickens. Thomas Arden, former mayor of Faversham, was portrayed in Arden of Faversham, the first English domestic drama and attributed by some scholars to Shakespeare in part. The literary festival, we hope, will bring more such literary connections and intrigues to Faversham.
The town has many independent shops, cafes and restaurants, traditional pubs offering fine dining and live music venues. It is home to the UK's oldest brewery, the UK's national fruit collection at Brogdale, and various other festivals are hosted here throughout the year, including a spring Hat Festival, a Nautical Festival and the summer Hop Festival.
Faversham Literary Festival is kindly sponsored by:
