Town to host 'amazingly ambitious' book festival
Guests attending the inaugural Whitby Lit Fest include Lee Child, Miriam Margolyes and Sir Alan Ayckbourn (pictured)
- Published
A new annual festival is set to welcome some big names in the world of literature to the North Yorkshire coast.
Lee Child, Miriam Margolyes, Sir Alan Ayckbourn and Steph McGovern are among the headline speakers attending the inaugural Whitby Lit Fest, running from Thursday to Sunday.
Lois Kirtlan, the festival's committee chair, said: "The worst they could say was no, so it was a case of just asking them."
More than 60 authors will head to the seaside town for four days of talks and events headquartered at the Hetty and Betty fish and chips restaurant on Baxtergate.
"We're really proud of the incredible line-up we've secured and can't wait to give everyone a warm Whitby welcome," Ms Kirtlan added.
Lois Kirtlan said the festival team are proud of the big names it has attracted in its first year
Some events are expected to attract audiences of up to 350 people, with Fiona Duncan, of the Whitby Bookshop, calling the event a "fabulous opportunity".
"We're so excited to have so many people coming along," she said.
The town was "no stranger to a fabulous literary tradition", she added, with the area having inspired works by authors including Bram Stoker, Lewis Carroll and Charles Dickens.
Celebrated playwright Sir Alan Ayckbourn said the festival had been "waiting to happen".
The Olivier and Tony award winner will be interviewed at the festival by author and former BBC Radio 4 producer Kate Fenton.
"The scale is quite mind-boggling," he said.
"Considering it's festival one, it is an amazingly ambitious scheme."
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