Bournemouth Writing Festival have announced their line-up for this year’s festival.
The festival takes place from 25th-27th April 2025 at a range of venues in the area.
It features a range of free and ticketed events, aims to inspire writers to write with practical and hands-on events, workshops, talks, writing activities and networking opportunities.
The three-day festival is a carefully curated selection of self-published, published and writing professionals who share their knowledge and advice to writers of all ages and experience levels.
Amongst the professionals attending, there are best-selling authors like Alex Stone (The Good Patient), BAFTA award-winning playwright and screenwriter John Foster (Emmerdale) and creative collaborator and Curator for Wilkswood Reggae Festival, poet Kim West.
Festival Director Dominic Wong said, “I describe the Festival as having three different areas. The first is talks, workshops, and panels with writing experts, best-selling authors, scriptwriters, and more. The second is our activities and networking sessions, which are usually free; anyone can come along and join in. The final one is children’s. We do a lot to encourage children to write, including workshops and drop-in sessions led by writing professionals.”
Mr Wong went on to speak about workshops for different areas of the community. “This year we are hosting free workshops for people with additional needs.
“That includes people with down syndrome, autism, people suffering from homelessness and financial difficulties.
“We are also working with BCP council’s child services team on free workshops for children in care and care experienced young people.”
The weekend also features open mic-style events where people can come and read their poetry and gain feedback on their writing from experts.
This is the third year that the Festival has been running, and is set to be one of the biggest yet.
Last year, the festival attracted around about a thousand people, and this year is set to be even bigger.
Mr Wong said “Last year we had someone from Singapore come over, this year we have someone from Madrid flying over specifically for the event.
“We also have sessions where people from America get linked in so it truly is a global event, despite the fact it is incredibly local”.
Tickets can be purchased online for certain events over on the Bournemouth Writing Festival website, along with information on free events and competitions.
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