The Write Path 7: So You Want to Start a Literary Festival? Here’s Our Story

By Paula Harmon

Blandford Literary Festival started, as many good ideas do, in a pub.

At the pub in question, I used to meet Louise Bliss, a fellow member of a local writers’ group so we could discuss each other’s works in progress.

One evening, Louise told me about her passion to start a literary festival in Blandford. She didn’t want something focussing only on big names and maybe alienating people who thought literature was something they’d thankfully left at school. Her vision involved everyone who loved words, emerging writers as well as well-known ones, and would encourage creativity for all with an emphasis on good mental health.

The idea grew. Eventually, there were five volunteers in the main team: Louise, me, Finola Brennan, Sim Sansford and Kirsty Astin. We wanted to involve as much of the town as we could to make it a community event.

So, what happened next? And what if you want to do the same?

The first Blandford Literary Festival took place over a week in November 2019. In venues from a cocktail bar to the Corn Exchange, there were book talks, performances, quizzes, workshops, and author panels. It was a great success.

We were determined to do it all again in 2020.

Covid had other ideas.

During 2020 and 2021, there was little we could do in person, but we returned with ‘A Day of Words’ in March 2022. This was followed by a fantastic ‘Evening of Words’ at the Rural Music School, with music, and prose and poetry readings from tear-jerking to funny.

By the time we hosted a main festival again in November 2024, the team comprised me, Finola, Nat Wood Fox and Zara Mkindawire (with Matthew Ryan-East running the schools’ programme). Over three days, hosted by the Royal British Legion, the Woodhouse Gardens Pavilion, Parish Centre, Parish Church, Town Museum and Fashion Museum, attendees met authors, took part in workshops for adults and children and enjoyed performances by choirs, poets and musicians.

A poster for a book festival

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Here’s some of the lovely feedback:

‘It was so well organised. Brilliant authors and venues and great team. Good positive atmosphere and really something for everyone.’

‘I’ve always wanted to go to a literary festival & this one was right on my doorstep, so I loved that it was local. Both events were very intimate & friendly. I went alone but felt at ease.’

‘It was accessible and there was a variety on offer.’

‘Being able to attend good talks in our own town.’

While planning for the 2025 festival, we snapped up the opportunity to hire the Woodhouse Gardens Pavilion on International Women’s Day – 8^th March 2025.

An all-day programme with a variety of eight female contributors including Kate Adie and a buffet lunch supplied by Spoons of Dorset sold out in no time. It was a triumph of positivity, inspiration and encouragement.

We will definitely do something similar again next year with a bigger venue. Here’s what people enjoyed:

‘The speakers were good, and meeting new people with lots of energy and aligned values was great.’

‘Informality, accessibility, being in the atmosphere. encouraging other writers.’

‘A lively, interested crowd.’

‘Friendly & relaxed atmosphere.’

The next main festival will take place from Friday 14^th to Sunday 16^th November 2025. We have a schools’ programme where authors of children’s and young adult fiction will speak to pupils at various schools in the Blandford area. We hope to involve Blandford Camp and we maintain our desire to involve as much of the town as possible, while at the same time recognising that having a centralised venue is often easier for visitors. There will be a book and craft fair running on the Saturday.

Our line-up is almost complete and once again offers a wide range of talks and activities – something for everyone.

We have authors giving talks on books from thriller via family saga to rom com for the over 60s; from art to local history.

We have Martin Brown (illustrator of the wonderful Horrible Histories books) running a family workshop where he’ll pitch adults against children!

We have workshops for aspiring authors from young adult fiction to crime fiction; how to improve your social media presence and much much more. You can even take part in a podcast courtesy of Estelle Phillips!

Maybe you will have heard of authors. Maybe you won’t – come along anyway and find a new favourite!

We are now a Community Interest Company. Our committee currently comprises me, Finola, Nat, Zara plus John Dallison, Marc Lohez and Harry Buckland.

Please do follow us on our website and social media (see links below). If you sign up for a newsletter, you won’t be bombarded. In the meantime, watch out for pop-up fund-raising events and check out our creative competition (poem, short story/flash and comic strip) until the end of September. In October half-term – watch out for a BLF trail through Blandford for children.

If you want to sponsor us, and/or volunteer during the festival, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Please get in touch to find out more.

Blandford Literary Festival is one of the friendliest most accessible book events you could go to – come and find new authors and/or take part in a workshop or just sit back and enjoy some music.

We are really excited about what’s on offer this autumn and we’re sure you can find something you like. Here’s the line-up at point of writing. We’re hoping for two more names to be confirmed plus the musical evening:

Come along! You won’t be sorry you did.

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So, what if you want to do something similar? We’re still learning but happy to talk about what we’ve discovered. Please do get in touch.

Here are some of the lessons we’ve learned so far:

· Be realistic about what you can achieve.

· Work out your budget.

· Get website and social media set up (different people access information different ways). If you can’t do your own graphic design see if someone local will help. You may have to pay for this.

· Within the core group, we step in when someone else can’t do something. Work out your approach in the early stages.

· Try to get your local town involved. We’re really grateful to many local organisations but a big call out to Blandford Town Council, Blandford Town Museum, Blandford Fashion Museum and Hall & Woodhouse. We all want to make this an event that makes our town proud, and also be part of something that makes our town somewhere to be proud of.

· Publicity is hard. It’s even harder without funds – if someone will sponsor elements that will help immensely.

· Connect with local author network groups – not only will they want to be involved, but they’ll hopefully spread the word.

· Try to get your authors in line as early as possible, although there will always be a few outliers.

· Invite authors, or open for talk submissions. If the latter, you will have to make decisions as you’re likely to have more submissions than slots.

· Collect feedback. (We didn’t do this in 2019, but it would have helped with funding if we had, and we’ve done it since.)

· By the same token, accept you can’t please everyone all the time!

· Allow for gaps between events to allow authors to talk to audience in a more casual way and also to give volunteers a break.

· Make sure you have enough volunteers to cover everything so everyone can have a break, especially if you’re in more than one venue.

· Support each other at every step but be honest with each other too. If something looks too hard, maybe it is, or maybe it needs a different approach.

· Do we ever disagree? Yes – but we’re grown-ups and we work through it.

· Make it fun!

· Arrange a celebration for afterwards! You deserve it.