With everything from literary walking tours, best-selling author talks, writing workshops and open mics to writer’s block themed escape rooms, book swaps and panel discussions the Rugby Literary Festival is far from a traditional book fair.
Organised by Lindsay Woodward, the three-day event is designed to celebrate the creative town of Rugby and unite communities through reading and storytelling.
Run in conjunction with Rugby Borough Council, the festival includes more than 40 events from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th October.
Lindsay, who herself has written ten novels, said the aim was to bring a literary festival with a difference to the town so that it could inspire more people to enjoy storytelling, reading and writing.
She said: ““I’ve been to some fantastic literary festivals, but I didn’t want to simply look at what other festivals were doing and reproduce the same thing in Rugby.
“I wanted to think about what would work here, what would bring people into the town centre and how we could make literature interesting and accessible to people who might never normally consider going to a literary festival.
“That has given us the freedom to be really creative with the programme. Of course, we have authors, talks and workshops, but we also have an escape room, a literary walking tour, family activities and opportunities for people to get involved with rather than simply sit and listen.
“We’ve also made sure that local writers and writing groups have a place within the programme alongside established and bestselling authors. Rugby has a fantastic creative community and I wanted the festival to give that a platform.”
Families and book lovers can take on the book themed escape room, meet a bestselling novelist, discover a local author, browse the book fair or even learn about writing and publishing themselves.
Lindsay Woodward, director of Lindsay Woodward Marketing, founded Rugby Literary Festival in 2024 as a way of celebrating local authors and giving literary talent a platform in the town.
This year’s Rugby Literary Festival takes place from Friday 23rd to Sunday 25th October in venues across the town centre.
All the events are free to attend and are designed to encourage visitors to explore different parts of the town.
Find out more and book your free tickets on the Rugby Town website: https://www.therugbytown.co.uk/whats-on/rugby-literary-festival/