The first Retford Book Festival will take place from 9th to 15th June 2025 and will consist of a diverse series of events for both adults and children with a range of authors talking about their work.
The festival will feature many genres including history, crime, romantic fiction, music, contemporary life, current affairs and writing for children of all ages.
There will be some events in the main venue, the historic Grove Street Methodist Church. Other events will be in smaller, town centre venues that audiences may not previously have had access to. There will also be some events in schools so that as many children as possible have access to the excitement of the festival.
Committee Chair Julia Kitchen explained: “The book festival committee are a team of enthusiastic volunteers with wide-ranging experience and skillsets. We are committed to launching the book festival as an annual event and see it as a week of positivity in the town, bringing together people from all walks of life to share the joy of books and the excitement of hearing published authors talk about their work.”
Refreshments will be served wherever there is a book festival event and there will be the opportunity to buy books, to talk about books and, above all, feel the joy of books.
There will be a printed programme with details of all events but for now the best source of information is the festival’s Facebook page – search Retford Book Festival.
There will be a fundraising lunch, with a speaker, in aid of the book festival on Thursday 20th March at Ye Olde Bell in Barnby Moor. Details will follow.
The festival has a crowdfunding page (www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/retford-book-festival) and all donations to support the event are welcome.
Volunteers will be needed to assist with running the events – tasks include setting up, serving refreshments, greeting people at the door or providing technical support with audio visual equipment.
For more information about Retford Book Festival, to be added to the mailing list or to register as a volunteer for the events please email retfordbookfestival@gmail.com.