Writing festival celebrates Arts Council cash

An annual literary festival attracting entries from authors around the world is celebrating a grant worth almost £59,000.

The 10th Hammond House International Literary Festival, also known as LitFest, is hosting a series of events in Grimsby until 25 February.

The money from Arts Council England will be used to fund the festival over the next two years.

Jessica Johnson, the Litfest project manager, said the grant would allow them to "have the resources to work with a lot more creatives locally, pay them what they deserve and allow us to broaden our projects".

Events include workshops with the writer Paul Basset Davies, who has worked with some of the biggest names in British comedy, and award-winning illustrator Debasmita Dasgupta.

The finale, on 25 February, will include an awards ceremony at University Centre, in Grimsby, where entries shortlisted as part of a competition will be published in an anthology.

Johnson said entries for the contest had been received from local writers and as far afield as Malaysia and Australia.

She added: "It's really clear to see that there's huge talent on our doorstep. We want to celebrate that at the festival. We have a book fair where we've invited local authors.

"It just really feels like an exciting place for writers to kind of come, meet, grow and establish their craft."

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