Hawarden: UK’s “friendliest literary festival” returns to Gladstone’s Library

An event billed as “The UK’s friendliest literary festival” is back.

Tickets for Gladfest 2022 which takes place on September 9 and 10 at Gladstone’s Library in Hawarden are now on sale.

A host of writers will be in attendance, including Sarah Perry (The Essex Serpent), Zeba Talkhani (My Past is a Foreign Country), Francesca Haig (The Cookbook of Common Prayer) and Natasha Pulley (The Half Life of Valery K).

Some authors and speakers will also beam in via the internet for live panels hosted in the Library’s Victorian Reading Rooms

In addition to the ticketed events, members of the public can come into the Library building to enjoy the atmosphere, mingle with writers and enjoy food and drinks.

The festival, which launched in 2013, is one of the key events in the Library calendar. It is designed to be accessible to all, and people can join in online and in person.

Louisa Yates, Director of Collections and Research at the Library, has been working to put the programme of talks and events together.

She said: “We are thrilled to be welcoming people back to an event that is closer to the Gladfest we are used to, and we are really pleased to already see tickets flying out. We’re very much looking forward to it.”

This is the first time since the pandemic struck that members of the public can attend the festival in person.

In 2021, attendance was limited to guests who had booked to stay at the Library over the weekend, and to online viewers.

This year, festival-goers can dip into as many talks as they like, although some individual events have already sold out.

Novelist Victoria Gosling, who will be speaking about her debut Before the Ruins at the event, said: “I’d love to see you at my event on the Friday where I’ll be talking about why diabolical games make life worth living and reading from my novel…

“So looking forward to my trip to the beautiful Gladstone’s Library this September!”

Jim Creed, the Fundraising Development Officer for the Library, said: “We are very pleased with the response to Gladfest 2022, tickets are selling well, and we are looking forward to welcoming visitors to Gladstone’s Library on the 9^th and 10^th September.

“We have an exciting line up of speakers and authors this year, and several locally based businesses and organisations have generously agreed to sponsor the event, which helps to keep our ticket prices lower than most literary festivals. If any other companies or individuals would like to support the festival, please get in touch.”

Mr Creed thanked Mitchell Charlesworth, Rawson, North West Produce and Johnsons for their support for the festival.

Individual tickets to attend in-person events at Gladfest are £10. Most talks can also be viewed live online for £5.

Visit www.gladfest.co.uk to learn more about the festival. Email [email protected] with queries.