News Maidstone's first ever Literary Festival

Maidstone’s first literary festival is now underway.

Launched on Thursday 28 September at Maidstone Museum the innovative week-long LitFest is offering an amazing line-up for all ages to enjoy in the County Town between Monday 2 – Sunday 8 October 2023.

Being delivered by Maidstone Borough Council (MBC) the LitFest was officially opened by the Mayor, Cllr Gordon Newton who said:

It was my great pleasure to officially open Maidstone’s very first literary festival. This is a fantastic initiative thanks to Maidstone Borough Council which is behind the event and the passion of creative groups working in our borough who believed that the County Town would benefit from such an event.

This is a very exciting event for Maidstone and I am sure the 2023 LitFest will lead the way for many events like this for years to come.

The event will be championing local authors, with a showcase event at Lockmeadow Entertainment Centre, readings and workshops across Maidstone primary schools, Kent Library and History Centre, Waterstones, The Archbishop’s Palace and Maidstone Museum.

MBC has been working with a specialist team which includes editors of children’s books, local authors and education specialists to deliver the festival which will include a variety of authors appearing at events for adults and children in and around the town centre.

Cllr Claudine Russell, Cabinet Member for Communities, Leisure and Arts at MBC added:

The Council is very excited to be putting on this event for Maidstone and it’s great to see this inspiring project come to life.

The entire team has worked so hard to bring together such a brilliant programme of events for the festival.  The line-up includes such a wide variety of events and brings together local and big-name authors, workshops for would-be writers, and those who love and champion books.

The 2023 LitFest features local writers alongside award-winning, international best-selling authors.  It also includes a Schools’ Programme bringing children’s authors to schools across Maidstone; LitFest for Little Ones (workshops for under 5’s); interactive story time using Makaton sign language; creative workshops for aspiring writers and artists at venues in the town centre; along with festival headliners including Lisa Jewell, Dorothy Koomson and A.F. Steadman.

Claudine continued:

There is so much packed in to the week of the LitFest with a variety of workshops and events for all ages. These will give us the perfect opportunity to showcase some of our wonderful venues in the County Town including the beautiful Maidstone Museum, Archbishop’s Palace, the Town Hall, Kent History and Library Centre, All Saints Church and more. Well done to all the team behind such an innovative event.

A full calendar of events can be found on the Visit Maidstone website where you can also book tickets: https://www.visitmaidstone.com/

To keep up to date with festival news, please subscribe to the newsletter on the website Maidstone LitFest | literary festival and be the first to know when tickets have been released and new authors announced.

The Maidstone LitFest project has received £15k funding from the UK Government UK Shared Prosperity Fund.

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