This is a tale of one city, but two book festivals.
To fair Bradford, where we lay our scene: the city centre, where Centenary Square is the hub of the twelfth annual Bradford Literature Festival. That is, a buzzy ten days of programming set in Centenary Square, featuring talks, walks, panels and appearances by the likes of Prue Leith, Vince Cable, Lemn Sissay and more.
Head a little over four miles away, to the Greengates area of Bradford, and you’ll find yourself at the UK BookFest — a rather humbler affair. They’ve taken over a massive industrial unit on the Albion Mills complex and are serving the public of Bradford and beyond with books, second hand and cheap, and accompanied by cans of pop for a quid.
But why talk about both events simultaneously? For one, because I’ve been at both events over the past few days — appearing at a Lit Fest panel on folk horror and visiting Albion Mills twice for the BookFest and to meet Stephen White, whose brainchild it is. But also because there’s a winning contrast between them, both running on the same week — the glamour of the literary festival and the pragmatism of the BookFest. Two book festivals, with two very different audiences.
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